Justin Bieber's Lost Magazine Covers
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
will.i.am Unveils Teaser Of Britney Spears Collaboration
'I can be the treble, baby/ You can be the bass,' Spears sings on the snippet of the track, titled 'The Big Fat Bass.'
By Jocelyn Vena
will.i.am
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for MGM
Will.i.am has posted a snippet from his collaboration with Britney Spears, and it might just have fans saying "OMG." The segment of the funky track, titled "The Big Fat Bass," is the latest teaser from Spears' upcoming March 29 release, Femme Fatale.
The snippet opens with the electronically altered voice of will.i.am singing, "Big fat bass/ the big fat bass," as a keyboard plays underneath. Then a beat kicks in.
Britney soon joins in, speak-singing in a bright and loud voice, "I can be the treble, baby/ You can be the bass/ You can be the bass."
In a blog message that accompanied the audio clip, Will wrote, "The big fat bass ... this is a taste ... this is the intro ... the bass is an important element to club dance music ... this song celebrates bass ... thank you Britney for collaborating it was a pleasure working with you ... thank you for trusting my instincts ... you're a doll ... i look forward on working with you again ... its an honor because you rarely do collaboration."
The Black Eyed Peas frontman revealed more information about the snippet on Twitter, where he posted on Sunday that he is loving the direction that the album's executive producers, Dr. Luke and Max Martin, are taking.
"Im editing the snippet. there are so many parts in this song. I have so many favorite parts. It's difficult to pick which part to show 1st," he wrote, going on to discuss all the things he loves about the tune while showing a series of screen images of the audio file. "There are soo many hot parts ... the second verse??? I love this section...the beat is nuts here and britney kills it ... or the 2nd hook? Because [on] the second half of the first hook the bass build up is crazy ... or the breakdown??? At this point a brand new beat is revealed. (The sickest beat) ... [that] section is my favorite...my favorite new beat...I'm excited to dj this section...
Will concluded the Twitter thread by saying, "Ok...I'm going to reveal the intro...I will give u a taste of the bass," including a link to the snippet.
Do you what you've heard of Britney and will.i.am's collaboration? Tell us in the comments?
Related Photos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658843/will-i-am-britney-collaboration-teaser.jhtml
How Do Oscar Hosts James Franco, Anne Hathaway Stack Up?
Franco's 'distracted' delivery and Anne's 'charming' turn has drawn inevitable comparisons to past emcees like Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.
By Eric Ditzian
Anne Hathaway and James Franco host the 2011 Academy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Getty Images
In the wake of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' effort to infuse some youthful vitality into Sunday's Oscar ceremony by tapping James Franco and Anne Hathaway to emcee the event, positive praise for the hosts' joint performance has been hard to find.
The New York Times called Hathaway "charming and charismatic" but said Franco came off "a little distracted and even blasé" and that "together they had an odd absence of chemistry." The Washington Post declared that while Hathaway "worked her derriere off," Franco seemed "sort of heavy-lidded and smirky." And USA Today simply said Franco appeared to be "preparing for a remake of 'Dazed and Confused.' "
A match made in awards-season heaven these two certainly were not, and early ratings numbers have the show's audience declining 7 percent from last year (though still higher than 2008 and 2009). At the very least, Franco and Hathaway were likeable throughout, excelling in their pre-taped segments and, if anything, suffering from weak writing during their live, scripted banter.
Last year's hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, by contrast, were nearly universally lauded. The Los Angeles Times called them "the best hosts the show has had in years." The veteran duo's jokes were hardly Ricky Gervais-edgy, but Hollywood doesn't always have the best sense of humor about itself. They zinged Meryl Streep ("[She] holds the most nominations for any actor," Martin said. "Or, as I like to think of it, the most losses"); "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (saying that it "lived up to its video game"); and didn't shy away from some entertaining presenter intros ("He directed 'A Single Man,' she weighs a single pound: Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker").
"Baldwin and Steve Martin proved to be classy and quippy throughout the night, very piece-of-cake — not that anyone expected otherwise," Hank Stuever wrote in The Washington Post last March.
In 2009, host Hugh Jackman's bravura opening musical number was enough to assure happy memories, even two years later, of the actor's time on the Oscar stage. As New York magazine put it at the time, "Hugh Jackman saves the Oscars!"
