DID GAGA RIP OFF BETTE MIDLER?
According to RollingStone.com, Lady Gaga is under fire again for her new wheelchair-bound mermaid alter ego, “Yuyi.” Bette Midler says the character is a direct rip-off of her own wheelchair-bound mermaid alter ego, “Delores Delago,” which she made popular in the late 1970s. Midler took to Twitter on Saturday and wrote “Dear @ladygaga Ive been doing singing mermaid in a wheelchair since 1980-You can keep the meat dress and the firecracker tits-mermaid’s mine.” Gaga has not responded to Midler’s tweet in public, but Midler took to Twitter again on Sunday and wrote “@ladygaga, let’s drink this over at the Emmys in September. Fabulous mermaids can coexist!”
GAGA GETS PORNO TREATMENT
Hustler Video has made a successful line of porno films poking fun at celebrities like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Oprah Winfrey and many more. Their latest video, This Ain’t Lady Gaga XXX, is a parody of the singer. It stars Helly Mae Hellfire as “Mother Monster,” who parodies Gaga’s hit single “Telephone” in the film. This Ain’t Lady Gaga XXX will be available on DVD soon.
Check out the safe for office viewing trailer at ThisAintLadyGagaXXX.com.
PITBULL AND WYCLEF CONTRIBUTE TO ZUMBA FITNESS PROGRAM
Pitbull and Wyclef Jean recently contributed to the popular fitness program Zumba, based around Latin music and dance. The pair told MTV News that Zumba’s diverse scope of genres and choreography drew them to the global phenomenon. Elements of hip-hop, samba, salsa, meringue and mambo inspire Zumba’s training program, which Pitbull and Jean demonstrated last week at the Zumba Fitness convention in Orlando.
THE NEW BOYZ TALK ROCK INFLUENCE
The New Boyz are known for their hits like “Backseat” and “You’re a Jerk,” but the duo pulls unexpected inspiration on the Kool Kojak-produced track “Meet My Mom” off their latest album Too Cool to Care. The group explained how rock music influences their sound, which also includes elements of electro-pop and dance music (See Related Cut #3). Check out Too Cool to Care, out now in stores and online.
TWEET OF THE DAY: DEMI LOVATO
Demi Lovato is still getting used to the paparazzi following her from place to place. The singer and actress took to Twitter to report on the phenomenon: “Walk into a movie, no one’s there. Walk out, BOOM! Still getting used to this bizarre life. #JustWannaMakeMusic #CanIGetAAmen?! :P.” She added: “To this day paps stress me out. They just pop out of nowhere. #Hollyweird.”
CMT CROSSROADS: TRAIN AND MARTINA MCBRIDE ARRIVES ON DVD!
CMT Crossroads: Train and Martina McBride was released last week. Taped live in Nashville in 2010, the concert features the two acts sharing the stage, and songs during a special that premiered in November on CMT. The DVD features seven performances, including Train’s “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” and “Hey, Soul Sister” and McBride’s “A Broken Wing” and “Wrong Baby Wrong,” along with two bonus tracks not featured in the show, “For These Times” and “Calling All Angels.” The project marks only the second time a CMT Crossroads episode has been available on DVD. CMT Crossroads: Taylor Swift and Def Leppard was released in 2009.
SARA BAREILLES TO JOIN THE SING-OFF
Sara Bareilles will join The Sing-Off as a judge this season. The show, which features fellow judges Ben Folds, Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman and host Nick Lachey, will premiere its third season on Monday, September 19th at 8 PM Eastern on NBC.
Sara is preparing to release her new single, “Gonna Get Over You,” which features Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. She will shoot a video for the track this month in Los Angeles, which will be helmed by Jonah Hill, marking his directorial video debut.
BEYONCE’S NEW SINGLE IS BIG IN THE U-K
Beyonce’s 4 may have slipped from the number one spot on the U-K album charts, but her newest single, “Best Thing I Never Had,” has claimed the top slot on the U-K R&B chart. The singer’s ballad easily surpassed Nicki Minaj’s “SuperBass” and Rihanna’s ‘”California King Bed.” In the U-S, her fourth studio effort is the number one album in the country on the Billboard 200 chart. Be sure to pick up 4 today.
