DWill gets 57, Rondo messes around for a triple-double and DRose leads the Bulls to a W. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : SLAM Online Discovery Date : 05/03/2012 04:34 Number of articles : 2
After 11 season, this faithful viewer might be trading ‘Idol’ in for new models ‘The X Factor’ and ‘The Voice.’ By Gil Kaufman Ryan Seacrest with the top 24 of “American Idol” Photo: Fox I’m a loyalist at heart. Back in the day, I watched “The X Files,” the original “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “The O.C.” until the bitter end, convincing myself that my patience would be rewarded well after the shark had jumped. But after slogging through another interminable pair of “American Idol” cut-down episodes Wednesday and Thursday , I think I’m finally throwing in the towel. I’ve been there since episode one with “Idol,” reveling in the joy of Kelly Clarkson’s win, cheering Ruben Studdard to his well-deserved crown and scratching my head when clearly inferior champs like Taylor Hicks, Lee DeWyze and Kris Allen took the top prize. Just a week before the season 11 live shows start, though, “Idol” has lost me, perhaps for good. The bottom line is that the show just feels like it’s on auto-pilot, from the bored looks on the faces of celebrity judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez to the predictable plotlines and not-so-clever editing tricks intended to keep our interest up through the early rounds. It was bad enough a few weeks ago when an entire episode of the group rounds went by without any discernible footage of, you know, singing. The biggest plot point that week was the exploitation of a sick teenage girl passing out and falling off the stage, which was used as a cruel cliffhanger. On Wednesday night, we got yet another rehash of the previous audition rounds along with mostly truncated looks at the singer’s final Las Vegas performances (most of which were bland, if not downright boring) before they had to make the long walk to the judgment chairs. Thursday night was more of the same. Sole original judge Randy Jackson seemed to run out of creative ways to torture the painfully eager singers with purposely vague platitudes about how hard it is to cut them at this point, purposely mangling his words to keep them on the edge of confusion. Watching this spectacle, I just asked myself, “Do I even care if Heejun Han or Reed Grimm make it?” “Do I need to see Jermaine Jones cry again?” “Who is Chase Likens and why haven’t I even seen him up until now?” In my long experience with “Idol” and writing about music, none of them seem like winner material, in the same way that such paint-by-numbers soul mamas like Jen Hirsch, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Shannon Magrane and stage mom’d Brielle Von Hugel fail to excite. And making Adam Brock — a weepy white dad who brags about singing like a black woman while using his dead grandfather’s handkerchief as a pity prop at every turn — a cliffhanger for Thursday night’s episode just seems pointless. This guy has no chance to win, and if he does, well, “Idol” has way bigger problems. In fact, the only contestant in the mix at this point who seems even halfway relevant in today’s music biz is skunk-mohawked former castoff Colton Dixon, but he hasn’t gotten nearly as much love as Phil Phillips, whose twitchy Dave Matthews impersonation has already grown unbearably irritating. Even 15-year-old Eben Franckewitz seems promising, but I can already tell his “story line” will be that despite lots of experience on the musical-theater stage, the judges are going to hammer him for his nerves. Before Wednesday night’s episode aired, I was already firmly in line with Entertainment Weekly columnist Mark Harris, who wrote an opinion piece in the February 24 issue about how he was switching sides. “The opening weeks of ‘Idol’ traffic in humiliation and tears — the neediness of the young, desperate to be extracted from the mob; the familiar weariness of the judges; the talentless clowns pimped as sneerworthy sideshows,” he wrote. “But the opening weeks of ‘The Voice’ are about hope and discovery.” In essence, he said, we’re at a tipping point where NBC’s upstart show is winning the race not by copying the template of “Idol,” but by purposely running in the other direction. The “Voice” judges are relevant musicians of today from varying genres with a sharp, entertaining rapport that crackles and brings a fresh energy to the show. That show starts from day one with good to great singers from varying backgrounds, singing mostly contemporary chart hits, who are eager to get help from those who are still