Singer emails MTV to say thanks for her ‘Rolling in the Deep’ topping our year-end list. By James Montgomery Adele accepts her award for MTV’s Best Song of 2011 Photo: MTV News On Wednesday (December 14), Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” bested the likes of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass,” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Katy Perry’s “Firework” to be named MTV’s Best Song of 2011 . And while that news isn’t exactly shocking to anyone who listened to the radio/ watched TV/ got on the Internet at any point this year, it was a surprise to Adele herself, who emailed MTV News — and included a photo of her kissing her newly won hardware — to express her gratitude and continued amazement at the deeply personal song’s success. “Thank you very much for your support!” she wrote. “It’s overwhelming how many people my life has resonated with. I find it quite hard to wrap my head around it.” To that end, though “Deep” was not only the year’s best-selling song (and her 21 the year’s best-selling album), Adele just can’t seem to comprehend how the tune has come to mean so much to so many. After all, she was writing about her own failed relationship, and though she wanted the song to be the lead single from 21, she never thought it would end up being more than a critic’s fave, let alone MTV’s Song of the Year. “I was pretty insistent it be a single. But I thought it would be more a tastemaker vibe than a hit,” she wrote. “I loved the song the minute I wrote it. The melody and the beat added some conviction to it. I think that’s why people have connected with it.” Though she’s currently recuperating from her recent throat surgery , Adele closed her email by promising big things on the horizon (and sending us holiday well-wishes). There’s talk of a full-blown arena tour and, of course, her expected triumph at February’s Grammys . In fact, if you thought 2011 was huge, just wait until 2012. “Happy holidays,” she wrote. “And see you next year.” All this week, watch “AMTV” on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year! Related Videos Best Songs Of 2011 Debate
MTV’s Sway moderates a panel of our music experts as they count down the year’s top 10 bangers. By MTV News staff Rihanna Photo: Getty Images MTV’s list of the Best Songs of 2011 is like one of those old late-night commercials for awesome sampler albums: you’ve got your pop hit, a bit of rock, some hip-hop, R&B and a tune or two that you just can’t fully define, but which you definitely shook it to at some point over the past 12 months. Last week, MTV correspondent Sway Calloway moderated a spirited roundtable discussion with some of our very own experts: James Montgomery and Rob Markman (MTV News), Yomi Desalu and Malika Quemerais (MTV Music and Talent) and Tamar Anitai and Nicole Rosner (MTV.com). The panel managed to narrow it down to their top 10. While we’ll reveal #10 to #3, you’ll have to tune in to MTV at 4:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday night (December 14) to find out which songs snagged the top two spots. We will say that the year’s ultimate “Party Rock Anthem” made the cut, as did Rihanna’s waltz into the world of dubstep, a kitchen-sink empowerment anthem for anyone who’s ever felt marginalized, and an unexpected smash about a school shooting that is so catchy you might miss the sinister lyrics. Two of rap’s titans are also on the list, as is a pop princess who hopped on the Empowerment Express, an R&B singer who went the Dirty South route with two hip-hop icons, and a Latin rhymer asking for some eye contact over a club-banging beat. 10. “Firework,” Katy Perry Sure, its release as a single came in late 2010, but the true impact of “Firework” was felt in 2011. It rang in the New Year at #1, was Perry’s top single of the year and is nominated for the Record of the Year Grammy. More importantly, the song’s message touched fans all over the world as the pop star toured the globe. “I wrote this song for anyone who ever needed a song. To help them, to lift them up,” she told the crowd when I saw her at New York’s Nassau Coliseum this summer. The arena shook as every person sang along with her and pyro lit up the stage, raining down like a wall of sparklers. — John Mitchell 9. “Look at Me Now,” Chris Brown Tough, aggressive and completely unapologetic lyrically, Chris goes hard on the F.A.M.E. track, which also features rap heavy-hitters Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. Grinding production, bleeping noises and bumping beats answer Brown’s siren call about not really caring very much what anyone thinks about him and his bad-boy rep. Why? Well, mostly because he’s “fresh than a mother—-er.” Given Brown’s nefarious past, it was a catchy, bold, brash statement from one of R&B’s biggest young stars. — Jocelyn Vena 8. “N—as in Paris,” Kanye West and Jay-Z Kanye West picked a fitting Will Ferrell sound bite for “N—as in Paris,” but not even Yeezy could have predicted just how much his and Jay-Z’s second Watch the Throne single would get the people going. After leading with “Otis,” the Throne’s kinetic follow-up joint seems to be the ultimate people’s choice. The brash title and profane hook (“Ball so hard mother—-ers wanna fine me”) doesn’t exactly scream radio hit, but that’s exactly what it has become, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The song has become so popular that Hov and ‘Ye have performed it as many as eight times in a single night during their WTT Tour run. Now that