Singer tells MTV News there’s ‘friendly competition’ with fellow judges Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Matt Elias Cee Lo Green Photo: MTV News Given his gigs fronting ATL rap crew Goodie Mob, Gnarls Barkley and his recent mega-viral success with the song “F— You,” you’d think the last thing Cee Lo Green would do is join the cast of a reality singing competition. But you’d be wrong. “At first, I thought it was a very cool and original concept,” Green said of the script-flipping conceit of the soon-to-launch “The Voice,” in which judges sit with their backs to contestants to focus on their vocals instead of their looks as they decide whether to mentor them through later rounds. Secondly, after years of touring and grinding it out on the road, Green said he was looking forward to staying put in Los Angeles and pursuing the new opportunities that have come his way thanks to the exposure from the Grammy-nominated “F— You.”
No, this isn’t the devastating end to a Hitchcock movie: Farley Granger, the actor whose 60 years of credits included starring roles in the Master of Suspense’s Rope (1948) and Strangers on a Train (1951), died of natural causes at age 85 in New York City. You’ll notice he was also gorgeous. Let’s revisit a trailer from his finest hour on film and discuss his fantastic legacy.
If you didn’t get your poster fill from The Tree of Life and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II , don’t worry: The boys from The Hangover Part II have arrived from Thailand, and they’ve brought a monkey in a sleeveless jean jacket. Let’s get this party started?
Courtney Love shrugged. “We’ve been in lots of rooms together,” she said to a packed theater of moviegoers at the Museum of Modern Art, where Hit So Hard , a documentary about her band Hole (and, more specifically, drummer/addict/survivor Patty Schemel) had its New York premiere Monday night. The crowd laughed, steeped in nostalgia and recognition — not that Love was talking about this room or this crowd.
Kristina Kell (born December 26, 1964) is a law student and a special education advocate, who competed in 2001 Survivor: Redemption Island. Kristina was born Kristina Kochoff, in Santa Monica, CA and grew up in the Brentwood community of Los Angeles. She went on to attend Marymount High School where she played varsity tennis and competed on the teen-circuit in California. Kristina went on to attend UCLA and USC majoring in Italian Renaissance Literature and Language. She worked at Paramount fro
Event will stream live from South By Southwest On Saturday. By James Montgomery Photo: VH1 Hanson have announced plans for a 12-hour benefit livestream set for Saturday (March 19) at South By Southwest, to aid victims of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. The event, which will stream live at VH1 the event came together at the last minute, with the band and the festival putting a call out to all the acts still in Austin for SXSW. “We’re really excited,” Isaac Hanson said, “We’ve got a lot of bands that are going to be a part of this event, bands that are recording stuff, bands that are going to be live …” “It’s a massive, massive issue that’s really crippling a whole nation and a lot of people just like you and me,” Taylor Hanson added. The SXSW 4 Japan livestream begins at 12 pm CT at
Contestants will sing songs released in their birth years on Wednesday’s show. By Eric Ditzian Casey Abrams performs on “American Idol” on March 9 Photo: Fox Two months into its 10th season, “American Idol” is finally about to begin. After scores of multi-city auditions, Hollywood Week and pre-taped shows at a Los Angeles soundstage, the reality competition is set, at long last, to unleash a live performance episode on Wednesday (March 16). This is the “Idol” we know (and sometimes love), and it’ll be interesting to see how the reality of live TV affects the contestants as well as the judges. This week’s 12 remaining hopefuls will be taking on songs from the years they were born — a theme last explored in 2009, when Adam Lambert wowed with Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and Scott MacIntyre got the boot for a schmaltzy version of Survivor’s “The Search Is Over.” Will Casey Abrams and Pia Toscano cement their status as front-runners? Can Karen Rodriguez and Haley Reinhart avoid another trip to the bottom three? Those are among the questions lingering as we head into the show. Casey Abrams The front-runner has made two trips to the hospital this season to deal with severe stomach pains, but he’s back in “Idol” land now and apparently feeling good. What exactly he missed in terms of preparation and how it will affect his performance remains to be seen. Casey’s task will be to break out of