“DALLAS!!! We set the stage on FYAH tonight!!! LITERALLY!!!,” Rihanna later Tweeted. “I#39;m so pissed, I was havin so much fun wit yall too!!! I gotta come back man!!” A Rihanna show got a little too hot in Dallas. A small fire broke out in the lighting trusses Friday night while she was singing “California King Bed,” showering sparks and burning debris onto the stage. The stage crew quickly put out the flames to the cheers of 12,500 fans, who then calmly evacuated the American Airlines Ce
Yeezy performs a bombastic headlining set on Saturday in New Orleans. By Rebecca Thomas Kanye West performs at the 2011 Essence Fest on Saturday Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Early on in Kanye West ‘s headlining set at the 2011 Essence Music Festival on Saturday Night, the Chicago MC stood on a raised platform suspended high above the cheering crowd. As he spit “Dark Fantasy,” the hook “Can we get much higher?” seemed a particularly apt way to describe not only his literal skyward stance at the New Orleans Superdome , but also what was to come that night. Yeezy was already knee-deep into career-defining classics like “Jesus Walks” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Diamonds are Forever,” when he told the elated NOLA fest he was “just getting started.” Rocking a white blazer, topped by a thick tangle of gold chains, and a pair of jeans and sneakers, the 34-year-old rapper bounded across the stage like a hyperactive teen, but there was no mistaking that West is a megastar, the “college dropout” who has more than made G.O.O.D. on his childhood dreams. As a small army of classical dancers — dressed in a variation of the phoenix costume worn by Selita Ebanks’ bird in West’s short film “Runaway” — flanked him, Kanye launched into a bombastic rendition of “Power”; “Devil in a New Dress” and “Hell of a Life” followed as ‘Ye tucked into singles and cuts from last year’s platinum-plus opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Performing to a massive audience that came to its feet (and stayed there all night) to the strains of ‘Ye and Jay-Z’s “H.A.M.,” the Chi-town MC with a Nas flow touched on his recent scandals, explaining that he stopped granting press interviews after taking lashings from media and bloggers. But he wasn’t all rebellious rapper: He danced, sang along and laughed his way through an old-school medley of personally influential music, and the playlist jumped from Al Green to ’90s soul groups like Jodeci and Shai. And West also emphasized that he knew who had held him down when, as he laughed, he “had a little too much too drink” before storming the MTV VMA stage back in 2009. Yeezy repeatedly thanked the predominantly African-American crowd for standing by him before going on to a stirring, church-tinged rendition of “Gold Digger.” The songs felt big and anthemic; the stage and stands, for instance, were bathed in lights and lasers for “All of the Lights” and “Stronger,” respectively. As he bounced back and forth between hits from his discography, including his College Dropout debut and his introspective, Auto-Tuned 808s & Heartbreak, the weight of West’s musical success was apparent. If there is a handbook for how to headline an expansive show, West should write it. Concertgoers appeared awestruck at the sheer spectacle and scale of the show, mouths gaping when they weren’t shouting lyrics back at the energetic MC. For the finale “Act 3” (a title card projected onto oversize screens flashed the show’s three-part progression), a billowing white tent was spread across the stage. In cocoon-like fashion, the dancers re-emerged in black tutus; West clad in his signature red suit. As the rapper knocked out the mournful, tinkling opener of “Runaway” on his MPC machine, the ballerinas circled and Pusha T turned up for his verse. Still, as large and loud as the show felt, Yeezy’s closing was as subtle. After rapping a heartfelt “Hey Mama” on his knees, with a nod to his late mother, Donda West , the star and his band, dancers and DJ took a ballet-company-style bow and walked offstage as the stadium lights went up. Related Artists Kanye West
There were many celebrities who decided not to go to the BET Awards last night, among them Kanye West, Lil’ Kim, Jay-Z, and Rihanna (what a coincidence). Though Rihanna didn’t make it to the red carpet she attended the after party at Playhouse. Awkward Moment Of The Year: BET’s Viewer’s Choice Award Goes Terribly Wrong! [VIDEO] Rihanna Falls On Stage [VIDEO]