charting today. Meanwhile, the “Idol” judges are riding the fumes of their fading careers as they continue to struggle to apply their hard-earned lessons in the music biz to mostly teenage strivers who can’t relate to their mother or father’s favorite singers. The leading contestants so far this year on “Idol” fall into two or three predictable camps: overreaching, throwback R&B belters, quirky imitators of no-longer-relatable stars or ultra-twangy country gals. Where are the edgy R&B divas like Rihanna? The cute boy singers like Justin Bieber? The hip-hop-influenced Drake wannabes? Hell, where are the Carrie Underwoods who can deftly mix pop and country? “The X Factor” and “The Voice” eagerly embrace singers of every color, style and persuasion. So are you telling me that there was not one woman of color out of the tens of thousands who auditioned worthy of the semifinal round? Have we become a nation of (almost exclusively) blond, female Mariah/Christina copycats? Just look at the talent that has already been signed in the wake of the first “Factor” season : a legitimately powerful soul diva in winner Melanie Amaro , a fascinating redemption story in rapper/crooner Chris Rene, contemporary R&B singer Marcus Canty, white blues man Josh Krajcik, high school cutie Rachel Crow and buzzed-about teen rapper Astro , any one of whom could legitimately blow up. Meanwhile, the first 24 semifinalists put through by “Idol” this week are almost without exception as blandly interchangeable (and old-fashioned) as Lopez’s spangly tops. And the “surprise” extra boy to be named later is one of the most tired tropes in the “Idol” dream factory bag of tricks. Sure, it’s very early in the process and nobody knows what could happen. But if you recall, even in the audition stage it was already clear that eventual season-eight runner-up Adam Lambert was destined to be one of the most exciting, unusual performers in the show’s history. It’s not like season-one “Voice” winner Javier Colon has set the world on fire, but at least that show focuses on mentoring and nurturing talent of any age, shape and style, rather than serving up cookie-cutter slot fillers. The sense of hope, discovery and optimism that Harris said permeates “The Voice” is wholly lacking on “Idol,” which feels more and more like a dated reality competition and less like a singing showcase. Tear-jerking backstories aside, it’s hard to see how any of these singers is going to win America over, not to mention make a case for idolatry or even above-average chart success. It’s been a fun ride, “Idol,” but unless you can prove to me that you can read the writing on the wall, I’m afraid my TiVo is going to be reprogrammed to NBC from now on. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Top 24 And Wildcard Contestants
It’s not often I get pictures of pornstars walking around with their clothes on, I don’t really understand the point, but I like this little Jesse Jane hottie so I decided to make an exception this one time. I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do with this crap, why would anyone want to see a fully dressed pornstar? I guess I can kinda see through that top of hers, but not good enough. Back to that thing you do with the nakedness. Please.
You know that when two of the most respected pundits in all of Oscardom argue (within days of each other!) for curtailing both the epic Academy Awards season race and the ceremony in which it culminates, patience for all this crap is wearing thin. With that in mind — and also considering that the “race” for most of these categories ended weeks or months ago — who’s up for an Oscar Index lightning round? (The entire staff at Movieline’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics raises its hands.) OK, then — to the Index! The Final 9: 1. The Artist 2. The Help 3. The Descendants 4. Hugo 5. Moneyball 6. The Tree of Life 7. Midnight in Paris 8. The Daldry 9. War Horse Though we cannot rule out any of these underdogs’ mounting a behind-the-scenes charm blitz before Academy polls close next Tuesday, or the implications of the reminder that no movie about movies has ever won Best Picture , The Artist ‘s triumph at last weekend’s BAFTA Awards only tightened its seeming lock on the Best Picture Oscar. Still, let’s hear it for The Descendants , blazing the media afterburners for a desperately needed uptick. ( The Help , by comparison, got a forlorn-looking electronic billboard .) Also, don’t look now, but somebody actually dared to write thoughtfully about The Daldry . Not a minute too soon! Anyway, yes, Steve Pond , we’re all with you: Let’s just end this farce already. The Final 5: 1. Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 2. Alexander Payne, The Descendants 3. Martin Scorsese, Hugo 4. Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life 5. Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris While the BAFTAs nudged Hazanavicius ever closer to Oscar glory and Sasha Stone contemplated the beneficiaries of a potential split vote — which is really the most that the pundits and campaigners engineering an anti- Artist backlash can hope for at this point — only Allen received a truly needle-moving endorsement this week. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Nick Jonas : “[F]or directing, I chose Midnight in Paris because Woody Allen is my favorite. He’s awesome.[… T]here would be a Woody Allen film on the tour bus every now and again. There’s always a Woody Allen movie on.” Now you know. The Final 5: 1. [tie] Viola Davis, The Help 1. [tie] Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady 3. Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn 4. Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo 5. Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs “I hope we can all agree that when the Oscar conversation involves actresses as massively gifted as Meryl and Viola we all win,” wrote Nathaniel Rogers of the juiciest race going. “If only we could have a tie!” Haha, fine for now, but NO . Don’t give the Academy any ideas; it’ll totally screw up my Oscar-party ballot. That said, it’s quite a conversation, with the BAFTAs and the Berlinale’s gala tribute tilting momentum back Streep’s way. But if we’re to believe that the continued dissemination and discussion of these events among awards observers and the media cognoscenti are really the factors that persuade Oscar voters (and I guess we are to believe that, rightly or not — otherwise, what are we doing here?), then wouldn’t it follow that the continued dissemination of Davis’s boundless class, intellect and talent on the campaign trail would either match or supersede Streep’s own carefully cultivated hype? Take this incredible appearance that Davis and Help co-star Octavia Spencer recently made on Tavis Smiley’s show, an interview that’s been covered here , there and everywhere [transcript via The Carpetbagger ]: “I want you to win,” Mr. Smiley said, “but I’m ambivalent about what you’re winning for.” Ms. Davis was direct. “That very mind-set that you have and that a lot of African-Americans have is absolutely destroying the black artist,” she said. “The black artist cannot live in a revisionist place,” she added. “The black artist can only tell the truth about humanity, and humanity is messy. People are messy. Caucasian actors know that. We as African-American artists are more concerned with image and message and not execution,” she said, “which is why every time you see your images they’ve been watered down to the point where they are not realistic at all.” “My whole thing is, do I always have be noble?” she continued. “As an artist, you’ve got to see the mess.” The Academy has never really given any indication of having taste that would or could be moved by a case like that. But if its members in the actors branch in particular do have that taste, and they can hear her voice above the noise, then Davis may yet be the actress to beat. For now, meanwhile, it’s just too close to call. In other brief news, Mara got another profile-boosting close-up while Close — who’s facing such delightful headlines as ” Glenn Close: Next Queen of Oscar losers? may as well ask to just be awoken when it’s Feb. 27. Tough world. The Leading 5: 1. Jean Dujardin, The Artist 2. George Clooney, The Descendants 3. Brad Pitt, Moneyball 4. Demi
It’s really only a matter of time before Kendall and Kylie Jenner are on the red carpets of Las Vegas and/or headlining their own reality show. For now, though, the 14-year old and 16-year old are simply following in their sisters’ modeling footsteps, the latest example being a shoot with celebrity photographer Nick Saglimbeni. A rather grown up, chic shoot at that: Kylie Tweeted the photo above last night, as the siblings are going all glam in trendy black dresses and some serious hairdos. Might modeling take the place of college for the twosome? It sounds that way, based on a recent quote from father Bruce Jenner: “If they want to go to college, certainly, I think it’s a good idea. But I’m not the advocate of, ‘You’ve got to go to college!’ I think by the time they graduate from high school, they will probably be in a position to go right to working.” Let’s just hope neither is pitching the same product as their mother any time soon.
