Source: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=993&vid=186590
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'Justin's a rapper now, so he's gonna be goin' in,' the Young Money MC teases about return of Shawty Mane.
By Jocelyn Vena
Justin Bieber
Photo: Sohyung Kang/ MTV News
Justin Bieber already showed fans his fledgling MC skills as Shawty Mane. Now the Biebs may be donning his rap cap again, according to Lil Twist. The Young Money rapper says he's working on a mixtape with the pop star.
"It's in the works," Twist told Neon Limelight. "We got a few records done, and every time we talk, we actually talk about this mixtape."
So what will fans find on the mixtape?
"We recently did 'Billionaire' by Travis McCoy and Bruno Mars," Twist explained. "We did that over with our own words, like a remix. That's how we're gonna do the majority of the mixtape, with other people's records and just me freestyling over it. And Justin's a rapper now, so he's gonna be goin' in."
Bieber has said he's open to playing Shawty Mane again. "I thought it was fun, I like rapping," Bieber recently told MTV News. "Maybe in the future, Shawty Mane will come back.
The singer also recalled how he came up with the name for his MC alter ego. "I don't know, me and my friends were just messing around and they were like, 'Shawty Mane,' and I was like, 'Yeah, that'll be my nickname.' Shawty Mane is just like a funny character. You know, Justin Bieber is not a rapper, and it would just be lame if I came out rapping. It's lame anyway because I'm like a pop singer, but I thought it was funny, I just did it as a joke. It wasn't like anything serious."
What do you think about Justin and Lil Twist working on a mixtape? Let us know in the comments!
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Album, featuring a new track called 'Pray,' will be released on November 26, the biggest shopping day of the year.
By Jocelyn Vena
Justin Bieber
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
November 26 certainly won't be a Black Friday for Justin Bieber fans. His acoustic album, My Worlds Acoustic, drops that day, which also happens to be the biggest shopping day of the year. The album will be sold exclusively through Walmart.
A press release for the album notes that in addition to acoustic versions of Bieber's hits, there's a new song on the album called "Pray." It's being described as an "optimistic, uplifting song, and represents the spirit behind My Worlds Acoustic." The press release also says that "Justin intends the album as a gift to his fans; the arrangements reflect Justin's early days with merely an acoustic guitar or a lone piano.
"The album adds additional acoustic instrumentation such as a string quartet, congas, and a cajon drum," the press release continues. "The percussion represents inspiration from Justin's worldly travels, most recently to Africa. Justin plays guitar on the album alongside his musical director and fellow guitarist Dan Kanter."
When MTV News spoke to Bieber about the album earlier this month, he explained why he wanted to release an acoustic album. "I really think that I did an acoustic album because there's a lot of haters out there that say, 'Justin Bieber can't sing. His voice is all Auto-Tuned,' " he said. "And there's a lot with production, it kind of drowns out your voice, and it takes away from the singer, over the synths and everything."
My Worlds Acoustic will allow Bieber's true talent to shine through. "I think kind of stripping it down and having it kind of really mellow and being able to hear my voice is why I wanted to do it."
Are you excited for Justin Bieber's acoustic album? Let us know in the comments!
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30 Seconds to Mars, Katy Perry, Ke$ha also take home trophies.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
Lady Gaga appears via video link during the 2010 MTV EMAs on Sunday
Photo: Getty Images
The 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards Sunday (November 7) brought tons of star power and memorable performances to Madrid. In turn, many of pop music's biggest stars took home some hardware from Spain for their chart-topping hits. Catch the EMA show Sunday (November 7) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV2 and Friday at 9 p.m. ET on MTV, and check out a list of the winners below:
Best Song
Lady Gaga "Bad Romance"
Best Live Act
Linkin Park
Best Pop
Lady Gaga
Best New Act
Ke$ha
Best Female
Lady Gaga
Best Male
Justin Bieber
Best Hip Hop
Eminem
Best Rock
30 Seconds to Mars
Best Alternative
Paramore
Best Video
Katy Perry "California Gurls"
Best Push Act
Justin Bieber
Best World Stage Performance
Tokio Hotel
Best European Act
Marco Mengoni
The 2010 EMAs will air on MTV2 on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, and an edited, performance-heavy version will be broadcast Friday, November 12, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.
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Director Anthony Mandler wanted to let R&B superstar take viewers 'on a journey, not a ride.'
By Jayson Rodriguez
For a video as forward-thinking as Usher's "OMG" -- with its laser beams and light flashes -- director Anthony Mandler actually looked back for inspiration.
"The original idea was kind of Max Headroom," Mandler told MTV News, citing the animated science-fiction character from '80s British TV. "That's where it came from — the TV flickering on and there's this character. We just wanted to bring it up to date."