his established pattern — exceedingly average beginnings, followed by excitingly free-flowing conclusions — and show us he’s got more in his repertoire than twists and growl-shouts. Haley Reinhart The 20-year-old is perhaps the show’s least developed artist. One week she’s reaching like a diva for Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’,” the next she’s uncorking yodels that make her sound like a walrus with a tummy ache. Thing is, Haley does have a rich and soulful voice. The problem is that she’s had two decades to figure out her artistic identity and still doesn’t seem to have come up with anything. What are the chances she’ll do so in the midst of “Idol” madness? Unless Haley pulls off a stunning performance on Wednesday, she’ll likely be in the bottom three once again. Jacob Lusk Let’s just pretend last week didn’t happen, OK? OK! Whatever song he chooses from his birth year this week, he’d best take it for a walk through the gospel-and soul-tinged late-’70s or early-’80s — that’s how he found such soaring success earlier this month. After his WTF-take on R. Kelly last week, we have a feeling anything recorded since Lusk was born may not be his best bet. James Durbin We only want two things from you this week, James. One, don’t you dare pin that ridiculous scarf on your bum. Two, don’t you dare revert back to delusions that you’re the second coming of Ozzy Osbourne, because your sweet spot is as a sensitive rocker, as we learned during last week’s take on Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.” Do those two things, James, and shoot, you can bust out that dime-store Lambert squeal all you want. Karen Rodriguez Our advice begins and ends with this: You are not J. Lo, so don’t try to be J. Lo, or J. Lo won’t be the only judge telling you she just wasn’t feeling your performance. No matter what Karen does or who she tries to imitate this week, she’s going to have a hard time avoiding the bottom three once again. She’s lacking in vocal power and has suffered from more pitch problems than Wembley Stadium after a weeklong rainstorm. Lauren Alaina The key for Lauren will be to see how she bounces back from her first-ever negative assessment. After the judges gave her poor marks, the 16-year-old looked as if she’d collapse in tears right next to Ryan Seacrest. She’s continually made strong song choices, busting out country-rock-pop performances, but last week her tune was lacking in the youthful, happy-go-lucky energy she’s so adept at exuding. We’ll be keeping an eye out for her return to form. And she’d better get there, because a few more weeks of middling performances and she’ll sacrifice her spot as a fan favorite. Naima Adedapo We honestly have no idea what Naima is going to do on Wednesday, and that’s mostly a good thing. She’s easily the most artistically interesting contestant, yet there’s something undoubtedly schizophrenic about her recent performances: Is she a radio-friendly R&B queen or a throwback chanteuse with jazzy blues running through her veins? Voters seemed to like her Rihanna shtick better (she avoided the bottom three last week, after being saved by the judges’ wild card the week before), so she’d be wise keep things upbeat and pop radio-oriented. How someone born in the mid-’80s can manage that, given this week’s theme, is anybody’s guess. Paul McDonald After rag doll-dancing his way to the front of the “Idol” pack earlier this month, McDonald flopped on his face last week like Buzz Lightyear when a human walks in the room. We’d advise him to ditch the wacky dance moves and concentrate on his vocals. Another mid-’80s born contestant, McDonald has the opportunity to have loads of fun with a nostalgic tune he gives a 21st-century glean to. And as we saw during his take on Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” when Paul’s having fun, America is having fun. Pia Toscano This head-of-the-classer didn’t take our advice last week, so we doubt she will this week. But we can hope! There can be no doubting Pia’s got a serious set of pipes on her — girl can sing her “Idol” non-disclosure agreement and it’d sound killer. What we need to see and hear is an ability to sing something other than a ballad. Go up-tempo and show us something fresh. Scotty McCreery We’ve stopped waiting for Scotty to show some genre range and now are simply keeping our fingers crossed for some creativity. Instead of presenting familiar versions of hit country songs, why not take a pop radio tune and give it a country makeover? The point is, Scotty’s got to show us something new, because a month from now, he’s going to be so predictable we’ll be taking bathroom breaks during his time onstage. Stefano Langone Like Naima, Stefano catapulted himself from the