Lady Gaga's VMA Promo: Go Behind The Scenes!

'As someone that lives halfway between reality and fantasy, so do all my friends,' pop star tells MTV News about promo's surreal vibe.
By Jocelyn Vena, with additional reporting by James Montgomery


Lady Gaga
Photo: MTV

Lady Gaga's full-length VMA promo was unveiled Thursday night (August 18), the same night her "Yoü and I" video made its television premiere and she announced she'd be opening the 2011 Video Music Awards during "MTV First: Lady Gaga."

Find out how to win a trip to the VMAs courtesy of Foursquare and MTV!

Fans got a tease of the promo earlier this week, in clips posted online of Gaga performing a new version of "Yoü and I" while taking off her bra. In the full promo, scenes of Gaga hanging out with her crew — drinking, dancing and being merry — are mixed with Gaga chilling out with a jazz band performing a slowed-down version of the latest Born This Way single.

Sitting at the piano during the shoot, Gaga tells the room, "I'm so happy my friends are here."

MTV News was on hand when the promo was shot, and Gaga said it's meant to give fans an inside look at what it's like to hang with the Mother Monster. "I really wanted it to be real, and I knew that MTV wanted it to be a true documentation of my life, and as someone that lives halfway between reality and fantasy, so do all my friends," she told us on set. "So I felt [it would be] an injustice to not sort of honor them in this short film that we did."

Go behind the scenes of Britney Spears' VMA promo, which looks back on Brit's inspirations while looking forward to the upcoming awards show.

It seems that living "halfway between reality and fantasy" means just having a really, really great time listening to tunes and living it up. "I brought my friends here, and we did a jazz rendition of 'Yoü and I,' and we sort of just hung out together," she said. "And played around and did what we usually do, which is be creative with one another and talk about music and art and fashion and f--- around."

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live on Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for your favorites in the general categories by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669343/lady-gaga-video-music-awards-promo.jhtml

Georgina Grenville Gina Carano Gina Gershon Gina Philips

Mariah Carey to Appear on 'The X Factor'

 Mariah Carey to Appear on 'The X Factor'

The rumblings are true -- Mariah Carey will join Simon Cowell on The X Factor

Cowell alluded to the fact that the new mom would be part of his much-anticipated show, but now a source close to the show has confirmed that Mariah will, in fact, get her moment. Though she won't be a regular judge -- like Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger -- Carey will appear as a special guest judge.

"Mariah is definitely confirmed to be a part of X Factor," the insider told People.com. "She is confirmed to tape something with Simon Cowell at the judge’s homes."

Back in April, before Mariah gave birth to her twins, Cowell said that he had his eye on getting the singer to be part of his American version of the wildly popular talent competition.

"I think Mariah will have a role in the live shows," Cowell said. "I met her recently and she was on great form." 

He also said that when he and the songstress met, Carey was already thinking about what her role on the show could be.

"Her idea was to be the judge of the judges, which only Mariah could come up with," Cowell said. "She'll be involved in some form. I literally adore her. I love her to bits."

 

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/mariah-carey-appear-x-factor/1-a-375807

Emma Stone Emma Watson Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Vaugier

Bruno Mars' VMA Promo: Go Behind The Scenes!

Mars, who is performing at Sunday's show, throws an old-school house party in the clip.
By Jocelyn Vena


Bruno Mars in his 2011 VMA promo
Photo: MTV

In Bruno Mars' VMA promo, he hangs out with some fresh-looking hipsters while spinning tunes from folks like Ginuwine and Michael Jackson. The clip captures the joie de vivre of a good old-fashioned house party attended by fashionable folks who love to dance.

"I think what you're going to see is a little of my personality, a lot of my influences and a lot of people having a good time," he told MTV News on the set. "I think that this year's VMAs is a celebration and a party, and MTV did a great job of putting this commercial together."

In between takes, the party never stopped. Extras and dancers milled around, grooving to the tunes blasting throughout the NYC soundstage. Bruno chilled with everyone, making small talk with his fellow partygoers when the cameras weren't rolling. The commercial itself is chockfull of great tunes, and when Mars was shooting the promo, he displayed his skills on the piano. So what tunes make Bruno Mars' party set list?

"This is my party; I'm DJing. I'm playing music that I grew up listening to," he said. "I grew up listening to oldies, and so every time I hear, like, Little Richard or James Brown, the Police, it does something to me. It gets me in the party mood, and I'm just hoping to bring it to this party."

Not only is he set to perform at the VMAs — airing live Sunday at 9 p.m. from L.A. — he's up for four Moonmen, including Video of the Year, Best Male Video and Best Pop Video for "Grenade." "I grew up watching VMAs. I know every performance," Mars said. "Ever since I was a kid, I've been watching MTV VMAs, and when we got the phone call saying that my video was up for Video of the Year — that's the big-boy award."

