Lady Gaga Talks 'Judas' Single, Influence Of Alexander McQueen

'Right after he died, I wrote 'Born This Way,' she tells Harper's Bazaar of late designer.
By Jocelyn Vena


Lady Gaga in the May 2011 issue of <i>Harper's Bazaar</i>
Photo: Harper's Bazaar

In Lady Gaga's latest Gagavision video, the singer opens up about the making of "Judas." In episode 42, fans learn that Gaga has been hard at work preparing for the highly anticipated release of Born This Way's second single, which drops April 19.

"I graphic-designed the 'Judas' single cover myself," she shares in the video. "I photographed the image with my cell phone for texture."

Gaga then sits in a Haus meeting, discussing the specifics of her album release. "I don't want the word 'deluxe' on the album," she stipulates to her team. "I hate that word." Scattered around Gaga are images, seemingly from something "Judas"-related. On one photo the word "Judas" is printed with a cross on it, looking like artwork that could have easily appeared in Baz Luhrmann's version of "Romeo and Juliet." More photos are also spread on the floor, one of which seems to be of Gaga, her hair long and blond.

Gaga also opens up about her May 23 album release in the new issue of Harper's Bazaar. She explains that she believes her friend the late Alexander McQueen has had a hand in helping her craft Born This Way and its chart-topping lead single of the same name.

"I think he planned the whole thing: Right after he died, I wrote 'Born This Way.' I think he's up in heaven with fashion strings in his hands, marionetting away, planning this whole thing," she said. That theory seemed to gain some momentum when her label moved up the release date of "BTW" to a date close to the anniversary of his death.

"When I heard that, I knew he planned the whole damn thing," she added. "I didn't even write the f---ing song. He did!"

She adds that fans should brace themselves for the album release. They've only been teased by what's in store. " 'Born This Way' is the marijuana to the heroin of the album," she said. "The [album's] experience gets massively more intense as you explore it. All the different songs are different kinds of highs."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1661864/lady-gaga-judas.jhtml

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'Game Of Thrones': Sean Bean Is 'Flattered' By Fan Reaction To His Casting As Ned Stark

When it comes to the reason most unaffiliated people are interested in HBO's upcoming fantasy series "Game of Thrones," the casting of Sean Bean is pretty high up on the list. Most people know Bean on sight as That Guy from "Lord of the Rings" (Boromir) or The Bad Guy in so many movies ("Goldeneye," "National [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/04/16/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-ned-stark-casting/

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Ke$ha Postpones Japan Tour Dates

Ne-Yo, Cyndi Lauper continue to perform in the country following earthquake.
By Gil Kaufman


Ke$ha
Photo: Noel Vasquez/ Getty Images

As the people of Japan continue to struggle with recovering from the nation's devastating earthquake and tsunami, some artists are being forced to cancel their tour dates in the nation. Ke$ha released a statement on Monday announcing that she would have to postpone her upcoming dates in Japan.

"My heart is with Japan right now through this disaster and these hardships," the singer wrote on her website. "I genuinely don't think right now would be appropriate timing for me to perform in Japan given the content and the spirit of my show, which is all about feeling exuberant, rowdy, and wild. ... I plan to bring my party there and to that part of the world when we are all ready to dance and Get $leazy together again. In the meantime I am going to do everything I can to help relief efforts and I encourage everyone in the world to do the same."

In the meantime, Ke$ha has a string of North American dates kicking off on April 1 with a show in Clarion, Pennsylvania, and running through early May.

According to Billboard, the promoter of the scotched Japanese tour, Creativeman Productions, also announced that it would be canceling a pair of its annual spring festivals. The Springgroove, an R&B, soul and hip-hop festival scheduled for April 2 near Tokyo and April 3 in Osaka, would have featured Nelly and Flo Rida, among others. Also called off was then annual hardcore Punkspring festival on April 1 and 2 in Osaka and Nagoya with headliners Good Charlotte and Hoobastank.