Night’s highlights included performances by Brown, Wayne, Bey and Alicia Keys. By Rob Markman Chris Brown at the BET Awards on Sunday Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images Music and Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars all came out to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the 2011 BET Awards Sunday (June 26) night. Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Trey Songz, host Kevin Hart, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were all in attendance as BET celebrated the year in music. The ceremony kicked off in royal fashion as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige, took the stage wearing an all-white jumpsuit performing “Mary Jane (All Night Long)” and “You Bring Me Joy” from her 1994 My Life album. MJB didn’t stop there, bringing out Anita Baker so the two could sing Baker’s 1986 classic “Caught Up in the Rapture.” Chris Brown came up big , winning the first award of the night, for Best Male R&B Artist, beating out the likes of Bruno Mars, Usher, Trey Songz and Cee Lo Green. The ever-controversial CB also took home an award for Best Collaboration for his Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes-assisted track “Look at Me Now.” It didn’t end there for Brown. After a snafu that had Rihanna and Drake being announced as the winners of BET’s Viewers’ Choice Award, it was later learned that Breezy was the intended recipient, making that his third win of the night. Brown also lit up the stage performing a string of his own hits and then again alongside Big Sean, who rapped his #1 rap single “My Last.” Nicki Minaj was a shoo-in for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and as expected she beat out Diamond, Lola Monroe and Master P’s daughter Cymphonique. Still, Minaj, who took the stage with her Young Money family, started her speech with, “Wow, I can’t believe I won.” The crowd laughed before she clarified her point and thanked Lil Wayne. Alicia Keys shined as well, treating fans to a piano-laced set as she sang new single “Typewriter,” “A Woman’s Worth” with Bruno Mars and “Fallin’.” Throughout the night, a number of BET-related trending topics popped up on Twitter. #betawards, Wiz & Amber and Mary Mary made the rounds on the social networking site during the night as well as #kelly after Kelly Rowland performed her single “Motivation” with Trey Songz. The ex-Destiny’s Child member received one of the loudest ovations of the night. Duo Mary Mary won for Best Gospel Album, and Patti LaBelle received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Gladys Knight. A potty-mouthed Cee Lo Green, Marsha Ambrosius and gospel’s Shirley Caesar all honored the soul singer by performing a medley of her hits before LaBelle took the stage herself. Cali Swag District came out with Doug E. Fresh and memorialized slain CSD member M-Bone , while fallen artists like Clarence Clemons , Nate Dogg , Gil Scott-Heron and Teena Marie were honored with tribute performances by Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Queen Latifah and others. As the show drew near a close, DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne took the stage to perform Khaled’s “I’m on One.” Rozay and Weezy had appeared earlier in the show alongside Ace Hood to rock Hood’s “Hustle Hard (Remix)” and returned, this time with Drizzy in tow. Beyonc
‘I’m going to give all I can to this project,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ star says about role in ‘Greetings From Tim Buckley.’ By Jocelyn Vena Penn Badgley Photo: Eugene Gologursky/ Getty Images The rumors are true. Penn Badgley has won the role of Jeff Buckley in a biopic about the singer’s life. The “Gossip Girl” star will play the beloved singer/songwriter in “Greetings From Tim Buckley,” which is set to begin filming in New York City later this summer. The film will tell the story of Jeff Buckley as he preps to play St. Ann’s Church in 1991 during a tribute concert to his father, fellow musician Tim Buckley. “To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologized as a human being … It’s something very special and sacred,” Badgley said in a statement about nabbing the part. “I’m going to give all I can to this project.” Though it was originally thought that Badgley was competing with Robert Pattinson for the role, according to The Los Angeles Times, Pattinson was in the running for a completely different biopic about the singer, who drowned at the age of 30 in 1997. While the search for that movie’s Buckley is still under way, the