Mars would be tickled to win Best Choreography for his feel-good track "The Lazy Song." "You know what I'm excited for?" he said. "As much as I put blood, sweat and tears into 'Grenade,' I'm excited for 'The Lazy Song,' Best Choreography."

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following the Selena Gomez-hosted pre-show at 8. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for Best New Artist by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669569/bruno-mars-vma-2011-promo.jhtml

Anna Paquin AnnaLynne McCord Anne Marie Kortright April Scott

Bruno Mars' VMA Promo: Go Behind The Scenes!

Mars, who is performing at Sunday's show, throws an old-school house party in the clip.
By Jocelyn Vena


Bruno Mars in his 2011 VMA promo
Photo: MTV

In Bruno Mars' VMA promo, he hangs out with some fresh-looking hipsters while spinning tunes from folks like Ginuwine and Michael Jackson. The clip captures the joie de vivre of a good old-fashioned house party attended by fashionable folks who love to dance.

"I think what you're going to see is a little of my personality, a lot of my influences and a lot of people having a good time," he told MTV News on the set. "I think that this year's VMAs is a celebration and a party, and MTV did a great job of putting this commercial together."

In between takes, the party never stopped. Extras and dancers milled around, grooving to the tunes blasting throughout the NYC soundstage. Bruno chilled with everyone, making small talk with his fellow partygoers when the cameras weren't rolling. The commercial itself is chockfull of great tunes, and when Mars was shooting the promo, he displayed his skills on the piano. So what tunes make Bruno Mars' party set list?

"This is my party; I'm DJing. I'm playing music that I grew up listening to," he said. "I grew up listening to oldies, and so every time I hear, like, Little Richard or James Brown, the Police, it does something to me. It gets me in the party mood, and I'm just hoping to bring it to this party."

Not only is he set to perform at the VMAs — airing live Sunday at 9 p.m. from L.A. — he's up for four Moonmen, including Video of the Year, Best Male Video and Best Pop Video for "Grenade." "I grew up watching VMAs. I know every performance," Mars said. "Ever since I was a kid, I've been watching MTV VMAs, and when we got the phone call saying that my video was up for Video of the Year — that's the big-boy award."

Mars would be tickled to win Best Choreography for his feel-good track "The Lazy Song." "You know what I'm excited for?" he said. "As much as I put blood, sweat and tears into 'Grenade,' I'm excited for 'The Lazy Song,' Best Choreography."

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following the Selena Gomez-hosted pre-show at 8. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for Best New Artist by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669569/bruno-mars-vma-2011-promo.jhtml

Anna Paquin AnnaLynne McCord Anne Marie Kortright April Scott

Looks Like Ben Flajnik Is The New "Bachelor"

Looks Like Ben Flajnik Is The New

Reality Steve is the guy to go to if you want the inside scoop on "The Bachelor." For eons, he has been giving accurate spoilers for the show, thanks to a reliable set of sources. So even though this story comes to us via Life & Style (who are reporting this week that Jennifer Aniston is preggers with twins, which seems highly suspect), I'm inclined to believe it. Steve says that Ben Flajnik, Ashley Hebert's runner-up, has sealed the deal as the next Bachelor. According to him, Ben—who recently was spotted making out with Jennifer Love Hewitt—has been telling friends for weeks that he is the guy 20 women will be competing for. Steve also says that Ben has taken off of work, and was seen shooting footage for the show in San Francisco on Monday.

So what do we think of Ben as the new Bachelor?

Source: http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-looks-like-ben-flajnik-is-the-new-bachelor/?eref=RSS

Ashley Scott Ashley Tappin Ashley Tisdale Asia Argento

Anne Hathaway Talks Pressures Of Adapting 'One Day'

Actress tells MTV News she saw people reading book all over London during filming.
By Terri Schwartz, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Jim Sturgess and Anne Hathaway in "One Day"
Photo: Giles Keyte

Anne Hathaway knows you have your doubts about her, but she's ready to impress you with "One Day."

The actress is no stranger to adapting well-loved literature to the big screen, having starred in "The Princess Diaries" and "Brokeback Mountain." But having to speak in an English accent and co-helm a romance novel that fans were so protective of certainly put the pressure on when she was filming "One Day."

Fortunately, the response from fans has been positive so far. MTV News caught up with Hathaway and her co-star Jim Sturgess recently, and "The Dark Knight Rises" actress said that people have received her performance in the flick positively.

