(Credit: AshlyneHuff.com)
Last summer, L.A.-via-Nashville songstress Ashlyne Huff turned a lot of heads with her breakout debut single, "Heart Of Gold." With her sultry vocals, pop savvy and subtle twang, Huff's music draws from a variety of influences to make her own sweet sound.
The daughter of producer/guitarist Dan Huff, Ashlyne is an accomplished songwriter in her own right, having a hand in the construction of all of her own material. It's in the vocal booth and on stage, however, where the singer really shines. Ashlyne just finished a tour with Honor Society and Just Kait, and she's back on the road with Jordin Sparks.
Listening to Ashlyne's tracks on her recently released self-titled EP, Huff sounds like a more grown up, less starry eyed Taylor Swift. Her love songs are detailed, and her breakup jams cut deep.
You can hear a bunch of Ashlyne's music at her MySpace page. And in case you haven't seen it, check out Ashlyne's video for "Heart Of Gold," below. Her EP is out now.
Tags Ashlyne Huff, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Swift, video
(Credit: Ben Watts/SPIN magazine)
Paramore's the cover story of the July 2010 issue of SPIN magazine, though Hayley Williams herself nabbed the SPIN cover. (Hope this doesn't lead to a No Doubt "Don't Speak" situation -- the video tells the story of Gwen Stefani getting thrust into the spotlight and onto the cover of SPIN while the rest of the band got sidelined).
The SPIN cover story tracks Paramore's grueling on-the-go schedule, Paramore's not-just-for-young-folk changing demographic, and, most important, Hayley Williams' Team Edward vs. Team Jacob tendencies. Spoiler: Hayley told SPIN, "Oh God, I don’t really like either. I wish she’d date the guy at the school lunch table. The other two seem a little high maintenance."
Check out SPIN's Paramore cover story here.
And speaking of "Twilight," watch Paramore perform "Decode" live.
Related Content Watch Paramore's New Video 'Careful'
Tags Covers, Hayley Williams, No Doubt, Paramore, Twilight, video
Last week we hipped you all to what is nominally a Joe Jonas solo track, "Make It Right" -- an introspective ballad from the soundtrack to the Jonas Brothers' new show, "Jonas L.A." We also hipped you to the awesome "Feelin' Alive." And today we bring you another cut from that same album -- the full-band workout, "Chillin' In The Summertime."
Call me crazy, but "Chillin' " sort of has a '90s R&B feel. When Joe Jonas walks the verse up to the chorus, singing, "I don't want to fuss and fight, no," I swear he sound like the lost member of Color Me Badd! And that's a very good thing.
"Chillin' " as you might expect from its title, is an absolute ray of sunshine, extolling the virtues of a carefree summer, getting your kicks from the radio and living it up when the temperature is high.
Check out the song below. "Jonas L.A." premieres June 20 on the Disney Channel.
+ Listen to the Jonas Brothers, "Chillin' In The Summertime," here.
Tags Color Me Badd, Joe Jonas, Jonas Brothers, Song You Need To Know
This morning in Star Spotting, we find Miley Cyrus leaving the Gemini salon in New York City after a nine-hour visit. Nine hours. I could get 18 haircuts in that amount of time, and that's including banter with my friendly Uzbek barber.
But I will tell you this: If I spent nine hours getting my hair done, I certainly wouldn't have done it the way Miley Cyrus did it -- all covered up and bashful. Heck, no. If I had just emerged from a nine-hour salon bid, you better believe I would be dressed entirely in neon and would be followed by a New Orleans marching band, who announced my beauty and celebrated my resplendent hair.
Right? Some hair jockey just spent nine hours futzing with your hair, girl! Let us see the achievement! Who knows, maybe her hair couldn't be tamed.
By the way, Miley maniacs, on Monday, June 21, at 10:30/9:30c, MTV.com will be streaming Miley's album release concert live from Los Angeles. Don't miss "Miley Cyrus: Can't Be Tamed World Premiere Live." You can also chat live with Miley fans as you watch the show on MTV.com. It's gonna be a party, y'all.
Until then, watch Miley's "Can't Be Tamed" video below.
