Swedish House Mafia’s Ingrosso said he’s ‘so happy’ for his mentee and rising EDM star. By Akshay Bhansali Swedish House Mafia’s Sebastain Ingrosso Photo: MTV News When MTV News caught up with Swedish House Mafia ‘s Sebastian Ingrosso at Las Vegas’ XS Nightclub recently, the DJ/producer was beaming with pride. That’s because his mentee, Alesso, a young talent from Sweden , now stands as a formidable star on the rise. Having dropped a couple of healthy tracks and remixes in 2010, MTV News first previewed the young Alesso’s capabilities when SHM launched into his thunderous “Nillionaire” at their beachfront Masquerade Motel party over Miami Music Week last year. Since then, Ingrosso and the SHM camp have personally cultivated the young star into a hit-making wizard — seemingly cooking up undeniable hits with each release and remix. “Nillionaire,” “Dynamite,” “Raise Your Head,” and the popular DJ set staple “Calling” with Ingrosso remain Alesso’s original bombshells of 2011. His remix game is seemingly unparalleled. With his remixes of David Guetta’s “Titanium” and SHM’s “Save the World,” Alesso struck gold. But with his rework of Alex Kenji, Starkillers and Nadia Ali’s “Pressure,” he created one of the most far-reaching EDM anthems of the year. In 2012, his continued trajectory seems almost cemented: “Calling” will have a vocal version, and it looks like Alesso, Seb and SHM’s Steve Angello will have a hit on their hands with their “Eclipse (Why am I Doing This).” “I’m so proud of him, and what we’ve worked on,” Seb told MTV News. “The last couple of years have been just crazy. I told him just before the EDC show in Vegas [Electric Daisy Carnival last year], ‘I’m going to change your life tonight. Just so you know that.’ And he was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And I said, ‘Watch and see.’ ” “And after that, it’s just been mayhem,” Seb continued. “He’s been doing so much great music and so many big shows. I’m just so happy for him. I’m like a proud father, you know. I’m just so happy for him.” It seems like fans of Alesso will have plenty of new music to look forward to, and soon. Alesso tweeted Friday (February 3), “I have so many new tracks coming out 2012! So f—ing excited to play them this year!!! Hope you guys are ready!!” What are you hoping to see from Alesso this year? Leave your comment below! Related Artists Swedish House Mafia
Judges Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green kick off second episode with a Prince medley. By John Mitchell Cee Lo Green on “The Voice” Photo: NBC The blind auditions continued on Monday night’s (February 6) two-hour episode of “The Voice,” with each judge picking up two more contestants to fill out the 12-person teams they’ll take to the battle phase later in the season. The episode opened with a flashy medley of Prince hits “1999,” “Little Red Corvette” and “Kiss” performed by judges Christina Aguilera , Cee Lo Green , Adam Levine and Blake Shelton , before the crew got right to business with the auditions. Team Christina Aguilera picked up two acts, including the evening’s first performers: platonic duo the Line. The pair’s rendition of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” got all four judges’ attention, but despite much protest from Shelton, they picked Aguilera. Shelton later told the camera he thought they were “fooled by flash and boobs.” She also scored an interesting choice in chanteuse Lindsay Pavao, who got Shelton and Cee Lo to swivel their chairs too. In one of the more unique performances of the night, Pavao transformed a Trey Songz tune into a ballad that Green compared to Fiona Apple. It was that uniqueness that won Christina over, and Pavao chose to join the “Beautiful” singer’s team. Team Adam After being denied by two different singers, the Maroon 5 frontman picked up his first team member of the night in 50-year-old Kim Yarbrough — who revealed during an interview segment that one of her many past odd jobs was working security for the Dave Matthews Band. Her soulful rendition of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” had all the judges dancing in their seats, but Adam won her over after asking for her name. When she said “Kim,” he corrected, “No, your name is Chaka Khan, baby.” Which is probably what any aspiring diva wants to hear after an audition. Levine also added the night’s final contestant, 23-year-old Angel Taylor, to his team. The Los Angeles native grew up in an abusive household and turned to music to get through the tough times. Her performance of Adele’s “Someone Like You” packed an emotional punch. Team Cee Lo The night’s two most compelling stories