sh– cray! — Rob Markman 7. “Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster the People If you went to a rock club or major festival, turned on satellite radio, or visited any retail store that sells skinny jeans, you were likely entranced by the from the Los Angeles trio’s breakout hit “Pumped Up Kicks.” The combination of lyrics about a psychotic, gun-toting teen and cheery, New Wave-y bass bounce, seven-dwarves-worthy whistling, hypnotic electronic effects and former jingle writer Mark Foster’s dreamy falsetto vocals revived the feel of mid-1990s alt-rock. Plus, as it turns out, this potential one-hit-wonder ended up having plenty more to offer. — Gil Kaufman 6. “Give Me Everything,” Pitbull Pitbull is perhaps music’s most underrated hitmaker, but if 2009’s “I Know You Want Me” and “Hotel Room Service” weren’t enough to convince the naysayers, the Cuban pop-rapper’s omnipresent “Give Me Everything” should’ve done the trick in 2011. On paper, a song featuring Pit, Ne-Yo, Afrojack and sexy-siren Nayer might seem a bit all over the place, but by the end of the four4-minute, 12-second jam, it all worked out quite nicely. There’s a reason the one-night stand ode hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The energetic dance groove, rapid rhymes and the track’s infectious hook were choice ingredients for the perfect party record. — R.M. 5. “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga Quick, name another top 10 hit that seeks to empower the LGBT community, drag queens, the disabled or anyone who is “black, white beige, chola descent … Lebanese … orient.” You can’t, because nobody but Mother Monster has the cojones to release “Born This Way” as the first single off an eagerly anticipated sophomore album. The tune mixes soaring rhetoric with equally pulse-quickening beats. Of course, it was accompanied by a viscous-liquid-dripping seven-minute video that added to Gaga’s mind-tripping visual canon and further established her as one of the biggest triple threats in music. — G.K. 4. “Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO LMFAO’s ode to being the life of the party is the definition of a guilty pleasure, and it was an instant hit, topping the charts and playlists. With a fist-pumping beat and lyrics that are nearly as silly as the leopard-print pants RedFoo and SkyBlu typically rock, “Party Rock Anthem” had everyone from your grandma to Justin Bieber “shufflin’. ” — J.V. 3. “We Found Love,” Rihanna Rihanna fully embraced EDM on her Talk That Talk single. Produced by Calvin Harris, “We Found Love” is a swirling party track about love and loss. It took pop’s obsession with dance music to the next level thanks to its killer production. Sparse at times and completely enthralling at others, “WFL” is sad and joyous all at the same time. A call back to ’90s raves, the song made pop lovers want to break out their glow sticks and just dance. — Jocelyn Vena We’ve counted down #10 to #3, but will Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” or Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” come out on top in the final two? Stick with us as we reveal the Best Song of 2011 at 4:59 p.m. ET on MTV! All this week, watch “AMTV” on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year! Related Videos Best Songs Of 2011 Debate
We count down the year’s most memorable musical moments, in Bigger Than The Sound. By James Montgomery Britney Spears on the cover of the “Till the World Ends” single Photo: Jive In 2011, we shuffled and shook it out. We found love and decided to dance until the world ends. We rolled in the deep and celebrated the boys with the booming systems. Shoot, at one point, we even went to Paris with Will Ferrell . It was, to say the very least, an interesting 12 months. So, how else to sum up the year than with my picks for the 25 Best Songs of 2011 : odes to partying and pumped-up kicks, songs of sadness and beauty, tunes about getting loaded and getting revenge. Pop, hip-hop, rock, bed-tronica, they’re all here, and they’re all important in some way, mostly because they all helped guide us through a rather tumultuous time. But that’s enough from me, let’s get to the songs. Oh, and I’d like to hear your picks too — drop me a line in the comments below. So now, on with the countdown. 25. Nicola Roberts, “Beat of My Drum” : Supremely saccharine single from erstwhile Girls Aloud member mashes together every notable pop moment in recent history, yet somehow manages to be better that the sum of its parts. That’s thanks mostly to the supercharged, sing-a-long chorus, where the whole thing comes together in a head-spinning rush. She should go solo more often. 24. Against Me!, “Russian Spies” : Searing, surging punk from Gainesville lifers proves their time on Sire Records didn’t soften them one bit. It only made them more resolute. And, strangely, sadder too. 23. Kreayshawn, “Gucci Gucci” : Either the smartest song of 2011 or the dumbest, the beauty of “Gucci Gucci” — and Kreayshawn, for that matter — is that the answer is probably both. The goofy, horror-movie synth squiggle, the dollops of low-end whomp, the part where Kreay claims to have swag coming out her ovaries … it’s all good. Even if it’s not. 22. Gospel Music, “This Town Doesn’t Have Enough Bars for Both Of Us” : Peppy, poppy, pocket-rock that laments the lack of quality drinking establishments in Owen Holmes’ hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and dares to ponder one of life’s great post-breakup quandaries: When does our place become just my place? He’s not smart enough to know the answer; instead, he spends his genius on barroom bon mots like, “I’m not drinking anymore/ But I’m not drinking any less.” Works for me. 21. Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper” : For about a week, this was the biggest song in the world (or the Internet), a fact that had nothing to do with irony, our nascent sense of superiority or kittens, and everything to do with the startling connection Lovato makes with the track itself. Oh, and the fact that she sings the absolute beejezus out of it. Given everything that’s happened in Lovato’s life , that connection makes sense, but it’s the maturity she shows on the song — and that final, chill-inducing chorus — that opened eyes, and served notice. Welcome to the club, Demi. 20. Lykke Li, “Get Some” : Overlooked, otherworldly single off Li’s equally overlooked (and otherworldly) Wounded Rhymes album, this one is very much about sex. Thumping, bumping, panting … and then Li pushes it all over the top with her smoldering, sumptuous vocals. The kind of song that requires a cigarette and a cold shower after repeat listens. 19. The Black Keys, “Lonely Boy” : After spending portions of their breakout Brothers album getting slightly contemplative, the Keys roar back with “Lonely Boy,” a song that only contemplates how best to make a guitar rev like a V-8 engine. A hard-charging, and even harder-chugging treat (with an equally hard-partying music video ), it’s the kind of classic claptrap you always knew they were capable of making. 18. Chris Brown, “Beautiful People” : Folks can talk about Brown’s hip-hop turn on “Look at Me Now,” but this single represents his biggest reinvention to date. A slippery, shiny club track helmed by Benny Benassi, like most of Breezy’s work it is undeniably sexy, but it’s also subtly smart too. And that’s where he made his biggest strides. Also, unlike “Look at Me Now,” he doesn’t even mention Mr. Miyagi once. 17. YACHT, “Dystopia (The Earth Is on Fire)” : Every day the sky gets lower (lowerlowerlower!) And every day the flames get higher (higherhigherhigher!) So, with apologies to
MTV counts down the top 10 electronic dance music artists of the year. By Akshay Bhansali and Adam Stewart deadmau5 Photo: Getty Images Maybe you were at the grocery store when you found yourself singing along to Afrojack’s “Take Over Control” for the hundredth time. Or maybe it was when Martin Solveig’s “Hello” was suddenly on repeat on your iPod. Whatever your moment was, it’s fair to say the American appetite for electronic dance music surged in 2011, bringing “the rave” to radio and festivals, touching every U.S. city (big and small). Even Grammy voters took notice this year, nominating Skrillex for Best New Artist and in four other categories. Afrojack, David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Benny Benassi put up mainstream, chart-topping bangers. Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival and Miami’s Ultra Music Festival saw record attendance, and dance music’s biggest stars headlined a stage at every major mainstream festival: Lollapalooza, Coachella, SXSW, Austin City Limits. We’ve been covering the movement, but this year we tapped some of our EDM pros to commemorate a seminal year for the genre. MTV News’ Akshay Bhansali and Adam Stewart, MTV Coordinator of Music & Talent Rawley Bornstein and MTV World Music Director Micah McKinney sat down for a roundtable discussion — moderated by MTV News’ Sway Calloway — about the biggest players this year and crowned our top 10. Below, we reveal #10 through #3. Stick with MTV as we reveal our final two at 4:59 p.m. ET on Monday (December 12). Who will be named the Best EDM Artist of 2011? 10. Martin Solveig When Irv Gotti stopped by MTV News’ “RapFix Live” in October, he joked, “We’re just one record away from Kanye or Jay [being like]: [ sings hook to Solveig’s ‘Hello’ ] ‘I just came to say hello — Hov!’ ” Gotti was kidding, but it’s true. Rap dudes beware: Songs like “Hello” and guys like Martin have seen such widespread success that the hip-hop industry, which has long enjoyed club and radio dominance, is shook. In addition to being a technically superior producer and DJ, Solveig has also proven to the world that he has a sense of humor. His “Smash” video series — including “Hello,” “Initial S.H.E,” “Ready 2 Go” and “Big in Japan” — are some of the funniest and most well-produced clips of any genre. Kudos to Martin and his “manager” Lafaille for making us laugh and dance in 2011. 9. Ti
‘I have the name for it,’ Gaga reveals to MTV News, while producer Fernando Garibay says they’re hoping to ‘outdo’ Born This Way. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias and Vanessa WhiteWolf Lady Gaga Photo: MTV News Lady Gaga is perhaps the busiest monster of them all. Just six months after dropping her chart-topping Born This Way, the Mother Monster is already hard at work on its follow-up. “I’ve started writing it and I have the name for it and all the concepts are beginning to flourish and take place,” she told MTV News at Jingle Ball in Los Angeles, where she also talked about her Grammy nods and “Marry the Night” video . “I’m excited to put it out, but it’s not done yet. So I’ll put it out when it’s done.” BTW contributor Fernando Garibay recently stopped by the MTV News offices in Santa Monica, California, and shared the vision he has in mind for Gaga’s next release . “I get a little bit of anxiety thinking about that right now,” the producer said of plans for the album. “I