Tags Miley Cyrus, Star Spotting, video
(Creit: Getty Images/Splash News Online, via TheFabLife)
+ In an act that should surprise absolutely no one, Russell Brand and Katy Perry got matching tattoos. The pair have "go with the flow" written in Sanskrit, written on their arms. (TheFabLife)
+Miley Cyrus is looking to stretch as an actor. The "Can't Be Tamed" singer will star in the thriller "Wake." (MTV News)
+ Meet the 12-year-old girl who bum-rushed Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. (TMZ)
+ Matthew Morrison of "Glee" joined Leona Lewis on stage in London last night. (JustJared)
+ Check out pictures of Pink playing a rather "dramatic" gig in Northern Ireland. (ImNotObsessed)
+ A guy goes to great lengths to prove he met Julie Andrews. (Refinery29)
Tags Glee, justin bieber, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Leona Lewis, Matthew Morrison, Miley Cyrus, Pink, Russell Brand
Here we see Rihanna, shortly after deboarding a plane in Barbados. Now, I am not fully versed in the ins and outs and details of flight safety regulation. But I feel like Ri-Ri is breaking a bunch of rules here. Because if I was a pilot, I would not be able to fly, due to the fact that the singer's pants had just blown my mind.
Rihanna's pants game has been our own personal Watergate around these parts, as we've charted the optical illusion qualities of her ever-changing, ever-shocking slacks.
But these. These take the cake and throw said cake out the window (to totally mix our metaphors) and say "There is no cake. There's only these crazy pants." We can do nothing but stand up and applaud you, Rihanna. Oh, and show one of your dope videos.
Tags Buzzworthy Style Files, Rihanna, Star Spotting, video
(Scott Gries/MTV)
Grammy-winning French band Phoenix, known for its transcendent lyrics and scholarly themes set to brilliantly lush orchestrations, brought its inimitable brand of aloof-yet-intimate alt-pop to MTV for an exclusive "Unplugged" performance. Set against a strikingly stark, cinematic white backdrop in a New York City studio (the edge of Hell's Kitchen, to be exact), Phoenix performed an inimitably grand, gripping set to a devoutly rapt audience.
You can watch all of Phoenix's "MTV Unplugged" performance this Monday, June 21. And don't miss a video sneak peek of Phoenix's "Unplugged" performance this Friday, June 18.
Until then, check out Phoenix's set list and photos from its "MTV Unplugged" taping, and watch its incredible "1901" video.
Phoenix "MTV Unplugged" Set List
"Lisztomania"
"1901"
"Long Distance Call"
"Rome"
"Playground Love"
"Armistice"
Tags mtv-unplugged, Phoenix, video
When we last left MGMT, the group had just released its second album, Congratulations, the follow-up to the wildly successful Oracular Spectacular. If MGMT's debut album imbued pop songs with a bit of experimentation, Congratulations is mostly experimentation with some pop song cameos.
The band has gone a similarly avant-garde route with the videos off of Congratulations as well, with its "Flash Delirium" clip standing out as one of the year's most bizarre.
Things are slightly less weird, though still inscrutable, in MGMT's new SO ME-directed "It's Working" video. The clip finds the duo -- rocking much more traditional threads than their usual psychedelic/Vision Quest uniforms -- posed with the task of putting something together.
As anyone who's ever gotten into a screaming match with a significant other over a piece of IKEA furniture knows, this can be a difficult task. That being said, I don't believe IKEA sells anything that contains the magic and wonder of the contraption put together by MGMT -- though I could be wrong!
Check out MGMT's vid for "It's Working" as well as the clip for "Flash Delirium," both below. Congratulations is out now.
Tags MGMT, video
Last month we introduced you to the YouTube sensation/Oprah-fave/mini-Celine-Dion that is Charice and her breakthrough video for "Pyramid." We were so compelled by Charice's undeniable charm, only-on-the-Internet-could-this-happen story and her powerful voice that we had to track her down and ask her a few questions.
In this Buzzworthy interview, Charice talks about the influence that her mom's musical career had on her and how her mom "discovered" her talent when she caught a then 4-year-old Charice singing Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
Charice also dispenses some advice on competing in singing competitions, compares life as a teenager in the United States and in her native Philippine, and dishes some details on her "Oprah" appearances.
Check out our Charice interview as well as her video for "Pyramid," featuring Iyaz, both below.
Tags Celine Dion, Charice, Iyaz, video
When it comes to the traveling rock circus that is the Bamboozle Roadshow, what happens on stage is only half the story. That's why we've asked All Time Low and Boys Like Girls -- who've been keeping us updated all month long on MTV's Posted -- to check in from the road with some behind-the-scenes video footage.
The theme for these two videos is preparation. You don't just wake up every morning, have a Coolatta, check your Facebook and become a rock star. No! It takes hard work!
Just peep the two videos below. In the first we get to see All Time Low slave away at perfecting the live version of "Keep the Change, You Filthy Animal," from last year's Nothing Personal album. In the second clip, Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls does some fine-tuning of his physique. Work that core, bro!
+ Check out Posted: All Time Low for more behind-the-scenes access to All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, and Forever The Sickest Kids, all this month.
Tags All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Posted, video