Lil Wayne, Usher Help Romeo Santos 'Revolutionize' Bachata Music

'It was the first time you hear an artist from the mainstream singing bachata,' former Aventura frontman tells MTV News of single 'Promise.'
By Christina Garibaldi



Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

<P>Romeo Santos, the former lead singer of the popular bachata group Aventura, has taken a new step in his career, venturing out on his own as a solo artist. Mixing his signature bachata flair with some R&B, he is showing fans a whole new side on his debut album, <i>Formula, Vol. 1.</i> </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:734074" width="240" height="211"></div><p> Hoping to spread his unique sound and style to a mainstream audience, Santos enlisted Lil Wayne for his latest single, "All Aboard." "This song 'All Aboard,' that tune allowed me to expand and kind of offer my audience something totally different because it's not bachata &#8212; I'm singing English and that was really fun," Santos recently told MTV News. "I was a little nervous about that, but people actually really accepted it." Santos and Weezy recently shot the video for "All Aboard" in Miami; he called the clip "sexy," "seductive" and "elegant," but also revealed that this collaboration came very close to not making his album. "I was just like, I like the song but it's missing something, and at first I couldn't figure out what it was," Santos said. "What we did was we left 16 bars open, and I was like, you know, who would rip this track? Lil Wayne. So we reached out. It barely made the album because he's a busy dude, so he actually got on the record two months after we submitted it. It was like, if we don't get his vocals in the next two days we hit, and we got it, so we made it and the song is just really great." Wayne isn't the only artist Santos pulled in for his album. On his last single, "Promise," he teamed up with Usher, who last week joined him onstage at Santos' first of three sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. "I felt at that moment once again I was going to revolutionize bachata 'cause it was the first time that you hear an artist from the mainstream singing bachata," Santos said. "It was a big deal." <i>What do you think of Romeo Santos' solo debut? Let us know in the comments.</i></p>

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Justin Bieber Teams with Far East Movement to "Live My Life"


Justin Bieber will release his very own new album in the near future. But, until then, the 17-year old sensation is having a blast chipping in with other artists.

Earlier this week, the Biebs appeared in a music video (along with Selena Gomez and Ashley Tisdale) for Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," and now he's teaming up with Far East Movement for "Live My Life," a single off that group's upcoming CD, "Dirty Bass."

Bieber pretty much just sings the book ("Live My Life!"), but it's still worth a listen. Check out the track now:


Far East Movement (Ft. Justin Bieber) - Live My Life

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/02/justin-bieber-teams-with-far-east-movement-to-live-my-life/

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Grammys Live Stream: What Shocking Entrances Will We See?

How will Lady Gaga arrive this year? Join Sway and James Montgomery on the red carpet, starting 5 p.m. Sunday on MTV.com.
By Gil Kaufman


Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammys
Photo: Getty Images

<P>What's the point of getting all dolled up for the Grammy Awards if no one notices your outfit? Since not everyone can earn a nomination or score a performance slot, sometimes you have to make your own news by crashing the red carpet with an eye-popping outfit that is sure to get tongues wagging. It's anyone's guess what this year's attendees will be wearing on Sunday night at the 54th annual awards show, but MTV News will be camped out on the carpet for a full three hours before the festivities kick off and we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for all the outrageous looks and fashions. Click for photos of our most-shocking Grammy red carpet moments! In the meantime, we thought it was worth a look back at some of the legendary entrances from Grammys past: </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="id:1678854" width="240" height="211"></div><p> <B>Lady Gaga egg</B>: Sure, Justin Bieber toted his pet snake to last year's show, but it was, of course, Lady Gaga who turned the most heads by getting carried down the carpet in a giant, see-through egg that she incubated in before emerging later in the night for her performance of "Born This Way." <B>Britney gets bodied</B>: Britney Spears has long prided herself on wearing what she wants, when she wants. But someone should have pulled her aside in 2010 before she exited the car in an oddball Dolce &amp; Gabbana bodysuit overlaid with a lace dress that turned heads for all the wrong reasons. <B>M.I.A.'s pregnancy chic</B>: With her middle finger firmly tucked into place, the rapper/singer made her way into the 2009 show while nine-months pregnant in a cartoony, ruffled blue maternity dress and matching sneakers. <B>Coldplay play dress up</B>: It was kind of cool when Coldplay stuck with their bold Sgt. Pepper's-style suits for the whole <I>Viva La Vida</I> tour. But when they wore them to the 2009 show, it just felt ... silly. <B>OK Go ... back to the drawing board</B>: Viral icons OK Go are experts at drawing attention to their music with trippy, how-did-they-do-that videos. They drew mostly sniggers, though, when they donned matching brocade curtain-looking red-and-gold suits to the 2007 show. Their smartest move may have been to cover their faces with red cloth. <B>R. Kelly, man of mystery</B>: Kels has made a career out of being inscrutable , but his bold sartorial choice at the 2004 Grammys was, well, weird. From the neck down he wore an elegant three-button black suit and tie, but the matching Robin mask? Who knows? <B>Alicia Keys gets funky</B>: Nobody really knows what Keys was thinking in 2002 when she walked the carpet wearing embroidered jeans, sandals, a white tank and a sheer green sari-like shift with a built in, bedazzled headdress. <B>Toni Braxton lets it all hang out</B>: Sometimes it's what you <I>don't</I> wear that gets attention. In 2001, singer Braxton sported a barely-there white "dress" that hardly covered her assets with strips of material that dangled in the front and back. <B>Jennifer Lopez's plunging neckline</B>: Way before she was an "American Idol" judge, Lopez sent hearts racing in 2000 with her instantly infamous plunging neckline Versace gown. <b>Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don't miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn't end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!</b></p>

