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Kanye West, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Rihanna & Lana Del Rey Nominated For MTV Woodie Awards

Becky Bain — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:01:36 +0000

What good timing for The Throne to drop their visually bonkers live concert video for “Ni**as In Paris” today, as Kanye West and Jay-Z have been nominated for a Performing Woodie at the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards. Elsewhere on the nominees list is Chris Brown and Rihanna, who compete against one another for the EDM Effect Woodie for their electro collaborations with Benny Benasi on “Beautiful People” and Calvin Harris on “We Found Love”, respectively. And it looks like college kids have got a soft spot for Lana Del Rey, as the nearly-chart-topping chanteuse is up for a Breaking Woodie. Check out all the nominees below.

For those attending the South By Southwest fest in Austin next month, you’ll be able to enjoy the mtvU Woodie Awards in a bigger and better way than ever before. The awards (which recognizes “the music voted best by college students”) will put on a day-long festival at SXSW on March 15, culminating in the mtvU Woodie Awards. For those stuck at home, you can experience all the fun by watching the show live on Woodies.mtvU.com.

Woodie of the Year
» The Black Keys
» Foster the People
» Frank Ocean
» Mac Miller
» J. Cole
» Skrillex

Performing Woodie
» Alabama Shakes
» The Black Keys
» Kanye West and Jay-Z (The Throne)
» Mac Miller
» Skrillex
» Swedish House Mafia

Best Video
» Battles, “My Machines”
» Best Coast, “Our Deal”
» Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
» Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
» M83, “Midnight City”
» Major Lazer, “Original Don”

EDM Effect Woodie
» Chris Brown and Benny Benassi, “Beautiful People”
» Flo Rida and Avicii, “Good Feeling”
» Flux Pavilion and the Throne, “Who Gon Stop Me”
» Martin Solveig featuring Kele, “Ready 2 Go”
» Laidback Luke and Steve Aoki, “Turbulence”
» Rihanna and Calvin Harris, “We Found Love”

Breaking Woodie
» A$AP Rocky
» Azealia Banks
» Charli XCX
» Childish Gambino
» Cloud Nothings
» Cults
» Electric Guest
» Fake Problems
» Fun.
» Future
» Iggy Azalea
» Kendrick Lamar
» Lana Del Rey
» Meek Mill
» Porter Robinson
» Machine Gun Kelly
» Sleeper Agent
» T. Mills
» Tune-Yards
» Walk the Moon
» Wallpaper
» The Weeknd

Maroon 5, Foster The People & Beach Boys To Perform At The Grammys

Becky Bain — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:19:53 +0000

Since both their nominated singles include a fair amount of whistling, it’s not such a surprise to see that the Recording Academy has paired Maroon 5 with Foster The People for a performance during the 2012 Grammy Awards. In the grand tradition of throwing seemingly unrelated acts on stage with one another, the two bands will be joined by the recently reunited Beach Boys (who we assume will somehow incorporate their track “Whistle In”). Does this seem totally random, or is this an inspired musical partnership? Sound off below.

Can’t get enough Grammy Awards news? Follow @idolator on Twitter for the latest Grammys updates, predictions and photos. Plus watch along with us as we live-tweet the show starting at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 12!

Is Beyonce Hitting The 40/40 Club Tonight?

Idolator Staff — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:45:51 +0000

Proud new mom Beyoncé is reportedly set to make her first post-baby appearance at husband Jay-Z’s sports lounge, 40/40 Club, in Manhattan tonight. Jay, who along with his Glamour cover-girl wife, welcomed daughter Blue Ivy Carter to the world just two weeks ago, and has wasted no time getting back to work since the birth of their first child. The mogul will be unveiling a $10 million renovation of the New York bar; has released the chart history-making song “Glory” mere days after baby Blue’s arrival; and may also be heading into space? Bey, by contrast, has kept a modest profile, and we’re going to “Countdown” to her first red-carpet walk of motherhood. [AOL Music]

Jay-Z And Kanye West May Drop Another Album As The Throne In 2012

Becky Bain — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:40:35 +0000

Turns out The Throne may not have been just a one-off experiment. During an interview with MTV, Jay-Z said there’s a chance he and Kanye West may reteam in 2012 for another album (and drop some solo LPs some time in there, too). “You might see a Jay, then Kanye and a Throne album next year,” said Hova. “You know, we’re really in a great place creatively. We really found our zone.” This gets us more pumped up than Aziz Ansari’s emoticon tribute to the duo’s single “N*ggas In Paris”. Oh, and don’t forget, there’s still that G.O.O.D. Music release expected to drop in the spring, too! [MTV]

Rihanna Finds Even More Love On UK ‘X Factor’

Mike Wass — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:44:20 +0000

After stepping back in time for her recent playback-heavy performance of “We Found Love” on The X-Factor, Rihanna reverted all the way back to childhood with an unusually sedate appearance on the show’s UK counterpart last night. Sporting a red tartan dress, surrounded by giant cardboard furniture, the red lipstick-loving diva looked like a naughty school girl as she sang along to her latest chart-topper. Check out baby RiRi and her backing tape after the jump.

“We Found Love” celebrates its 5th non-consecutive week at number one in the UK today, surpassing Adele’s “Someone Like You” as Britain’s longest-running chart-topper for 2011. Cheers, drink to that!

