Vanity Fair character portraits prove Tim Burton is sticking with the aesthetic of the ’60s series. By John Mitchell Johnny Depp in “Dark Shadows” Photo: Warner Bros Another week has passed, and we still don’t have a “Dark Shadows” trailer . For those keeping tabs, we’re just over two months out (70 days, to be exact) from the scheduled release of Tim Burton’s campy vampire blockbuster. But to whet increasingly impatient fans’ appetites, in this month’s Vanity Fair, Burton and company have released some character portraits of Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard and Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman. The images — which are not yet available on Vanity Fair ‘s website but you can see here — are nothing we haven’t seen before. But hey, at least it means Warner Bros. is doing some promo, right? Taking a close look at the portraits — and, really, we might as well, because there isn’t much other “DS” material to stan over — it’s striking just how closely Burton and costume designer Colleen Atwood have kept Depp’s big-screen styling to the Barnabas “Shadows” series creator Dan Curtis developed for actor Jonathan Frid all the way back in 1967. The more we see of Depp in character, the more we’re reminded of Frid, who also appears in the film. “Johnny’s very open about what things are in the process, but he really lets people present things to him. He never really pushes at all,” Atwood told MTV News late last year about Depp’s costuming for “Shadows.” “Sometimes he doesn’t even look in the mirror in his fittings. It’s so funny. It’s pretty amazing. People would be surprised, because I think they have this image of Johnny, because he’s so stylish always, but he really feels his costumes, more than looks at them, and the movement and the feeling in them is really important.” From the hair and pale, monstrous makeup to the penchant for 18th-century bling, it’s kind of amazing how closely Burton is hewing to the look already established for the characters in the late-’60s series. And that’s true of nearly all the key players in his adaptation: He’s taken famed brunette Eva Green blonde, as Angelique (played by Lara Parker) was on the show, given Bonham Carter’s eccentric Dr. Julia Hoffman the same sweeping ’60s ‘do worn by Grayson Hall and has Pfeiffer sporting dark, regal ensembles similar to those worn by Joan Bennett to play Elisabeth Collins Stoddard. One notable exception is Chlo
‘You can change my Sim’s hair color two or three times a day if you want to, which is basically what I want to do,’ Perry tells MTV News. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Christina Garibaldi Katy Perry’s character in “The Sims 3: Showtime” Photo: Electronic Arts, Inc. Katy Perry ‘s already earned her advanced degree in Simlish, having recorded a version of in the fictional language of the long-running “Sims” game series. But in the upcoming “The Sims 3: Showtime,” she’s putting that degree to good use. “I loved being a part of the creative process — which outfits is my Sim going to have, what kind of hair color. Because when we were creating it together, I [had] pink hair, now I’m blue hair, but you have so many options,” she laughed. “And with this Sims, you can be a medley of different … career choices. Like a magician, a musician, a DJ, an acrobat and, like … I’m going to do all of them. I feel like I’m already multitasking in real life, but in my alternate reality, as a Sim, I would love to sing ‘Firework,’ twirling a baton of fire while levitating, doing the splits, and DJing. It might be a little much, but it would be highly entertaining.” It would, indeed. In the game, players guide their Sim on a voyage to fame, honing their craft (be it magic, tumbling, or DJing) in performances and paying their dues before eventually becoming superstars. And that’s part of the reason Perry agreed to sign on to the project — after all, she knows a thing or two about that voyage. “Some of the nuances and details are really hilarious, [and] it’s so layered. You could be playing the same game for years and still be discovering things, so it’s awesome to be a part of it,” she said. “I love that you don’t have any shortcuts with your journey. … It’s great, because you actually have to pay your dues in the game, and I think it kind of, in some ways, teaches whoever’s playing it a valuable life lesson that it’s all about hard work and nothing comes to you on a silver platter.” Of course, there are also some additional, Perry-specific perks too. “This game is very creative and very natural for me. I love that, for instance, you can change my Sim’s hair color two or three times a day if you want to, which is basically what I want to do,” she laughed. “I can’t, or I’d have to shave my head or my hair would just fall out. So it’s got so many different features.” Will you check out Perry in the new “Sims” game? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Katy Perry Related Artists Katy Perry
