Thursday, September 30, 2010
Justin Bieber Is 'Funny,' 'Outgoing,' Rumored Girlfriend Says
Jasmine Villegas
Photo: Kevin Parry/ Getty Images
While it has yet to be confirmed whether Justin Bieber and his "Baby" co-star and current My World tour opener Jasmine Villegas are dating, she opened up about the pop star in a new interview. She never mentioned their current romantic status, but she did note that Bieber is as real as it gets.
"Well, let's see, [what's] something that I would know about Justin ... He's just an outgoing person. He's funny," she told Bop and Tiger Beat in an interview posted online. "He's just so random, but I think everybody would know that.
"There's not much that I would know that people don't know because Justin is just 100 percent [real] with his fans and his friends and he gives everybody his full personality," she dished. "So that's a really good thing about him. He's not fake at all. He's just like, 'I'm Justin. Here's me.' "
Rumors of a romance between Villegas and Bieber were fueled when the two were recently caught kissing in the backseat of a car. Both have denied that anything is going on, with Bieber insisting he's single.
"I mean, girlfriends are trouble at this age," he said. "Girls are fun to hang out with but, like, having that one steady girl ... we're constantly traveling and one girl's not gonna really [work]. You can't really have one girl. I don't really have any crushes at the moment. ... Right now, the best thing is [that we're] just teenagers having fun doing what we love. We're just staying ourselves and remaining humble."
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Beyonce Could Release New Single In Next Few Weeks
Beyoncé
Photo: Michael Caulfield/ Getty Images
Fans are slowly but surely getting more and more details about Beyoncé's next album. And the latest word is that the singer could release her first single from the album within the next three weeks. While the name of the song is still unknown, it appears that Lady B is well on her way to releasing new music off her follow-up disc to 2008's I Am ... Sasha Fierce.
"Listening to New B record Dream wrote ... F---INg INSANE! WOw!! She About to Kill the game again! Had to Listen again!! Y'all C in 3 weeks!" producer Los Da Mystro, a frequent collaborator of The-Dream, who worked with Tricky Stewart on Beyoncé's hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," tweeted. "Thats what they sayn now.. But it is the music Business. could b sooner r lata."
MTV News hadn't received comment by Beyoncé's label by press time.
However, the producers and songwriters she's been working with on the album have been dropping hints about what fans might expect on Beyoncé's fourth studio album. So far Ne-Yo, Jim Jonsin and Sean Garrett have all opened up about penning tracks for the album. And with the tweet from Los Da Mystro, it's evident that she's once again working with The-Dream and Stewart.
B's last album spawned the hits "Single Ladies," "If I Were a Boy," her Gaga-collabo "Video Phone" and "Halo." And while it is unknown what direction this next album will take, Ne-Yo has pointed out that Beyoncé has an "agenda" all her own.
"She's an artist that knows exactly what she wants to do," he told MTV News. "She's going to give you directions [like], 'Here's where I'm going, so here's where I need you to be.' And, you know, I'm a person that follows direction well. [And she'll be like], 'So this is the sound, this is the vibe; make it happen.' And I write and she likes it or she doesn't. And in this case she did, and there you have it."
Since she killed off her alter-ego Sasha Fierce for her next album, this record will be all Beyoncé. Producer Jim Jonsin recently noted that while he wants to go even more '80s than the pair did on "Sweet Dreams," he's also looking to try out some other genres with the singer. "Even some sexy mid-tempos, see if she likes that and I'll try that too," Jonsin said.
Whatever the album ends up sounding like, Garrett promised that it won't be a rehash of previous material. He explained, "We're working on some really incredible music. We're going to stretch a little bit — take it to a whole new level, if Beyoncé can go to a whole new level. ... It's going to be her biggest album ever. We're going to take it to a whole other level."
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Kanye West Fans Aren't Seeing Eye To Eye On 'See Me Now'
Kanye West
Photo: Dominique Charriau/WireImage
Fans agree that Kanye West is back, but they can't seem to agree on how they feel about that. The MC unveiled his latest single, "See Me Now," on Wednesday, and since then, Kanye followers have being going back and forth about whether the track is on fire or a fail.
The song, which features soulful contributions from Beyoncé and Charlie Wilson, is expected to appear on his upcoming untitled album, but, for many, the song takes things back to the MC's debut, College Dropout.
"Wow, it reminds me of College Dropout. Good to hear 'Ye laugh!" Ezekiel wrote on West's Kanye UniverseCity blog.
Bryan C.G. agreed: "This totally feel like your Dropout days. I love it."
