JAY-Z & ALICIA KEYS INSPIRED “CALIFORNIA GURLS”
Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” came out of a very simple place: as a response to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ massive hit “Empire State of Mind.” Perry told MTV News, “When I came up with the idea of ‘California Gurls,’ it was because I was a little bit jealous of all the love that was given to the East Coast, and I thought for sure Tupac was rolling in his grave, and the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson was totally upset.” Perry added she means no disrespect to her East Coast counterparts. She said she loves New York girls, but “when it comes to wintertime, they’re all going to be singing ‘California Gurls.'”
EMINEM NUMBER ONE FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WEEK!
Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie” tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a fifth straight week. Taio Cruz stays put at number two with “Dynamite,” while Katy Perry becomes the 10th solo female in the history of the Hot 100 to concurrently place two titles in the top five, as her former number one hit, “California Gurls” featuring Snoop Dogg, climbs one spot to number three and her new single, “Teenage Dream,” leaps four notches to number five. Meanwhile, “I Like It” by Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull climbs one spot to number four.
NEW INFORMATION ABOUT SWIFT’S “MINE” VIDEO
A video still from Taylor Swift’s new music video for “Mine” has hit the Internet, and it appears Taylor and Ty Hemmingway, who play her love interest, may have a child in the clip. The still shows the two gathered around a young boy who is blowing out candles on his 4th birthday cake. CMT, MTV, VH1 and MTV International will team up to present the global premiere of “Mine” on Friday, August 27th.
JOHN MAYER BLOGS ABOUT BOB DYLAN
John Mayer has just posted a new blog, and it focuses on legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Mayer writes that he had a dream about Dylan and asked him if he was working on new music, to which Bob replied, “Absolutely.” Read the whole entry at JhnMyr.Tumblr.com.
NO LATEX WEDDING DRESS FOR KATY PERRY
Don’t expect to see Katy Perry in latex on her wedding day. The pop star is known for wearing the material when she performs on stage, but she told People magazine that it makes her sweat, and she doesn’t “want to do that” when tying the knot. Perry and fiancé Russell Brand are set to wed later this year.
JASON MRAZ HONORED
Jason Mraz has been honored for all of his good deeds. The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, or SIMA, has named the “I’m Yours” singer their 2010 Humanitarian of the Year. SIMA said they are honoring Jason because of his dedication to a number of different organizations, including VH1 Save The Music, Life Rolls On, MusiCares and others. It also probably can’t hurt that he’s “a fellow surfer” as well. Learn more at SIMA.com.
KATY PERRY TALKS GOING HOME
Katy Perry is discussing her new album, Teenage Dream, which comes out tomorrow. The pop star told MTV News that she needed to return home to Santa Barbara, California to write and record the effort, mostly to get away from Los Angeles. Even though the two cities aren’t that far apart, going back to where she grew up helped her get away from her “fast-paced life,” which she said can sometimes get “exhausting.” Read more at MTVNews.com.
JOHN LEGEND GETS REPLACEMENT GRAMMY
John Legend took to his Twitter account to express his gratitude for receiving a replacement GRAMMY Award from the Recording Academy. We previously reported the singer’s 2005 trophy for Best R&B Album was snapped in half by his nephews. The “Ordinary People” crooner previously posted a picture of the broken accolade on his Twitter page and wrote that he hopes to be sent a “replacement.” The singer has received five other golden awards that he plans to keep in tact by “nephew proofing [his] apartment a little better.”
BEYONCE IS ALWAYS INSPIRED
In the September issue of Self Magazine, Beyonce opens up about what she’s been up to during her extended break from music. The entertainer has indulged in “going to dinners, seeing plays, visiting museums and spending time with family and friends.” However, she admits that “it’s time to jump back into my work when everything I do starts inspiring lyrics and melodies and I can’t keep myself out of the studio.” Be sure to tune into the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12th to see how many shiny Moonmen Bey takes home!
AMERICAN BANG EXTEND TOUR
American Bang have extended their 2010 tour. The band will be playing more dates in support of their upcoming self-titled album, which comes out on August 31st. The U-S tour will run through December. Fans can hear American Bang’s new album when it streams in its entirety on AOL Music on August 31st. American Bang play Baltimore tomorrow night.
BONO TALKS NEW U2 MUSIC
Bono recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss the three new songs that U2 has been playing on tour. Of the acoustic ballad “North Star,” the Irish singer said, “I thought it’s okay to write a love song for the universe.” On “Glastonbury,” Bono explained The Edge has a “big riff” and was influenced by Jimmy Page, while the track reminds Bono more of the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Prodigy. Bono revealed the band has tons of new material on the way including Songs of Ascent, an album that was meant to compliment No Line on the Horizon; a rock album; a club-sounding album and the music from the upcoming Spider-Man musical on Broadway. We’ll keep you posted as to when any of that music will be released.
CONAN O’BRIEN RECORDS COMEDY PIECE WITH JACK WHITE
Fans of funnyman Conan O’Brien will be interested in a spoken-word piece the comedian recorded at Jack White’s Third Man Records in June. O’Brien recorded his take on the “Frankenstein” story And They Call Me Mad, and the release comes out tomorrow on seven-inch vinyl. The B-side features White interviewing O’Brien. Fans can hear a snippet of the piece now at ThirdManRecords.com.
KANYE’S “POWER” GETS SPOOFED, DROPS REMIX
Billboard.com reports Kanye West’s “Power” video has been spoofed into a brand new song dedicated to drinking. In a clip called “Power Hour,” aspiring-artist Freddy Wong raps: “No one touch those drinks ’cause they ours/how you tipsy it’s only been two hours.” You have to see this!
In related news, the official remix for “Power” includes Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz. It’s not yet kown if the revamped version will appear on West’s upcoming fifth studio album — which will land in stores on and online November 16th.
VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1TTmuDtqwI
REMIX LINK: http://usershare.net/y427mwoezybt
LIL WAYNE WELCOME HOME CONCERT?
Drake announced on his UStream session late last week that he has something special planned Lil Wayne when he’s released from Riker’s Island prison on November 4th. Drizzy promised, “Undisclosed location, November 5th, the Welcome Home Weezy concert.” Since further details are not known at this time, the rap star suggests, “You might as well camp out at all different locations. That’s gonna be crazy.” In related news, you can check out the new video for Drake’s latest single, “Miss Me” featuring Lil Wayne, via MTV.com.
Wayne’s I Am Not a Human Being will arrive on his 28th birthday on September 27th.
HOPEFUL HAYLEY WILLIAMS
Paramore singer Hayley Williams is up for tons of VMAs this year, between her “Airplanes” nods and the band’s nominations for the “Ignorance” video. Does she expect to win? Williams gave us her life outlook on such things (See Related Cut #5). To see if Paramore wins big at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, tune in to the show on Sunday, September 12th at 9 PM Eastern on MTV.
