(Winners in italics.)

Video of the Year
Ashanti "The Way That I Love You"
Alicia Keys "Like You'll Never See Me Again"
Mary J. Blige "Just Fine"
UGK feat. OutKast "Int'l Player's Anthem (I Choose You)"
Kanye West feat. T-Pain "Good Life"
Erykah Badu "Honey"

Best Video Director
Erykah Badu and Mr. Roboto
Benny Boom
Gil Green
Chris Robinson
Hype Williams

Best Female R&B Artist
Alicia Keys
Mary J. Blige
Keyshia Cole
Rihanna
Mariah Carey

Best Male R&B Artist
Raheem DeVaughn
Trey Songz
Ne-Yo
Chris Brown
J. Holiday

Best Group
Danity Kane
UGK
Day 26
Playaz Circle
Gnarls Barkley

Best New Artist
Flo Rida
Estelle
Chrisette Michele
Soulja Boy
The-Dream

Best Gospel Artist
The Clark Sisters
Deitrick Haddon
Kirk Franklin
Marvin Sapp
Trin-I-Tee 5:7

BETJ Award
Raheem DeVaughn
Chaka Khan
Ledisi
Jill Scott
Angie Stone

Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Kid Sister
Trina
Lil' Mama
Missy Elliott
Eve

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Snoop Dogg
Jay-Z
Lil' Wayne
Common
Kanye West

Best Collaboration
DJ Khaled feat. Lil' Wayne, Big Boi, Ludacris, Fat Joe & Young Jeezy-"I'm So Hood (remix)"
Keyshia Cole feat. Lil' Kim & Missy Elliott-"Let It Go"
Kanye West feat. T-Pain-"Good Life"
Flo Rida feat. T-Pain-"Low"
Chris Brown feat. T-Pain-"Kiss Kiss"

Viewer's Choice
Chris Brown feat. T-Pain-"Kiss Kiss"
Lil' Wayne feat. Static Major-"Lollipop"
Keyshia Cole feat. Missy Elliott & Lil' Kim-"Let It Go"
Alicia Keys-"No One"
Soulja Boy-"Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)"
Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown-"No Air"

UGK feat. Outkast - International Players' Anthem [Daily Motion]

By now you've seen the critics' lists of the year's best music. But what about the folks who really count—the people? In interest of fairness and balance, I've decided to take the critics' choices to some regular folks. That's right: it's time once again for this column to exploit my family.

This time around, I played the 2007 Idolator Pop Critics Poll's Top 10 Tracks for my mom, my sisters, and my sister's friend who always comes over on major holidays. The listening session took place at my sister Brittany's apartment in Bloomington, Minnesota, on Christmas Eve, shortly after dinner and gifts (opening everything the night before is a longstanding family tradition). Also around were my sisters' very tolerant significant others, Brittany's daughter Veronica, and plenty of delicious leftovers. As usual, I typed everyone's responses on the fly and occasionally paused the songs to fill in gaps.

Dramatis Personae:
Lorie, mother, age 47; listens to Christmas music
Michael, author, age 32; listens to the Marc Anthony best-of Brittany got him for Christmas
Alex, sister, age 22; kicks everyone's ass at Guitar Hero III
Brittany, sister, age 21; listens to the M.I.A. and Billie Holiday CDs Michael got her for Christmas
Cherrelle, Brittany's best friend, age 21; listens to her Kanye West ringtone

1. Rihanna ft. Jay-Z, "Umbrella" (Def Jam) [117 votes]
Alex: You know this song, Veronica?
Brittany: She sings it all the time. Is it this version that's No. 1?
Michael: This is the main version.
Lorie: Is there any versions without rap?
Michael: No.
Lorie: [frowns]
Brittany: Would you dance to it, Mom?
Lorie: I can't dance to anything.
Alex: She can probably dance better than she can sing.
Brittany: She could probably play rugby better than she sings.
Alex: She used to put on—what was it, Mom?
Lorie: A show?
Brittany: Wilson Phillips!
Alex: And she used to sing into her bedpost: "Hold on for one more day . . . "
Lorie: Are you sure I was singing and not screaming? I was pole dancing.
Brittany: I'll scream if you say anything like that again.
[The stereo we are listening on is connected to the TV, on which a commercial for itt-tech.edu is airing]
Lorie: Is this the video? People performing surgery? I thought maybe instead of the little drapes they put over you they were using umbrellas now.
Brittany: Are you retarded, Mom?

2. LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends" (Capitol) [89 votes]
Brittany: This reminds me of Schroeder—it kind of sounds like the Snoopy theme.
Michael: This is a song by LCD Soundsystem called "All My Friends."
Brittany: I wish I had a song about all my friends.
Alex: It'd be over by now.
Brittany: Michael, can you pass me that wine so I can drink my pain away?
Lorie: Good music. You couldn't hardly dance to it, though, could you? I could tell you what you could do to it, but not too many people could.
Alex: Not with you.
Lorie: No, by yourself!
Brittany: I think she's talking about cross-stitching. At least I hope so.
Michael: I'm surprised you guys like this so much; I thought the piano might turn you off. The song is basically about getting too old to party.
Alex: [immediately] No such thing!
Brittany: This is Alex's theme song in 10 years.
Lorie: It was my theme song 10 years ago.
Brittany: Fifty.
Alex: I want people to get drunk and karaoke at my funeral.
Brittany: [after talking to her boyfriend, who is from Mexico] Miguel thinks it's nice, too, and he doesn't speak English. [Author's note: He does too.] You know the twins on Peanuts who just jump? They could dance to this.
Lorie: I hope they play this at midnight mass tonight.
Michael: Why?
Lorie: So I can stay awake.

3. M.I.A., "Paper Planes" (Interscope) [66 votes]
Brittany: I've heard this. It's familiar. [The vocal comes in. Brittany holds up her just-unwrapped copy of Kala] It's her.
Lorie: I've heard this before.
Brittany: Where have you heard this?
Lorie: I've been listening to the radio. [chorus comes in] I wanna go to a bar!
Brittany: Is that what this reminds you of? The gunfire reminds you of the bars you go to? [turns attention back to music] I really like this. But it's so much different than, like, "Bucky Done Gun." You say you like this album more? But the last album was really different. She's more singing than shouting. Is she trying to be more mainstream? I think I could listen to this for longer periods of time if it's all like this. Miguel, how do you like this? The gunshot [in the chorus] reminds you of the border, doesn't it?

4. Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" (Republic) [60 votes]
Lorie: All right, hey! This is the suicidal one [Veronica] sings!
Brittany: No, that's Sean Kingston.
Lorie: Oh, I remember this song now. What happened to her?
Brittany: She's fucked up beyond words. This is kind of Christmassy. All the dysfunctional families can relate to this one at Christmas. [after the line, "I don't ever want to drink again"] You know, if drinking makes her sing like this, she should go ahead. I feel sorry for her, though. She has a lot of underlying issues, and it's so evident.

5. Justice, " D.A.N.C.E." (Vice) [54 votes]
Lorie: This sounds like the beginning of Romper Stomper Romper Room. You ever heard of that?
Michael: Sort of. Romper Room was the kids' show, and Romper Stomper is a movie about racist skinheads in Australia.
Brittany: I thought it sounded like schoolchildren but you brought that into a whole other light, didn't you, Mom? It's like "Rock with You," in the beat. They should put this on Dance Dance Revolution. That would be fun times.
Cherrelle: Romper Room sounds like a porno. This reminds me of the Jackson 5. I could listen to this, definitely.
Brittany: This would be fun to dance to . . .
Cherrelle: . . . If I was drunk.
Brittany: And you're drunk all the time!
Cherrelle: I should just start dancing.

