Tag Archives: singer

Akon Says He Can Retire, Thanks To Lady Gaga

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘She was definitely a blessing. She came at the right moment,’ singer/producer says of signing the superstar to a record deal. By Hillary Crosley Akon and Lady Gaga Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Akon is releasing a new album this year, but the singer seems more excited about his Kon Live imprint artist Lady Gaga’s success than his own. “She’s pretty much retired me,” Akon told The Associated Press . “She was definitely a blessing. She came at the right moment. I’m glad I believed in her, boy. That goes to show you, if you believe in something strong enough, it will pay off.” Lady Gaga was initially signed to Def Jam Records, where she was dropped several months later. Then Akon signed her as a free agent as he was finalizing his Kon Live deal with Interscope Records and label head Jimmy Iovine. Fast-forward a few years and Lady Gaga has become an internationally known pop star, winning two awards at the 2010 Grammys : Best Dance Recording for “Poker Face” and Best Electronic/Dance Album for The Fame. The singer recently swept the Brit Awards in London, where she performed a tribute to recently deceased designer Alexander McQueen and walked away with three awards. “She just blossomed into a super megastar,” said Akon. As for his own upcoming album, Akon says that in addition to Lady Gaga, he’s also working with Dutch dance DJ/producer Chuckie, DJ David Guetta, who recently collaborated with Akon on “Sexy Bitch,” and hip-hop heavyweight Dr. Dre. “You’ve got some straight hard-core hip-hop guys actually moving into the dance realm,” Akon said. “And that’s shocking. When you’ve got someone like Dr. Dre about to do a dance record … that’s crazy.” Akon didn’t divulge much about the Dr. Dre collaboration, except to say the record “actually sounds great. He played it for me. I was shocked. So I was like, ‘Wow, that’s dope. When the world hears this, they might go crazy.’ … When you’ve got the two worlds mixed together, clashing, it’s going to be a monster.” Akon’s as-yet-untitled forthcoming CD is slated to hit shelves toward the end of 2010. Related Photos Lady Gaga Stuns At U.K. Tour Kickoff Related Artists Akon Lady Gaga

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Jermaine Dupri Says New Janet Jackson Song Is ‘A Good Record’

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Y’all haven’t heard her sound like this in a long time,’ producer says of Jackson’s tune for the ‘Why Did I Get Married Too?’ soundtrack. By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Shaheem Reid Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri Photo: Jim Spellman/ WireImage Jermaine Dupri recently told MTV News he had produced a new Janet Jackson song for the upcoming Tyler Perry film in which the singer also stars, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” According to the So So Def boss, the track is slated to be the first single from the movie’s soundtrack — the film is scheduled to arrive in theaters April 2. “I watched the movie with [Jackson and Perry] and it’s incredible,” Dupri said. “I’m not married but married people go through what I seen in this movie. I think Tyler hit it on the head again. But the song is perfect for the movie and it’s a good record.” The producer was tight-lipped about the track, only revealing that the title was “Nothing.” He promised, however, that the song will showcase a Jackson that fans haven’t seen in a while. “I can say this — y’all haven’t heard her sound like this in a long time,” he teased. Jackson is currently working on her next album, one that Rodney Jerkins told MTV News would be more emotional that her past efforts. “You gotta understand, she lost her brother,” Jerkins said. “She was in a relationship for seven years [with Jermaine Dupri] that’s over now. There’s things that she told me that I didn’t even realize. You know, certain [things] like self-esteem that I didn’t even realize that she dealt with for years that, you know. … She’s working on her book and she’ll deal with that in her book, but also in songs, certain songs we’re dealing with that head on. And sometimes it can be a touchy subject for us to even go into, and I kinda had to persuade her, ‘Let’s just go, let’s talk about that.’ And she’s been doing it, and she’s a pro about it.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Why Did I Get Married Too?” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Artists Jermaine Dupri Janet Jackson

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Chris Golightly Fought To Keep His ‘American Idol’ Top 24 Spot