came from Jamar Rogers and Angie Johnson, both of whom opted for team Cee Lo. Rogers is a 29-year-old former drug addict from New York who was also featured on “American Idol” during season eight alongside his best friend and eventual finalist Danny Gokey. During his addiction, he contracted HIV. Now that he is clean and sober, Rogers volunteers for food-delivery services for the disabled in the Bronx. He also idolizes Cee Lo, so it’s good that the “Forget You” Grammy winner turned his chair around for Rogers’ performance of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” Cee Lo also picked up Staff Sergeant Angie Johnson, who was discovered and pushed to audition for “The Voice” after her fellow soldiers uploaded a video to YouTube of Johnson singing Adele on a military base while deployed in the Middle East. The video eventually tallied over a million views, which gave Johnson the confidence to hit the stage with a gutsy rendition of Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker.” “I love a girl with guts and confidence,” Cee Lo told the singer. Team Blake Blake’s first choice of the night fit firmly in his country wheelhouse: North Dakota native Gwen Sebastian, a musician who agreed with her drummer husband to hold off on having kids so she could take a go at being a performer. After her performance of “Stay,” Shelton remarked, “You are a great country vocalist … and I’m a country guy. I’m your man.” A more surprising choice for the country superstar came late in the show, when he promised he’d do everything he could for Jermaine Paul, a backup singer who has toured the world with Alicia Keys. Keys even sent Paul a video message wishing him good luck. He made a surprising song choice in Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated,” which also earned props from Cee Lo, who told Paul he could “hear the swag” in his voice. And even though it looked like Paul was favoring Cee Lo, he opted to move out of his R&B comfort zone and into Shelton’s country/rock genre. Four singers got the ax during the show when no judges swiveled around to offer a spot on their team. The judges went back and forth over country crooner Neil Middleton and pop singer Dez Durmon and ultimately regretted their decisions to pass on the singers. Durmon in particular had the judges all worked up, and when they turned around to see a handsome Yale football player standing in front of them, they practically slapped themselves across the head. “And it’s a good-looking guy,” Shelton sighed. Such is the point of “The Voice,” though. Durmon would have been a sure thing if the judges had gotten a look at him beforehand, but it’s all about the pipes — at least for now — on NBC’s reality hit, which kicked off its season to some pretty great post-Super Bowl ratings . Who was your favorite singer on the latest “Voice” episode? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Christina Aguilera Adam Levine Blake Shelton Cee Lo Green
Christina Aguilera And Adam Levine Spar As First Round Of “The Voice” Blind Auditions Gets Underway By John Mitchell Christina Aguilera on “The Voice” Photo: NBC “The Voice” returned to NBC for its second season immediately following Super Bowl XLVI and got right to business, kicking off the first round of blind auditions with coaches Adam Levine , Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton each picking up one team member and Christina Aguilera scoring two. Seven hopefuls stepped in front of the judges’ revolving chairs, each hoping at least one would turn and ask them be on their team. Two contestants got all four judges’ approval, but one, 24-year old Daniel Rosa from Riverside California, didn’t get a single judge to turn their chair and offer a spot and was sent home packing. The Players: Rae Lynn A teenager raised on a Texas farm, Rae Lynn entered the competition with one thing in mind: to win over judge Blake Shelton, who is married to country singer Miranda Lambert, a big hero of Rae Lynn’s. She decided to sing Lamberts “Hell on Heels” despite being warned that last season Shelton didn’t respond well when a contestant auditioned with one of his wife’s songs. But confident in her choice, she did it anyway and wowed Shelton and Levigne. Ultimately, she chose to stick with her roots and keep things country. Team Blake Jesse Campbell One of many inspiring stories told during the show, we were introduced to 42-year-old homeless father Jesse Campbell and his family. He’d barely uttered a few notes before Aguilera, Green and Levigne swiveled around (Shelton followed soon after). “You followed through above and beyond my expectations,” she told