judges’ wild card to bottom three-avoiding territory last week. Unlike Naima, he seems to have a firm idea of what kind of artist he is, even if his vocals aren’t always there to carry him through (see his take on Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”). Last week’s cheesy arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Lately” did him no favors, so this week we’d like to see him strip down a tune and showcase smooth vocals, not to mention his head-of-the-class onstage personality. Thia Megia Why Thia hasn’t tackled something by Duffy or Adele, rather than drenching an ’80s tune in sticky-sweet innocence, is a question we can’t answer. At least that decade is off-limits to the 16-year-old this week. While she’s got a seriously beautiful voice, she’s got an artistic sensibility that is the stuff of teen dreams more than anything else. No matter what she sings this week and how much the judges try to convince us she’s a keeper, Thia could be in trouble this week. Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday on MTV.com, following the “American Idol” results show, for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. 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Sadly, as we expected, things have gone from bad to worse for the people of Japan. An explosion rocked another nuclear plant in northeastern Japan earlier today, causing authorities to issue another evacuation warning. Soldiers and officials along a stretch of Japan’s northeastern coast warned residents that the area could be hit by another tsunami Monday and ordered them to higher ground. But the Meteorological Agency said there was no risk of another deadly wave. The warning came as an explosion rocked the nearby Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The blast was felt 30 miles away by Associated Press journalists in the coastal town of Soma, where residents fled the town for safety after being herded quickly through muddy, debris-strewn streets. TV footage showed a massive column of smoke belching from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant’s No. 3 unit, about 125 miles north of Tokyo. Japanese officials said they believe it was a hydrogen explosion similar to an earlier one at a different unit in the facility. The problems at the plant stem from failed cooling systems caused by damage from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation. Before the power plant blast, sirens around Soma, which was battered by Friday’s tsunami, went off and public address systems ordered residents to safety. Farther south along the coast, helicopters flew over coastal communities warning residents to head to higher ground. In Sendai, the biggest city in the area, police announced warnings on a public address system. In Tokyo and elsewhere, authorities began rolling blackouts to conserve power as they tried desperately to stabilize the nuclear reactors at risk of meltdown in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. The disasters sent Tokyo’s stock market plunging as it opened, raising fears of a steep economic toll on top of the already overwhelming human suffering. The planned blackouts of about three hours each in Tokyo and other cities are meant to help make up for the loss of power from key nuclear plants. Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said Sunday that the power utility expects a 25 percent shortfall. Some 1.9 million households were without electricity, but many people were without even more basic necessities. At least 1.4 million households had gone without water since the quake struck, and food aid was slow in reaching many areas. And the death toll keeps rising . And they’re expecting snow this week, which will make the situation even tougher for survivors and rescue workers… SMH.
Richard Hatch, winner of Survivor and current contestant on Celebrity Apprentice , is going to jail for not paying taxes for the money he won on Survivor . The reality star has served more than three years for tax evasion already. He has been under supervised release and was supposed to re-file his taxes. Hatch, who apparently can’t outwit, outplay or outlast the Internal Revenue Service, failed to do so again and did not fork over taxes from 2000-01. Richard needs to Hatch a plan to hire an accountant. “It needs to be a severe punishment,” U.S. District Court Judge William Smith told Hatch. “That’s the only thing that will deter you in the future.” Hatch was also ordered to serve 26 months of supervised release. During that time, a quarter of his gross income will be paid directly to the IRS. Hatch, who now owes an estimated $2 million, reports to prison Monday. There’s a lesson in this, people. Withholding. It works pretty effectively.