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

By the time he was released from another contract, his replacement had already been notified, according to online reports. By Melinda Green Chris Golightly Photo: FOX After Fox announced that Chris Golightly had been disqualified from the “American Idol” top 24, a lot of different stories began circulating around the Web about what really went down. Well, some new reports have emerged about the messy situation. Lawrence Franklin, Golightly’s manager, said the singer was still under contract with his label. In fact, Golightly signed a new two-year contract with Dream Projects Entertainment in May 2009. “We asked them for release documents, and they were supposed to send them over last Friday,” Franklin told USA Today. “We were prepared to give our own release documents, but after waiting on the attorneys from 19 to send over their paperwork, time kind of ran out for Chris.” While there is now another side to this season’s requisite semifinal controversy, Franklin and Golightly claim “American Idol” execs are the ones going back on their word. “They did advise Chris that as long as we released him, he’d be fine,” Franklin said. “They told him that last Friday. And we were prepared then, that night, at any time, to release him.” “American Idol” does not allow contestants to compete on the show if they are currently under a recording contract. Whether Golightly could be released from his current contract, as Franklin claimed producers were working with him to do, is just another curious piece to this he said/ they said story. According to USA Today, Gary Gilbert, an attorney for Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, contacted Franklin via e-mail last week, informing him the release of Golightly from his existing contract would not get him back on “American Idol.” “Although we do not have a copy of the complete contract, on the face of what we have there seems to be a current recording agreement,” Stinson wrote to Franklin on February 11.”If the contract exists, there will be no option other than to disqualify Chris.” Golightly alleged that the mix-up had been corrected after Franklin contacted 19 Entertainment and proved he had not been with Dream Records Entertainment since June 2009, but it was too late to bring him back into the competition because his replacement, Tim Urban, had already been notified. “This is not fair. I don’t know what to do,” Golightly told USA Today early Thursday morning (February 18). Since the top 24 was revealed on Wednesday night’s show, Golightly has spoken with numerous blogs and media outlets about his disqualification. Within a few hours after the show aired, Golightly told JoesPlaceBlog he had been under contract with the boy band D.R.E.A.M. 5 until June, and the debacle concerning his release document is what led to his “Idol” exit. Golightly, an orphan who sold his car and broke his apartment lease after discovering he made this year’s top 24, was already an early fan favorite — both for his heartfelt vocals and heart-wrenching backstory. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos The ‘American Idol’ Season 9 Top 24

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Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless’ Video A Love Letter To Her Fans

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Clip gives fans an inside view of singer’s life on the road. By Jocelyn Vena Taylor Swift Photo: Noel Vasquez/ Getty Images Taylor Swift loves her fans, and she isn’t shy about giving props to those who have helped make her the award-winning superstar she is today. So it seems fitting that when she put together the video for her song “Fearless” she made sure to give her fans an inside view of what it’s like to go on tour with the pop star. “You guys, this tour has been the best experience of my entire life,” Swift tells her band before they step onstage. The video features behind-the-scenes footage of Swift and her band as they take her sold-out Fearless tour across the country. The video also features footage from the tour itself with fans excitedly showing off signs to the pop star. Although the song is a love letter to the perfect first date, the video is really Swift’s love letter to her fans. It ends with the singer waving goodbye to them as she makes her way off the stage. “I really thought about what that word [‘fearless’] means to me, and I guess, to me, fearless doesn’t mean you’re completely unafraid and it doesn’t mean that you’re bulletproof,” she told MTV News when the Fearless album dropped in late 2008. “It means that you have a lot of fears, but you jump anyway.” On the Web site for her record label, Big Machine Records , she explains what the song means to her. “This is a song about the fearlessness of falling in love. When I wrote ‘Fearless,’ I wasn’t dating anyone. I wasn’t even in the beginning stages of dating anybody. I really was all by myself out on tour and I got this idea for a song about the best first date,” she explained. “I think sometimes when you’re writing love songs, you don’t write them about what you’re going through at the moment, you write about what you wish you had. So this song is about the best first date I haven’t had yet.” Related Photos Star Gazing: Taylor Swift Related Artists Taylor Swift

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Chris Golightly Disqualified From ‘American Idol’ Top 24

