MTV Buzzworthy Blog › Tamar Anitai

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Well, actually I'm kind of obligated in a generic, culturally hegemonic way to tell you "Happy Valentine's Day," but what if it's actually NOT a happy day at all? Life imitates Facebook, my friends, and it just might happen that you're currently in a "It's Complicated" relationship status both on Facebook and IRL?

That's why we had our friends in A Day To Remember -- you may remember they were voted Buzzworthy's Fan-Favorite Breakthrough Band of 2011, because they're kind of a big deal -- come in and perform a "Buzzworthy Live" acoustic version of their single "It's Complicated" off of their What Separates Me From You album. Because your Valentine's Day may happen to be not so happy at all.

Watch A Day To Remember's "Buzzworthy Live" acoustic performance of "It's Complicated" after the jump!

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Tags A Day To Remember, Buzzworthy Exclusive, Buzzworthy Live, video

The long list of performers at the 2012 Grammys was as vast, varied and random as putting your entire music collection on shuffle and setting it on stage. The 2012 Grammy performances spanned an exhaustive array of musical genres, making clear that in the year 2012, pop music is more democratic and less limited than ever before. Jazz standards can share the same stage as Dubstep, and artists as young as Taylor Swift or as established as Glen Campbell and Tony Bennett all belong equally at the same ceremony. Here's a top-to-bottom recap of all of the performers and performances at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Bruce Springsteen: Backed by Steven Van Zandt, Patti Scialfa and the the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen opened the Grammys by tearing through "We Take Care Of Our Own," his new single from his upcoming Wrecking Ball album. It was an on-message salute both to Americans and, more topically, to the music industry and fans mourning Whitney Houston. Paul McCartney and Lady Gaga cheered him on. Also, let me go on record as the 50,045,492th person who notes that Bruce Springsteen does not age. He actually makes me look forward to being, like 50 something. Oh wait. He's 62? WHAT DOES HE EAT? HOW DOES HE LIVE?

Bruno Mars: Glad to see Bruno Mars is no longer a one-man piano-moving company and instead a consummate old-school band leader with his own onstage theater marquee. He channeled James Brown, Cab Calloway, Chuck Berry and the Four Tops with his golden, shimmering, blowout rendition of "Runaway."

Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt: Smart, unexpected pairing -- the ever-radiant Alicia Keys and country legend Bonnie Raitt pay tribute to the late, great Etta James with a country-blues rendition of "Sunday Kinda Love."

+ Check out more Grammy performances after the jump!

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Tags Adele, Alicia Keys, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Coldplay, David Guetta, deadmau5, Foo Fighters, Foster The People, Grammys, Jason Aldean, Jennifer-Hudson, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5, Paul McCartney, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, The Beach Boys, The Civil Wars, Tony Bennett, Whitney Houston

MTV News' Sway and James Montgomery are live on the Grammys red carpet right now! Watch red carpet entrances and exclusive live interviews with celebrities before the Grammys start.

Get more Grammy Awards 2012 coverage with MTV’s Grammy Live Stream, Grammy red carpet fashion and the full list of 2012 Grammy winners.

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Tags Grammys, video

The legendary Whitney Houston, photographed in 1980.

Whitney Houston, the unstoppable vocal powerhouse, who ruled MTV, radio and the recording industry throughout the '80s and '90s with her melismatic, gospel-infused R&B/ pop crossover hits such as "Greatest Love Of All" and "Saving All My Love For You," died today at the age of 48.

Equally capable of deftly belting a showstopping power ballad or infusing an uptempo dance-pop track with passion and making it look exuberantly effortless, Whitney Houston started her musical career in her church choir, became a backup singer (singing backup on Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman," which would later become a staple in her own songbook), a model and eventually a solo artist after landing a contract at Arista Records with Clive Davis. Her 1985 debut self-titled album -- coupled with her stunning Barbie Doll-like beauty, charisma and her limitless vocal talent -- catapulted her into the highest, most prestigious echelon of musical aristocracy.

Over the course of the next 20 years and seven albums (in addition to soundtracks for "The Preacher's Wife" and "The Bodyguard," the latter which became the best-selling soundtrack of all time), Whitney Houston would become one of the top-selling female solo artists of all time and one of the biggest musical acts ever. Whitney Houston has been awarded more than 400 awards, including six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards and an Academy Award.

Despite her international renown (and well-publicized struggles with substance abuse and tumultuous relationship with Bobby Brown), Whitney Houston was one of those rare singers capable of concurrently conveying both innocence and wisdom, and whose swelling voice could fill an entire arena and, at the same time, make you feel like she was singing to you and you alone. Whitney Houston sang songs about love, loss, enduring hope, a fearless refusal to settle and a battle cry of female empowerment. She equally influenced everyone from stars like Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Christina Aguilera to everyday individuals nursing heartache and sorrow. Songs such as "Saving All My Love For You," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "You Give Good Love," "I Have Nothing," "All The Man I Need," "One Moment In Time," "All At Once" and "I Will Always Love You," some recorded decades ago, transcend musical trends, technology and time, leaving only emotion and inspiration behind.