On Sunday night, there actually seemed to be lingering sadness that Jackman didn't reunite with Hathaway — after their unexpectedly funny "Frost/Nixon" duet in '09 — for another satirical tune. Hathaway was left to sing by herself, and it just wasn't the same. Yet here's the thing: Jackman hardly knocked it out of the park after his opening shtick; it's interesting what people end up remembering after the show's over. In some sort of backhanded compliment in '09, the New York Times said, "Hugh Jackman was a shrewd, even thrifty choice for a recession-era Oscar night — the hosting equivalent of a value meal."
A similar critical shrug greeted Jon Stewart in 2008, after he and his team rushed to prep an act in the wake of the writers' strike. Variety argued that the comedian "played it pretty safe" but generally "earned his keep by maintaining a playful, irreverent tone throughout the night." That was about as positive as the reviews got, with The Washington Post on the other end of the spectrum saying, he "did only a fair-to-middling job, mostly middling."
Hosting the Oscars, then, is a truly thankless task. And perhaps an explanation for Franco's sleepy performance can be found in the advice Stewart jokingly gave him on "The Daily Show" a few weeks ago.
"Go at it with the attitude that you're above it all, with an ironic detachment bordering on contempt," Stewart told Franco. "They will eat it up." What did you think of Anne and James as Oscar hosts? Tell us in the comments!
Stick with MTV News on Oscar night and beyond for red-carpet fashion coverage, analysis of the winners, plus interviews, photos and more from your favorite Hollywood stars!
Related Videos Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658871/oscars-hosts-anne-hathaway-james-franco.jhtml
Justin Bieber's 17th Birthday Bash: What Would You Plan?
Event planners imagine what kind of party they'd throw the superstar.
By Jocelyn Vena
Justin Bieber
Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/ Getty Images
Justin Bieber is about to reach another milestone in his life: On Tuesday (March 1), the teen star turns 17. Already, he's had hit albums and singles, a world tour and a successful concert documentary, so he definitely has a reason to celebrate. As he gears up for the fun, MTV News asked some party planners to weigh in on what kind of bash they would throw for the pop superstar.
"I think, knowing that he's such a fan of purple, I would create a purple Willy Wonka fantasy party," said Bruce Starr, who works at BMF Media Group in New York. "I think we'd do it in L.A. on a studio lot and have the Oompa Loompas in purple. We'd recreate this extravagant fantasy world."
Starr said he'd have a female DJ on the decks, but also would have some musical surprises up his sleeve. "We'd have a surprise stage, and without telling him, work with his friends and have them do surprise sets for him," he explained. "The party would have just friends and family, about 250 or 300 or 400 people tops — really intimate."
There would even be a fan element to the party. "I think we would do huge screens for all the people who couldn't be there. We'd have surprise music videos from them, and throughout the candy land, there'd be screens with tweets from his fans," he added.
Taylor Choi, event consultant for Gansevoort Hotel Group, explained that she'd have the perfect Big Apple hot spot for the party. "For him, I would do something more fun and exciting," she mused. "I would do more like bowling or video games, some sort of 3-D type party with more technology-type stuff for him."
So, what types of social media would that include? "A social-media kiosk where people can take photos," she explained. "I would do karaoke and do something more fun and interactive. I would have a fun DJ and a fun live performance because a performance would be fun."
As for the venue, Choi said: "If he was in New York, I would throw it in the Gansevoort Park Avenue where we could do a 3-D installation. We can do a performance over the pool. We would deck it out for him with three floors. I'd serve cupcakes, hot dogs, burgers.
"I would have like 200 of his closest friends," she added. "I would definitely do 3-D stuff. He'd have fun with a small group of friends: private, intimate, nothing too crazy. Have his friends perform a song for him."
While it seems these planners would throw elaborate bashes for the star, Bieber recently revealed that he's hoping for a low-key affair.
"I only have, like, four days, so I'm just going to relax, because I start my world tour starting on [March 4] — so just going to mentally prepare and just relax," Bieber explained. "No birthday bash. ... Hopefully my grandparents will be out here, and I'll be able to spend time, a little bit, with them. My grandma makes the best cheesecake — cherry cheesecake. She made that for my 13th birthday."
How do you think Justin Bieber should celebrate his 17th birthday? Tell us your ideas below!