6. Peter Bjorn & John, "Young Folks" (Almost Gold) [50 votes]
Lorie: Oh, I love this! [whistles along]
Brittany: How do you know this and I don't?
Michael: Where have you heard this?
Lorie: I heard it at work. I love that whistle part. It just grabs you right away.
Michael: This came out last year internationally, and did well on last year's poll, but it was released in America this year, which is why it placed again. It was a big crossover hit—Kanye West rhymed over it on a mixtape.
Cherrelle: Now, why do you wanna ruin a perfectly fine piece of music like this? He's been stepping out of his realm with that Daft Punk stuff.
Brittany: He's been taking a flying leap out of his realm with that.
Alex: I've heard this song before.
Brittany: Where did you hear it?
Alex: I don't remember.
Michael: It's a group called Peter Bjorn & John. They're Swedish.
Cherrelle: [to Alex] Well then, maybe you heard it at Ikea.

6. Battles, "Atlas" (Warp) [50 votes]
Brittany and Alex: [immediately] "The beautiful people, the beautiful people."
Brittany: It is! It totally is.
Michael: It's not.
Brittany: I hate to disagree with you, Michael. I didn't know Marilyn Manson was still making records. [vocals come in] They're singing it backwards; they're putting in subliminal satanic messages. We could do a ouija board to this.
Cherrelle: I couldn't listen to this alone. I'd need to turn all the lights in the house on. Let's have a séance. This is what Marilyn Manson makes love to.
Brittany: These are probably his kids. Hey, Alex, come over here and let me carve a pentagram into your arm.
[Lorie, in kitchen, drops a cake on her foot]
Brittany: See? This music fucked her up so bad she dropped a cake on the floor.
Alex: [growling] "Red rum. Red rum."
Brittany: Did you just say you were going to spin your head in a circle?
Michael: So, do you guys like this?
Brittany: I like it on Halloween.
Lorie: [calling in from kitchen] I'm scared to fucking death of this song!

8. UGK ft. OutKast, "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (Jive) [49 votes]
[Michael restarts the song a couple times so the group can hear the first verse]
Cherrelle: He sounds like he's trying to be a pimp.
Michael: Sort of—-it's called "Int'l Players Anthem." But Andre 3000's verse is about getting married.
Brittany: Is he going to marry me? That's all I care about.
Cherrelle: I don't love that old crap in the background. It's like '60s gospel that my mother would listen to.
Brittany: I think that's your mother singing in the background.
[Second verse begins]
Cherrelle: I like how he's talking about marrying someone and saying "bitch" and "pussy."
Brittany: They're gonna get "bitch" and "pussy" engraved on their wedding rings.
Cherrelle: I like this guy's voice.
Michael: This is Pimp C, who recently died.
Cherrelle: Well, how you gonna hate on a dead man?
Michael: OK, this is Big Boi now.
Cherrelle: They're both tiny men.
Michael: Big Boi is much smaller than Andre.
Cherrelle: [to Brittany] Andre could wear your clothes.
Brittany: I'd let him. He can wear my clothes anytime.
Cherrelle: This is all starting to sound alike to me.
Brittany: [to Cherrelle, who's black] Racist.

9. Feist, "1234" (Cherrytree) [48 votes]
Brittany: [immediately, to opening strums] "The beautiful people . . . "
Alex: This is the video with all the kids all skipping rope. [imitates choreography]
Brittany: [after the line, "Teenage hopes arrive at your door"] "Teenage hoes"?
Cherrelle: She keeps saying "ho."
Brittany: Very Christmassy.
Cherrelle: [sings] "1-2-3-4, you a ho."
Brittany: [sings] "5-6-7-8, your momma's a ho too/9-10-11-12, your grandma's a ho, too."
Cherrelle: If we weren't so mean, this would probably be a nice song.
Brittany: If we weren't so fucking cynical, we could enjoy this. If we hadn't just listened to Marilyn Manson . . .