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Taylor Swift, Rihanna Dress To Impress At Billboard Awards

Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, Selena Gomez also make fashion splash on red carpet, as showgirl style rules at the Las Vegas event on Sunday night.
By Jocelyn Vena


Taylor Swift at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards
Photo: Jordan Strauss/ Getty Images

<P>On Sunday night, some of the biggest names in the music industry hit up the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas and decided that sparkles and sequins make for the perfect additions to any red carpet get-up. Well, it is Sin City after all. Taylor Swift always seems to bring some of that Nashville sparkle to any red carpet. She arrived at the show in a pale-hued, sequined Elie Saab gown. Nicki Minaj showed off her signature sense of style in her baby-blue, body-hugging spandex Mark Fast catsuit. Selena Gomez turned up the style dial in a sexy, cut-out black Dolce &amp; Gabbana gown that she paired with red strappy sandals with sparkly bow detailing. Like Gomez, Ke$ha opted for some cut-out detailing in her sparkly, slate-gray dress with tulle skirt. Rihanna looked white hot in her men's tailored Max Azria suit, which she kept sexy and feminine by not buttoning her shirt all the way. Fergie went S&M chic in her little black bandage-type dress by Herv&#233; L&#233;ger. Nicole Kidman also wore black. She paired a casual braid hairstyle with a long black gown and Keith Urban. British pop cutie Kyle Minogue looked funky in her little black lacey dress. Inside the show, Britney Spears sat in the audience wearing a skimpy black dress of her own, her hair in loose curls, with little-to-no accessories. While some stars kept the color scheme low-key, Keri Hilson decided to stand out in her billowy little yellow dress paired with a turquoise-colored belt. Kelly Rowland showed off some of her best assets in a body-hugging, bright pink bandage dress. The fellas also looked tight on the carpet. Joe Jonas wore all black with white sneakers, Ne-Yo paired his periwinkle suit with a Yankees cap and Justin Bieber wore black tuxedo pants with a gold-lam&#233; tuxedo jacket. <i>Which stars' styles caught your eye at the </i>Billboard<i> Music Awards? Tell us in the comments.</i></p>

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Michelle Williams Honored at Oscar Wilde Irish In Film Fete

Among the many parties being held during Oscars week, a handful of stars gathered together at in Los Angeles, CA on Thursday night (February 23).

There to partake in Bad Robot held Oscar Wilde Honoring the Irish In Film soiree were the night's honorees in actress Michelle Williams and screenwriter John Logan, as well as big screen stud Colin Farrell.

The festivities come as Miss Williams nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for her efforts as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn" while Mr Logan finds himself competing for Writing (Adapted Screenplay) trophy stemming from his commendable job putting together the Martin Scorsese hit "Hugo"..

Also attending the Oscar Wilde bash was Michelle's "My Week with Marilyn" co-star Kenneth Branagh, who happens to be up for an Academy Award, himself, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Other stars turning up at Bad Robot included Dana Delany, Sharon Corr, J.J. Abrams, Simon Curtis, Elaine Cassidy and David Lord.

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/academy-awards-2012/michelle-williams-honored-oscar-wilde-irish-film-fete-588646

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Fun.'s 'We Are Young' Leads To Bigger Shows, Better Apartments

Band set to kick off big, bad tour in support of Some Nights next week.
By James Montgomery


Nate Ruess of Fun.
Photo: MTV News

Momentum has been building behind Fun.'s Some Nights album since September, when the band unveiled the teaser clip for "We Are Young," their stirring anthem that is spending its second week in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 (alongside usual suspects Katy Perry, Adele and Rihanna), cementing its status as the first out-of-nowhere smash of 2012.

Since that teaser, they've been the subject of innumerable "Next Big Thing" pieces and released a proper video for the song, and earlier this week, Some Nights finally hit stores. So with their single sitting high on the charts and a full-scale tour in support of their album set to kick off next week, one has to wonder what it's like to actually be in the band at this very moment, as they stand perched on the brink of big-time success.

