Posted 5/21/13 2:00 pm EST by Jenna Hally Rubenstein in Celebrity, Music
Listen to the full version of The-Dream's "Turnt" featuring Beyoncé and 2 Chainz.
It's a big day in Beyoncé land! (Side note: If that land has any available one-bedroom apartments, HIT ME UP!) Earlier today, we heard a full-length cut of Beyoncé's highly anticipated "Grown Woman," and now, the full-length version of "Turnt," Bey's collaboration with The-Dream also featuring 2 Chainz, has arrived! PRAISE OUR QUEEN.
Listen to The-Dream's "Turnt" featuring Beyoncé and 2 Chainz after the jump.
Posted 5/21/13 1:30 pm EST by Luke O’Neil in Celebrity, Music, Must See, Photos
Meet Pig Monster: the latest character design by Jamie Hewlett for the next incarnation of "Monkey: Journey to the West."
Apparently not content after forming two of the best Brit pop and indie-hip-hop hybrid bands ever, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, has composed a musical score, too. (He knows he can take a break, right?) The musical, "Monkey: Journey to the West," is the stage adaptation of the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng. The musical experience was written and directed by Chinese actor/ director Chen Shi-Zheng and features a score by Damon Albarn and illustrations by Jamie Hewlett. It first premiered in 2007, and it's being resurrected for a run in New York City this summer, where it will feature new character designs, like "Pig Monster," which we have an exclusive first look at above.
"Pig Monster" is just one of the many strange creatures that the monk Tripitaka encounters on his operatic journey from China to India, foiled and prodded along by the trickster Monkey King, in a spectacle that brings together animation, musical theater, martial artists, and acrobats, which, coincidentally, is exactly how we'd describe what it looks like getting us out of bed in the morning before work every day.
The latest incarnation of the show, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2007, followed up by dates at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Royal Opera House in London, will run from July 6–28 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Get there any way you can... if you're not terrified by feral pigs.
Photo credit: Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett
Posted 5/21/13 1:00 pm EST by Michael Depland in Celebrity, Music, Videos
T.I. and Lil Wayne evade the authorities in Tip's "Wit Me" video.
T.I. might be more on his family hustle these days than his... how should we say, not exactly legal hustle, but sometimes old habits die hard -- especially when you hang out with old friends like Lil Wayne. For his new "Wit Me" video, Tip hangs up his "Blurred Lines" tux and instead opts for the fast life of supercharged foreign cars, impossibly beautiful women, and evading the authorities in sunny Miami. It's almost like a hip-hop version of Michael Bay's "Pain And Gain"! (But a little less roided out.)
Watch T.I. featuring Lil Wayne's "Wit Me" after the jump.
Posted 5/21/13 12:00 pm EST by Jenna Hally Rubenstein in Celebrity, Music
After previews upon previews, Beyoncé's "Grown Woman" is finally here in full!
It's been a loooong road to "Grown Woman." We initially got a teeny tiny taste of Beyoncé's latest track in her EPIC Pepsi Ad, then we got a TINY bit more when an extended preview surfaced. Now, Beyoncé has unleashed her entire "Grown Woman" (er, if "unleashed" is code for "leaked"), and it's seriously better than we could've ever dreamed! But then again, when is a Beyoncé dream anything but perfect?
Listen to Beyoncé's "Grown Woman" after the jump.
Posted 5/21/13 11:00 am EST by Jenna Hally Rubenstein in Celebrity, Interviews, Music, Must See, Videos
Did you know that MKTO is obsessed with Cool Ranch Dorito Tacos? WELL, NOW YOU DO!
Electro-pop/hip-hop/R&B outfit MKTO (that's singer Tony Oller and rapper Malcolm David Kelley) met on the set of TeenNick's "Gigantic" and have been IRL BFFs and musical collaborators ever since. Thanks to their bangin' single "Thank You" (think a perfect blend of Chiddy Bang, Wallpaper., and a smidge of Outasight), the boys have been on our radar for well over a minute, and during that time, we got, how shall we say... A LITTLE CURIOUS. So of COURSE we arranged for a little tête-à-tête with MKTO so we could find about about all the things they're obsessed with: things like Cool Ranch Dorito tacos from Taco Bell, totally weird socks, and "Family Guy."
Watch MKTO's "10 Things I'm Obsessed With" after the jump.
Posted 5/21/13 10:05 am EST by Jenna Hally Rubenstein in Celebrity, Photos
Miley Cyrus got snoop'd!!!
Miley Cyrus has been making headlines all week! She recently appeared at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards to present/ eye roll Justin Bieber with his Top Male Artist award, announced that her new jam, "We Can't Stop," will be out June 3, AND she kept her cool while posing with Madonna at BBMA! So, what did Miley do to celebrate all of this? She got Snoopifed! And by "Snoopified," we mean she used Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion's new app, "Snoopify," and utilized it TO PERFECTION.
