RIHANNA ADMIRES GAGA
Rihanna has shared her thoughts about one of the most-talked about artists of 2009, Lady Gaga. RiRi told MTV News that Gaga “has a very bold, fearless image,” adding that she admires the singer because she doesn’t apologize for those bold moves. Rihanna stated, “I have so much respect for original artists and artists who aren’t afraid to do what they want to do.” Lady Gaga is up for five GRAMMY Awards, including Record, Song and Album of the Year. While Rihanna is up for two for her collaboration with Jay-Z and Kanye West for “Run This Town.” For more head to MTV.com/News.
ADAM LAMBERT ON THE VIEW
After having a series of booking canceled by ABC, Adam Lambert will finally make it back to the Disney-owned network on Thursday. Lambert will visit with the ladies of The View, one night after he appears on Barbara Walters’ special, The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009. The American Idol runner-up will perform and also sit on the couch and chat with the View panel. The singer, who was booted from a spot on ABC’s Good Morning America in the wake of his controversial American Music Awards performance last month, was subsequently uninvited from a previously scheduled appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and an unconfirmed slot on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, both ABC programs.
ADAM LAMBERT ON SYTYCD FINALE
American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert will take the stage at the finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Lambert will sing his latest track, “Whataya Want From Me,” in his first appearance on the network since the American Idol season finale in May. The two night finale airs on Tuesday, December 16th and Wednesday, December 16th at 8 PM Eastern on FOX. Wednesday’s two-hour grand finale will feature surprise guests and special performances by this season’s Top 20 dancers. Host Cat Deeley will reveal America’s vote and crown someone America’s Favorite Dancer. The winner will dance off with a cash prize of 250-thousand dollars and will be featured on the cover of the March 2010 issue of Dance Spirit magazine.
SHAKIRA HAS HIP-HOP CRED
Shakira has once again proved that she’s got some hip-hop cred. She hooked up with Kid Cudi for the remix of her song “Did It Again,” which came out last month, and now the up-and-coming rapper appears in a video for the remix that leaked online over the weekend. Shakira recently worked with Lil Wayne and told MTV News she is really beginning to take to hip-hop. She said, “I’m starting to understand and assimilate and internalize hip-hop music and hip-hop influences, so I’m trying to incorporate them within my own music, which is a new thing in my life, and I’m completely over the moon. I’m like a kid with a new toy. I’m playing with these new ideas.” For more check out MTV.com.
USHER RELEASES “STAY DOWN”
New material continues to leak from Usher’s upcoming effort, Raymond vs. Raymond. This time, the “Papers” singer is looking for a loyal woman in his new song titled “Stay Down.” The Danja-produced track is scheduled to appear on the new album, which drops on March 1st. Check out the track on YouTube now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m7N1Qlt1LE
TAYLOR SWIFT BLOGS ABOUT SWEATERS AND MORE
It seems Taylor Swift is in the holiday spirit. According to her blog, she’s enjoyed spotting people in sweaters, looking at lit Christmas trees and seeing parking lots of restaurants full of friends and families coming together. She’ll be in New York this week and looks forward to seeing all of the “sparkly stuff” in the windows. She’s also counting down the days until her birthday — December 13th — and says she’s been practicing saying she’s 20 and no longer a teenager.
TAYLOR SWIFT GRACES NEW YORK STYLE MAGAZINE COVER
Taylor Swift is on the cover of New York Style magazine with bright blue eye shadow, big hair and bright red lips. In the issue, she reveals she hadn’t heard of Nashville until she was watching a TV special featuring Faith Hill, who mentioned she moved to Nashville and got a record deal. From then on, Taylor bugged her parents every day to move the family to Music City. Her first trip to Nashville was during spring break when she was 11, which is when she began dropping off karaoke singing tapes to record labels.
KYLIE MINOGUE LIVE ALBUM
Kylie Minogue will be releasing a live album next week. According to NME.com, the Aussie pop star will be putting out Kylie Live in New York, which was recorded at one of her shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on her recently wrapped North American tour. It will be available for download beginning next Monday.
GAGA ON X-FACTOR
Over the weekend, Lady Gaga performed her new hit single “Bad Romance” on the British talent contest X-Factor. See video of the pop star bringing the house down at PerezHilton.com.
http://perezhilton.com/2009-12-06-gaga-does-x-factor
MADONNA TALKS FITNESS
Some people have made the claim that Madonna’s workout routine is too rigorous, and that someone of her age might want to slow down and take it easy. But since when has the Queen of Pop listened to her critics? Madge told British television show GMTV that she keeps working out for “health reasons, and for aesthetic reasons” and that if she has to “jump around in a pair of hot pants” that she better look good.
LEONA LEWIS V. JAMES CAMERON
Leona Lewis recently released her sophomore album Echo, so it’s understandable that most of her time is been going to promoting the effort. What it means though, is that she hasn’t been able to release her song, “I See You,” the theme from the upcoming movie Avatar. According to ContactMusic.com, director James Cameron is upset over this because he believes the song has the potential to be as big as “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, which was the theme to his film Titanic. A source said that Leona was delighted to be a part of the film, but the tune was never meant to be released as a single.
LILY ALLEN TO BUY A HOUSE?
It’s been reported that Lily Allen is getting ready to step away from music for a little while, and the singer-songwriter may have just taken her first step toward doing that. According to ContactMusic.com, Allen, who’s always lived in London, is making plans to purchase a country mansion that will cost about two-million dollars. A source says that Lily has grown tired of “London life” and already put her apartment in the city up for rent.