"I've had people come up to me who have seen it actually and they say, 'I didn't think you could pull it off.' And people feel inclined to tell me that they really had no faith in me whatsoever," she said with a laugh. "So far, it's ended with a, 'But you surprised me, and I really enjoyed your performance.' But I'm just waiting for that person to come up and say, 'Well I knew you couldn't do it.' "

She added that the pressure was amplified by the fact that when she and Sturgess were filming in London, Hathaway saw people all across the city reading the book. The cover of the novel's U.K. edition is orange, and Hathaway said it would freak her out to see "One Day" so prominently featured in every bookstore she walked into.

"At night, it kind of lights the streets of London," Sturgess joked.

People who want to walk into "One Day" spoiler-free might not be too psyched to hear that both Hathaway and Sturgess say they prefer "ill-fated, tear-inducing" romantic films as opposed to ones that end happily ever after. That news certainly doesn't bode well for the love story between their onscreen characters.

While Sturgess said he feels that way because he's "just cynical," Hathaway explained that she feels tragic romantic stories stay with a person longer.

"If something's happily ever after, yay, you're happy for them, but what else do you feel about it? When something rips your guts out, you're more inclined to remember it," she explained.

Check out everything we've got on "One Day."

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

Related Videos

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669336/anne-hathaway-talks-pressures-adapting-one-day.jhtml

Avril Lavigne Bali Rodriguez Bar Refaeli Beyoncé

Michael Jackson's Legacy, Two Years Later, By the Numbers

Legendary singer's impact continues to blossom in the two years since his death; MTV News breaks down the figures.
By Gil Kaufman


Michael Jackson
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Like Elvis, Bob Marley, Notorious B.I.G. and Frank Sinatra before him, Michael Jackson's influence has continued, and grown, since his untimely death on June 25, 2009.

On the second anniversary of the King of Pop's passing, MTV News took a look at the enduring appeal of MJ's music, videos and imagery, which continue to fascinate and attract fans across the globe thanks to a series of posthumous albums, a movie, video games and two upcoming Cirque du Soleil live shows.

Where Were You Two Years Ago When You Heard the News? Tell Us on Facebook

$72 million: According to Box Office Mojo, Jackson's posthumous concert film, "This Is It," has grossed more than $72 million to date domestically and $189 million in foreign markets for a worldwide take over more than $261 million. It ranks as the #2 music documentary of all-time behind Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never." The film has also generated nearly $45 million in DVD sales in the U.S.

16: In May, Jackson lodged his first #1 on the Billboard magazine Dance/ Club Play Songs chart in 16 years with the latest single from his posthumous Michael album, "Hollywood Tonight."

2: Number of posthumous albums that have been released since Michael's death in June 2009. Last year's Michael has sold just over 510,000 copies to date, while the This Is It collection has moved nearly 1 million copies to date in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

15,000: The number of videos submitted by fans since March for the crowdsourced video for "Behind the Mask." After they were edited down by a five-person team over two months, the resulting clip used submissions from more than 1,600 participants from 103 countries.

3 million: The amount of copies sold of the Ubisoft "Michael Jackson: The Experience" video game worldwide.

$57 million: The reported cost of Cirque du Soleil's traveling MJ show, "The Immortal World Tour, which is slated to kick off on October 2.

$1 billion: That gaudy figure is the reported amount the Jackson estate had generated by last June on the first anniversary of the singer's death. According to Billboard, the revenue was generated by a combination of music sales ($429 million), film/TV revenue ($392 million), music publishing ($130 million), licensing ($35 million) and a $31 million recording contract. (A spokesperson for Jackson's estate declined to provide updated figures for this story.)

$310 million: The amount of gross earnings reported by the executors of the estate in a December 2010 court filing detailing the progress made in paying off the $400 million in debt run up by the spendthrift singer during his lifetime.

16.1 million: MJ was always a big singles artist. Yes, Thriller is one of the best-selling albums of all time, but even in death, fans can't resist cherry-picking some of Michael's best songs. That explains why he's sold more than 16 million digital tracks since June 28, 2009, the first sales week following his passing, according to Nielsen SoundScan. To put that in perspective, from the time Nielsen began counting digital tracks in 2004 until the week before Jackson's death, the singer had sold just over 8.1 million digital tracks, a figure that has doubled in just the past two years.

2013: The projected launch for a second, non-touring Cirque show celebrating Jackson. The yet-untitled show is slated to open in the spring of 2013 at a new theater being built at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

$25 million to $50 million: That's how much Jackson's estate takes in on an annual basis thanks to his stake in the half-million-song Sony/ATV catalog, which includes titles by Elvis, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyoncé and Bob Dylan.

Share your memories of Michael Jackson in the comments.

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666426/michael-jackson-anniversary.jhtml

Eva Green Eva Longoria Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly