Quick Cuts - Mary J Blige Sued, Liam Gallagher Strikes Again, and More!

By News Desk

Liam Gallagher Strikes Again

Seems like Noel Gallagher's trouble with other stars isn't stopping brother Liam Gallagher from lashing out at others as well.

This time, the Oasis frontman apparently called Radiohead and Coldplay fans "ugly and boring." He added that he doesn't hate the bands but thinks their fans do not look like they're have a good time.

We wonder when will be enough for the Gallagher brothers.


Jay-Z slams Noel Gallagher

After Noel Gallagher's widely publicized diss at Jay-Z's Glastonbury performance, Jigga strikes back in his new song.

Hova performed the new track from his upcoming album Blueprint 3 at Kanye West's concert recently. In the song, he aims straight at Noel Gallagher and mocks Oasis song "Wonderwall."

Both Kanye and Timbaland are rumoured to be producing Jay-Z's upcoming album.


Steven Tyler's Memoir

Aerosmith frontman, Steven Tyler, is working on a memoir, and according to the man himself, the book is going to rock.

The legendary rocker said that he has so many outrageous stories, and he is going to tell them all in his as-yet untitled memoir. The book will contain all the in-your-face, up-close and unbridled truth.

The memoir is set to be released in 2009.


Mary J Blige Sued Over Copyright

Following Lil Wayne and Coldplay, Mary J Blige is now also being accused of copying music.

The Grammy winner is being sued for $2 million US dollars by a US production company, who said that she stole their music. The company claims they own the copyright to her track "Work that."

The track is featured on her number one selling album Growing pains.

- MTVASIA.COM

Kanye West Pounds 50 Cent In First Week Of Album Showdown

And the winner is ... drum roll ... Mr. West!

Kanye West easily bested 50 Cent in their much-hyped SoundScan clash, pushing 957,000 copies of Graduation against 691,000 copies of the G-Unit star's Curtis in its first six days of sales, according to Billboard. Both albums are the artists' respective third solo projects.

Early projections last week had West moving 800,000 copies to 50's 600,000. A late surge over the weekend, perhaps, created the distance that left the battle pretty much one-sided in the producer's favor. (Sales tallies ended on Sunday when SoundScan closed for the prior week.)

Both artists did last-minute campaigning over the weekend, with West stopping by the Emmys and Fif hitting NYC for his 5 Borough Tour.

In interviews leading up to the September 11 release date, 50 claimed he would retire from making music if West outsold him in the first week, although he later qualified those remarks.

50 also seemed to be in disbelief by the comparisons drawn between his sales prowess and West's. He claimed he was the bar against which the first-week numbers should be judged in the current climate of sagging CD sales.

The G-Unit rapper later began lashing out at Def Jam, claiming West's label was purchasing copies of this Graduation to boost sales. As it turns out, West's Graduation posted the biggest opening-week numbers for an album since 50's The Massacre pushed 1.1 million copies in its first week in March 2005, according to Billboard.

Country-music star Kenny Chesney, who made his own bold prediction to Entertainment Weekly about his project landing atop the charts, will debut at No. 3 on the Billboard albums chart. His Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates moved a reported 387,000 copies.

The rollouts for Kanye's and 50's albums weren't exactly smooth. West released two singles before finalizing an album date, which coincided with 50's date.

50, by contrast, had a much more difficult time, which was documented by tirades and temper tantrums. Most infamous was his meltdown in G-Unit's office in midtown Manhattan, New York, where 50 tossed his cell phone out the window and ripped a flat-screen TV from the wall after learning the video for his Robin Thicke collaboration "Follow My Lead" leaked to the Internet. The clip wasn't planned for release until much later in the album cycle for Curtis.

50 most recently revealed plans to release his Before I Self Destruct album early next year. And he has also vowed to release one G-Unit project for every Def Jam project if West's first week sales top his.

Let the real battle begin.
-- Jayson Rodriguez (MTV.com)

Why Is Pink Reading Occult Book, Playing Rocker-Biker In New Clip?

The video for Pink's "U + UR Hand" appears at first to be just another excuse for the singer to dress up in a series of revealing, sexy outfits. Which is kind of weird, since the clip for "Stupid Girls" basically made fun of bubble-headed starlets who get over by using their bodies.

But if you dig deeper into the inspiration for the clip, which recently hit No. 1 on "TRL," you'll find everything from ancient, obscure black-magic books to some of the edgy comic characters of late New Zealand artist Martin Emond. It's a subversive concept from director David Meyers to turn the "Stupid Girls" clip on its head.

