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!).
Shakira's equal parts step-dancing soldier, Jamaican dancehall diva, and classical Thai dancer (with Lady Liberty leanings) in her brand-new video, "Give It Up To Me," directed by Sophie Muller, produced by Timbaland, and featuring Lil Wayne. You won't get the supernatural otherworldly occurrences of her "She Wolf" video, but you will get a healthy dose of pelvic thrusts.
Watch Shakira's "Give It Up To Me" video, off her upcoming She Wolf album, now.
+ The feud between Mariah Carey and Eminem has just escalated to new levels. Now the rapper is threatening to release nude photos of the megastar, supposedly from when they were together. (US Magazine)
+ Jessica Simpson has a new reality show coming out on VH1 and she's got some people pretty pissed about her extravagant spending habits. (Pop Crunch)
+ Panic At The Disco have finally announced replacements for the two members who left the group earlier this month. (NME)
+ Plastic surgery postergirl Courtney Love is in the studio recording her second solo album with the help of a few of her friends. Does she even remember how to sing? Celebrity Skin was a good Hole album, but we stopped listening right after her lips started looking like Lisa Rinna's. (NME)
+ At last night's CMT Awards, neighborhood sweetheart Taylor Swift took home the coveted Video of the Year award (along with Female Video of the Year) alongside rapper T—Pain (??) for their song "Love Story." Does this girl lose at anything?? We love her! (People)
+ If you're looking for a big break into the heavy metal music video industry, look no further! Glam rock hair band Steel Panther is holding auditions this weekend for their next video, "Community Property." (The Rad Report)
+ Third time's a charm—just ask our leading lady Britney Spears. Is she REALLY getting married to her agent? (Star Magazine)
+ Uh oh. Nelly Furtado and Timbaland are getting sued by a guy who says their song "Do It" steals directly from a song he had already written. Why did it take the guy three years to figure it out?? (NME)
According to the Internet, James Morrison got that scratchy signature singing voice of his from a "severe bout with the whooping cough" as a kid. Isn't that just so British? When I first saw his "Broken Strings" video, I pictured a teen James Morrison waking up one morning, looking in the mirror and thinking, "Hey, I look eg-bloody-zactly like Chris Martin from Coldplay! I'm gonna be famous!"
And Fantasy James Morrison, you were right. You're famous as can be! I mean, you don't get David Archuleta telling everyone to buy your record without being a liiittle bit famous. And you certainly don't get Nelly Furtado singing harmony and longing for you through a hotel wall in your video without being a pretty major big deal. Right, Timbaland? Right.
Wanna do an experiment? Watch "Broken Strings" with someone you have a crush on. Just be like "Oh, oops, look what happens to be on... James Morrison. Weird." I bet you anything that JM's husky croon and Nelly Furtado's lusty replies will create so much tension in the room, that you'll end up married by the time the second chorus hits. Here, try it. It's a great idea.
We're not exactly sure how, when, of even if the mod, side-hairdo came back into fashion, but that doesn't stop Keri Hilson from totally pulling it off in her new video, "Return the Favor." And while her ensemble's slightly more unwearable (we're looking at YOU, futuristic metallic onesie!) Hilson still manages to look beyond gorge. But then again, this chick could look cutting-edge in a giant pickle barrel.
Slightly less out-there are the beats -- which sound an awful lot like Hilson and Timbaland's first collaboration, "The Way I Are" -- and the cameo from Timba himself, who scoots around on his rolling desk chair looking like a cross between Run-DMC and The Matrix.
Check out Keri Hilson's latest back-to-the-future video and the second single off her album, In A Perfect World.
+ A toy company has just introduced the Katy Perry doll! Sadly, critics lament that the foxy figurine (designed by Jason Wu and priced at a semi-affordable $49.99) "looks nothing like Katy Perry, or even Zooey Deschanel." (Rolling Stone)
+ Janet Jackson was hospitalized yesterday due to "unspecified causes." Jackson, who is currently in Montreal on her RockWitchu tour, "got suddenly ill during the sound check" and had to be rushed to the hospital. (MTV News)
+ Meanwhile, DJ AM and Travis Barker are both out of the hospital and on the road to recovery. Yesterday, AM attended a memorial service for his friend -- and fellow plane crash victim -- Chris Baker. (Usmagazine.com)
+ Britney Spears unveils plans for an "around the world" tour in 2009! Better reserve your seats now. (PopCrunch)
+ Pink reveals the scents that make her wanna get frisky: "diesel fuel" and "canine." Yep, nothing says "aphrodisiac" quite like the intoxicating aroma of tractor exhaust...with a hint of dog poo. (Scandalist)
+ Apparently, 50 Cent isn't satisfied with being just a top MC and a Vitamin Water mogul. The rapper has a new song on his website outlining his latest career aspiration: "50 Cent for President." (MTV News)
+ Good thing Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins isn't the jealous type. The super-producer is all about Brandy's new album -- and totally over that LP she dropped with his work nemesis, Timbaland. (Rap-Up)
+ Mariah Carey refuses to let a little thing like Glitter stand in the way of a successful film career. The determined diva already has two new movies lined up for next year, including a Christmas musical spectacular (starring Mimi, natch!) and a gritty Lee Daniels ensemble drama. (Hollyscoop)
+ Kayne West is planning to join forces with Comedy Central for a new show that's being marketed as "hip-hop meets the Muppets." We probably would have gone with "hardcore gangsta rap meets Snuffleupagus," but you get the idea. (Billboard)
+ If you want a piece of Britney Spears' new album, you're gonna have to wait. Execs at Jive Records have just pushed back the official release date for her first single, "Womanizer," by one more week. (E! Online)
+ Meanwhile, the Pussycat Dolls' latest album plays to the girls' strengths, boasting "pose-y vocals," "camp" factor and "moronic hook[s] you can't resist." In other words, it rules. (NY Daily News)
+ Timbaland to make it an East Coast/West Coast thing. Emphasis on the latter. (MTV)
+ Courtney Love is looking for an indentured servant to wash her bedsheets and scrub her mildewy bathroom floor. Any takers? (TMZ)
Most people only dream of working with big-name talent like Diddy and Mary J. Blige. But for Keri Hilson, that was just the beginning. The songwriter-turned-singer has written hits for the hottest artists in the game, though she modestly insists her big break came "when Timbaland found me." From there, she quickly moved from crooning in "The Way I Are" to releasing her debut album, In A Perfect World ... (featuring the dangerously habit-forming hit single, "Energy.")
So watch what Hilson had to say about the video that's jump-started her solo career, and then download "Energy" for yourself. Not only will it teach you the connection between provocative gym clothes and failed relationships but it'll totally motivate you to sign up for those kickboxing lessons you always wanted!
According to the Internet, 
