Taylor Swift‘s “Mean,” the latest single from her multiplatinum third album Speak Now, was originally written in response to a music critic who wrote not-nice things about her. But in the just-premiered video for the song, Swift spins the stripped-down country tune into an outsider anthem starring herself, her honky-tonk combo, a gay teen, and at least one old-timey bad guy tying her to a railroad track. Check it out after the jump.
Actress-singer Kat Graham—who plays witch Bonnie Bennett on The CW’s Vampire Diaries and has dropped a few, poppy-delicious singles—put together a scintillating music video for her latest song, “I Want It All,” and EW has the exclusive debut of the clip.
Graham tells EW exclusively: “The video represents freedom in self sufficiency. Freedom to dream, to have it all while channeling Barbarella and Kat woman [sic].” While “I Want It All” features no other people besides Kat herself, she does have an interesting non-human co-star: a tiger. Watch the video here:
John Walker of the seminal ’60s and ’70s trio the Walker Brothers has died at the age of 67, according to the London Guardian. The singer and songwriter passed away on Saturday in his Los Angeles area home following a battle with liver cancer.
The Walker Brothers hits included “Make It Easy On Yourself” and “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore.” Walker was born John Maus but adopted the name “Walker” when he was 17 years old. In fact, none of the Walker Brothers were related, although some fans assumed John and his band mate Scott Walker were siblings. “On each day I play, one person asks me if we are and what is my brother doing,” John Walker told the U.K website thisisnottigham in 2009. The Brothers enjoyed enormous success in Britain during the ’60s. “The top three groups in England were the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Walker Brothers,” Walker recently told Saga magazine, “and we sort of switched positions in popularity occasionally.”
The band’s drummer Gary Walker has paid tribute to Walker. “The three of us had the most incredible adventure together, all the time not realizing that we were part of pop history,” the drummer wrote on his official website. “His music will live on, and therefore so will John.”
You can check out the Walker Brothers performing “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” below.
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Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
NBC’s Today show recently announced the lineup for their annual concert series.
Flame-haired songstress Rihanna will kick off the Toyota-sponsored affair on May 22, making this her fourth time on the Rockefeller Plaza stage.
Nineties pop studs and upcoming tour brothers New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys perform a few Fridays after, on June 3, while acts like Chris Brown, Train, an Maroon 5 all join later.
Check out the entire roster of performers after the jump:
Nicki Minaj‘s collection of wigs is endless—and so are her curves.
Viewers get a healthy dose of both in the rapstress’ new video for her latest single, “Super Bass.” In it, she describes the type of guy the she’s into, one who hits the gym often and has first-class money:
“He pops bottles and he’s got the right kind of build…. He’s always in the air/ But he never flies coach,” she spits while rubbing a muscular man’s abs.
But for all the pec-popping chest shots in the clip, there’s plenty for guys to appreciate as well. Nicki ratchets up the sex appeal, grinding on the seat of an iced-out motorcycle and giving her man a lap dance towards the end. Give the sexy clip a look after the jump:
So that motorcycle-themed cover art for Born This Way wasn’t just a put-on, after all.
After much pre-release controversy—including charges by Bill Donohue’s Catholic League and various Latino activist groups that it’s anti-Catholic—Lady Gaga released her hog-heavy video for ‘Judas.’ Or rather, it leaked, since it had been set to debut tonight at 7pm.
To be honest, it’s hard to imagine how exactly this would offend Christians. Sure, the clip presents a motorcycle-gang retelling of Jesus’ betrayal at the hands of the most reviled, though perhaps most important, disciple. But no less than St. Francis of Assisi inaugurated the idea of setting Nativities and passion plays in local, non-Middle Eastern settings.
Okay, maybe having a biker stud don a crown of thorns is problematic. But to me, the only real sin here is Laurieann Gibson’s “Simon Says” choreography. Take a look at the video after the jump and tell us what you think. READ FULL STORY »
The cover to Katy Perry’s remixed “Last Friday Night (TGIF)” single is about as dorky as album art gets — and, frankly, it’s awesome. Very Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles.
Those with a keen eye will recall Perry rocked the look last year in August for the Kids’ Choice Awards, and it appears she was so fond of it, she’s splashed it all over, which is great. Once you’ve seen one great picture of a pretty person like Perry on an album, you’ve seen ‘em all, right?
Yes, it’s a photo seemingly plucked from everyone’s worst teenage nightmare. But seeing an artist so willing to poke fun at herself? That’s a dream.
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Image Credit: Sonia Moskowitz/Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com
It’s an interesting thing when a notoriously private celebrity like Shania Twain goes through a public divorce: On the one hand, you admire her staying above the fray and keeping details to herself—you want that for her—but on the other, you really, really want to know everything.
Three years after her husband and best friend/assistant allegedly had an affair—they’ve never admitted it to her; her friend’s husband, now married to Twain, had to break that bit of news to her—Twain is finally talking. Promoting her new memoir, From This Moment On, and her new reality show Why Not? with Shania Twain (debuting Sunday on OWN), Twain has sat down with Oprah Winfrey and Meredith Vieira for revealing chats.
This morning on Today, Vieira was most interested in why Twain finally broke her silence, and in such a grand way. Twain said she realized she was obsessing about the death of her marriage and that while she’s not good at asking others for help, writing was always her form of expression. She wanted to write about something other than the betrayal she felt, so she began penning her autobiography, which put the divorce in perspective—it’s only a part of her life. (That actually makes sense.)
The memoir and TV show are her own form of therapy; it’s her way of facing things head-on. “I am genuinely a very private person, and I’ve probably been just too closed, and up to now, probably more closed than what was good for me,” she said. “And I also feel that a lot of that was just a bit of fear and anxiety, maybe worried about what people would think all the time, get criticized for it. And now I’m at a point where I feel sharing and giving testimony to a lot of things I’ve experienced in life will do more good for others than it would do keeping it to myself.” READ FULL STORY »
Former head Pussycat Doll and rumored X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger makes a play for a sunny, pre-summer jam with “Right There,” the first single off her upcoming album Killer Love.
In the new clip, the svelte pop diva slinks around downtown Los Angeles in skimpy outfits alongside featured guest 50 Cent and instigates an impromptu all-girls dance party that is all sorts of sultry.
The green-screen antics with Fiddy and product placement (Hi, Belvedere!) are a bit much, but the video is more than redeemed by Scherzinger’s warbly vocals, bump-and-grind dance moves and totally silly fashion.
Check out the colorful Paul Hunter-directed vid, below: READ FULL STORY »
Matthew Morrison has already announced collaborations on his upcoming album with an eclectic group of artists, including Elton John, Gwyneth Paltrow, and American Idol winner Kris Allen. Now, the Glee star is confirming a duet with one of music’s biggest stars: Sting. While it’s been rumored about for months, Morrison now tells EW exclusively, “I am happy to confirm that the final duet on my album is with one of my icons, a musical genius, Sting. I was honored that he agreed to do the duet and allow me to sing with him on one of his most incredible songs, ‘Let Your Soul Be My Pilot’.” Morrison’s self-titled album drops next Tuesday. Listen to Sting’s original version below…
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Read more:
‘Glee’ star Matthew Morrison and ‘American Idol’ winner Kris Allen talk collaborating on new single, ‘Still Got Tonight’
Matthew Morrison unveils Elton John duet
Hear Matthew Morrison and Gwyneth Paltrow duet on ‘Over the Rainbow’ — EXCLUSIVE