But to notice those aspects of the video, people actually had to see it first. Filmed at the same time as the "Stupid Girl" clip nearly a year ago, Meyers said Pink's label originally wanted "U + UR Hand" to be the first single from her I'm Not Dead album, but the singer convinced them otherwise and "Stupid Girls" got the first shot.

"The compromise was that they gave us money for two videos and we did them at the same time," said Meyers, who has helmed almost all the singer's videos. He came up with the concept of the clip's central character, Lady Delish, a futuristic woman who is having trouble finding a man. It's a scenario that Meyers said fit Pink's own story before her marriage earlier this year to motocross star Carey Hart.

" 'Stupid Girls' was such a big success and she's scantily clad in it, so for a while it seemed like maybe this one would never see the light of day," Meyers said. "But it's about content. In this one, she's a smart girl living in a futuristic world and she's not ass-shaking and doing stupid stuff, so the sexy outfits make sense."

Half the scenarios in the video were inspired by the drawings of underground comic artist Emond, best known for his collaborations with metal singer Danzig. Meyers said Pink brought him a book of Emond's drawings while they were brainstorming for the clip and the pair looked through them and picked out a few characters that would fit Pink's personality.

They include the helmet-clad Rocker Biker Girl, the first character we meet at a place called "Pancho's Garage," as well as Hard Candy, seen working a punching bag while wearing diamond-encrusted gloves in the "Hell Hole" chapter. Emond's work also pops up in a visit to the dizzying rooftop Windy Whistle bar, where Pink portrays the flame-haired, short-shorts-wearing Baby Redknuckles.

Emond, the prolific artist who worked on comics such as "White Trash" and "Accident Man," painted covers for Danzig albums and co-founded the street-wear clothing label Illicit. His paintings and sketches were heavily influenced by skin art and often featured skulls and knives mixed with hearts, stars, birds and gothic lettering. His comic book drawings frequently involved fierce, muscled women with a gothic/undead look and exaggerated features. Read more...

Why Is Pink Reading Occult Book, Playing Rocker-Biker In New Clip?

The video for Pink's "U + UR Hand" appears at first to be just another excuse for the singer to dress up in a series of revealing, sexy outfits. Which is kind of weird, since the clip for "Stupid Girls" basically made fun of bubble-headed starlets who get over by using their bodies.

But if you dig deeper into the inspiration for the clip, which recently hit No. 1 on "TRL," you'll find everything from ancient, obscure black-magic books to some of the edgy comic characters of late New Zealand artist Martin Emond. It's a subversive concept from director David Meyers to turn the "Stupid Girls" clip on its head.

But to notice those aspects of the video, people actually had to see it first. Filmed at the same time as the "Stupid Girl" clip nearly a year ago, Meyers said Pink's label originally wanted "U + UR Hand" to be the first single from her I'm Not Dead album, but the singer convinced them otherwise and "Stupid Girls" got the first shot.

"The compromise was that they gave us money for two videos and we did them at the same time," said Meyers, who has helmed almost all the singer's videos. He came up with the concept of the clip's central character, Lady Delish, a futuristic woman who is having trouble finding a man. It's a scenario that Meyers said fit Pink's own story before her marriage earlier this year to motocross star Carey Hart.

" 'Stupid Girls' was such a big success and she's scantily clad in it, so for a while it seemed like maybe this one would never see the light of day," Meyers said. "But it's about content. In this one, she's a smart girl living in a futuristic world and she's not ass-shaking and doing stupid stuff, so the sexy outfits make sense."

Half the scenarios in the video were inspired by the drawings of underground comic artist Emond, best known for his collaborations with metal singer Danzig. Meyers said Pink brought him a book of Emond's drawings while they were brainstorming for the clip and the pair looked through them and picked out a few characters that would fit Pink's personality.

They include the helmet-clad Rocker Biker Girl, the first character we meet at a place called "Pancho's Garage," as well as Hard Candy, seen working a punching bag while wearing diamond-encrusted gloves in the "Hell Hole" chapter. Emond's work also pops up in a visit to the dizzying rooftop Windy Whistle bar, where Pink portrays the flame-haired, short-shorts-wearing Baby Redknuckles.

Emond, the prolific artist who worked on comics such as "White Trash" and "Accident Man," painted covers for Danzig albums and co-founded the street-wear clothing label Illicit. His paintings and sketches were heavily influenced by skin art and often featured skulls and knives mixed with hearts, stars, birds and gothic lettering. His comic book drawings frequently involved fierce, muscled women with a gothic/undead look and exaggerated features. Read more...

