Justin Bieber's Grammy Performance Will Be 'A Crossover,' Usher Says

The 'O.M.G.' singer looks forward to sharing the stage with his protégé on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery


Usher
Photo: Amanda Edwards/ Getty Images

HOLLYWOOD — At Sunday's 53rd Grammy Awards, Usher will be pulling double duty as both a nominee and a performer. Of course, given the massive year he just completed — with the success of his smash single "O.M.G." and as a mentor to rising phenom Justin Bieber — Ush's Grammy plans seem rather fitting.

Especially since he'll be performing with Bieber (and Bieber's pal Jaden Smith), a move that's just as much about celebrating Usher's successes as it is the successes of his young protégé.

"Having been through [the Grammys] so many times, you couldn't want for anything more than for your young protégé to have the opportunity to have one, so, in support of him having his moment, I wanted to be here," Usher told MTV News on Thursday, hours before his performance at the (Belvedere) RED launch party in Hollywood. "And also to be there to perform, to kind of tell the story of how we came together. This music business has definitely been good to both of us, and this year we have a lot to be happy for."

And just how will the dynamic duo tell that story? Well, Usher wasn't about to reveal all the details, but he did say that he's hoping their performance will show another side of Bieber ... a side most tend to overlook.

"The performance will be fun," Usher explained. "We want to get up there and just do what we do. Be comfortable, and have a great time. ... This is kind of a crossover for Justin. Having performed on so many different stages, this is the way that I wanted him to be seen and an opportunity to show the industry — a lot of the industry, that didn't believe [in him] — some of his other talents. He's going to play acoustically, and also, we'll get down a little bit."

And though Ush is up for a pair of Grammy awards on Sunday — Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Contemporary R&B Album for Raymond v. Raymond — he's most looking forward to sharing the stage with Bieber and giving fans a look at where the young artist will be heading next.

"I'm very proud, man. I definitely saw it from the beginning, but thanks to the team that we have around us, it was made to happen. And that story has only just begun," Usher said. "The story of Justin Bieber doesn't stop with screaming girls; we need screaming fans all around the world ... a cultural experience that's much more than just fanfare. And that's what this is. That's what the Grammys will be; that's what my next phase for Justin is. This is the way I found him: I found him with a guitar in his hand, so I want him to be seen that way."

Don't miss "Snooki & Sway: Live From the Grammys," a red-carpet live stream kicking off Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And stick with us all Grammy night for coverage of the red carpet, the show, the afterparties and beyond!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657728/usher-justin-bieber-grammy-performance.jhtml

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Lily Allen's Pregnancy Is In The Stars

Pregnant Lily Allen was spotted as she walked the yellow carpet at the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup polo event in London, England on Sunday (July 17).

The Smile singer looked beautiful in a star-patterned, lace-trimmed dress, demure white cardigan and black platforms.

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Source: http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2011/07/17/lily-allens-star-studded-pregnancy

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Lady Gaga, Katy Perry And The Case Of Pop-Star Alter Egos

Why two mermaids are too much, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery


Katy Perry and Lady Gaga
Photo: MTV News / Getty Images

I suppose it's every pop star's prerogative to adopt an alter ego: Where would Beyoncé be without Sasha Fierce? How could Nicki Minaj exist without Roman Zolanski? Can Mariah ever not be Mimi?

All valid questions, to be certain, and yet ... maybe it's time we stop asking them. With all due respect to the Queen B, Ms. Minaj and the Magnificent Mariah (or any of the myriad of pop stars who have sought to reinvent themselves over the years), it is entirely possible that we have finally reached the point of no return. And as such, perhaps we should to retire the alter-ego idea entirely.

This has nothing to do with my feelings about alter egos, second selves, or even doppelgängers, since, as a general rule of thumb, I am in favor of them, especially when they involve rock music (Ziggy Stardust!), comic books (Superman!) and/or professional wrestling (the Undertaker!) But it has everything to do with mermaids. Or, more specifically, the fact that, at this very moment, two of the biggest pop stars on the planet are attempting to foist mermaid alter egos upon us ... and neither seems to have a problem with that.

It all started last month, when Lady Gaga pulled on a fishtail and became Yuyi the Mermaid for a performance on French TV. In theory, this was all right with me, considering A) Yuyi will apparently be featured in her next music video and B) I have never been wronged by a mermaid, mostly because they are mythological creatures. The event that made me reconsider my feelings actually occurred earlier this week, when Katy Perry took to her Twitter account to post a photo of herself, mid-plank, dressed as Ariel from "The Little Mermaid."