‘There’s nothing that the women are getting right at this point,’ former ‘Survivor’ player Rob Cesternino says of the dysfunctional Salani tribe. By Josh Wigler Chelsea Meissner in the second episode of “Survivor: One World” Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS It’s a battle of the sexes on “Survivor: One World,” but over at the women’s camp, the conflict is no longer divided along gender lines alone. On this week’s “Survivor,” the women of the Salani tribe lost both the new do-it-yourself reward challenge as well as the crucial immunity challenge, which required navigating a giant balance beam with multiple human obstacles in the way. Was it a complicated challenge, or simply one that wasn’t conducive to the “assets” that Salani brings to the table? The question is open to interpretation, but the result is not: The men of Manono dominated once again, leaving the women to vote out 51-year-old former Los Angeles police officer Nina Acosta, who is technically the first person voted out of the game following last week’s “Survivor” history-making medical evacuation . Is it too late for the dysfunctional Salani tribe to pull it together? Did the team make the right choice in voting out Nina, a stronger player on the outside of an alliance, over 22-year-old Kat Edorsson, a weaker competitor than Nina but potentially more loyal to the women of Salani? MTV News tackles these questions and more alongside longtime “Survivor” commentator and two-time player Rob Cesternino , regularly described as “the smartest player to never win the game.” MTV : Man, Salani just does not have it together, Rob. They’ve lost three challenges in a row. They’ve already lost a teammate to a medical evacuation. They just voted another one out. It’s a tribe divided into two alliances, but you can barely even say that, because the people in these alliances don’t even want to be in alliances with each other. It’s a mess of a situation. Is there anything that they are getting right? Rob Cesternino : There is nothing that the women are getting right at this point. This is not exactly a strong start. [ Laughs ] Things don’t look good for their tribe. But this is the game of “Survivor,” and things could always turn around on them. Things are always worse than they appear after losing basically two challenges and having one of their players get medically evacuated. They could always come back and win a bunch of challenges. Unlikely, but still very possible. MTV : Going into Tribal Council, [producers] did their best to make you think that Kat might get voted out, but you really had to figure it was Nina going home. There are arguments for getting rid of each of them. With Nina, she’s on the outside — she’s not part of the numbers of the tribe’s core alliance, where Kat is. But on paper, Nina may be more valuable to this tribe than Kat in both the challenge and life-experience departments. What do you think? Did Salani get it right? Was the right person sent home? Cesternino : Whether they got it right or they got it wrong, the history of “Survivor” is always that when an alliance is faced with voting out a stronger member of the tribe who is not in their alliance, or the weaker tribe mate who is in their alliance, I think 99 percent of the time they’ll vote out the stronger person who isn’t in the alliance. That’s just the way it goes. You want to keep the numbers on your side. They could have kept Nina and kept their numerical advantage, but Survivors always keep the loyal person. It never goes the other way. MTV : It’s also hard to judge based on one challenge. Kat did not do well in that challenge, but who knows how she’ll do tomorrow? Cesternino : And it’s not so much that Kat is weak. It’s more that Kat is dumb. [ Laughs ] Her intelligence may not be as much of a factor in future challenges. Strength-wise, she’s probably on par with Nina. But on a common-sense level, she’s flatlined. I don’t know what Kat was thinking [during the immunity challenge]. She compared herself to [“Survivor: Nicaragua” winner] Fabio before the game began, and she’s perfectly playing that game. She’s not a threat, she’s well liked, she’s fun around camp. … It’s the kind of thing where nobody will ever suspect her. They’ll keep her around. But who’s to say she won’t win in the end? You reach a point with “Survivor” that you’re so not a threat that you are a threat. She’s exactly that. MTV : While we’re talking about Kat, it seems like a good time to bring up the immunity challenge she helped to bungle. We had only seen one challenge this season prior to this week’s episode, but that challenge was so hardcore that a contestant broke their arm in multiple places and was forced out of the game early. This week’s challenge wasn’t easy either. The women’s tribe had an impossible time getting started, but even the men had some trouble. Cesternino : In these men-versus-women seasons, production likes to throw out balance beams as the great equalizer. Though in the case of the challenge this week, it didn’t play out that way. While the men were able to get across the balance beam and take their time, I think that because of the, ah, “surgical enhancements” of several of the female players, there were just some turns that were not physically possible. [ Laughs ] I don’t know if production really thought that through when they tested the challenge. I don’t think they had any testers wearing size-F sports bras. MTV : Let’s talk about the do-it-yourself reward challenge. It’s not the first DIY challenge we’ve seen on “Survivor,” but we already know that “One World” is going to feature a whole lot more of these. You know, I really enjoy the “One World” twist, and I like the men-versus-women angle, but the jury’s out for me on these DIY challenges. What did you think? Cesternino : I have a feeling that (host) Jeff Probst’s agent was recording these do-it-yourself challenges to plan for Jeff’s next contract negotiation. [ Laughs ] Honestly, I don’t know that the Survivors hosting their very own challenge is really working for me. I understand that Jeff might need a day off, but get a Jeff Probst understudy to host the challenge. I’m not saying Jeff can’t have a day off, but the challenge needs a host. Just some guy. Get Smiley off the street. Even if it’s a disembodied voice narrating the challenges! [ Laughs ] I was just very confused watching a challenge without someone yelling, “Women! Looking good!” or “Women! Having all sorts of problems!” [ Laughs ] I can’t image after one DIY challenge that anyone’s feeling too good about this, but let’s give “Survivor” the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they can tweak this going forward. MTV : The Colton Chronicles continue this week. Colton is a man without a country: He doesn’t feel comfortable with the guys at Manono, he feels comfortable with the women at Salani, but they don’t feel comfortable with him. Colton breaks down a bit in this episode, but by the end, he’s developed an alliance with others on his tribe by showing them his secret immunity idol. You were down on Colton last week , Rob, but how do you feel about him after this week? Cesternino : I think Colton is still a hot mess. [ Laughs ] I don’t know what he’s doing. He’s completely spinning out. All the men are pissed at him, all the women are pissed at him. The only thing he has going for him is that hidden immunity idol. I don’t normally agree with players showing the hidden idol to everybody, but it seemed to turn the tides for Colton a little bit. He’s got this misfit alliance that he’s put together. I like that he’s finally associating with some of the men — he’s plotting within his tribe. It’s a step in the right direction. That being said, at the challenge, when he was complaining about Leif… he doesn’t like Leif! That’s a core member of his misfits alliance! I don’t know about Colton. But maybe he’s hit rock bottom, and he’s going in the right direction now. A touch of the crybabyitis, though. Episode two tends to be the breakdown episode for people. MTV : Once again, like last week, let’s end by looking at who’s playing the game right. Who do you like out there after two episodes? Cesternino : We didn’t see much of the men this week outside of Colton. But the women’s alliance, even though Sabrina calls herself the winner, it seems like the tandem of Kimberly and Chelsea are calling the shots. I really like that dynamic: They aren’t the people who identify themselves as leaders of the tribe, but a powerful two-person alliance where you can trust the other person … that’s the best possible scenario to be in on “Survivor.” I think Kimberly and Chelsea have that. As long as they don’t get separated by some shuffling of the deck, I think that those two could go very far in this game. What did you think of “Survivor” this week? Tell us in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @roundhoward!
Move over, Google+. Nike has announced a new range of digitally-enabled footwear, Nike+, that uses interactive mobile apps to track and measure movement. The Nike+ Basketball shoes can now measure exactly how high, how hard and how quickly wearers play during each game … like a video game, but real life! Data from the shoe is transmitted to the user’s phone, which can then be compared against other players and used to talk massive smack on social media. Miami Heat star LeBron James, a pitchman for the product, explains the Nike+ system more in the ad below, released by Nike yesterday. Check it out: LeBron James Nike Plus Ad
Minutes ago came this terrible reminder from Moviefone: “Good news and bad news: awards season only lasts another five days — which means you’ve only got five more days to bask in the glow of Uggie the dog. He’s the dog you love to love; after all, despite Martin Scorsese’s campaigning, you don’t see Blackie from Hugo with a Facebook fan page numbering nearly 12,000 members .” Or with his own cookies! Anyway, this calls for a slideshow. Bring Kleenex. [ Moviefone ]
The Academy Awards are not a contest, the humble nominees might demur, taking the high road through the gory scrum that is awards season. But do you really think, say, Glenn Close wouldn’t cut a bitch for an Oscar? Alas, the odds are against her, literally; online books have her at as much as 100:1 odds to win her first statuette for Albert Nobbs . Take a peek at how the internet’s enterprising bookies have handicapped the 84th Academy Award nominees and adjust your bets accordingly. Oscar wagering is, of course, a natural byproduct of Hollywood’s biggest night. After all, for some folks the Academy Awards are the sporting event of the season, and this Sunday is moviedom’s Super Bowl – the night our nation gathers around the tube to watch favored players, decked out in uniforms of black tie and couture, nodding gamely at the competition along the red carpet while hoping to be the one holding the hardware aloft in triumph at the end of the night. So whether or not you play along at home with your own Oscar pool or go in for the big bets, these odds should give you an extra leg up on predicting this weekend’s winners. This year the odds made by the experts line up for the most part with the prognostications of the awards watchers who contribute to the Gold Derby Oscar handicap (including Movieline’s S.T. VanAirsdale, whose latest Oscar Index can be found here ). That said, who among us isn’t rooting for at least one or two upsets on the big night? The Artist has had a lock on Best Picture for months, and odds reflect the near-certainty that it’ll take home top honors. Running a distant second, according to the bookmakers and the pundits, is The Descendants , while Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is the near-unanimous choice among betmakers and pundits for last place. Best Picture (Best odds selected from multiple sites via Oddschecker.com.) 1/9 The Artist 28-1 The Descendants 25-1 The Help 25-1 Hugo 50-1 War Horse 100-1 Midnight in Paris 100-1 Moneyball 100-1 