Mogul-In-Training Hilary Duff Wants All Her Fans To Be Millionaires

Last fall, as singer/actress/budding businesswoman Hilary Duff was turning 18, she wanted to take a month off from her various projects because she felt exhausted and overextended. But one year later, she's still going nonstop, launching a perfume, guest-editing the October issue of Seventeen magazine and debuting a new video -- all at the same time.

How much stuff can one Duff do?

"It's funny because I don't think we ever just sit around the table [asking], 'What else can we fit on the plate?' " she said. "There's so many things I could do, but I have so many opportunities, I can say, 'Mmm, that's not such a good idea,' or 'I don't think I'll enjoy that.' If I have to put a lot of work into it and I'm not going to love it, I won't do it. I have to focus on the things that I love."

Which means -- for now -- her music, movies, clothing line and new perfume, called With Love. Duff wisely maximized the media exposure for her latest product offering with a bit of well-executed synergy, so her face graced the cover of Seventeen and her video for "Play With Fire" was in the "TRL" voting lineup around the time of the fragrance's September 14 launch. Read more...

Beyonce's Big Start Kicks Up 2006 Sales

By GEOFF MAYFIELD, Reuters

Turns out Beyonce's birthday is not just a celebration for the singer, but for the whole music industry. The No. 1 bow by her second solo album, "B'Day," also signals the first time in four months that album sales beat those of the comparable 2005 sales week.

Released Sept. 5, the day after her 25th birthday, it opens with 541,000 copies, 59 percent more than the 317,000 first-week sales that greeted her first solo album, "Dangerously in Love," in 2003.

There was only one period in the seven-album career of her group, Destiny's Child, when she had a larger sales week: Third set "Survivor" began at 663,000 in May 2001.

The improvement over her first solo album's start is no surprise. With this record arriving just a few months before her starring role in "Dreamgirls" hits screens in December, Beyonce's celebrity has never been greater, fetching beaucoup ink in magazines and newspapers.

Her Aug. 31 performance at MTV's Video Music Awards set the stage for "B'Day." The video for second single "Ring the Alarm" was MTV's most-played clip during release week (29 plays) and also was among the 10 most-played videos at BET and VH1 Soul. The song enters the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 12, her highest debut either solo or with Destiny's Child.

Beyonce's opening sum is the best Nielsen SoundScan week by any solo artist this year. It is the third-largest total by any 2006 album, exceeded only by Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" (722,000) and Tool's "10,000 Days" (564,000).

"B'Day" is the fifth album in 2006 to start in the half-million-plus club, compared with four during the first 36 sales weeks of 2005. Read more...

MCR Soar, Justin Gets Sexy As Surprise Early Winners Take VMAs

At the midway point of the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, the big story is less who's won than who hasn't.

Kanye West and Shakira, two of the night's most-honored artists, have gone mostly empty-handed (although Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" did win a tech award during the pre-show ceremony).

West lost Best Male Video to James Blunt (whose "You're Beautiful" took the prize) and Best Hip-Hop Video (to the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps"). And Shakira's hips must be totally bumming: She's lost out to Kelly Clarkson in the Best Female Video and the Pussycat Dolls for Best Dance Video.

In fact, when you consider those upsets — then factor in the unwashed charm of host Jack Black and house band the Raconteurs, plus a show-stopping, treadmill-enabled performance by viral-video darlings OK Go — it looks like the 2006 VMAs just might be a night for the underdogs.

In fact, at the moment, a couple of less famous artists — James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley — remain the evening's big winners, with two Moonmen each. Pink just got on the board, besting Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado and Madonna for Best Pop Video (and then apparently mocking Paris Hilton in her gum-smacking acceptance speech). And Houston's Chamillionaire shocked just about everyone when his "Ridin' " took the Moonman for Best Rap Video.

Performance-wise, the biggest names have definitely shined. Justin Timberlake kicked off the show with a pumping, pop-and-lockin' performance of "SexyBack." Beyoncé delivered an, er, arresting version of "Ring the Alarm," complete with police in riot gear and blaring sirens. And T.I. left the crowd clamoring for more with a raw, rugged performance of "What You Know."

Earlier — during the "Red Carpet on the Rock" preshow — My Chemical Romance (most certainly outsiders themselves) rocked a black-clad audience from atop Rockefeller Center's Top of the Rock with the world premiere of "Welcome to the Black Parade," the first single from their upcoming The Black Parade album. And Fergie bumped through a version of "London Bridge," the lead single from her album, The Dutchess.

