Obsessively blogging about pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from inside the MTV headquarters in Times Square. We also have a slight Jonas Brothers problem. And a little fixation with Tokio Hotel.
As we mentioned earlier today (while discussing her neck tattoo), Rihanna's Rated R is, generally, a pretty gloomy affair. Rainy days, cloudy skies; pure pain, a lot of ballads, and slow, creeping beats.
So it should come as no great surprise that, despite the star power involved, "Hole In My Head," a collaboration between Rihanna and Justin Timberlake, was relegated to bonus-track-status (and not even, U.S. bonus track...it's U.K.-only!).
From an outsider's perspective, it's easy to say what should and shouldn't matter to a pop star. We note the awards, special performances and chart positions. But what matters to the star, themselves? We posed this very question to the incomparable Lady Gaga.
In this very special Spankin' New Music Week edition of "The 5," as The Fame: Monster is finally officially released, Lady Gaga takes us through the five most amazing moments in her career. It's a deeply personal list that touches on the socio-political causes that are close to her heart (marching on Washington, D.C. for gay rights) as well as the small, personal pleasure of having her little sister dress up as her for Halloween.
Watch Gaga explain her top five career highlights in this exclusive MTV Buzzworthy Blog video, and get an up-close-and-personal look at the human side of Lady Gaga.
Did you know that Rihanna's new album, Rated R, is out today? No? Well Rihanna herself would like to remind you with a helpful piece of tattoo-as-album advertisement.
Rihanna rocked the temporary tattoo at last night's American Music Awards. In truth, it was probably the most subtle part of her performance, which included her being twirled around in some kind of S&M-style carousel while wearing nothing but a series of white straps, and then doing a a metallic-tinged "Hard" (which, sadly, did not feature an appearance from Young Jeezy like it does on record.)
The tattoo was added between the time Rihanna hit the red carpet and the stage (see before and after pics above). Perhaps she thought it just went with the light-up studded shoulder pads?
Rated R, which the tattoo so suggestively reminds us about, Rated R, is a gutsy, dark turn from the pop princess; full of atmospheric, smoked-out tracks and, at times, nearly-gothic vocals.
Spankin' New Music Week is coming to MTV November 23 through 27. It's a celebration of five new mega-albums that are all being released in one big mega-week.
Beyonce has the Deluxe Edition of I Am, and on Tuesday, Britney's releasing the Deluxe Box Edition of The Singles Collection.
So what's in store? We have interviews with Gaga, Shakira and Rihanna, MTV News sat down with some of the girls as well, and we'll have performances, videos, and more. It's an unofficial "ladies week," but because we're not biased we're not forgetting that 50 Cent also recently dropped his fourth LP, Before I Self Destruct and we sat down and talked to him too.
Check in next week for more Spankin' New stuff on MTV, and, until then, watch Rihanna's "Wait Your Turn" video.
If we decide to file Chris Brown's new video, "Crawl" (directed by Joseph Khan and taken from his forthcoming Graffiti album) as another chapter in his never-ending apology to the world and Rihanna (which, let's face it, is exactly what we're going to do), then one thing is pretty clear: Chris Brown sure has a funny way of apologizing.
"Crawl," is a rather pretty ballad concerned with overcoming adversity, something Brown is entirely familiar with. In the video, Brown's mechanical heart skips a beat every time he's haunted by the ghost of a lost love.
Strangely enough, the lost love in question is R&B temptress, Cassie. That may or may not sit well with another R&B temptress we all know and love.
Elsewhere in the clip, Brown perches on a skyscraper (City Of Angels/Wings Of Desire nod, maybe?) and dances in the snow covered streets of L.A..
Nothing says, 'I'm sorry,' like dancing in the snow.
Rihanna's brand-new video, "Russian Roulette," directed by Anthony Mandler, is a dreadful and dark approach to end of a relationship. And while her emotional, cinematic "Russian Roulette" video can be interpreted as a somewhat literal look at the powerful song's metaphor, it's Rihanna's symbolic way of saying "No, REALLY, I'm done," leaving the past behind, and leaving little doubt that she hits back HARD.
It's Friday and Hurricane Ida is lashing against the east coast. So what better time to watch Rihanna dance around in various states of undress, nearly get attacked by what looks like a baby panther (or really testy black cat), lovingly call her assistants bitches and flaunt that too-cute-for-words Barbados accent of hers?
Check out this behind the scenes video of Rihanna's Rated R album cover photo shoot with legendary photographer Ellen Von Unwerth.
And while we all wait with bated breath for her album to drop on the 23rd, continue to get amped by checking out leaked tracks from Rated R like "Hard" and "Russian Roulette."
Rihanna is really, really back. If I may, I'd like to invoke a phrase popularized (if not invented) by the great American poet, Black Rob: "Like whoa."
Initially, when the visual motif surrounding Rihanna's Rated R began rolling out it was dark, it was film noir, it was post-war Berlin, it was lots of scarves and eye patches and trench coats.
But as Rihanna's singles have begun trickling out, and the each of those singles have gotten their own cover art, you may have noticed something: Rihanna seems to be losing layers of clothing at an alarming rate.
First there was the "Russian Roulette" art, in which Rihanna was dressed primarily in black masking tape. And now we get the art for her new, Young Jeezy-assisted banger, "Hard," in which she's wearing even less.
The heart flutters at what this lady is gonna dress up (and I use "dress" rather loosely) next.
Hopefully you didn't miss Rihanna on yesterday's episode ofIt's On With Alexa Chung. Yes, Rihanna -- whose new single, "Hard" could be the next "Umbrella" -- did touch upon the outpouring of fans who've supported her decision to speak out and help encourage other women who've been the victims of abuse. But she spent most of her time on It's On With Alexa Chung totally relaxed, joking around, meeting her fans (one of whom received a Rihanna makeover) and having fun with fashion -- specifically Alexa Chung's Museum of Rihanna Art, which exhibited some of Rihanna's best accessories to date and gave her the chance to discuss how and why she's adopted such edgy looks. It was a great look at a woman who's clearly taken back the power which is hers, moved on, and is back to being a fun-loving young woman who's living her life.
+ Watch Rihanna on MTV's It's On With Alexa Chung.
+ Check out more photos of Rihanna on It's On With Alexa Chung after the jump.
In 2006, Rihanna was just starting to become a big deal. She had released her second album, A Girl Like Me, and found some success with the single, "SOS," but was nowhere near the level of "Umbrella" success she'd find the next year. In this MTV video interview, taken from that period, Rihanna briefly talks about all the places she's seen and people she's met in during that dizzying year.
There's a certain harrowing air to the clip, isn't there? Rihanna talks about growing up and experiencing so much. You have to wonder how she must be feeling now, after all that she's seen and experienced in this tumultuous year.
Thankfully, it seems like Rihanna is ending 2009 on a real upswing. She appeared on Good Morning Americato finally give her side of the whole Chris Brown issue. She wisely used it as a platform to make an appeal to girls, imploring them not to stay in abusive relationships. Then, this past weekend, Rihanna joined Jay-Z onstage at UCLA, triumphantly joining Hov during "Run This Town." Here's hoping things just keep getting better for Rihanna in 2010. Her new album, Rated R, drops November 23,