CAROLINA LIAR WANT YOUR IDEAS
Carolina Liar just checked in while working on their new album, and they need your help. According to a post on their official Web site, the “Show Me What I’m Looking For” band is taking suggestions for songs for them to cover and post on their Web site while in the midst of the recording process. Write to them at Twitter.com/CarolinaLiar, and let them know which songs you think would be good. Then, check back to CarolinaLiar.com to see if yours was selected!
CELEBS PAY TRIBUTE TO SPRINGSTEEN AT KENNEDY CENTER
On Sunday, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp, Sting, Melissa Etheridge, Jon Stewart and President Barack Obama all paid tribute to Bruce Springsteen at the Kennedy Center Honors. During the event, Stewart said, “When you listen to Bruce’s music, you aren’t a loser. You are a character in an epic poem about losers.” Later, Mellencamp performed a somber version of “Born in the U.S.A,” Etheridge played “Born to Run,” Eddie Vedder and a gospel choir sang “My City of Ruins” and Sting, with a larger gospel choir, performed “The Rising.” Rolling Stone reports that The Boss looked alternately moved and embarrassed as the tributes came in. You can see the entire Kennedy Center Honors on December 29th on CBS.
Robert DeNiro, Mel Brooks, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and opera soprano Grace Bumbery were also honored.
BEASTIE BOY IS FEELING FINE
In an interview with MovieLine.com, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch said he is “feeling fine” after his recent battle with cancer. The MC was diagnosed in July, but explained he is feeling better after surgery. He added that the group is now planning a tour and stated that they are in talks to perform at next year’s Coachella festival in Indio, California.
HEAR A NEW U2 SONG
A new U2 song titled “Winter” appears in the film Brothers. The movie, which is directed by fellow Irishman Jim Sheridan, features Tobey Maguire as a Marine who goes missing. U2’s classic track “Bad” is also featured in the movie. Fans of the band can check out “Winter” now at U2.com. Brothers, which is out in theatres now, also stars Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
CHRIS MARTIN FOR X-FACTOR?
According to NME, Coldplay’s Chris Martin is set to appear at the live finale of X-Factor, a U-K talent show similar to American Idol. The singer is reportedly in talks to appear on the show, which also features Simon Cowell as a judge. The Coldplay frontman may collaborate with Paul McCartney and George Michael on stage on the program. Last year, Leona Lewis won the competition.
BRANDON FLOWER STICKS WITH HIS KILLERS
Despite rumors that he would be going solo, Killers singer Brandon Flowers says he’ll be sticking with his band. An announcement from the band’s label reveals that Brandon will not be going out on his own and plans on touring with the Killers into spring, 2010. The Killers’ new Christmas single, “Happy Birthday Guadalupe,” is out now.
CREED GOING STRONG
It seems that Creed’s reunion is still going well. Guitarist Mark Tremonti told Billboard that “there haven’t been any fights or disagreements…it feels good.” He said the band plans on hitting the road again in April, stopping in the cities they missed on their 2009 trek. Creed’s first album in six years, Full Circle, was released back in October.
ANVIL DOC WINS ANOTHER AWARD
Anvil! The Story of Anvil, the acclaimed documentary about the Canadian metal band, has scored another award. The flick was honored as 2009’s Best Feature Documentary by the International Documentary Association. This comes just days after the film also won Best Music Doc from the IDA. When accepting that trophy, drummer Robb Reiner said, “We are living proof that things are never too late and dreams do come true.”
KANYE WEST HAS THE BEST ALBUM OF THE DECADE
According to Entertainment Weekly, Kanye West’s critically acclaimed album, The College Dropout, tops their Top Ten Albums Of The Decade list. The rapper’s disc debuted in 2004 and spawned hits like “All Falls Down,” “Jesus Walks” and “Slow Jamz” with Twista and Jamie Foxx. Here’s who filled the remaining nine slots.
1. The College Dropout, Kanye West (2004)
2. The Blueprint, Jay-Z (2001)
3. Kid A, Radiohead (2000)
4. Stankonia, OutKast (2000)
5. Love And Theft, Bob Dylan (2001)
6. Home, The Dixie Chicks (2002)
7. Funeral, The Arcade Fire (2004)
8. I Am… Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé (2008)
9. FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake (2006)
10. You Are Free, Cat Power (2003)
DIDDY MAKES 400K ON HOME SHOPPING NETWORK
While promoting his new fragrances on the Home Shopping Network, Diddy raked in nearly half a million dollars in record time last week. According to Woooha.com, the mogul sold over 56-hundred units of his I Am King and Unforgivable cologne in 40 minutes. Puff reportedly set a new record, making over 380-thousand in less than an hour.
SOULJA BOY DENIES FAKE TATTOO RUMOR
Soulja Boy took to his Twitter account to let everyone know that his tattoos are real. Last week, rumors spread that his body ink was fake. The rapper tweeted, “Just to clear it up b4 it goes any further, all the tats on my body are 100% REAL.” Several media outlets posted side-by-side pictures of Soulja and it appears that his tats are missing. To explain this, he wrote: “the lights were to bright at the [Chris Brown] concert…But thanks for the promo Mediatakeout! :)” In related news, Soulja is currently working on his upcoming album, The DeAndre Way, which will be available early next year.