To say that Whitney Houston influenced everyone who writes for this blog -- and probably everyone we write about -- is an understatement. It is our hope that this legendary woman who sang so bravely and so vulnerably about love will be remembered and celebrated with love, too.

Watch one of Whitney Houston's most powerful videos, "Greatest Love Of All," watch Whitney Houston's last performance on Thursday, Feb. 9, and see how Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Christina Aguilera and Rihanna are remembering her. And leave your thoughts and Whitney Houston memories in the comments.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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Tags Whitney Houston

The other day I thought this Lana Del Rey/"Hunger Games" video mashup was the greatest thing to happen to my online life (and let's be honest, most of my life is spent online) since I discovered you could make a monkey face and a crab that walks in Google chat. But then this happened:

Dennis Haskins, AKA EFFING PRINCIPAL BELDING And Skrillex hang out.

Mr. Belding (er, Dennis Haskins, but he probably answers to "Belding") and Skrillex were photographed breathing the same air in Las Vegas at party for club XS. Remote Control Blog's Rebecca Brown (@Rebecca_NYC), who is the blessed soul who drew my attention to this Belding x Skrillex mashup, brought up a salient point: Do you think Mr. Belding thought Skrillex was Corey Feldman? I wonder how much Belding gets paid to show up to events, or if he just does it for free knowing how much joy people get out of saying, "OH MY GOD, THAT'S MR. BELDING!" It's almost a sort of charity, in a way.

The Grammy Awards are this Sunday, and Skrillex, who was MTV's EDM Artist of 2011, is nominated for five Grammys, including Best New Artist. He also just picked up two HIGHLY PRESTIGIOUS 2012 mtvU Woodie Award nominations for “Woodie of the Year” and “Performing Woodie" and sold out massive shows on the East and West Coast last month. But I bet meeting Mr. Belding was probably trumped all of that.

And now, enjoy your time online by checking out our complete photo guide to celebrity Skrillex hair makeovers.

Photo credit: Retna

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Tags Mr. Belding, skrillex

Oh dear. Comedian and improv performer Holly Laurent, of the famed Chicago comedy training camp Second City, (it's like the Capital Training Center but for LOLs) went and made a Lana Del Rey x "The Hunger Games" parody/mashup video. And it's every bit as good as I realized it would be once I watched it and realized it desperately needed to be made. (Also, it's so much zeitgeist contained in just one thing that I think there was a blip in the pop culture continuum and that somehow just caused Willow Smith's hair to instantly grow back.)

From the Super 8-ish retro-fetishistic vintage B roll to the perfectly timed shot of Peeta looking pensively out the train window and Katniss volunteering as tribute (that's so not a spoiler -- it's like on page two), to Laurent's hilariously half-assed attempt at Lana Del Rey's hair (which somehow became a Snooki poof), it's all even better than a hot bowl of lamb stew.

Standout lines: "Panem is a place that's fake but true" and "Winning's all I think of."

+ Watch "Lana Del Rey's 'Hunger Games" video (some NSFW language), and remember -- the pocket watch IS MORE THAN JUST A POCKET WATCH!

Photo credit: "The Hunger Games": Murray Close/ Lionsgate Entertainment, Lana Del Rey: Nicole Nodland

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Tags Lana Del Rey, The Hunger Games, video

OK Go's "Needing/Getting" video is the first video performed by a car. (Sorry, Gary Numan.)

OK Go's revolutionary "Needing/Getting" video, which premiered today as a pre-Super Bowl commercial, might look like a three-minute-54-second musical joyride through a synchronous science, music and art project, but the video was anything but a serendipitous happy accident involving a cool car. How the "Needing/Getting" video was made wasn't rocket science, but it wasn't too far from it either. I talked to lead singer Damian Kulash, Jr., who co-directed the video with Brian L. Perkins, about how the band -- and a team of experts ranging from physicists to his own parents -- made the "Needing/Getting" video.

Creating the world's first musical racetrack and world's first song performed and recorded by a car took four months of careful planning to create the awe-inspiring video, which required the band to break down each part of the song, record each segment, and then piece and mix the song back together. If it sounds time-consuming that's because it was.

"It consumed my whole life for four months," Kulash, Jr. said. "We were out in the desert until midnight every day. I don't even remember having a life outside of that. It was such a surreal world. Everyone who came out to help for a day or two was like 'I can't believe you built such an insane wonderland in the desert.'"

Here's how that insane wonderland in the desert was built.