Emilio also enlists J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and V 12 the Hitman for his upcoming mixtape Breaking Point. By Rob Markman Emilio Rojas Photo: MTV News Don’t Sleep: Necessary Notables Mixtape: Breaking Point Real Spit: Emilio Rojas puts a lot into his lyrics. It’s that attention to detail that got him noticed by XXL in December, when the popular rap magazine launched a 50-artist poll for their upcoming 2012 Freshman cover. Though he’s a rap newcomer, the Rochester, New York, native has been grinding for years. On Thursday, Emilio will drop his fourth mixtape, Breaking Point, for free online with his mentor DJ Green Lantern. “It’s a little bit of a different sound. Less sample-based sound, a little more synthy, mid-tempo,” Emilio told Mixtape Daily of Breaking Point ‘s production. With beats from the Grammy-winning trio J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and V 12 the Hitman, Breaking Point is shaping up to be the perfect follow-up to Rojas’ 2010 tape, Life Without Shame . While his last effort boasted appearances from Big K.R.I.T., Killer Mike, Yelawolf and Mickey Factz, Emilio chose to make BP a solo affair. “I feel like the Life Without Shame project had a lot of rap features on it and I kinda just wanted to rap on my own,” he said. Rojas did include R&B features for his hooks, but no other rapper was invited to take part in the project. The title track finds the nimble-tongued lyricist pouring his heart out with multilayered bars. When talking about his parents, he gets deep. “My daddy learned she was pregnant and he was so angered/ He tried to end it, I’m no stranger to coat hangers/ He getting livid, sittin’ in on the clinic visits… he takes it out on my mama cause, he was into hittin’/ And that’s probably the reason my sister is into women,” Emilio painfully rhymes. Not all of Breaking Point is so heavy however. On “I Got it,” Rojas explores his wild and ignorant side. “It’s gonna catch some people off guard, but it’s fun,” he teases. On “Pimpin’,” ER once again teams with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. At first Emilio bucked the production trio’s direction. He wanted to perform the song’s hook himself, but the League’s Rook suggested using a seasoned vocalist to sing the chorus. “Rook made me change the hook on [Pimpin’], which I wasn’t happy about,” he said, “but when the hook came in, it was good. Rook made the right call on that.” And Emilio Rojas made the right call with Breaking Point. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists Emilio Rojas
I really don’t know what all the rage about Emma Stone is….She doesn’t show her tits….she doesn’t show her ass….to the point that I don’t even know if she’s got an ass or tits…she’s cute at best…but for some reason she’s a fucking it-girl. I think the entertainment industry has wronged us….or at least Emma Stone’s team of handlers and publicists have…cuz fame like this should come via scandal and not from just being a fucking redhead….Either way, she’s at an event, almost as slutty as the time she was at an event SHOWING LEG ….she needs to step it up fast.
A few months ago, while on the coattails of summer’s craziness, I lived through a strange experience of friendship that left me to the tendency of some friends to take, take, take… and take. Call them what you may, I like to think of these types of relationships as “convenience friendships.” This particular story involves a man – a player – that came between a sister and me. It all began when a series of events led me to introduce two single friends, each from a separate corner of the lonely-hearts club. She, a dynamic sister with a bright future glazing in her horizon, sociable, a people-pleaser, ever-so insecure, met him, an attractive, slightly pretentious man, whose confidence, self-righteousness and charm could blow anyone’s pants off. I went along with the venture, trying my best to facilitate what was an unlikely combination. She had returned from abroad at the beginning of the year and was detached from the life she left behind. But I, like others in our friendship group, was excited to hear about her stories, supposing that her brilliant mind was ticking over with exciting plans and was full of stories about new people and far-away lands. On the other side of the equation, he and I had begun seeing each other quite often on the weekends, having a crazy time between us and with other frivolous friends. He spoke about his desire to calm down a little, to find someone with the prospect of longevity. So, when circumstances led them to meet, there was clear and open interest on both sides. As the weeks went by I stood on the sidelines answering the questions of one about the other and tried my best to bridge some of the obvious differences between them. But it appeared that nothing was going to work between them. He had told me that he had been sleeping around, and even took another sister home on an evening in which she had called me to chase information about where he was. This came in his relationship disclaimer, that so as long as there was no future between them, and the attempts to make something work had reached an expiry date, he was free to do as he wished and with whomever he pleased. She on the other hand was reappearing in my life quite sporadically to gain information about what he was doing, where he was and what I knew about him. It was strange because, aside from staying at my place when she first returned from abroad, I would only hear from her when she wanted something. It reached the point where I gathered that even she was aware of this, telling me one day “Let’s catch up soon, girl. I feel like I haven’t seen you at all.” I was not too concerned at this point; I was busy. But, it was all to boil over after one wild evening when he and I shared a kiss at a club. Having been