wanna just always try to outdo ourselves, our songs. “They’re already incredible songs. But I feel like she’s so young,” he said, adding that the record is in its early stages and that “there’s a lot of room to grow.” While Gaga will hit the road on the Born This Way Tour next year, Garibay said that won’t halt the recording process. “The last record we made in bus stops and hotel rooms,” he said. “Wherever she’s at, we’ll make it.” However the recording schedule pans out, Garibay knows he and Gaga will continue experimenting with new sounds. “She’s the perfect platform for me to express myself,” he said. “You can do stuff with her that you can’t do with anybody else. It’s amazing.” What are you expecting from Gaga’s next album? Share your ideas in the comments! Related Videos MTV First: Lady Gaga Related Artists Lady Gaga
‘That’s really why I’m so excited about it,’ Bobby Ray tells MTV News of upcoming LP. By Steven Roberts B.o.B Photo: MTV News Early this week, B.o.B dropped his mixtape E.P.I.C (Every Play Is Crucial), seemingly out of nowhere. It featured verses from giants including Eminem , Yasiin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def) and T.I. and underground all-stars like Future, 2 Chainz (a.k.a. Tity Boi) and Trae tha Truth. But one thing it certainly features is B.o.B showing he can spit with anybody and everybody. Bob was criticized for his 2010 breakthrough debut, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray, because many felt it was a departure from the underground mixtapes that got him noticed in the first place. B.o.B has always shrugged off any criticism, but when MTV News caught up with him on Tuesday evening, he said that his latest mixtape and his follow-up album, Strange Clouds, show a “refined” B.o.B. ” Strange Clouds as well as the mixtape, I feel really like everything is refined — like the lyrics, the beats, the production, the hook, the vocal performance. I really put a lot of creative energy and time into developing the songs and the music. You know, after experiencing what it’s like to put out an album, and tour it — I learned a lot from that and that helped a lot in this process of making this Strange Clouds album.” One thing he hoped to do on Strange Clouds was to inject the hip-hop elements of his mixtapes into the album. One track on E.P.I.C. that is a reflection of B.o.B’s boom, bap, boom, boom, bap roots is aptly named “Boom Bap,” featuring T.I. and Yasiin Bey. B.o.B said he talked to T.I. about doing a straight lyrical showcase, no hook, like a cipher. B.o.B didn’t want to go too far left, either. He said he was well aware of his different fanbases and he hoped to marry them. “There are people who are fans of the mixtape stuff, people who are fans of just, you know, me playing the guitar, rocking out, fans of me singing, rapping, and fans of ‘Nothin’ on You’ and ‘Airplanes’ who just know The Adventures of Bobby Ray material,” Bobby Ray said. “But this next album is like a culmination of everything combined and I feel like that’s really why I’m so excited about it and eager to put it out because I’m just ready to get back on the court with it.” Related Artists B.o.B
Adele, Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars tie for six nods each, just falling short of West’s seven nominations. By Kelley L. Carter Kanye West (file) Photo: Getty Images For the second year in a row, a hip-hop artist is leading the pack in Grammy nominations. Although his name was only called for one category during Wednesday’s (November 30) “Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!,” Kanye West walked away with a leading seven nods, following the hip-hop trend set by last year’s leading nominee, Eminem . He’s nominated for his Watch the Throne joint album with Jay-Z and also picked up a few nominations — including Song of the Year — for his powerhouse collaborative track “All of the Lights,” which features Rihanna, Fergie and Kid Cudi. He’s even nominated against himself, with Watch the Throne and his own My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy nabbing Rap Album of the Year nods. West was followed by this year’s critical darling, Adele , who is tied with the Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars for six nods each. Lil Wayne and dance-music breakout Skrillex each garnered five nods. While the Grammys have a reputation for catering to an older demographic (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss for 2009 Album of the Year, anyone?), this year’s nominees are notably young, with 34-year-old West looking downright geriatric next to fellow nominees Adele (23), Rihanna (23), Lady Gaga (25) and Bruno Mars (26). Take a closer look at this year’s Grammy nominees through photos! The 54th annual Grammys air Sunday, February 12, on CBS. Here are the rest of the nominations: Album of the Year
If you love Lady Gaga as much as the 4 year old I saw at the hardware store does….you know talking about her….singing her songs to her dad while I was buying rope and duct tape for a totally separate encounter…then you’ll be so happy to know she got Naked in Vanity Fair….but unfortunately for Gaga, anyone who loves her as much as the hardware store 4 year old…..who cares she got naked for Vanity Fair…cuz she’s an artist and is so shocking…she’s so contemporary…she’s so edgy…she’s so different and she’s so interesting….is likely a homo still in high school cuz real fags sniff out her bullshit…as well as you and I do … Either way here are th pics…with some Gaga fake herm nipple.