SWIFT TAKES ON CANADA, BIEBER ON TOUR!
Taylor Swift took Canada by storm over the weekend as her Speak Now Tour rolled into Toronto and Montreal. The show marked Taylor’s return to the stage after severe bronchitis forced her to postpone a handful of dates for the first time in her career. After bringing her show to thousands of fans all over Europe and Asia, Taylor says she’s thrilled to bring the show home to the North American fans (See Related Cut #6). At her Canadian shows, Taylor paid tribute to recording artists from Canada by singing a medley that included a cover of teen pop-star Justin Bieber’s hit, “Baby.” When Justin heard the news, he tweeted Taylor saying, “thank u for the love….might have to come by and stop in on a show.” The Speak Now Tour rolls on this week with a run of four sold-out shows at Newark’s Prudential Center.
DRAKE TALKS VIBE OF NEXT ALBUM
We’re all waiting to hear Drake’s sophomore album and even though the disc is far from being completed, Drizzy spilled some insight on the direction of the project. During a recent interview, Drizzy stated, “I think I finally have a grasp on who I am and who I want to be. I’m just really talking that s**t, that s**t I’m really saying what I feel.” He explained that his goal for the LP is to “dig even deeper” and “capture this moment in time at the most honest place I can.” He concluded that “sonically” he’s “picking up the energy” from his debut effort, Thank Me Later. No release date is known at this time.
For the recording process, Drake also stated, “[Lil] Wayne lets me do whatever I want to do and I got really the people I grew up with here. That’s really what this album is about. It’s about really making this happen.”
50 CENT DROPS FIRST SINGLE
Over the weekend, 50 Cent released the first single from his upcoming album. The Cardiak-produced cut is called “Outlaw” and serves as the lead offering from the follow-up to 2009’s Before I Self Destruct. After unleashing the official artwork for the track, fans can now download the tune today (7/19) via iTunes.
http://hulkshare.com/43kqr4cl0z4v
LUDACRIS READIES NEW MIXTAPE
Before Ludacris drops his next studio album, Ludaversal, the rapper plans to issue a new mixtape to help tide fans over. The new project will be Luda’s first street release since of 2000’s Back for the First Time. The rapper explained, “We gon’ flood the streets with a bunch of music for all the fans that appreciate that.” He added, “It’s been a decade long, so I feel like it’s that time. It’s just rejuvenation. We gotta make sure we give everybody what they need right now.” No word on when it will be completed, we’ll keep you posted.
FACT OF THE DAY: MARY J BLIGE
Wanna know why we have such a tremendous amount of respect for Mary J Blige? Well, the singer’s first eight albums have all reached certified platinum status or higher in the U-S. Mind you, she’s only released nine discs, five of which have gone ripple platinum. Her last effort, Stronger With Each Tear, is her only project to only have gold status. Queen of Hip-Hop Soul indeed.
DETAILS ON KANYE’S WOMEN LINE
We previously reported Kanye West announced that he’ll be designing his first fashion line for women. While many assumed Yeezy would have little-to-no involvement in creating the pieces, he actually took sewing lesions from famous British designer, Louise Goldin. In addition, Professor Louis Wilson of British fashion school Central St. Martins told NYMag.com, “There are those who might assume Louise will be doing all the work and Kanye is just the face, I don’t believe this will be the case–he researches thoroughly and is hands on and committed to his work.”
JA RULE GETS TWO MORE YEARS?
Ja Rule can’t catch a break. According to The Associated Press, the rapper was sentenced to two years of jail time for tax evasion. Apparently, Ja failed to pay over three-million dollars on back taxes to the IRS from 2004 to 2006. The troubled emcee is currently serving two years in prison stemming from weapons possession. His new sentence will “run concurrently” and could result in an additional 4 to 12 months. If that’s not bad enough, he must also pay 1.1-million in back taxes.
TIDBIT: Rule told the AP, “I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal. I was a young man who made a lot of money — I’m getting a little choked up — I didn’t know how to deal with these finances.”
