Mary J. Blige Dishes On Her 'Crazy' Led Zeppelin Covers

'I've listened to their music since I was a child,' says the R&B diva, who recorded 'Stairway to Heaven' and 'Whole Lotta Love.'
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Larry Carroll

<P>You wouldn't peg Mary J Blige as the black-light-and-tapestry sort, but, as has become readily apparent in recent weeks, she absolutely loves Led Zeppelin.</P><P>In early February, reports began circulating that Blige had re-recorded Zeppelin's classic "Stairway to Heaven," working with Travis Barker, "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson and guitarist Steve Vai on the track, which is slated to appear on the international reissue of her <i>Stronger With Each Tear</i> album, due Monday.</P><P></p><div style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float:left;"></div><p></P><P>But after she had recorded "Stairway," Blige continued to get the Led out, covering <i>another</i> Zeppelin classic &#8212; the thunderous "Whole Lotta Love" &#8212; for the album too. And when MTV News caught up with her on the <i>Essence</i> Black Women in Hollywood red carpet, she told us all about channeling her inner Robert Plant for the tracks, a process that came much easier than you'd probably imagine.</P><P>"I did Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' and 'Whole Lotta Love' &#8212; it's crazy," she said. "I am a Led Zeppelin fan. I'm not going to say I've been to their concerts, but I've listened to their music since I was a child, and it's always moved me, especially 'Stairway to Heaven,' and 'Whole Lotta Love' is just fun."</P><P>Blige also said she recorded another new song &#8212; a "club record" called "I Can't Wait" &#8212; for the re-release. And while it's only slated to hit shelves outside the U.S., she hopes her fans will get a chance to hear all the new songs pretty soon.</P><P>"I want y'all to hear it," she laughed.</P>

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Izabella Miko Izabella Scorupco Jaime King Jaime Pressly Jamie Chung

Justin Bieber Inspired By Michael Jackson For 'As Long As You Love Me' Clip

Singer tweets about the King of Pop's influence on his new video.
By Jocelyn Vena

<P>On Wednesday, Justin Bieber dropped his cinematic clip for his track "As Long as You Love Me." Heavy on drama and celebrity cameos, the video follows a lovelorn Bieber as he fights actor Michael Madsen for the right to hang out with his daughter, his one true love.</P><P></P><P>In addition to the Baz Luhrmann-inspired Hawaiian shirts and "Romeo and Juliet" story line, Bieber takes a few punches and slings some sassy lines at Madsen. His pal Big Sean also makes an appearance in the clip. And if fans were wondering what and who influenced the video, Bieber took to Twitter hours after the premiere to shout out his hero, Michael Jackson, for helping him step up his music-video game.</P><P>"MJ told stories with his videos. I wanted to tell a story. Feel like a movie. #AsLongAsYouLoveMe," he wrote, showing some love to the master. He later added, "Push the limits. Fight for what you BELIEVE in."</P><P>As of Wednesday night, Bieber was astounded that his video had amassed more than 1 million views in less than 10 hours. But that number nearly quadrupled on Thursday morning &#8212; as of press time, the video had almost 4 million streams.</P><P>Bieber is not only feeling the love for his "ALAYM" video but also for his "Boyfriend" video, which just received two 2012 MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Male Video. Bieber goes into the September 6 broadcast already a two-time VMA winner. He'll learn if he can take home another one when the show goes live from the Staples Center.</P><P>The VMAs take place just weeks before Bieber kicks off his sold-out Believe tour, which coincidentally will also be heavily influenced by the King of Pop.</P><P>"He has been watching a tremendous amount of Michael Jackson concerts from the '80s and '90s," his manager Scooter Braun shared. "And he has been talking to me about how Michael incorporated magic and pyro and reveals and he wants to bring in that. [But] still do that acoustic thing, but he wants to take it to a whole new level.</P><P>"It's just really exciting," Braun continued. "Nothing makes him happier than being onstage. So it's gonna be fun to get back onto the road. I think he was an amazing performer before, but his level of dance and musicianship and his range [has grown]. He's a veteran now. I think he wants to take it to a completely new level."</P>

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Chyler Leigh Ciara Cindy Crawford Cindy Taylor Cinthia Moura

Lindsay Lohan Assaulted in New York City

Even when Lindsay Lohan isn't causing trouble, trouble seems to follow her. This weekend, the actress reportedly had a frightening and violent encounter with a man she met at a New York City night club. The alleged assailant, a 25-year-old California man named Christian LaBella, is being charged with assault and harassment.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/lindsay-lohan-assaulted-new-york-city/1-a-490755?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Alindsay-lohan-assaulted-new-york-city-490755

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Justin Bieber, Frank Ocean Win Gold In MTV's Summer Jam Games!

