Archive: August 2011 (21-30 of 202)

Aug 29 2011 01:12 PM ET

Nicki Minaj and Rihanna are the last queens standing in 'Fly' video: Watch it here

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Filed under: Music and tagged: , , , ,

Nicki Minaj may have looked like a walking bag of tropical Skittles last night. But in her new video she rocks a tattered pink dress and a crocked bride of Frankenstein flat-top hairstyle.

Strutting through a dystopian society, Minaj is joined by a still-red-haired Rihanna. Together the two roam their land, apparently only pausing for costume changes.

It appears they’ve survived quite a battle and now only have each other and rubble to worry about. “I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive/ I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise,” Rihanna coos on the hook.

The only other people who show up in the clip are ninjas who attack Minaj. Will she make it through alive? Will their planet survive? Oh, the drama!

Watch “Fly” after the jump.

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 29 2011 11:38 AM ET

Tyler, the Creator: Learn more about the potty-mouthed 2011 VMAs' Best New Artist winner

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Filed under: Music and tagged: , , , , , ,
tyler

Image Credit: Matt Sayles/AP Images

If you knew of Tyler, the Creator before he nabbed the Best New Artist award at last night’s VMAs, his foul-mouthed acceptance speech wasn’t shocking at all.

“Yo, I’m excited as f— right now, yo,” said the rapper, clad in a tie-dye tee. “I wanted this sh– since I was nine. I’m about to cry. This is for my little brother Earl [Sweatshirt]. He’s not here right now. I really can’t believe I’m here right now. I didn’t write a thank you speech. I don’t know. F—. To all the kids watching, you can do this sh–. Thank you.”

Lovely, right? Well, not really. But what fans of him and his California hip-hop miscreant collective, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All love is just that: his defiant, “I don’t give a f—“ candor. Watch him accepting his prize last night: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 29 2011 09:31 AM ET

Nicki Minaj duets with Taylor Swift after VMA win

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What do you do after you win an MTV Video Music Award? If you’re Nicki Minaj, who took home the trophy last night for Best Hip-Hop Video, you get back to work… quick. Fortunately, the best artists around are more than happy to share the stage with you. Minutes after accepting her award, Minaj left the Nokia Theater for the nearby Staples Center to perform “Super Bass” with avowed fan, Taylor Swift. Take a listen. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 29 2011 02:18 AM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: What you didn't see on TV

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Filed under: Britney Spears, Music and tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards are in the books, and while the show as a whole felt a little scattered and unfocused, there were indeed some high points. Russell Brand, Tony Bennett, and Bruno Mars gave Amy Winehouse an excellent tribute, Beyoncé capped off a great performance with a nice little revelation about the future of her family, and Adele tore down the house with her stunning, jaw-dropping run through “Someone Like You.”

But there were a handful of amazing moments that happened between MTV’s rapid-fire camera cuts and commercial breaks. Luckily, I was inside the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live and can report the eight greatest things you probably missed during the show. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 29 2011 12:42 AM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: Beyonce's baby bump, the moving Amy Winehouse tribute, and other memorable moments

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Beyonce-pregnant-VMA

Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards were an undeniably strange production. Lady Gaga performed an entire song as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone…and then stayed in character for the entire show. (One EW commenter on our live-blog noted that this was probably the longest time Gaga has ever spent in one outfit.) Comedian Kevin Hart opened with a curiously extended monologue expressing his disappointment that he wasn’t hosting the show, but his frequent appearances thereafter made it seem like he actually was the host. Also, Cloris Leachman was onstage with the Jersey Shore girls, thus opening up a rift in the space/time continuum.

But even without an instantly buzzworthy Kanye-Taylor event, the 28th-annual VMAs had a few high points, too. If you had to pick one defining moment, it would have to be Beyoncé’s baby bump. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 29 2011 12:10 AM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: Russell Brand, Tony Bennett, Bruno Mars pay loving, clear-eyed tribute to Amy Winehouse -- VIDEO

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Russel-Brand

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Amid an often bizarre, occasionally boring MTV Video Music Awards, the show paused to pay tribute to late songstress Amy Winehouse. But unlike many tributes of years past, the remembrance was tinged with an honest accounting for Winehouse’s infamous battle with drugs and alcohol. “She was kind of like a daft, dopey person… with a peculiar, unknowable talent,” said comedian Russell Brand, who memorably penned a similarly frank tribute right after Winehouse died last month. “She just seemed like an ordinary girl with extraordinary hair,” Brand continued rather breathlessly, before recalling the first time he heard her sing: “That incredible, extraordinary voice coming from that crazy person, a person I knew would wander stinking of the booze, a loopy, loose-cannon person — I thought, ‘How can that be coming out of her?’ After that I gave her a lot more attention, because it became evident upon hearing that divine voice that she was a genius.”

After Brand pointedly noted “there is a solution” to the addictions from which Winehouse suffered, he noted all of the current artists who have been influenced by her, like Adele, Lady Gaga, and his own wife Katy Perry. Then he welcomed jazz legend Tony Bennett to the stage, who put Winehouse’s place in the pantheon of female vocalists like this: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 28 2011 11:41 PM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: Lady Gaga explains alter ego Jo Calderone as a New Jersey Italian who's 'not a f--ing guido!'

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Filed under: Britney Spears, Music, News, TV and tagged: , , , , ,
Lady-Gaga-VMA-guy

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

What was the deal with Lady Gaga appearing as her alter ego Joe Calderone at the 2011 VMAs? It’s a little unclear, but one thing is for certain: The pop queen was infinitely dedicated to the act, as became apparent when she appeared in the VMA press room and would only answer questions as Calderone, despite being introduced by handlers as Lady Gaga.