10. Kanye West, "Stronger" (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam) [35 votes]
Brittany and Cherrelle: [immediately] "Intergalactic, planetary, planetary, intergalactic . . . "
Cherrelle: I love this song.
Michael: Based on what you said earlier, I thought you didn't like it.
Brittany: No, I said I thought he took a flying leap out of his realm.
Michael: I misunderstood, then.
Cherrelle: Yeah, this is my ringtone.
Brittany: [deadpan] And that says a lot. You've really got to be a hardcore fan to have someone's song for a ringtone. And everybody turns around and says, "Hey, 'Stronger'! Let me holla at you!" [to Cherrelle] Does this ringtone make you stronger?
Cherrelle: [sardonically] I feel empowered. [song continues for awhile] I felt bad when his mom died.
Lorie: You know recently I just took a day off when my father's wife died.
Brittany: You know what's a big factor of why I don't like this song? Those awful fucking sunglasses with the blinds. They look retarded.
Cherrelle: You look like you have Down's Syndrome when you have them.
Brittany: Camp Courage sunglasses. [to Michael] Don't put that in there.
Michael: Can I please?
Brittany: If I get shanked for this, Michael, it's your fault.
Lorie: If you get shanked for this, I get a day off!

Frankly, I'm tempted to just post a bunch of animated arrows pointing to the clip above and leave the writeup at "WATCH THAT!!" But though the "International Players Anthem" video was so best that it even managed a couple plays on cable TV, this miniature domestic dramedy is a straight-up bonus, part of a full audio-video package in an era when "MTV doesn't even play videos anymore!" barely rates as a punchline, as well as a reprieve from the p-poppin' parade of pole-dancers set to the iTunes hot ringtone chart. As for the soundtrack that outshines the film? True, you can't (and shouldn't) ignore the thrifty Three 6 Mafia re-recycled backing track; my sister echoed many this year when she said could barely hear past the luminiosity of that Willie Hutch sample to the four gents talking over (underneath?) it. But there's also meter-flaunting Andre 3000 playing (with) the rhythmic angles—"lit-tra-chure" and "chi-ro-prac-tick" being points where he's just showin off how far he can stray for the hell of it, infurating some and charming others—over a beat-less intro that's barely a net, the boldest and funniest in his recent breadcrumb trail of guest verses, where "not a pimp" Dre still sheds a sly tear over all those moistened drawers of the past during the year's sweetest pledge of fidelity to not only lovers and friends but extended family and the partner that we all suspected had strained under so much sideways break-up gossip. Outkast veneration aside, let us not forget that first-billing does truly belongs to two of the best to ever have their cell phone bills sent to addresses below the Mason-Dixon, with the final stretch of Bun B's verse the year's best "just try and follow along with the bouncing ball" moment. And when Andre suddenly cedes the spotlight to the rhythm track, it's no R.I.P. revisionism to say that Pimp C's chest-out entrance would distract from any drums. His like-it-rough-and-preferrably-strings-free definition of romance may not square with yours—personally, I lean closer to Andre's kilts and corny email gags—but he sure as hell sells it, another part that you can't imagine the hip-hop whole of the year working as well without.

UGK feat. Outkast - "International Players Anthem" [YouTube]
UGK [MySpace]
Idolator's 2007 Top 40 List Of Awesomeness

L.A. County Fire responded to a 911 call at the Mondrian Hotel, located on trendy Sunset Strip in Hollywood. They arrived to his sixth floor hotel room to find him dead in bed.

And....that's all the details that anyone seems to have so far. (The handful of hip-hop sites currently reporting on the rapper's death seem to be working off of TMZ's story, but hey, at least someone was ready with the Wikipedia edit.) This is especially sad considering that Pimp and Bun B were currently riding an elder statesmen high thanks to their well-recieved 2007 comeback album Underground Kingz, a peak in a storied career (1996's Ridin' Dirty is a stone classic of Texan gangsta) that also had its share of setbacks, not the least of which being the fact that Pimp C recently spent nearly four years locked up on an assault charge. We'll be sure to update when more details become available.