"Max Headroom was always in his room," he continued, "this unidentifiable room, '80s shapes. I used that for inspiration."
The formula worked: "OMG" is among the Best Male Video nominees for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The clip is up against Drake's "Find Your Love," Jason Derülo's "In My Head," Eminem's "Not Afraid" and B.o.B's "Airplanes." Mandler is a multiple nominee, having also helmed Drake's video.
"OMG" is the first time Usher and Mandler — who has worked with Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Rihanna — collaborated on a project.
Usher said he knew the video would be a challenge and wanted to make sure the director was up to the task.
"When I first shot the song to him, I was like, 'Are you sure you're gonna be able to catch this one?' And he said, 'I got it,' " Usher explained.
"We wanted to bring Will.I.Am (the song's producer) into my world," he continued. "Obviously, the international sound and look and feel has already been set, but we wanted to do something theatrical, fun and energetic to show us working off of each other and playing off of each other as artists, but the cinematography would be artistic and incredible."
Mandler described the visuals as "Hitchcock-ian." Though the style of the shot was important to the director, he had a simpler goal in mind: to capture Usher in his element. He said the key to the clip was simply letting Usher's talent take over.
"The concept was to create a world where we put Usher in a space where he does what I think he does better than anyone else in the world, which is perform at a level and magnitude of a superstar and take us, the viewer, whether audible or visually, on a journey, not a ride," the director said. "And, in that, I wanted to create an unpredictability, so one set leads to another and another, and you never know what's gonna happen. Along the way, Usher becomes our guide. We're so focused on him, we don't notice the change. The thing is unfolding little by little, and you can't quite see far enough ahead to know what's gonna come next."
The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through September 12.
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Material released after an artist's death often complicated by legal, economic issues.
By Kyle Anderson
Michael Jackson's <i>Michael</i>
Photo: Epic Records
When Michael Jackson died in June 2009, he left behind a lot of mysteries, many of which will be puzzled over for years and some that will never be resolved. But one of those questions — namely, "What music did Jackson leave behind?" — will be answered when Michael, a new collection of previously unheard songs, is released on December 14.
It will be the first of many releases from the superstar's estate, as Jackson apparently recorded "hundreds" of tracks before his death. (There are also apparently hundreds of never-before-heard Jackson 5 tracks as well).
Releasing posthumous albums can be extremely lucrative, but they are often weighed down by problematic legal issues. For example, Jimi Hendrix only released three albums before his untimely death in 1970, but there have been literally dozens of Hendrix-related releases since then. Hendrix died without a will, so the rights to unreleased tapes, demos and live performances (and there were many) were claimed by both Hendrix's surviving family members and his record label as well as various recording studios. (Those issues were compounded by the fact that there was infighting within Hendrix's family.)
If an artist has surviving bandmembers in addition to family, that introduces another complication. Kurt Cobain didn't leave behind a ton of unreleased material, but the live tracks and demos that were in the vault have sold quite well since his 1994 death (especially via the 2004 box set With the Lights Out). The road to getting that material released has been fraught with all sorts of arguments between Cobain widow Courtney Love and surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic.
But once legal issues are resolved, posthumous albums can continue to rack up big sales (and, perhaps more importantly, maintain an artist's profile long after his or her death). When Tupac Shakur was murdered in 1996, there were rumors that he had left behind hundreds of hours of vocals that he'd recorded out of paranoia — Shakur built up the massive back catalogue because he was absolutely certain he would be killed. As a result, Shakur has released more new albums since his death (eight, all but one of which have gone platinum) than he did while he was alive (five).
Tupac's situation brings up an important point about posthumous material, though. The main reason that artists tend not to release songs is generally because the material is subpar or not in line with the rest of their work. But once the artist has passed away and other people are called in to judge the quality, things can get problematic. Shakur's posthumous albums do contain excellent songs, though many of them are fleshed out with filler and afterthoughts. The same goes for former friend and rival the Notorious B.I.G., who did not leave behind nearly as much material as Tupac. Still, that hasn't stopped a pair of posthumous albums from hitting the street. Biggie was one of the best rappers of all time, but the material on 1999's Born Again and 2005's Duets: The Final Chapter doesn't do anything to extend his legacy.
The fact that the first of Jackson's left-behind material is coming out only 18 months after his death is a good sign for future releases, and the quality will be adjudicated just as soon as the first note starts streaming online Monday (November 8).
Considering the massive success of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" ($261 million in worldwide box-office receipts) and the rest of Jackson's catalogue since his death (9 million records moved in the first month after his death), it's likely we'll be seeing a lot more of these types of releases in the coming years.
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