“I don’t understand the question,” Gaga/Calderone said after a journalist asked how one persona inspires or affects the other.

And how did it end up that Joe showed up at the VMAs instead of Gaga? Explained Gaga/Calderone: “She’s just really f—ing pissed at me right now and she said, ‘F— you. If you really love me, you’ll go instead of me, and you’ll get in that spotlight.’ So I did.”

Next question: Who is Joe and how long will he be with us? “I’m going to be here about five more minutes,” Gaga/Calderone said. “And I’m from Jersey. My family is from Palermo, Sicily, and I’m not a singer or a model or an actor or anything.”

Calderone is a guido, someone in the press crowd suggested. “No, I’m not a f—ing guido!” the enraged Gaga/Calderone said. “You don’t like Italians? What the f— is the matter with you? I’m just a guy, and I just wanted to show my girl how much I love her, that’s all.”

And lastly: Any chance that Calderone would get together with Britney, who he had just lavished on stage? “Maybe if she wants to,” Gaga/Calderone said. “She’s f—ing hot. I don’t know. You know, Gaga is my girl, but Britney is f—ing Britney Spears. Didn’t you jerk off to Britney when you were a kid?”

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

The Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix

Read more:
MTV 2011 VMAs: Lady Gaga, in drag, cannot stop mugging through Britney Spears tribute
MTV’s 2011 VMA winners: Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj lead the night’s wins
MTV 2011 VMAs: Lady Gaga? She’s a man, baby!

Aug 28 2011 11:20 PM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adele big winners

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Filed under: Britney Spears, Music, News and tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Katy-Perry

Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Adele all won multiple Moon Men at the MTV 2011 Video Music Awards. Perry’s “Firework” won for Video of the Year, and she also took home a trophy with Kanye West for Best Collaboration for their sci-fi fantasia “E.T.” Perry harkened back to a previous VMAs show in her acceptance speech when she told her co-winner, “Now this is the time when you want to interrupt me, Kanye!” Lady Gaga — who spent the entire night dressed as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone — won Best Female and Best Video with a Message. Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” meanwhile, took home multiple behind-the-scenes awards for editing, art direction, and cinematography.

Other winners included Britney Spears (who also took home the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Foo Fighters, and Tyler, The Creator. Check out a full list below:

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 28 2011 11:03 PM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: Lady Gaga, in drag, cannot stop mugging through Britney Spears tribute

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Filed under: Britney Spears, Music and tagged: , ,
Lady-Gaga-Britney-Spears

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

So, which is better (or worse)? Chris Gaines? Or Jo Calderone? Lady Gaga’s male alter ego took the MTV VMA stage a second time to present the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award to Britney Spears, and for a man who opened the show complaining about the constant spotlight on Lady Gaga, he seemingly could not stop hogging it for himself.

After lauding Spears as “a pop music legend” who inspired him when he was a starving artist, Calderone offered this anecdote/over-share: “I used to hang posters of her on the wall and touch myself when I was in bed.” (Spears, for her part, found that hilarious.) Calderone then cued a well-choreographed-if-still-mildly-horrifying tribute performance by a gaggle of tween girls in Britney drag dancing to some of her biggest hits.

Finally, Brit Brit took to the stage, and alllllmost shared a lip-lock with Calderone. Instead, she giggled, and said, “I’ve done that already,” referring to her famous kiss with Madonna in 2003. But Jo would not be denied, grabbing the mic, and saying, “We’re just a good old fashioned American man and a good old fashioned American girl.” Well, okay! Then they both pivoted to introducing Beyonce’s very buzz-y performance of “Love on Top.” At least the two appeared to laugh about the whole hullabaloo afterwards.

Follow Adam on Twitter @adambvary

Read more:
MTV 2011 VMAs: Lady Gaga? She’s a man, baby!
MTV’s 2011 VMAs: Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adele big winners
Justin Bieber to Selena Gomez: ‘My snake’s name is Johnson.’

Aug 28 2011 11:00 PM ET

MTV 2011 VMAs: Nicki Minaj says new album will be loaded with her alter ego Roman

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Filed under: Music, News, TV and tagged: , , ,
Nicki-Minaj

Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

After taking home the Best Hip Hop Video Moon Man for “Super Bass,” female rapper du jour Nicki Minaj sauntered back to the VMA press room for photos and a quick interview, where she dropped a few details about her forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album. The short of it: It’s gonna be filled  with her alter ego Roman.

“Well, the new album is going to have a lot of Roman on it, and if you’re not familiar with Roman, you will be familiar with him soon,” Minaj revealed. On her first album, Pink Friday, Minaj’s alter-ego Roman showed up on a track, “Roman’s Revenge,” that she did with Eminem. If you remember, many took lyrics in “Revenge” to be a side-slap to fellow female rapper Lil’ Kim.

Continued Minaj about Roman and her album: “He’s a boy who lives inside of me,” she said. “I have a lot of surprises I don’t want to give away. Everyone will be more than satisfied with the new album.”

About that crazy outfit she was wearing, Minaj explained to the press: “Tokyo inspires this outfit. Harajuku is something I have been absorbing for a very long time.”

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

The Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix

Read more:
MTV’s 2011 VMA winners: Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj lead the night’s wins
Nicki Minaj wants to act with Will Smith, get directed by Tim Burton
Nicki Minaj goes wild for her man in ‘Super Bass’ video: Watch here

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