Ne-Yo continued with his planned dates in Japan over the weekend, performing a show in Nagoya on Friday and launching a charity initiative to help the people of the country. Called "Spread Love Through Music," the show included donation boxes at the concert to help those in need and the sale of a special wristband with proceeds going to earthquake relief. He plans to do the same during his shows on Tuesday (March 22) in Yokohama and Thursday in Tokyo. "You can absolutely spread love through music, and I think that's what's absolutely called for in this time of crisis," he said in a video on his website.

Also currently touring Japan is Cyndi Lauper, who is slated to play a show in Osaka on Tuesday and was in the country promoting her Memphis Blues album when the quake hit on March 11. She's been tweeting about her experience all along, and on Monday, she wrote about the healing power of music in the shattered country.

"Miss my family but have my music family and the warmth of the peeps I sing to. Tonight I will lose myself in the music and the rhythm," she wrote. Like Ne-Yo, she is asking fans to donate cash at the shows to earthquake relief and is donating all royalties from sales of her Blues album in Japan to the Japanese Red Cross.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660383/kesha-japan-tour.jhtml

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Daniel Radcliffe Talks Transition From Screen To Stage

The 'Harry Potter' star faced 'a lot of challenges' preparing for the Broadway musical 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.'
By Terri Schwartz, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Daniel Radcliffe
Photo: MTV News

Daniel Radcliffe has had an impressive debut on Broadway with his lead role in the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," but the transition from film to stage did not come easy for the "Harry Potter" star.

When Radcliffe sat down for an interview with MTV News on Thursday, he said that even after the play's glowing reviews and the praise heaped on his performance, he still didn't feel completely at ease with his abilities in the role.

"No, not at all. Not in the slightest. I kind of still don't," Radcliffe said in response to whether he felt comfortable as a Broadway star. "But I am doing it and it was just a matter of, a lot of other people had faith in me."

There were two people in particular — the production's choreographer and its director, Rob Ashford — whose faith in Radcliffe inspired the actor to suffer through the difficult training process. Radcliffe, who has never had to sing or dance for a role in his life, noted that "there were a lot of challenges" he faced during his transition period onto the stage, but he did admit that everything he achieved for the musical he did with hard work.

"With the dance, particularly, there were some days when I was just so tired halfway through," Radcliffe explained. "There was one time when I was in my dance class and we were like two-and-a-quarter hours in and I just have 45 minutes left, and I was like, 'How am I going to get through the last 45 minutes of this lesson?' And I actually went to the toilet, sat down on the toilet with the lid down, [set] my phone alarm for five minutes and just went to sleep for like five minutes and I just woke up thinking, 'Jesus, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hack it if I can't even get through a lesson.' "

But Radcliffe has been able to "hack it," and has surpassed many expectations to deliver a solid Broadway performance. It's why he started training for the role a year in advance, and why he made sure he had ample time off from the "Harry Potter" set to be ready for the part.

"You do have to get your levels of ability up to standard, but also your levels of fitness and stamina," said Radcliffe of his training process. "It's been kind of beneficial to me in every area of my personal health and life, as well as just kind of being able to keep in step with Broadway."

Are you interested in seeing Daniel Radcliffe perform on Broadway? Tell us in the comments.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662123/daniel-radcliffe-screen-to-stage.jhtml

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Ben Affleck's Dinner Date

High profile family Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner and their two adorable daughters - Violet, 5, and Seraphina, 2 - were spotted on a dinner date in Santa Monica, Calif. on Saturday (April 16). Ben carried Violet - who was sure to bring along a book and her Hello Kitty bag - while Jen toted sweet Sera into the restaurant.

Earlier in the day, the Arthur star was seen taking her elder daughter to a friend's birthday party at Fit For Kids. We love Violet's cute glasses!

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Source: http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2011/04/17/ben-afflecks-dinner-date

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