SUB’The songs … are a better expression of who we are verses the first album, which was written for the TV show,’ Nickelodeon stars say. By Christina Garibaldi Big Time Rush Photo: MTV News The boys of have found a whole new voice for their second album, Elevate . James Maslow, Logan Henderson, Carlos Pena and Kendall Schmidt worked tirelessly to put together an infectious pop album that will no doubt please fans of their hit Nickelodeon TV show, but could earn them some new followers as well. “We spent almost a year creating it,” Maslow recently told MTV News. “Between the four of us, we wrote eight out of the 12 songs, and everything from the album artwork to the title and, most importantly, the songs really have matured and are a better expression of who we are verses the first album, which was written for the TV show.” For their second effort, Big Time Rush worked with some of the biggest producers in music, including Ryan Tedder, J.R. Rotem and former ‘NSYNC member JC Chasez. Yet, they have a different ‘NSYNC alum in mind for a dream collaboration: “[We] always talked about working with Justin Timberlake,” Maslow revealed. Schmidt added, “We’re huge fans of his music.” Elevate has some stiff competition on the Billboard charts, including Rihanna’s latest album, Talk That Talk, and Adele’s 21 . “I don’t care if we get to #1,” Schmidt said. “The company that we are in is so incredible, to be considered with these people is an honor.” Maslow added, “Those are great artists, but I think we kinda stay in our own little world as well.” Big Time Rush are planning to hit the road in February for their “Better With U” Tour, their first in the U.S. Share your review of Elevate in the comments! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Big Time Rush
‘Nicki’s back in the studio, so we’re looking to drop Nicki in the first quarter,’ Cash Money boss Birdman says. By Jocelyn Vena Nicki Minaj Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images The countdown is on, Barbz. Nicki Minaj ‘s Cash Money boss Birdman is dishing on when the fierce female MC plans to drop her follow-up to Pink Friday . “Nicki’s back in the studio, so we’re looking to drop Nicki in the first quarter,” Brian “Birdman” Williams said in an interview with Billboard.com . He went on to dish that Minaj could potentially drop new music sometime before year-end. “Maybe this year? I don’t know,” he added about releasing a single before 2012 strikes. “We’re really thinking it out. But she’s in the studio, and we’re looking real soon, because she’s ready to go and we’re ready to go with her.” Earlier this month, BET reported that Minaj posted a blog post about how her alter-ego Roman would play a part in her new music. Although the post was later removed, the MC teased that Roman is out for revenge. “Roman will be in rare form this time. You know why? Cuz he no longer gives a f—,” she wrote. “He has two more weeks in boarding school. We’re going to pick him up now. When he lands, he will address the nation in the form of music. He will also announce the date.” Over the summer, Roman was the topic of discussion when Minaj teased her new LP . “I don’t think I’m hitting up anybody for features for this sophomore album,” she told us. “Roman … possibly. But I never give away all my secrets.” Whether or not Roman will have anything to do with this record, Minaj’s Pink Friday producer Kane Beatz recently told MTV News, “We got one so far. She’s in L.A. goin’ crazy. … She just started, so she’s really picking her music and picking the songs. She’s real selective. She’ll pick all the beats before she even starts writing, so right now, we’re just getting music together, and it’s goin’ crazy right now.” Related Artists Nicki Minaj