Rihanna & Usher Added To Grammy Nominations Concert

Robbie Daw — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:38:29 +0000

The roster for the upcoming November 30 Grammy Nominations Concert Live concert is getting more crowded, now that “We Found Love” singer Rihanna and “Without You” crooner Usher have been added to the lineup. Lady Gaga and Jason Aldean had been previously announced as performers for the LL Cool J-hosted event, which will be broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre on CBS. For those live attendees, recent CMA winners the Band Perry are slated to put on a full concert after the hour-long special. [Via Billboard]

Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Love” Demo: Review Revue

Robbie Daw — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:01:12 +0000

When Madonna’s demo for upcoming single “Give Me All Your Love” leaked yesterday, she and her manager chose to express themselves quite clearly. “My true fans wouldn’t do this,” Madge is quoted as saying to her manager Guy Oseary, via Billboard. Oseary himself added that “the plan was for new music to come out in the new year, and yet someone leaked a demo version of a song yesterday. I’m very happy with the positive reaction to the demo, but we are very upset with whoever leaked the song!!!”

Still, leak it did, and this led us to poke around and see what the online response was to the Harper’s Bazaar cover girl’s first offering — again, in demo form — from her upcoming 12th studio album. Head below for a roundup of reviews!

:: First off, Billboard notes of the song’s leak, “Within a few hours, it was among one of the top 10 trending topics worldwide on Twitter.”

:: CNN has pom poms raised high: “The intro, ‘L-U-V Madonna/Y-O-U You wanna?’ calls to mind the peppiest cheerleader chant imaginable before you fall into an irresistibly catchy track.” (To see all the lyrics, head over to Direct Lyrics.)

:: Neon Limelight is a fan: “The rest of the song plays out as an upbeat, super-dancey and fun track that also includes a quick dubstep breakdown.”

:: Arjan Writes delivers this verdict: “Madonna’s teaming with Martin Solveig is a winner. The song is fresh, fun, hooky and totally now. The Queen is going strong.”

:: Meanwhile, Pink Is The New Blog is having a full-on Madge Attack: “DYING!!!! I am loving this track. It’s fun, very poppy Madonna.”

:: NME brushes aside those not getting into the groove: “There have been criticisms that the bouncy lyrics (’Give me all your love/ Let’s forget about time and dance the night away’ goes the chorus) are neither befitting of the grande dame of disco nor are indicative of the type of lyrics she should be penning at this stage in her career… Blah, blah, blah, frankly. Because what Madonna’s doing in this song is so much more impossibly fun than we could have imagined that all of that talk seems unimportant.”

:: Chart Rigger hears certain influences on the track: “It sounds like [Madonna's] own classics ‘Burning Up’ and ‘Beautiful Stranger’ crossed with Pink’s ‘Feel Good Time’.”

:: Zap2it.com senses yet another vibe: “To be honest, we could picture a younger pop star like Avril Lavigne singing this song comfortably too.”

:: The Smoking Section is high on the song’s playful nature: “While her last album, Hard Candy, yielded moderate chart success and produced contemporary-yet-forced lead singles, ‘Give Me All Your Love’ is a dumbed-down, yet completely irresistible jam that is catered to win.”

:: Pop Crush is also skipping along to the beat: “While Madge at 50 (and some change) is hardly a girl, we like her youthful and jubilant nature on this song. She’s the Material Girl always, not the Material Woman!”

Enough of the critics — what do you think of Madonna’s new song? Let us know below!

Britney Spears Drops Lyric Video For “Criminal”

Becky Bain — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:52:30 +0000

If you’re a big Britney Spears fan like all of us here at Idolator, then a lyric video for Britney Spears’ fourth Femme Fatale single “Criminal” is a bit superfluous, as we’ve had the song memorized since the album dropped in March. Regardless, this should hold us over until the actual “Criminal” video premieres. And unike that video, this one isn’t likely to offend anyone, so there’s that.

Coldplay, Jessie J & LMFAO To Perform At MTV European Music Awards

Robbie Daw — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:26:37 +0000

Perhaps feeling like the event needed some acts actually from that neck of the woods present (since a bulk of the nominees are American), the MTV European Music Awards has added Coldplay and Jessie J to the performance lineup. As we know, fashion risk-taker Jessie J already warmed up for the EMAs by acting as house singer at the MTV VMAs in late August. She and Chris Martin’s band will join a roster of artists taking the stage at Belfast, Ireland’s Odyssey Arena on November 6 that now includes stateside acts Red Hot Chili Peppers and LMFAO. [Via MTV News]

Katy Perry Reveals The Name Of Her New Feline Fragrance

Becky Bain — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:39:06 +0000

After releasing her debut fragrance “Purr” — which came in a bottle the shape of a purple cat — Katy Perry has revealed that her follow-up scent will be called “Meow”. “She’s very sweet & inspired by that magical place, CANDYFORNIA!” tweeted Perry. Next up in Perry’s feline-themed series of perfumery: “Hairball”, which has scents of lilac and dust bunny; “Kitty Litter”, which evokes hints of juniper and actual kitty litter; and “RaWrAWWRrrr!” which inspires memories of stray cats in heat having sex outside your window at 3 a.m.