Not surprisingly, this angered Gaga's little monsters (and Laurieann Gibson), but I'd suggest that their outrage was misguided. They shouldn't be mad at Perry for going mermaid, they should be mad at pop stars in general. Because, really, if we've reached the point where they can't even come up with original alter egos any more, well, then perhaps it's time to do away with the concept altogether.

And yes, I realize that mermaids are inexplicably hot right now, what with their inclusion in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and Stephenie Meyer's upcoming book, in which they will apparently devour men or something. Still, have we officially run out of alter egos? Shoot, Gaga has already been a motorcycle, a space mother, and Mary Magdalene ... and that's just since she released Born This Way. And Katy? She's currently working another alter ego, an orthodontically enhanced teen named Kathy Beth Terry. Couldn't one of them be a centaur? Joan of Arc? Abraham Lincoln?

Apparently not. And since we've apparently reached the alter ego's event horizon, I'm proposing a five-year moratorium on any and all split personalities. Let's all just chill a bit ... give the batteries some time to recharge. You may think I'm being reactionary, but deep down, you know I'm right. I don't want to live in a world where our pop stars have been reduced to dueling mermaids, simply because there were no other alternatives. And I'll be damned if I'm going to sit idly by and watch as the good name of Chris Gaines is dragged through the mud. Especially by mermaids.

Have our favorite pop stars taken the mermaid trend too far? Sound off in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1667171/lady-gaga-katy-perry-mermaid.jhtml

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Britney Spears? Adele? Experts Pick 2011's Summer Diva

Perez Hilton tells MTV News a Summer Diva is 'defined by one thing: she is known by just one name.'
By Jocelyn Vena


Britney Spears
Photo: Getty Images

Every summer, there's one lady who rules the beach, one pop diva who manages to rise above the rest thanks to a catchy tune and unstoppable promo campaign. Since the summer basically starts on the Fourth of July and goes right through Labor Day weekend, it's time to start looking at the most likely contenders for the Summer Diva crown.

With everyone from Lady Gaga and Beyoncé to Britney Spears and Katy Perry making a play to be the one-and-only queen of summer pop (and also angling to have the Song of the Summer), only one will have that certain something that stands out. So who is taking an early lead and why?

"Divas tend to rule the summer," Ian Drew, senior music editor at Us Weekly, told MTV News. "They tend to have very fun shows, very bright shows, very poppy shows, stuff that everyone can get into across all levels."

Perez Hilton had his own definition of a Summer Diva. "She is defined by one thing: she is known by just one name," he told MTV News.

Well, that seems to be the case for most of the Summer Diva contenders, but Drew went for one very famous California Gurl as his pick: Katy Perry. "She sort of knows how to rule the summer," he said. "By now, it's a part of her whole architecture. It seems like every single summer, she comes up with the perfect summer jam, ever since 2008. Now she's got 'Last Friday Night.'

"The next is Britney," Drew continued, not wanting to count the veteran out of the race. " 'I Wanna Go' is a clear summer hit. They both have these dueling huge summer tours."

Hilton noted that Perry is on "such a hot streak right now. It looks like Katy may be the queen of the summer." But he's throwing his weight behind a different diva.

"The real queen of the summer — the diva to beat all divas — is going to be Adele," he gushed about the unstoppable singer. "What makes Adele the diva of the summer is that she's doing the best without trying at all. You see Gaga, Beyoncé and Katy everywhere [and] you see Adele nowhere, and she's still outselling them. Adele is connecting to audiences in a big way, and to me, that's impactful, that's relevant."

Who do you think will be the Summer Diva of 2011? Share your picks in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666770/britney-spears-adele-song-of-summer.jhtml

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Pitbull And Wyclef Get Fit With Zumba

'You go up there and you're like, 'Man I need to be a part of that,' ' Pit tells MTV News.
By Rob Markman


Pitbull
Photo: MTV News

Pitbull and Wyclef Jean may have their roots in hip-hop, but through the years, both performers have garnered worldwide appeal and conquered multiple musical genres. Recently, both artists linked up with choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez and contributed to his Latin dance-inspired Zumba fitness program.

"You see my stage shows, you see me flying through the air, backflips, doing all kinds of stuff. Zumba for me is natural, because it's exercising and dancing without feeling it," 'Clef told MTV News last week at the Zumba Fitness convention in Orlando, Florida.

Zumba was conceived by the Colombia-born Perez in the 1990s using dance to promote physical health. Combining musical elements like hip-hop, samba, salsa, meringue, mambo and even a bit of belly dancing, Perez's program has grown into one of the hottest fitness crazes in gyms across the world.