Now, for all y'all who don't have Snoopify, here's the quick 411. Snoopify superimposes Snoop-themed stickers on your pictures. You can add golden grills, dollar bills, busty ladies in blue bikinis, cigarettes, "funny-looking" leaves, etc., to any photo you like! Clearly Miley has MASTERED her "Ashtrays And Heartbreaks" collaborator's app and took to Twitter to share her Snoop'd-out masterpiece: "@tishcyrus @SnoopDogg #SNOOPIFY #BO$$ #whatitdonephew." Yeah, so it's our professional recommendation that you take a minute out of your day to "Snoopify" yourselves. It's a supercheap, zero-calorie way toward instant gratification! (Seriously, seeing yourself surrounded by fake money feels pretty awesome!)
Photo credit: @MileyCyrus
Posted 5/21/13 9:04 am EST by Althea Legaspi in Buzz Bites, Celebrity, Music, News
Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio have been confirmed as the new "X Factor" judges.
+ Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio have been confirmed as "The X Factor" judges this fall, according to Entertainment Weekly. The two will be joining returning judges Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell. (MTV News)
+ Beyoncé's "Grown Woman," the song we heard a snippet of in Bey's Pepsi commercial, has appeared online. Take a listen to the tune, which sounds like it was possibly recorded during one of her live sets. (Rap-Up)
+ Ray Manzarek, The Doors' cofounder and keyboardist, passed away yesterday. He was 74. His legendary vocals and organ playing was featured as recently as Skrillex's 2012 song "Breakin' A Sweat," which also included other Doors' members and a spoken-word sample of The Doors' late singer, Jim Morrison. (MTV News)
+ J. Cole has moved up the release date to Born Sinner. "Kanye West is one of the greatest artists of our generation," Cole tweeted, adding, "Which is exactly why I'm moving my release date up. Born Sinner June 18th." Also, take a look at his newly unveiled cover art. (RapFix)
+ Check out Blue Ivy Carter chilling in her personalized director's chair, because awwww! Beyoncé shared the photo of her tutu-wearing cutie on Tumblr. (Neon Limelight)
+ Watch a 15-minute animated short film from Queens Of The Stone Age. The ominous flick splices together several new songs, including "My God Is The Sun." Their forthcoming album ...Like Clockwork streets June 4. (Rolling Stone)
Photo credit: Getty Images
Posted 5/21/13 6:00 am EST by Jenna Hally Rubenstein in Celebrity, Music, Video Premieres, Videos
Alex Aiono sounds like a mini-Justin Bieber and looks like a mini-Taylor Lautner!
Meet newcomer Alex Aiono. He's only 16 years old and already plays five instruments (guitar, bass, ukulele, drums, and piano), which we suspect is probably four more instruments than you play! (Or maybe five, if for some reason you opted for "chorus'" over "clarinet" in elementary school.) Anyway, still fully NOT LEGAL, the singer-songwriter (think Cody Simpson meets Bruno Mars) has already cowritten songs with Babyface and signed a deal with BMG Publishing. In addition, his brand-new record, Young & Foolish, was cowritten with John Legend! AND did we mention that there's a video? And that it's so effing good, we're basically convinced that Alex is a mini-Justin Bieber who just so happens to look like Taylor Lautner circa the first "Twilight" installment? Yep, we thought you'd be interested.
Watch Alex Aiono's "Young & Foolish" video after the jump.
Posted 5/20/13 6:18 pm EST by Michael Depland in Celebrity, Photos
Drake grows a 'fro and chops for his "Anchorman 2" cameo.
We've felt a few ways about Drake's style: Sometimes he's totally dapper in GQ, and other times he gets meme-ified for his "fashion choices." But NOBODY expected him to reach all the way back to the '70s for his next look! OK, to be fair, Drake does have a reason for this 'fro + chops combo, as he is appearing in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues"! But you know what? We kind of think he's never looked so natural!
The "Girls Love Beyoncé" rapper was snapped filming a scene from the forthcoming Will Ferrell-led sequel in New York City, and it got us thinking of other decades Drake could borrow from. What if Drizzy went '80s with A Flock Of Seagulls haircut from their "I Ran" video? Or he could go '90s with have tall, braided hair like Coolio? All right, perhaps we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves, and Drake looks fine just the way he is, but you can't blame us for trying. So, in short, our advice to Drake would be do NOT make any ill-advised haircut choices -- unless it's for a feature film. Then all bets are off.
Photo credit: Splash News
Posted 5/20/13 4:40 pm EST by Rachel Brodsky in Celebrity, Music
NYC disco kings Escort return with a triumphant new single, "Barbarians."
Disco is BACK, in case anyone was wondering, and it comes in the form of Brooklyn's 17-piece mirror ballers, Escort. Don't look at us like that! Disco is COOL again, and here's why: First, there's Daft Punk's Nile Rodgers-assisted "Get Lucky," which OK, that's an obvious one, but disco-funk's been popping up in all sorts of other places -- just look to Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu's funky feminist banger, "Q.U.E.E.N." So, clearly disco never died; it just took a disco nap (HAD TO SAY IT), and Escort's helping to wax the mirror ball with "Barbarians," the band's first cut since 2012's Escort Remixed and their 2011 eponymous LP.
Listen to Escort's "Barbarians" after the jump.