Tree of Life 100-1 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Likewise, put money on The Artist ’s Michel Hazanavicius to win Best Director (1/6 at Bodog.com) and you won’t get much on a win, but bet on Terrence Malick (66-1 at Ladbrokes) and the dark horse could pay-off handsomely. A little more excitement is to be had in the Best Actor category, where favorite Jean Dujardin is fending off George Clooney in a close-ish race. And over in Best Actress, the ladies are duking it out in the more exciting category of the season, where Viola Davis reigns over Meryl Streep but a winning wager on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ’s super, super dark horse Rooney Mara could be huge (303-1 at Betfair). Meanwhile, the pundits and the betting experts differ the most in Best Animated Feature, where the clear favorite is Rango ; Oscar watchers betting with their hearts and minds (and knowledge of Academy voting habits) peg Puss in Boots and A Cat in Paris as the likeliest winners behind Rango , but betmakers put the odds on Chico & Rita in the case of an upset. Want less predictability in your Oscar betting game? You can also bet on which designer will be worn by the Best Actress winner (odds in favor of Stella McCartney, Valentino, and Yves Saint Laurent). For a full look at the odds on the Oscars in multiple categories, head to Oddschecker . [ Oddschecker , Gold Derby ]
SMH. We feel sorry for her mother. Apparently Floyd Mayweather hit a nerve for songwriter Jenny Hyun last week when he claimed the publicity surrounding Jeremy Lin was all about race… The singer went H.A.M. on her Twitter, going in on Floyd, Whitney and black people across the globe basically calling the black race “a gangrene” that needed to be cut out completely. Here’s the first part: Yeah someone’s in need of a good a$$ whoopin… Hit the flip for the second part!
MTV News chats with ‘Survivor’ expert and former player Rob Cesternino about the controversial ‘One World’ season premiere. By Josh Wigler Kourtney Moon on “Survivor: One World” Photo: CBS The “Survivor: One World” season premiere presented longtime fans of the veteran reality series with a lot of firsts. In a brand new twist, all 18 competitors are living on the same beach from the very beginning, divided into two tribes based on gender. But that’s not the only first: For the first time in “Survivor” history, the first contestant to leave the game was not voted out, but left due to a medical emergency. Kourtney Moon left the island after a nasty wrist-break in the opening immunity challenge — a challenge that the men subsequently won by default, by the way, after they were given the choice to claim victory early or continue competing against their Kourtney-less rivals. Kourtney’s medical evacuation and the short-lived immunity challenge weren’t the only sources of drama. From the first minute, the male and female tribes — Manono and Salani, respectively — made their rivalry clear through theft, fire and harsh negotiations. There is no love lost on the “One World” beach, even if there’s plenty to love for the viewers at home. For more on the “One World” premiere, MTV News joined up with well-known “Survivor” commentator and two-time contestant Rob Cesternino to cover all the blow-outs and break-ups that went down in the new season’s first hour. MTV : Rob, this first episode was a doozy. You had thievery. You had cross-tribal bargaining. Two chickens were caught. An immunity idol was found and given away. An immunity challenge was interrupted for an emergency and called early when the guys were given the chance to proceed or suspend the game in their favor. Another “Survivor” first: a medical evacuation as the very first boot. Can you remember another season premiere where so much stuff happened? Rob Cesternino : It was such a great first two-thirds of an episode. [ Laughs ] It reminded me a bit of “Super 8.” It was such a good start, but two-thirds of the way through, it took a turn for the worse. It was a lousy last 15 minutes of the episode. Very anticlimactic to have the first Tribal Council end with Kourtney leaving over a broken arm. This is the earliest ever med evac from the game, but not exactly the kind of history you want to make. MTV : Maybe I’m not up to snuff on my “Survivor” rulebook, but it seems like a bit of a cheat — if Salani technically lost that challenge, shouldn’t they have had to vote someone out, regardless of Kourtney’s injury? Cesternino : It’s a good question. They’ve definitely done it where a team has lost somebody due to an emergency [and has still had to vote someone out]. But I think they felt that it would have been too much of a disadvantage for the women to be down two people already on the third day. They wanted to play out this men versus women twist. I see where they could have made them vote somebody out, but this was a little bit of a different situation. I don’t think they would want to cripple their team so badly that they’d never be able to come back. MTV : Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how the “One World” twist has played out so far. I think you get a better sense of who these people are when you can watch them engage the enemy so directly so early on. Honestly, I don’t know why they wouldn’t want to utilize this twist every season from here on out. But what do you think: Are you digging the two tribes, one beach setup? Cesternino : I love the way that everything played out. Men versus women helps it in a lot of ways, too. Everyone has a rooting interest from the start. When it’s green team versus red team, you’re not as invested from the beginning as you are with men