Also in the preshow, Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" won Moonmen for Best Direction and Best Editing, seven-time nominees the Red Hot Chili Peppers scored their first (and so far, only) shiny spaceman of the evening, as their "Dani California" won for Best Art Direction, Blunt's "You're Beautiful" clip scored for Best Cinematography and Missy Elliott's "We Run This" won for Best Special Effects.

COMPLETE WINNERS LIST:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"

BEST MALE VIDEO
James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Kelly Clarkson: "Because of You"

BEST GROUP VIDEO
The All-American Rejects: "Move Along"

BEST RAP VIDEO
Chamillionaire: "Ridin' "

BEST R&B VIDEO
Beyoncé f/ Slim Thug: "Check on It"

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Black Eyed Peas: "My Humps"

BEST DANCE VIDEO
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"

BEST ROCK VIDEO
AFI: "Miss Murder"

BEST POP VIDEO
Pink: "Stupid Girls"

BEST NEW ARTIST IN A VIDEO
Avenged Sevenfold: "Bat Country"

VIEWER'S CHOICE
Fall Out Boy: "Dance, Dance"

MTV2 AWARD
30 Seconds to Mars: "The Kill"

RINGTONE OF THE YEAR
Fort Minor: "Where'd You Go"

BEST DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy" (Director: Robert Hales)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A VIDEO
Missy Elliott: "We Run This"

BEST ART DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"

BEST EDITING IN A VIDEO
Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"

BEST VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK
"Mark Ecko's Getting Up" (Atari)

BEST VIDEO GAME SCORE
"Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (Jeremy Soule)

Beyonce "Ring The Alarm"

Beyonce's new video is on fire! Watch the "Ring The Alarm"--the red-hot second video from Beyonce's much-awaited new solo album, B'day--right now on Y! Music. Watch video here "Beyonce"

MTV This Month's Artist: Paris Hilton

Debutante, Actress, Heiress, Socialite, Model, Author.

Meretricious home videos aside, one cannot deny the amount of hard work Paris Hilton has put in to ensure her meteoric rise as a pop culture icon. Dabbling in fashion, reality television, commercials, books and fragrances, the multi-hyphenate arose from the ashes of ignominy to become one of the most industrious celebrities today.

Paris can now add singer to her expansive curriculum vitae. An album was in the works for the assiduous celebutante since 2004, where the original concept was geared towards a more guitar-driven pop/rock direction, a Go-Go's meets Blondie clash of sounds. But after a meeting with uber-producer Scott Storch last May, a new rhythmic direction was paved for her self-titled debut album, Paris.

The album features a number of hip-hop artists like Fat Joe and Jadakiss, but Paris was the true star here, and they wanted a specific reggae-flavoured track catered just for Paris, to highlight her playful sexy vocals and put the spotlight back on her. The result is the infectious first single "Stars Are Blind." This debut album is a highly personal piece for the blonde chanteuse, where she sings about the cataclysm of a very close friendship, wrecked to ruins due to envy, jealousy and betrayal. "Screwed" will be the third single planned for release after "Stars" and "Turn It Up."

With banging beats, sexy lyrics and infectious melodies, Paris is all set to entertain her legion of fans and quite possibly gain new ones as well.

Christina's Sexy New Pepsi Ad

Check out the new Pepsi Commercial of Christina Aguilera. She's so sexy in the pictures and video.

Want To Wake Up With Beyonce? Revealing Photo Spread Takes You Inside Her Morning

The recording of Beyoncé's upcoming B'Day album was kept a secret, even from the singer's father/manager.

B makes the revelation in the new issue of Giant magazine, hitting newsstands Monday.

"I don't mind pressure," the former Destiny's Child leading lady told writer Scott Poulson-Bryant. "I'm very good under pressure. But I wanna put myself under pressure, not be pressured by someone else, or else I'm angry and it blocks my creativity. ... That's why I didn't tell anyone about this album."

According to Beyoncé, the only people who knew she was back in the studio (she was supposed to be vacationing) were her A&R guy and the producers she summoned into different rooms under the same roof: Rich Harrison, Swizz Beatz and Rodney Jerkins.

"I'd go to another one and say, 'Rich got some fire, you gotta come with it, man,' " recalled Beyoncé, who recorded three tracks a day for two weeks. "It was magical. We'd just write a chorus or a verse and go into the next room and work on it. Everyone was excited to be here, just being creative. It didn't have any of that negative competition. And I was very conscious of my budget. I paid for it all myself, so I spent the least money on this project than any I've ever spent on a record, Destiny's Child included."

Along with revealing details of B'Day, the Giant cover story, titled "If I Was Your Girlfriend," also comes complete with a rather revealing photo spread courtesy of Ellen Von Unwerth, who recently shot Christina Aguilera's new album cover.