makers of “Greetings From Tim Buckley” are sure about their choice. “We had been searching well over a year for an actor that can come close to Jeff’s spirit while also having the serious musical chops required to authentically tell this story,” Patrick Milling Smith of Smuggler Films, the production company behind the film, said. “Penn’s audition blew us away and we knew we found our star.” The film will be directed by Dan Algrant (“People I Know,” “Naked in New York”). Smith added that the film’s story will show another side of the singer’s life. “In its purest form, this is a father and son story, a rite of passage that is made possible by a romantic journey Jeff finds himself on,” he explained. “We see Jeff accepting who he is to become and laying to rest the ghost of his father while ultimately finding his voice.” Related Artists Jeff Buckley
‘You can tell that she was having fun. She looked like she was enjoying herself and loving it,’ one fan says after Spears’ L.A. show. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by James Lacsina Britney Spears performs at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday Photo: Splash News Online Have you heard? Britney ‘s back! That’s the consensus her fans came to on Monday night in Los Angeles, where Britney Spears took the stage at the Staples Center, garnering very positive reviews from her fans. Rachel Guillory, who happens to be from Brit’s home state of Louisiana, said, “She interacted with the audience. She talked, she looked happy the whole time.” Her friend Chandler Cortina added, “You can tell that she was having fun. She looked like she was enjoying herself and loving it.” The good vibes were pouring out from everyone MTV News spoke to after the show, with fans raving about her stage presence and her killer dance moves. “I’ll tell you one thing: Britney is back,” Andrea Urioste declared. “Who feels me on that?” she asked the crowd, who cheered in approval. Photos: Britney brings it in Los Angeles. Duprel Nave agreed. “I’ve been a Britney fan since the beginning. She rocked it and I’ve been waiting for her to come back,” she said. “She gets so much criticism in the media, but she is badass. She’s amazing.” Fan Heather Goodly compared this trek, which is several dates in from its kickoff last week in Sacramento , to her last tour. “I went to Circus and this is a thousand times better than that show,” she said. “She dances a lot more fiercely, [there are] a lot more hair flips, which is amazing for Britney.” “It’s like 2004, 2001 Britney is completely back. Energetic, excited,” Ricardo Garcia shared. So, which parts rocked the most? ” ‘I Wanna Go,’ ” Pattie Cortez said of Spears’ performance of her new single. “That was our favorite part. It was so intense. Everybody was doing the fist pump.” Chris Rocha went old-school for his pick. “When she did ‘Slave For U,’ [with] the original choreography, that brought back the old Britney for me. I was waiting for that, and to see that come back, it was awesome.” Have you seen Britney on tour? Tell us what you think in the comments! Related Photos Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale Tour Hits Los Angeles Related Artists Britney Spears
If you’ve ever wanted to see a methadone clinic toddler do a Marilyn Monroe impersonation 2-seconds after she came out of a coma, then here you go. Fresh off of her one-week stint in rehab, Amy Wino returned to the stage for her comeback concert in Belgrade last night and the audience left with an aftertaste of BOOs in their mouth and a sadness in their wallets. Almost 20,000 hos dropped $57 to see… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Dlisted Discovery Date : 19/06/2011 14:30 Number of articles : 2
Pop star matches theatrics with strong vocal performance for the Nassau Coliseum stop of her California Dreams Tour. By John Mitchell Katy Perry performs in Uniondale, New York on Friday Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage UNIONDALE, New York — Teenage girls and the parents who support them turned out in droves for Katy Perry ‘s California Dreams Tour at the Nassau Coliseum on Friday night. There were plenty of “sexy boys” there too (more on them in a minute). Indeed, the pop star proved just how well she knows her audience when she asked the packed arena if there were any graduates in the house. As she listed off the possibilities (high school, college, etc.) she marveled, “We have more junior high graduates than college graduates. That’s crazy!” Following a “Wizard of Oz”-meets-Candy