versus women, even if you’re a man rooting for the women. Everyone picks a side early on in this situation. Also, since it’s men versus women, you know right away which side everybody is on when there are 18 people living on the same beach. I really loved all of the built-in tension that came along with those guys living on the same beach. MTV : So far, I don’t think your high school alliance theory is holding up. It’s very split down the middle between men versus women right now. I don’t see how they’re going to overcome the gender divide at this point. Cesternino : See, that’s not how I saw it. I feel like the high school alliance is playing out that way. All the young, good-looking women made their alliance, the young, good-looking men made their alliance. The only thing missing is the two alliances saying, “Hey, we have the majority if we put our two alliances together. Let’s work together.” Instead, you have a situation where the young women are trying to prop up the insurgents to the hot guy alliance. It’s an interesting political thing that’s playing out. Will the opposition to the majority alliance almost be a de facto part of the other team’s majority alliance? Or could the two majorities decide they need to work together? That would be in both sides’ best interest. Instead, Sabrina finds an immunity idol and gives it to Colton. MTV : Maybe not her best move? Cesternino : Well, considering the previews for next week she says that “Colton is a virus,” I’m guessing that no, this isn’t a favorable move. [ Laughs ] I have a lot to say about Colton. MTV : We’ll get to him in a few. But let’s talk about some of the episode’s other controversial moments. These teams are playing dirty against each other pretty much right away. Mike steals supplies from the girls’ side, the women sneak into the men’s camp in the middle of the night to steal their fire … everyone’s playing so dirty! Cesternino : Everybody on this episode was so horrible to each other. [ Laughs ] Everything is so high-intensity from the get-go, but I guarantee that the person who wins this season is not going to be someone who came out so aggressively to the other team from the start. It’s not a smart way to play “Survivor.” At the end of the day, they’ll be on the jury. If you’re an ass to everybody, they won’t vote for you in the end. Nobody wants to play nice, but you can’t win “Survivor” by not playing nice. Well, you can win “Survivor” by not playing nice, but a lot of other things have to go right — or you have to be from Boston . MTV : The other big controversy was the immunity challenge. Manono was given the choice to call the challenge early and walk away with a win, or finish the challenge out and give the other tribe a shot. They chose to walk away with the win. Everyone from [host Jeff] Probst to the women was shocked. Maybe it wasn’t great television, but it may have been a great move. What would you have done in that situation? Did the men make the right call? Cesternino : Absolutely, they made the right decision. That would’ve been totally idiotic to give up a win in the first challenge in the spirit of sportsmanship. Could you imagine — other than some intramural sports, what other scenario would a team give up a sure win to let the other team have a shot? [ Laughs ] You’re playing a game for a million dollars. People have to remember that this is “Survivor.” Remember that they’re playing for a million dollars. There was nothing mean about it. They got the win. They fought for their lives that day, and they’ll see you tomorrow. MTV : I agree — and if they’d kept going, they probably would have lost. The “Survivor” gods do not look kindly upon stupidity. Cesternino : No. [ Laughs ] You don’t give a win back. MTV : Let’s wrap up by looking at the players a bit. Right away, there are so many contestants that jump out and grab you, at least personality-wise if not in terms of winning the game. Who jumped out at you? Cesternino : Colton. I’m not liking how he played the game. He’s the only gay man on his tribe of all men, but I felt he really gave up from the moment they said this was going to be men versus women. No one on the men’s team told him, “Hey, you’re not going to fit in with us because you’re gay.” He decided that the men aren’t going to like him, and that was it. Then you see him with the women’s team, going up to every woman on the team and telling them he loves them and giving them a hug. At no point, at least they don’t show it, do you see him going up to the men like that. His game is made up on day one. How does he know nobody on the men’s team is going to accept him? He’s already jumping ship to the women’s team for no reason. He’s proving himself to be very untrustworthy. That’s fine if he gets along better with the women, but he’s showing no loyalty to his tribe, and I think that’s going to play out much more over the next 36 days of this game. MTV : Assuming he makes it that far… Cesternino : Assuming he makes it that far. I don’t think he’s come out and played a good long-term game that can be won, at least on the first episode. MTV : On the flip side, who looks good? Who looks ready to do this? Cesternino : I think the people who looked good are the people who shut their mouths. [ Laughs ] Everybody that didn’t come out with vitriol towards the other tribe. You need to be a diplomat in this game. The people I liked were the people who didn’t piss anybody off after only three days of being on “Survivor.” Get more of Rob’s thoughts on “Survivor” at his website . What did you think of the “Survivor” premiere? Tell us in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @roundhoward !
The most nominated artist of the night, West wins Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Collaboration. By Gil Kaufman Kanye West Photo: Don Arnold/ WireImage It didn’t look like Kanye West, the most nominated man at Sunday (February 12) night’s Grammys , was going to make an appearance at the show, but even before the curtain came up, he was already a big winner. West came into the night with a leading seven nominations, and though he was controversially shut out of the Album of the Year race, he pulled off a near clean sweep in hip-hop categories handed out before the show. ‘Ye scored a win in the Best Rap Album race, taking the award for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, beating out his collabo with Jay-Z on Watch the Throne, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. “Everybody’s working hard and he’s definitely another big artist in the game,” Tyga told MTV News’ Sway on the Grammy red carpet when news broke about the West wins. With 17 nominations for the YMCMB crew, label boss Baby didn’t have much to add about West’s win, though Weezy had plenty to say in a pre-Grammy freestyle in which he took shots at West and Jigga . West also scooped up Best Rap Song for “All of the Lights” and Best Rap Song Collaboration for that song’s hook-up with Rihanna, Fergie and Kid Cudi. In that category he beat out some other major players, including Beyonc
Bachata star tells MTV News his first solo tour will present ‘nearly every single song on my new album, Formula, Vol. 1 .’ By Christina Garibaldi Romeo Santos Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images For over 15 years, Romeo Santos was the lead singer of the popular bachata group, Aventura . They performed across the globe, won 21 Billboard Latin Music Awards and released six studio albums — but now, Santos is stepping out on his own. The Bronx, New York, singer is returning to his hometown to play three sold-out shows at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden, a venue he sold out numerous times with his former band. “I love performing in New York,” Santos recently told MTV News. “Just something about the energy that the crowd gives you, you give it back, a lot of interaction. I’m looking forward to it.” Yet, this time, it will be a different experience for Santos, since he will be performing on his own. This past November, Santos released his debut solo album, Formula, Vol. 1 , which mixes his famous bachata style with R&B. On Friday (February 10), Santos will kick off his tour at MSG, performing for the first time in over a year. So, what can this sold-out crowd expect? “A lot of energy,” Santos said. “I don’t like to plans things a lot. It’s gonna be a show with a little bit of everything. You’re gonna hear some of my Aventura classics, nearly every single song on my new album, Formula, Vol. 1 , and what I do is I go onstage and I just ride it out. I don’t like planning what am I gonna say to the crowd. Sometimes the show takes a whole different twist.” Santos, who said he’s more anxious than nervous to take the stage without his Aventura bandmates, will be on the road until the end of March, and is humbled by the positive response he’s received from his fans. “I’m really, really grateful. I don’t take anything for granted,” Santos said. “I’ve been working very, very hard. I was very focused on this last production. I wanted it to represent a lot and not abandon my genre, my roots. ” Santos, who teamed up with Usher and Lil Wayne on his debut album, is not ruling out the possibility that these two might join him onstage during his tour. “It’s possible,” he said. “What I normally do is keep it a surprise, but it’s a possibility.” Are you excited to see Romeo Santos in concert? Tell us in the comments. Related Artists Romeo Santos
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