Related Photos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658926/justin-bieber-birthday.jhtml
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller': Story Behind The 'Glee' Cover
MJ classic is mashed up with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Heads Will Roll' for post-Super Bowl episode.
By Aly Semigran
"Glee"
Photo: FOX
Madonna, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and now, finally, Michael Jackson. The cast of "Glee" has covered plenty of icons during their first two seasons, but it's taken 33 episodes to get around to the King of Pop.
With a huge catalog of Jackson songs, the singing, dancing students of McKinley High paid homage to the late singer with one of his biggest staples (and, arguably, the greatest music video of all time) with their take on "Thriller."
The groundbreaking single from Jackson's best-selling album of the same name was mashed up with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll" for the post-Super Bowl episode (titled "The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle"), featuring a zombie-fied "Glee" cast.
Bound to become a smash all over again (though with its nonstop rotation at Halloween parties and wedding receptions until the end of time, it's never truly gone away), here's a brief history of the dance/pop classic.
Released on January 23, 1984, "Thriller" was the seventh, and final, single to be released from Jackson's smash record. According to the RIAA, the album (released by Epic Records) has gone gold 29 times, narrowly edging out the Eagles' Greatest Hits 1971-1975 for the title of best-selling album of all time.
In 2009, MTV News estimated that the Thriller album was poised to go triple diamond, meaning 30 million records sold in the U.S. alone.
After Thriller's other singles (including "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something") dominated the charts, it was time for the spooky, undeniably original track to take over. The song "Thriller" also appeared on many of Jackson's other albums, including the compilations HIStory and Number Ones.
Clocking in at a little under six minutes (though the radio edit was closer to four-and-a-half), the song features pop-music mainstays like synthesizers but shakes things up with its spooky sound effects, including creaking floors, howling and thunder.
The song was produced by Quincy Jones and written and composed by Rod Tempterton and spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #4.
But it's the music video for "Thriller" that truly made it the phenomenon it was in the '80s and continues to be today. Less a music video than a mini-motion picture, the video (over 13 minutes long and directed by John Landis) won three MTV Video Music Awards and has been named the best music video of all time by many outlets, including VH1 for the special "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos."
The chiller features Jackson in that iconic red leather jacket on a date with his girlfriend (played by Ola Ray) before things go terribly awry. After all, as Jackson (whose disclaimer at the start of the video reads, "This film in no way endorses a belief in the occult") sings in the opening line, "It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark." Cue werewolves, zombies, Vincent Price's soliloquy and one of the most memorable dance sequences ever.
The video was (no pun intended) a monster hit. As the Los Angeles Times notes, "At the height of the song's popularity, MTV would run the 14-minute 'Thriller' video twice an hour."
Choreographed by Jackson and Michael Peters (who, as the LA Times also reported, appears in the video as one of the zombies) and with makeup by Oscar-winner Rick Baker (also an undead "Thriller" extra) was made with a huge budget of an estimated $500,000.
Still, the efforts paid off. Landis (who told the "Today" show back in 2009 that no one wanted to give them the funds to make the risky vid) made the accompanying 45-minute documentary about the venture, called "The Making of Thriller." Featuring the behind-the-scenes wizardry, as well as the music video in full, it would go on to move more than 10 million copies.
Since then, the signature song and video have seen their share fair of tributes in movies (notably in the 2004 comedy"13 Going on 30") and TV ("South Park," "Family Guy," "30 Rock," among others), not to mention the countless flash mobs that have gone viral. (Remember the prisoners in the Philippines who became overnight phenomenons on YouTube?)
Even with the "Glee" number, this likely won't be the last incarnation of "Thriller." Billboard reported in October that a "Thriller" film is in the works. With a plot allegedly revolving around Price's narration, Kenny Ortega, who directed Jackson's last effort, "This Is It," will reportedly helm the project.
Since Jackson's untimely passing on June 25, 2009, the song and video's legacy continue to live on. In the week following Jackson's death, "Thriller" was the best-selling track in the U.S., with sales of 167,000 copies on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles chart.
Then, in December 2009, "Thriller" was the first music video to ever be inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It seems "no mere mortal can resist ... the thriller" after all.
What did you think of the "Thriller" mash-up on "Glee"? Let us know in the comments!
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657395/glee-thriller.jhtml
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