UPDATE: The Fader is reporting that UGK's publicist has confirmed the rapper's death and that "a formal statement will be released later this afternoon."

Pimp C Found Dead In Hollywood Hotel Room [TMZ]

Biggest Debuts: Plies' unfortunately covered The Real Testament came in at No. 2, selling 96,000 copies. And the Jonas Brothers' self-titled Disney debut—which came after the band was rescued from the clutches of inept marketing entered the chart at No. 5, selling 69,000 copies—or 6,000 less than the still-unstoppable Hannah Montana 2. Further down the chart, Okkervil River's Stage Names benefited from Pitchfork love, selling 10,000 copies and bowing at No. 62.

Notable Jumps: The first High School Musical soundtrack leapt to No. 28, selling 21,000 copies. Anyone want to take bets on whether it'll vault all the way to No. 2—second only, of course, to its sequel—on next week's chart?

Dropping Off: Last week's No. 1, Common's Finding Forever, took a 63% hit (58,000) and fell to No. 7; Korn's Untitled took a 64% sales hit (45,000) this week, but that only knocked them back to No. 10.

Nickelback Award For Inexplicable Durability: Let's give it up for Amy Winehouse, whose collapse and subsequent hospitalization didn't stop people from singing "Rehab" drunkenly at parties; Back To Black suffered only a 1% sales drop (38,000), falling from No. 12 to No. 13. Tune in next week to see if the irony of that song will be too much for record-buyers to bear, now that she's checked into a treatment facility (at least as of right now).

The top 20, with estimated sales totals in parentheses:
1. UGK, Underground Kingz (160,000)
2. Plies, The Real Testament (96,000)
3. V/A, Now 25 (86,000)
4. Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (75,000)
5. Jonas Brothers (69,000)
6. Hairspray soundtrack (69,000)
7. Common, Finding Forever (58,000)
8. Fergie, The Dutchess (52,000)
9. T.I. T.I. Vs. T.I.P. (45,000)
10. Korn, Unititled (45,000)
11. Kidz Bop Kids, Kidz Bop 12 (40,000)
12. Linkin Park, Minutes To Midnight (39,000)
13. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (38,000)
14. Sean Kingston (37,000)
15. Nickelback, All The Right Reasons (35,000)
16. Taylor Swift (32,000)
17, Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad (27,000)
18. Bon Jovi, Lost Highway (27,000)
19. Maroon 5, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (26,000)
20. Prince, Planet Earth (26,000)

If UGK's delayed date was (mostly) the result of artistic license, Jones' still-unreleased American Dream is a victim of label limbo. Its release was teased for April on posters at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin. Then a July 3 date was set. The album would be packaged with a straight-to-DVD biopic of the same name.

It was a perfect Fourth of July tie-in that never happened, likely because of the tepid reaction to singles Mr. Jones and My 64.

American Dream — the disc and the DVD — is now scheduled for October.

"It has been very frustrating," Jones says. "The album originally was supposed to come out in April, but the movie wasn't ready."

Jones' 2005 disc, Who is Mike Jones? sold more than 2 million copies, setting the stakes high for this follow-up.

I'm sort of mystified by the fact that "Mr. Jones" was tepidly received—the singalong chorus-choir combo alone definitely helped endear it to my ears—but as my fiance suggested upon first listen, maybe since the album's been so delayed so far, it should be pushed back even further, to next May? After all, there's a movie coming out around then that could be an excellent tie-in with the song's proclamation that "you'll never catch Mr. Jones."

Record labels take the rap [Houston Chronicle; HT Kate]

T-Pain feat. Kanye West and UGK - Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin') (Remix) [MP3, link expired]