No Doubt, Ellie Goulding and Usher also join Biebs and Ocean on the summer song podium.
By John Mitchell

<P>The podium at the 2012 MTV News Summer Jam Games is crowded with some of the biggest stars on the planet, each representing their respective genres with the hottest hits of the season. Nearly 740,000 votes were cast across the five categories (hip-hop, R&B, EDM, rock and pop) resulting in a winners' list led by both fan-favorite veteran acts and relative newcomers.</P><P>So who took home the gold in our Summer Jam Games? Well fans came out in full force for their acts, but only five acts could go home with gold.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Justin Bieber - &quot;As Long As You Love Me featuring Big Sean&quot;" isvevo="true" isrc="USUV71201064" id="vid:820040" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>Check out the winners below:</P><P><big><b>Hip-Hop: "Lemme See" Usher, featuring Rick Ross</b></big><br> Just as it is in sports, sometimes years of practice and perseverance pay off. Such is the case with MTV Video Music Award nominee (for "Climax") Usher, whose jam "Lemme See," featuring Rick Ross, bested its nearest competition ("Mercy" by G.O.O.D. Music featuring 2 Chainz), to take the hip-hop Summer Jam gold medal. With nearly 20 years of blockbuster hits under his belt, Usher proved to be the Michael Phelps of our Summer Jam Games &#8212; a heavily decorated veteran who's still winning top honors when he gets in the game.</P><P><big><b>R&B: "Thinkin Bout You," Frank Ocean</b></big><br> With three VMA noms and one of the most acclaimed albums of the year, Ocean is enjoying a very big moment right now. That energy carried him not only to the top of the album charts, but also to victory in our R&B category. Ocean took nearly half of all votes cast in the category and 12,000-plus votes more than his nearest competitor, silver medalist JoJo, whose "Demonstrate" did just that. Combined, Ocean and JoJo accounted for more than 92 percent of all votes in an R&B field that included Leah La Belle, The-Dream and Trey Songz.</P><P><big><b>EDM: "Lights," Ellie Goulding</b></big><br> Goulding took her time to break here in the U.S., but once the Brit beauty's ethereal dance jam "Lights" started to catch on, it set the charts on fire. In its 32nd week on the <i>Billboard</i> Hot 100, the song remains at #5, and the continued popularity of "Lights" catapulted the song to the top of the EDM heap, besting some of the genre's biggest stars, including Eric Prydz, Porter Robinson, David Guetta, Avicii and Calvin Harris, to take the Summer Jam gold.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Ellie Goulding - &quot;Lights&quot;" isvevo="true" isrc="GBUV71006926" id="vid:695917" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P><big><b>Rock: "Settle Down," No Doubt</b></big><br> If there was any question that No Doubt is back in the biggest possible way, look no further than the showing of "Settle Down" in the Summer Jam Games rock category. The rock contenders were a "who's who" of titans in the genre, from Jack White to the Killers, but in the end, Gwen, Tony, Adrian and Tom prevailed over their closest competitor, Green Day's "Oh Love," with their infectious return to music; it's also the lead single from <i>Push and Shove,</i> the band's first album since 2001's <i>Rock Steady.</i></P><P><big><b>Pop: "As Long As You Love Me," Justin Bieber, featuring Big Sean</b></big><br> Far and away the most voted-upon category, the competition for top of the pops was <i>fierce.</i> In the end, Justin Bieber and One direction left everyone else in the dust, accounting for nearly 95 percent of the total vote. But in the end, there could only be one, and the Beliebers rallied behind Justin to push "As Long As you Love Me" across the finish line just ahead of One Direction's "One Thing."</P><P><i>Did your favorites take top honors in our Summer Jam Games? Let us know in the comments below!</i></P>

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Justin Bieber Inspired By Michael Jackson For 'As Long As You Love Me' Clip

Singer tweets about the King of Pop's influence on his new video.
By Jocelyn Vena

<P>On Wednesday, Justin Bieber dropped his cinematic clip for his track "As Long as You Love Me." Heavy on drama and celebrity cameos, the video follows a lovelorn Bieber as he fights actor Michael Madsen for the right to hang out with his daughter, his one true love.</P><P></P><P>In addition to the Baz Luhrmann-inspired Hawaiian shirts and "Romeo and Juliet" story line, Bieber takes a few punches and slings some sassy lines at Madsen. His pal Big Sean also makes an appearance in the clip. And if fans were wondering what and who influenced the video, Bieber took to Twitter hours after the premiere to shout out his hero, Michael Jackson, for helping him step up his music-video game.</P><P>"MJ told stories with his videos. I wanted to tell a story. Feel like a movie. #AsLongAsYouLoveMe," he wrote, showing some love to the master. He later added, "Push the limits. Fight for what you BELIEVE in."</P><P>As of Wednesday night, Bieber was astounded that his video had amassed more than 1 million views in less than 10 hours. But that number nearly quadrupled on Thursday morning &#8212; as of press time, the video had almost 4 million streams.</P><P>Bieber is not only feeling the love for his "ALAYM" video but also for his "Boyfriend" video, which just received two 2012 MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Male Video. Bieber goes into the September 6 broadcast already a two-time VMA winner. He'll learn if he can take home another one when the show goes live from the Staples Center.</P><P>The VMAs take place just weeks before Bieber kicks off his sold-out Believe tour, which coincidentally will also be heavily influenced by the King of Pop.</P><P>"He has been watching a tremendous amount of Michael Jackson concerts from the '80s and '90s," his manager Scooter Braun shared. "And he has been talking to me about how Michael incorporated magic and pyro and reveals and he wants to bring in that. [But] still do that acoustic thing, but he wants to take it to a whole new level.</P><P>"It's just really exciting," Braun continued. "Nothing makes him happier than being onstage. So it's gonna be fun to get back onto the road. I think he was an amazing performer before, but his level of dance and musicianship and his range [has grown]. He's a veteran now. I think he wants to take it to a completely new level."</P>

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News Roundup: LMFAO Are Going On Hiatus, Nas and Ms. Lauryn Hill Are Going On Tour, And More

This week, the wild, party animal duo LMFAO announced that they were going to take some time off to focus on their own, individual projects. While the world mourned their split, Nas and Ms. Lauryn Hill announced that they would be hitting the road together. Talk about awesome news. And Justin Timberlake continues to tease [...]

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