Campbell, promising to fight for him along the hard road to the “Voice” finals. Trusting that Aguilera knows a thing or two about how to get the most out of strong vocalists, Jesse picked the “Not Myself Tonight” singer. Team Xtina Juliet Simms Simms has been living the rock-and-roll life since she was a teen and is now, at 25, looking to take that next step. Simms tackled a big song too — “Oh! Darling” by the Beatles — but brought a rough, throaty edge and rocker swagger to the track that immediately attracted Levigne and Cee-Lo and, eventually, Aguilera. “You brought the house down,” Christina said to Simms. Competing over the singer’s affections even devolved into a bit of mudslinging between Aguilera and Levigne, who bickered back and forth over who could better serve Simms in the contest. She decided to go with neither and picked the most eclectic guy on the panel. Team Cee Lo Chris Mann Another of the night’s tear-jerker back stories came from Mann, a talented classical musician working in Nashville, TN, whose mother is fighting pancreatic cancer. The 29-year-old Wichita, Kansas, native was the second contestant of the competition to bowl over the judges with a big, classic voice. “Now that’s a voice,” Xtina proclaimed, “I love it!” Her enthusiasm led him to pick the “Beautiful” Grammy winner, and in the first night of competition she nailed down the two best voices in the game so far. Team Xtina Tony Lucca Hey, that guy looks familiar! Lucca was at one time a Mousketeer alongside Christina, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears on “The Mickey Mouse Club.” But it was more important here that he tore the roof off the joint with a rocking rendition of “Trouble” that earned a swivel of approval from every judge on the panel. All pleaded with him to join their team, but Aguilera seemed oblivious to the fact that she knew him as a child (a lot has happened since then, we’ll give her that). He went with Shelton, probably hoping a little of the country-rock cool that’s kept him at the top of the charts for the last few years rubs off. Team Adam After he left the stage, Aguilera realized who Lucca was and ran backstage to greet him, his wife and young daughter. She also revealed, “Britney had the biggest crush on you!” Oh, what could have been.. Did you catch “The Voice” tonight? Which contestant was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below Related Artists Adam Levine Cee Lo Green Blake Shelton Christina Aguilera
Last week during Movieline’s Fall Preview , we repeatedly named Young Adult as one of our most anticipated autumn films. The Jason Reitman/ Diablo Cody collaboration stars Charlize Theron as a teen-lit author who returns to her hometown to reclaim her happily married high school crush (Patrick Wilson). And judging by the movie’s first poster, that hometown mission does not go so well.
“When I open my mouth, what comes out is country. It was going to sound country no matter what, but I didn’t want it to be too different,” explains singer Blake Shelton of his fresh-scrubbed country version of Kenny Loggin’s “Footloose,” recorded for Craig Brewer’s upcoming remake . “It’s music that was rock back then but is country now,” he adds, though Deniece Williams, Sammy Hagar, and Shalamar might disagree. Whatever. Give Shelton’s version a listen and see if it’s worth kicking off your Sunday shoes for. [ The Boot via Vulture ]
Marley Shelton just secured her stay-out-of-jail pass. The actress, who played Dr. Dakota Block in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse flicks, has accepted…
Filed under: Marley Shelton , DUI , Drunks Marley Shelton — who played that sexy lifeguard Wendy Peffercorn in ” The Sandlot ” — just got charged with two counts of DUI … and she faces 6 months in jail if convicted. Shelton — who also starred in ” Grindhouse ” and ” Sin City ” — was… Read more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country couple Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are now engaged to be married! The “Hillbilly Bone” singer popped the question on Sunday after first asking for permission to marry the fellow country star. read more
Filed under: Marley Shelton TMZ has learned actress Marley Shelton was arrested last night for suspicion of driving under the influence. Cops tell TMZ Shelton was pulled over at around 10:30 PM in Hollywood. She was given a field sobriety test (which didn’t go so well) and was… Read more
Actress Marley Shelton delivered daughter West Flynn on Sunday in L.A. Adorable little baby West, who weighed in at 9 lbs. and 21 inches, is the first child for Marley Shelton and her husband, producer Beau Flynn