Land video intro, which mirrored the set design of the stage, Perry got the party started with a surefire crowd-pleaser, “Teenage Dream,” while wearing a dress that came complete with spinning pinwheels. “Welcome to the California Dreams Tour, where everything is so sweet,” she cooed to the legions of screaming fans hanging on her every word. And there were plenty of words for them to latch onto: The singer stopped to talk to the audience at length many times during her near two-hour set. But that was just one of the many charms Perry had in store. From a running gag about the woozy effects of a strange brownie she nibbled on before launching into a robust take on “Peacock” to her admission that when she is feeling low she turns to YouTube for “mama cat hugging baby cat” videos, Perry was all charm and nonstop energy. The show stuck so impressively to its storyline about Perry’s travels through Candy Land in pursuit of “the baker’s boy” that it could almost be a jukebox Broadway musical in the vein of “Rock of Ages” or “Mama Mia.” A human slot machine, an Elvis impersonator and headdress-wearing showgirls joined her onstage for “Waking Up in Vegas.” She floated across the arena on a pink cotton-candy cloud while strumming a bedazzled guitar to “Thinking of You.” But despite the theatrics, Perry was still at her best when playing with the audience. At one point she sought out the “sexy boys” in the arena, and when she found a volunteer that struck her fancy, she called him to the stage — but not before making a diva demand: “If you come on stage, you leave that T-shirt right there.” He did as she asked, and after giving her audience a few minutes to ogle the strapping young man (and not just the screaming girls; more than once, Perry gave her gay male fans a shout-out too), she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. When he requested more, she joked, “My husband [Russell Brand] just told me in my ear he’s gonna come out here and kick your ass.” She then launched into a slowed-down, jazzy take on “I Kissed a Girl” that quickly shifted into the party jam we all know and love. Unlike many of her dance-pop contemporaries (think Lady Gaga or Britney Spears), Perry left most of the dancing to her talented backup troupe, who were introduced individually during solos to popular candy-related songs like “Tootsie Roll” and “How Many Licks,” while she prowled the stage. But her lack of heavy choreography might have been in the best interest of the show’s biggest surprise: her voice. She sounded fantastic from start to finish. Not even the green, pink and purple laser show that accompanied “E.T.” could obscure that fact that she sounds better than ever. Her vocals were again showcased when she stripped down the pop bombast for a fun medley of covers — “The playlist for my life right now.” So what is Perry listening to? “Only Girl in the World” by “My girl Ri-Ri”; “Big Pimpin’ ” by Jay-Z, during which she played a jewel-encrusted recorder; “Whip My Hair” by Willow Smith and, since it was the final day of the work week, Rebecca Black’s “Friday.” The audience ate it up. Terrific show-opener Robyn , who had Perry’s fans mimicking her freestyle dance moves despite the thankless task of opening for one of pop’s biggest names, set the tone for the concert’s final act, a dance-heavy medley of Perry’s biggest hits (and one fantastic cover). The songstress put on her signature blue wig to rile up the audience with the one-two punch of “Hot n Cold” and a take on Whitney Houston’s classic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).” During “Dance,” Perry pulled no less than 20 fans onstage for an impromptu dance party. Before the final two fans would leave the stage, they asked for a picture and the pop star obliged, saying, “New Facebook picture!” She encored with “California Gurls,” but the show’s banner moment came at its official end with “Firework.” With every person in the arena on their feet, Perry said, “I wrote this song for anyone who ever needed a song. To help them, to lift them up.” And then she did exactly that. The Coliseum shook as the near-capacity crowd sang the ubiquitous hit along with her as pyro lit up the stage, raining down like a wall of sparklers. It was colorful, triumphant and the perfect way to end a near-perfect pop show. Have you been to a Katy Perry show recently? Share your experiences in the comments below. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Katy Perry MTV First: Katy Perry’s ‘E.T.’ Related Artists Katy Perry