The Fugees producer partnered up with Zumba, and now his single "Historia" has been included as an official Zumba track that instructors use to teach their classes fitness through choreography. Pitbull's "Pause," a track from his recently released album Planet Pit, is also part of the Zumba playlist.

"The way Zumba has done it is taken all those things that maybe we've all learned from different countries and put it into a form where it's global now," Pit told MTV News. "Same thing we've done with music, so that's why I think they both ride parallel and they coincide."

During last week's convention, both Pit and 'Clef performed for 7,000 Zumba instructors, who moved in sync with the dancers onstage to specific Zumba choreography. "I'm up there and I'm rocking and 7,000 instructors are doing the exact moves to a song that I composed. I can't even explain to you what that feels like," Wyclef said. "That's incredible."

While a rapper getting down with a fitness program may seem strange to some, Pitbull insists that the Zumba vibe is infectious. "It's not someone looking like, 'Man, what's Pitbull up there doing exercise?' " he said. "Nah, you go up there and you're like, 'Man, I need to be a part of that.' "

Jean agrees, pointing out that Zumba's many cultural elements adds to its strength. "If it's hot in Brazil, it's hot in Afghanistan, it's hot in Jerusalem, it's hot in Flatbush [Brooklyn, New York]. It all should be on that one CD and we all should be able to rock with it," he said. "And that's why I'm into the Zumba movement."

Have you ever tried Zumba? Let us know in the comments!

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'Boyz N The Hood' A 'Coming-Of-Age Story,' John Singleton Says

'I knew Ice Cube was a movie star before he knew he was a movie star,' director tells MTV News.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Vanessa WhiteWolf


Ice Cube in "Boyz N The Hood" in 1991
Photo: MTV News

When John Singleton wrote and directed his 1991 film "Boyz n the Hood," there was no grandiose cinematic inspiration or abstract muse. Instead, the Los Angeles native just wrote about what he knew best.

"My biggest influence for making the film was my friends, my friends growing up, and how Los Angeles was in the '80s and '90s," Singleton told MTV News. "None of the movies that we saw growing up had anybody, any characters in them that were like us. So we were like, 'We should make a movie about what we go through, about what we see.' "

Released on July 12, 1991, "Boyz n the Hood" was nominated for two Academy Awards and is hailed as a classic 20 years later. On July 19, the film will be re-released in Blu-ray. The movie's impact doesn't seem to surprise Singleton much; he kind of always knew things would turn out this way.

"I was like, 'Wow if I can get this in a film, a little bit of what this is, that life on film, then I think I'll have something that will have a hard effect on people,' " he recalled.

The film, starring Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut and Laurence Fishburne, is set in South Central, Los Angeles, a California neighborhood notorious for gang violence. At the center of the film is Tre Styles (Gooding Jr.), who tries to balance his father's (Fishburne) life lessons with the harsh realities of the 'hood in which he lived. Then there are half-brothers Doughboy (Cube) and Ricky Baker (Chestnut), two characters who couldn't be more different. Doughboy, a stone-cold gangster, has street respect but very few prospects. His brother Ricky, however, is a young father and a star high school football player fielding sports scholarships from multiple colleges. In the end, Ricky's bright future is brought to a dark close when he's gunned down in an alleyway.

Noted for its social message, "Boyz n the Hood" also marked the acting debut of rapper Ice Cube, who has gone on to star in movies like "Friday" with comedian Chris Tucker and "Anaconda" alongside Jennifer Lopez. Cube has also written, directed and produced a number of films as well. "I knew Ice Cube was a movie star before he knew he was a movie star," Singleton said. "He just embodied that role and did a great job."

In fact, the director had a vision -- not just for Cube, but for all the members of his former group as well. "The script was originally written for all of N.W.A. The character Doughboy was always meant for Ice Cube, but the whole script was written for all of the N.W.A guys to be in it," Singleton revealed.

Unfortunately, the casting didn't go as planned, and years later, Dr. Dre expressed a bit of regret. "It's funny, because when I told Dre that later on, he said, 'Man, if you got any great ideas, you come to me again, you come to me,' " Singleton said with a chuckle.

When asked why he thought the film holds up after 20 years, John Singleton offered this: "I think people are still talking about 'Boyz n the Hood' because it's part of who they are. Even if they're not from that environment, they really identify with those characters. Ultimately, the movie is kind of like a teenage story, it's a teenage coming-of-age movie. People watch that movie and say, 'Wow, look at the journey of these characters,' and then they think about their own journey."

Check out everything we've got on "Boyz n the Hood."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1667367/boyz-n-the-hood-john-singleton-ice-cube.jhtml

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