THE IDEA:
Unlike most celebrity endorsements borne of corporate marketing campaigns or music videos featuring blatantly obvious product placement (a text message sent to a phone that not-at-all-inconspicuously features a belabored brand close-up has been a staple of most videos shot in the past few years) the car-performance concept came to Kulash before Chevy ever entered the picture. "It was an idea I had about a year ago. Our co-director, Brian L. Perkins -- he's a old friend of mine, he was in my college band, and he's directed some of our other videos -- works for an agency that works with Chevy. I told him if you ever have a car company crazy enough to try something this awesome, then I have this idea. Sure enough, Chevy thought it was a great idea and they came on board and he got to direct it with us."

Watch OK Go's "Needing/Getting" video and find out more about how the video was made after the jump!

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If you're OK Go, and you're trying to come up with a concept for your "Needing/Getting" video, you might find yourself in a bit of a dilemma considering you already called in a favor to a brain trust of design engineers, tech wizards and some of the guys behind NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help you build a Rube Goldberg machine out of more than 700 parts for your "This Too Shall Pass" science-project-turned video. But you're OK Go. So actually, you probably never find yourself in any sort of creative brain freeze because you make some of the most intellectually stimulating and inventive music videos this side of the Peter Gabriel archives.

OK Go's "Needing/Getting" video, which premiered on MTV.com during the Super Bowl, employs 55 pianos, 288 guitars, more than 1,100 homemade instruments (many of which get the wind knocked out of them at speeds of 40 miles per hour), and a racetrack painstakingly planned and laid out in the Acton, California, desert. Plus an entire team of physicists, and one very musically inclined car -- in this case, a Chevy Sonic with capabilities and add-ons that probably do not come with the standard package, (but that's just a guess). You may have seen the Super Bowl commercial featuring the band strapping into the car, followed by a sound bite of "Needing/Getting." But having seen the video in its entirety, all I can say is fasten your seat belts and hang on.

+ Check out exclusive photos from the set of OK Go's "Needing/Getting" video, and watch the video after the jump!

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Tags OK-Go, video

Late last year, despite the fact that she was preparing her major-label debut, Born To Die (out this week), MTV Artist To Watch Lana Del Rey was anointed unimpeachable Queen of the Internet -- and she's currently taking on the modeling world, and the late-night TV scene. Plus, by this point next week, your mom will probably know who you mean if you just say "Lana," based on her supernaturally popular breakthrough viral hit "Video Games." And, unsurprisingly, Lana Del Rey has opinions about actual video games. (Which is good because I'm basically the type of person who considers CatPaint a video game, making me absolutely no authority whatsoever on the topic.)

Bad news, "World Of Warcrafters." WOW is Lana Del Rey's absolutely least favorite game. "It consumes every man in my life's life," the bluesy post-modern chanteuse told me during her recent visit to MTV (the same one where she revealed that despite being Lana Del Rey, she still babysits). Which absolutely makes sense if you believe that "Video Games" is about the type of guy who drowns out the sound of your seductive entreaties with the sound of electronic AK-47 gunfire. (Been there, lady.) The only video game Lana Del Rey knows how to play? "Mario Kart." BRB. Pitching my "Celebrity Video Gamers" TV show idea to our series development department.

+ Watch Lana Del Rey discuss her least favorite video game, World Of Warcraft, and check out MTV's Multiplayer blog and MTV Geek for more video game news.

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Tags Lana Del Rey, video

The internet pretty much has a blue-screen-of-death meltdown at the faintest whisper of Lana Del Rey's name. Her fame is almost reaching Justin Bieber levels of pandemonium among interneters inclined toward hysterics (and internet commenting) at the mention of her mysterious sound and image or the unending curiosity of her dramatic mystique.

There's still a lot we don't know about Lana Del Rey, who was named one of MTV's 11 Artists To Know in 2012. So you could be forgiven for thinking that, based on what we do know, Lana, who has the art of bewitching down to a science, probably lives a life of lounging around the Palace of Fontainebleau with live tigers, doing things models do, landing magazine covers and never flying coach ever again. But you probably wouldn't think Lana Del Rey's a member of the babysitter's club.

When she visited MTV earlier this month, Lana Del Rey pulled the curtain back on all of that sudden supposed subterfuge to reveal that she's still very much A Normal Girl. "People would be surprised to know that I live a really quiet life -- a really normal life," Lana Del Rey said. "I still have my same babysitting job."

... Wait, I'm sorry, did Lana Del Rey really just tell THAT SHE STILL BABYSITS?

"I babysit twice a week. When I'm here it's what I do. It's just because it's something I've been doing for a while. But I have been traveling a lot," Lana Del Rey said, of her babysitting gig, which involves watching one 10-year-old boy, and yes he knows she's Lana Del Rey. "He's very with it," she confessed.

Lana Del Rey's Born To Die album -- her second studio effort and her first major-label release -- is out next week, and we're betting she'll be too busy to babysit for the rest of the immediate future. (That kid she babysits for will have a sufficiently mind-blowing story that should cement his popularity throughout much of high school, though.)

+ Watch Lana Del Rey discuss her babysitting gig.

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Tags Lana Del Rey, video