"I think we're very aware of what's happening around us, and I think there's a level of excitement, but I feel like there's so much more to accomplish, and we do want to accomplish all of that," frontman Nate Ruess told MTV News. "So any sort of victory that we might not have had the privilege of having over the last 10 years that might be coming now, we only give ourselves about a second and then we think, 'All right, what's next?' "

"Also, having done this for such a long time, we've put all the emphasis on the artistic victories, so we've always just been trained for those to be the most satisfying ones," guitarist Jack Antonoff added. "So anything that's happening on the otherside of things, I think the three of us just think, 'It's so exciting. Now we can make this artistic dream come true.' If people are finding out about the band [now], we can have this elaborate stage set up that we've always dreamed of, or we can work with this producer, or get this instrument that we always wanted."

And if their enthusiasm seems somewhat tempered, well, you can't blame them. After all, all three members of Fun. have logged time in previous bands (the Format, Steel Train, Anathallo), and they've each seen how quickly fortunes can change. Still, they'd be lying if they didn't say they're looking to take full advantage of their sorta superstar status — and you'll be able to tell on their upcoming tour.

"We're taking every penny we can squeeze out of the band to create some sort of wild show, and I think we're always going to do that," Antonoff said. "So if you see us in a club that holds 1,000 people, you're going to get a big show for that size club. ... We're always going to push it."

So with one smash hit under their belts, Fun. will push on into 2012 looking to expand both their fanbase and their reach — which, of course, is going to require a bit of sacrifice. Then again, after slogging it out for 10 years, the guys in Fun. are sort of used to all that.

"I'm kind of annoyed, because I finally got an apartment on the Upper West Side, and I was looking forward to being there, just, you know, the calm before the storm," Ruess laughed. "Because I know how we are; we're just going to be on tour for the whole entire year. So there's not going to be any time at home. Oh well."

Will you check out Fun. on tour? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1679789/fun-we-are-young-success.jhtml

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Chiddy Bang, Kimbra, More Added To 2012 mtvU Woodies Fest

First-ever festival is set for March 15 at South by Southwest and will lead up to the awards themselves.
By James Montgomery


Chiddy Bang
Photo: Patrick Ford/Redferns

The 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards will return to Austin, Texas, on March 15, during South by Southwest, and they're definitely getting in the spirit of the annual festival.

First, they announced this year's nominees, an epically diverse field that includes everyone from Jay-Z and Kanye West, the Black Keys and Skrillex to up-and-comers like Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino and Cloud Nothings. Then they announced the first round of performers for the first-ever Woodies Fest, a (grammatically adventurous) list topped by Fun., Wallpaper. and A$AP Rocky.

And on Wednesday (February 22), the Woodies announced even more performers for that festival: Chiddy Bang (whom, as you might recall, previously set a Guinness World Record for Longest Freestyle during the inaugural O Music Awards), Gary Clark Jr., Kimbra (of "Somebody That I Used To Know" fame) and British singer Ed Sheeran.

The 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Festival will take place March 15 down at SXSW and is open to both badge-holders and uncredited music fans alike. The entire fest will also stream live on Woodies.mtvU.com and leads up to the awards themselves. On Sunday, March 18, the best moments from the Woodies will be broadcast in a 30-minute special airing on MTV and mtvU at 8 p.m. ET.

Voting is also under way in all Woodies categories — including Woodie of the Year and the coveted Best Video Woodie — and will remain open until March 9. Voting in the Breaking Woodie category will continue during the live show March 15. Fans can cast ballots in all categories through the Woodies' website, on their mobile phones at M.MTV.com or by texting VOTE to 66333. Standard message and data rates may apply.

The 2012 mtvU Woodies invade SXSW on March 15 with the Woodies Festival. The best of the 2012 mtvU Woodies will air on MTV and mtvU on March 18 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1679675/woodies-festival-chiddy-bang-kimbra.jhtml

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Emma Stone, Paula Patton & Viola Davis: ESSENCE Luncheon Ladies

Gathering together for a festive midday celebration, a handful of ladies took to the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California for the 5th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon on Thursday (February 23).

Dominating the guest list were the stars of the Oscar nominated movie "The Help," as Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer all showed up for the ESSENCE event.

With Miss Spencer being among the honorees, other gals being feted during the course of the day included ESSENCE March cover girl Kerry Washington and "Mission: Impossible" actress Paula Patton, as well as Pam Grier and "Grey's Anatomy" creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes.

With singers Jordin Sparks and Kelly Rowland rounding out the guest list, the annual event "celebrates the brightest stars who, through their work, have helped illuminate positive images of Black women worldwide."

Talking about the place of black women in entertainment in the latest issue of ESSENCE, Miss Washington proudly said, "The landscape of who has the power is changing. We are in more influential positions and are able to have a say in the stories that are told. I feel very lucky to be in business right now."

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/essence-black-women-hollywood-luncheon-2012/emma-stone-paula-patton-viola-davis-essence-luncheon-lad

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