told that nothing was going on between them, I fell to his charms and was one of two women to be swooned that evening with his kiss. I realized that what I had done was foul when I turned to see him with that another sister. Indignant, I left the club. The next day I spoke with him to clear the air, only to discover that he and my friend, she, were seeing each other that evening for round two. At this point my anger about having been used as a go-between-girl between two unmatched people had reached its climax. After months of being there for both of them, I was eventually pushed to redundancy, the friendships began to end and my interactions with both faded. I also can’t overlook the notion that I was slightly jealous. Two friends, who I had known for 2 years on separate grounds, had run off together and were leaving me behind. So one evening, I directed a comment to him, amongst friends, that questioned the worth of his friendship. Given how proactive he was in broadcasting to the world a sense of moral superiority and excellence in friendship, he took my criticism poorly and defensively. I considered him a dirty rat, so I didn’t care about how he reacted. But then, the following day, I received a phone call from her questioning me about the evening in which he and I had kissed. He had obviously told her to spite me and I imagined this was accompanied with the usual dialogue of “she must love me,” which he regularly uses to justify burnt bridges with women (those he burns with men are because they are jealous of his style and charm.) Cornered, I asked to meet with her the next day during my lunch break. She accepted but brought along a mutual friend so to avoid any conversation about what had happened. This was a clear indication she was not interested in hearing what I knew. I told her anyway. A week later, having boiled over in self-reflection, I sent her an SMS with a stern warning her to watch her mouth with other people. She had fragrantly spread the word amongst mutual friends that I was the saboteur between them as they went about sewing the seeds of their rock-sold connection. I doubted, at this point, that she believed me when I told her about him sleeping around. This sickened me in my self-righteousness because I knew they were having unprotected sex, for which he would take no responsibility. A typical player – selfish and irresponsible. The entire scenario left me feeling foolish and ashamed. Aside from considering him a friend of mine – an arrogant man with little no consideration of other people’s dignity – I had also fallen victim to subtle ways of a sister’s convenience friendship. In all of this, I did things I was not at all proud of. I was very wrong to have kissed him without appreciating fully that she still may have had feelings for him by virtue of not knowing he was sleeping around and meeting new women. Her interaction with me was so sporadic, and always so focused on her needs with him, that I was never given the opportunity to know that she was still pursuing him at that point. But, as they began seeing each other again, with talk of them moving in together, a common enemy for them both has been the best method to cover up their obvious differences. Ultimately, my former sister got what she wanted – to fill a void in her life with a charming man. My services to her have dried up and so too has the friendship. I scratch my head occasionally and wonder whether or not I should still care about her. But then I realize that it was a lesson learned for me and that so too will it be a lesson for her when she finally gets burned. And that is how one friendship of convenience reached its inevitable end. “I Love My Husband, But I Want His Friend & I’m Thinking Of Leaving With This Guy” Is It Possible To Re-Do Romance?
We all saw it coming. “Basketball Wives” stars Jennifer Williams and Evelyn Lozada are no longer friends. The first signs of the BFF split happened on camera when Jen badmouthed Evelyn’s fiance Ochocinco during a radio interview. Many months – and several subliminal tweets – later, Jen has confirmed our suspicions. She told radio host TT Torrez : On her relationship with Evelyn Lozada I don’t think it;s any surprise that we don’t speak. If you follow me on Twitter, I don’t do subliminal tweets. I don’t throw jabs at my friends. I just kind of feel like even if we’re not speaking or whatever the case is, if you have my phone number, just text me or whatever. I don’t feel the need to put stuff on Twitter. I kind of use Twitter for whats it’s supposed to be for like networking, but it is what it is. Yeah, she threw a couple of jabs at me on Twitter and I’m not entertaining it because I don’t feel like that’s the arena to do so. I don’t have a problem with her. She has one with me. I definitely think there’s a bigger issue, but you guys will have to tune into Season 4 to figure it out. On whether she sees herself being friends with Evelyn ever again Anything is possible, to be honest with you. The whole reason why we’re not speaking, I think is really trivial. And I feel like there’s a bigger issue, but honestly, I don’t have a problem with Evelyn, she has a problem with me and at this point I’m like, Listen, whatever your problem is, I can’t be bothered. I’m trying to do bigger and better things. I am at a point in my life where I’m getting rid of all the negative energy in my life, including my soon-to-be ex. So my thing is like, nobody is exempt at this point and if you bring some negative energy and drama in my life, I am good. Read more about their beef by clicking the links below: “Basketball Wives” Evelyn Lozada & Jennifer Williams Girlfight Caught On Tape Evelyn Lozada Throws Shade On Ex-BFF Jennifer Williams Evelyn Lozada & Jennifer Williams Fighting Again On Twitter?! Shaunie O’Neal Speaks On Evelyn & Jen’s Friendship
Breaking Sports Video