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Singer replaced with Tim Urban, reportedly due to confusion over previous boy-band contract. By Gil Kaufman Chris Golightly Photo: FOX Let the drama begin. As if the two-night Hollywood rounds finale weren’t already filled with enough joy, heartache and tears, “American Idol” producers threw one last twist into the mix at the end of Wednesday night’s program by pulling a top 24 switcheroo. After picking seven of the top 24 on Tuesday night, the judges culled the herd down on Wednesday to carve out the remaining 17 semifinalists, which appeared to include curly-haired Chris Golightly , whom we met at the Los Angeles auditions, where he talked about bouncing around between 25 foster homes as a child. Golightly was seen in the group shot near the end of the show — at which point only 11 boys had been chosen on screen. But during the traditional finalist introduction dance segment that closes Hollywood, he was inexplicably replaced by Tim Urban. “It has been determined that Chris Golightly is ineligible to continue in the competition,” read a statement from Fox. ” ‘American Idol’ contestant Tim Urban has replaced Golightly as part of the Top 24.” A spokesperson for the show could not be reached for further comment at press time. Hours after the disqualification was revealed, show host Ryan Seacrest posted the same statement on his a href=”http://twitter.com/RyanSeacrest/status/9272139729″ target=”_blank> Twitter page, where he also announced that this year’s contestants will have MySpace, Twitter and Facebook pages on the “Idol” hub. He did not elaborate on why Golightly was booted. Golightly reportedly spoke to the “Idol” fan site

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Andrew Garcia, Crystal Bowersox Round Out "American Idol" Top 24

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Seventeen more finalists join the top 24 as confusion reigns over final male slot. By Gil Kaufman Andrew Garcia on “American Idol” Wednesday Photo: Fox With a wait almost as painful as the one the contestants went through, “American Idol” fans finally got the rest of this year’s top 24 on Wednesday night (February 17), with a number of early favorites making the semifinals, including Andrew Garcia, Crystal Bowersox, Katie Stevens, Ashley Rodriguez and Haeley Vaughn. After seven singers made the cut on Tuesday, the first woman through the gate on night two was Orlando’s Janell Wheeler, 24, whose Hollywood Week was filled with ups and downs, swinging between a strong acoustic performance of Estelle’s “American Boy” to a blown take of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.” New judge Ellen DeGeneres kept up her rope-a-dope style, seemingly setting the blond wine-sales rep up for disappointment only to wave Wheeler through. With the pace much quicker than Tuesday night’s pedantic two-hour torture session, deep voiced, shaggy-haired ’70s rocker Tyler Grady quickly got his ticket punched. “I think we wanna see those moves again,” Kara DioGuardi told the drummer about his Roger Daltrey-inspired stage acrobatics. He was swiftly followed by second-timer Lacey Brown, who made the top 50 last season and was back in the hot seat. Despite Simon Cowell telling her the female competition was even tougher this year, Brown got in thanks to a haunting rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” Diva-in-training Ashley Rodriguez was next, followed by ukulele-strumming Alex Lambert, little seen Joe Mu

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Lady Gaga Dishes On Revamped Monster Ball Tour

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘The show’s completely different and I have some really amazing surprises,’ singer says after Brit Awards on Tuesday. By James Dinh Lady Gaga Photo: Interscope Records While Lady Gaga’s performance at the Brit Awards on Tuesday was a heartfelt tribute to her late friend, designer Alexander McQueen , the show served as a preview for the next phase of her Monster Ball Tour , which launches in England on February 18 before moving on to New Zealand, Australia and Japan in March. In an interview with London’s 95.8 Capital-FM on Tuesday, the singer spilled a few new details on what her fans can expect. “The show is a musical, it’s not just a pop show, there are lines and a score — there’s a lot of music that you haven’t heard before.

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Lady Gaga Discusses Her ‘Very Forward’ Brit Awards Performance