The concept is to give viewers a chance to see what it might look like if you woke up in the morning with Beyoncé on your bed and watched her get ready for the day. Pics show the singer in a sexy negligee, in the shower (complete with shower cap), and doing her hair (with curlers) and makeup.
Read more...

'Back' In Style: Justin Timberlake Mixes Funk, Rock On New Single

"I'm bringing sexy back," Justin Timberlake boasts on his new single, "SexyBack." And Justin's back too.

After nearly four years since the release of his debut solo album, Justified, the singer has new music to share -- though you might not recognize it as his.

"It's been awhile since the last record," Timberlake told MTV News in Paris on Thursday (July 6). "And I just wanted to try something new."

Timberlake worked with Rick Rubin and Will.I.Am forFutureSex/LoveSounds, but it wasn't until he hooked up with producer Timbaland that he figured out the direction he wanted the record to take

"I sort of had an idea in mind where I wanted to go," he said, "and it turned out that I went completely left of that. But that's what music should do."

In "SexyBack," going "left" meant going more rock -- not in how he constructed the song, but in how he sang it.

"I wanted to sing the song like a rock and roll singer, not an R&B singer," he said. "That's the approach." Read more...

Eminem Returned To The Stage Out Of Love For Busta Rhymes

One of the major surprises at the BET Awards on Tuesday night was, of course, Eminem's return to the stage, teaming up with Busta Rhymes and adding a new verse to the "Touch It" remix.

Eminem has recently spoken out on behalf of his fallen friend, Proof, and announced plans to star in a remake of the TV show "Have Gun - Will Travel". Aside from that, though, he has kept quiet, grappling with personal issues like his second divorce from his wife, Kim, and his treatment for addiction to sleeping medication.

We haven't seen him rock the mic since last year's Anger Management Tour, and certainly haven't heard any new verses. So what gives?

According to Em's reps, Slim Shady wrote his new rhyme specifically for the awards show out of love for Busta. And even though there are no official plans to release a new "Touch It" remix with Em's verse, the audio from the BET Awards is all over the Net and will undoubtedly be popping up on mixtapes in the next few days.

"Eminem is one of my favorite artists," Busta said Wednesday night in Los Angeles. "To be able to have him on the same stage with Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Rah Digga, Papoose, Lloyd Banks, Will.I.Am, Kelis and Spliff Star for my performance was one of the biggest highlights of my career."
Read more...

Three 6 Mafia Will Always Have Paris (Hilton)

Posted Jun 27th 2006 4:56AM by Steve Baltin
Filed under: Hip-Hop, Movies

Academy Award-winning rappers Three 6 Mafia want people to know they're available for any movie Hollywood wants to send their way.

"We can do anything for any movie. We have talent. Any movie we can write a song for, rock 'n' roll, country, we're not just rap. We want people to know that," DJ Paul said backstage at rehearsals for the BET Awards.

So what's the one movie they'd love to have written a song for? "'Scarface,'" Paul says. In the meantime, the group has been keeping busy doing a track for Paris Hilton and working on a new album. They say the new music will be out by the end of the year. In addition, they will reissue their 2005 album 'Most Known Unknown' with the Oscar-winning track, 'It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp.'

MTV Celebrates Movies From East And West With The Inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards

Singapore - MTV will roll out the red carpet and welcome the biggest stars of Asian and international movies when it stages the first-ever MTV Asia Movie Awards in Uniquely Singapore on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. As part of the creative vision of the event, the iconic Southeast Asian performance venue will be fitted-out in true Hollywood glitz and glamour to accommodate the star-studded night and will set the tone for a night of awards, superstar presenters, musical tributes and celebrity antics.

The MTV Asia Movie Awards takes a unique twist to 'traditional' movie kudofests by offering off-the-wall categories appealing to MTV's audience such as Best Kiss and Best Fight filling out the list of golden popcorn trophies awarded on the night. The premier telecast of the MTV Asia Movie Awards will also feature show-stopping live performances from international and regional acts, making the event a perfect blend of movie glamor and popular music that has made the MTV Movie Awards a must-attend event for the stars of the silver screen. Read more...

Christina Aguilera's New Video To Premiere On MTV

Singapore - Christina Aguilera's new music video, "Ain't' No Other Man," will make its worldwide premiere on MTV Southeast Asia on Thursday, June 22, 8:55pm (Singapore, Starhub channel 20), 9:55pm (Malaysia, Astro channel 71). The video will also be played on MTV Philippines on June 22.

This is a 24-hour worldwide exclusive for MTV. Look out for Making The Video in the next couple of weeks.