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Singer planned to do ‘something that I felt was a true representation of the future.’ By James Dinh Lady Gaga performs at the Brit Awards Tuesday Photo: Jon Furniss/ Getty Images Lady Gaga’s awards-show performances have been a big part of her story over the past year, but her set at the Brit Awards on Tuesday night took on a more serious meaning, as she dedicated it to her friend, designer Alexander McQueen , who died earlier this month. After the ceremony, the singer spoke to reporters about her emotional tribute and her success at the show. “I wanted to do a very, very forward performance, something that I felt was a true representation of the future,” she said of her McQueen tribute. “I re-inspired my song ‘Telephone’ into an acoustic, sort of jazz version, and then I went into a song called ‘Dance in the Dark,’ and I used a brand-new instrument that the Haus of Gaga has built named Emma.” Along with her memorable performance, Gaga also won awards in all three of her nominated categories, including Best International Album, Best International Female Solo Artist and International Breakthrough Act. “I really did not expect to win all three tonight, or really any at all, so I’m just so excited,” she told the BBC Radio 1 . “Honestly, I’m never the one who wins all the awards, and I have never been the one to feel like the winner my whole life. I’ve always been an outsider, so I really felt so accepted tonight and like people really understand my music and my message and what I do.” And how did she plan to celebrate? “I am going to get miserably drunk with all of my friends and celebrate and get ready,” she said, presumably referring to her British tour , which begins February 18 in Manchester and wraps in March, then heads to New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Related Photos Gaga Steals The Show At The Brit Awards Related Artists Lady Gaga

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Chris Brown Releases Collaboration With Soulja Boy Tell’em On Mixtape

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Bad’ makes its way onto the singer’s Valentine’s Day offering with DJ Drama, In My Zone. By Jayson Rodriguez Chris Brown Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage Chris Brown ‘s much-discussed collaboration with Soulja Boy Tell’em was released over the weekend as a part of the singer’s Valentine’s Day mixtape effort with DJ Drama. The project, titled In My Zone, features a number of remakes, as Brown borrows notable songs such as Trey Songz’s “Say Aah” and “I Invented Sex” and Timbaland and Drake’s “Say Something.” The track with Soulja Boy, “Bad,” was initially slated for inclusion on Brown’s Graffiti album. He told MTV News about the track last November and described the number as “a nice little joint.” “Well, me and him, we been on tour together and we’re friends, so I was just like, ‘Yo, I gotta do a record with Soulja Boy,’ ” Brown explained of the tune, which was produced by Bangladesh (“A Milli,” “Diva”). “Because me and him are always gonna have, like, this kind of energy, just as far as kids, and with him, he does records that are, like, the easiest records ever. I’m not discrediting him, ’cause they’re big records, but he could talk about, ‘I got my shoes on, I got my hat on, but I’m fresh though,’ and it could be something funny. But it’s always something that can be catchy for kids, and I wanna do something that’s real cool for everybody.” “She looking at me, I’m looking at she, she’s bad as a mutha,” Brown sings over the staccato production. “She bad, she bad, she badder, hop up in my jag, my jag, my Jaguar,” the “Crank Dat” rapper spits. Soulja also spoke to MTV News last year about the track, saying if he and the “Crawl” star ever worked together the outcome would have to be phenomenal. “My approach to it was, if me and Chris Brown ever did a song together it got to be the best song ever,” he said. “When people hear it, it gotta be automatic, be in all the kids’ heads, all the girls definitely gotta love it, all the females gotta love it. That was my approach to it. I was just thinking, ‘What is the slickest lines I could say to a female to make them fall in love with this record?’ ” What do you think of Chris Brown and Soulja Boy Tell’em’s song “Bad”? Did their collaboration live up to the hype? Let us know in the comments below, or upload a video to Your.MTV.com ! Related Artists Chris Brown Soulja Boy Tell’em

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Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers Lead Kids’ Choice Awards Nominees

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Twilight,’ Taylor Swift also receive nods for Nickelodeon’s March 27 show, hosted by Kevin James. By Jocelyn Vena Miley Cyrus Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images Come March 27, the kids will get to see their votes count, when Nickelodeon’s 23rd Annual Kids’ Choice Awards takes place in Los Angeles. They’ll be choosing from a rather familiar-looking nominees list that includes everyone from Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus to “Twilight.” Kevin James will host the live show, airing on Nickelodeon at 8 p.m. ET. “In short, I guess you could say hosting the Kids’ Choice Awards completes me,” James told People about taking over the gig that went to Dwayne Johnson last year. Miley Cyrus, who tearfully accepted the Favorite Female Singer prize last year, is up for four nominations: Favorite Female Singer, Favorite Movie Actress, Favorite TV Actress and Favorite Song (for “Party in the U.S.A.”). Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers are up for Favorite Music Group, and Joe and Nick are each up for Favorite TV Actor for their show “JONAS.” Oldest brother Kevin did not receive a nomination. Cyrus will compete with recent awards-show favorites Beyonc

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