Some fans, such as Prolifik, are all about 'Ye reviving the strings-laden throwback soul that kicked off his recording career. "Amazing! Classic flow, classic beats," the fan wrote. "I miss that old College Dropout steez! Welcome back, 'Ye."
" 'Ye is back!!!!" Tiffany wrote. "Hip Hop needs you so much!! You're brilliant."
While lots of online commenters are feeling the song, some of the MC's fans aren't seeing the appeal of "See Me Now." "This song is hot garbage," Luis Ariza declared on West's Facebook page.
The Facebook post announcing the song scored more than 580 "likes" at press time, however, some fans were not on the "See Me Now" bandwagon. "[It's the] first song from Kanye that I have not liked," Ariza wrote.
"This song needs major work," Real Talk proclaimed on West's blog. "I want harder beats and to be able to move my feet."
Chad Jones also chimed in on Facebook: "Not feelin it. Huge Kanye fan and love the evolution in his music but the track is wack. Lyrics are nice but track is wack."
" 'Ye is the man, but this song is WEAK!!!" Wallace Leeth wrote.
Jay Yey Couture thought the G.O.O.D. Music lyricist was upstaged by fellow superstar Beyoncé and undermined by the instrumental. "Kanye will sell this fall, that's for sure. However Beyoncé made this song!!!!!" the fan typed. "Kanye had too much time to come with ... this [weak] beat ... he could have did wayyyyy better."
Yeezy might not have won over all his fans with the single, but he does have the opportunity to redeem himself on the awards-show stage: West will perform at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, which air live September 12 at 9 p.m. The appearance marks his VMA return after a notorious onstage dustup with Taylor Swift, but it appears the rapper is taking the incident in stride. West closes "See Me Now" with the ad lib, "Uncle Charlie, by the way. And I'mma let you finish, but I got Beyoncé on the track."
What do you think of "See Me Now"? Let us know in the comments below!
The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 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 the winners from now through September 12.
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Katy Perry Stands By Her Man
And here's what Katy had to say on twitter about the incident:
If you cross the line & try an put a lens up my dress, my fianc� will do his job & protect me. #standbyyourman #don'tf**kwiththeBrands.
If it's true that the paparazzo was trying to get a picture under Katy's skirt, then the paparazzo is the one who should've been arrested! Talk about crossing the line. And I've heard of paparazzi trying to do that, so it doesn't sound so improbable to me.
Hopefully this will be resolved without too much fuss.
Photos by WENN.com
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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Gravity was a big idea. Big ideas drive the world forward, predictions of big ideas have come true, and there are currently a few very real big ideas currently under development in some form or another.
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Jay-Z, Eminem Close Yankee Stadium Shows With Kanye West, Drake
Jay-Z performs at Yankee Stadium on Monday
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage
NEW YORK — Like a good cleanup man in baseball, Jay-Z delivers big hits on a consistent basis.
On Tuesday night (September 14) at Yankee Stadium, the Brooklyn rapper closed out the fourth of his and Eminem's Home and Home shows (two in Detroit, two in the Bronx) with a performance that would make A-Rod envious.
"Break a record in this bitch, Hov," he rapped during a freestyle right after the opening number, the intro to his The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album. "Hit them with that BALCO."
The Roc Nation head, however, wouldn't need any performance-enhancing substances to give him an extra boost on this night. He confidently cruised through 90 minutes of material; Jay-Z was just as cool as the fall night.
Kanye West quickly arrived onstage two songs into the show for a mini-set of his own, riding shotgun with Hov on the "Power" remix and "Monster."
Jay-Z grabbed the crowd's attention again minutes later with an anecdote about his exit from the venue the night before. The legendary MC said on the way out after Monday's performance he ran into rap pioneer Kool Herc. Jay said he asked Herc to join him for Tuesday night's festivities, thanking Herc for creating hip-hop culture. "We wouldn't be here without you," he said.
"You ready for me to get out of here yet?" 'Ye asked Hov, bringing it back to the present.
"Not yet, we going all the way tonight," Jay-Z responded.
The Chicago star then burst into his "Good Life."
Next, Swizz Beatz joined Jay for "On to the Next One" before Eminem and the iconic lyricist traded verses on their collabo "Renegade." Eminem was agile onstage next to Jay-Z and appeared in arguably the best shape of his career.
"Go to war with the Mormons/ Take a bath with the Catholics," Em rapped. "In holy water/ No wonder they try to hold me under longer/ I'm a mother----in' spiteful, delightful, eyeful/ The new Ice Cube, mother----ers hate to like you."
Earlier in the evening, Eminem brought the capacity crowd to its feet by bringing out 50 Cent, who then brought out G-Unit's Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo with him. The trio from Queens sported glow-in-the-dark gear as the lights cut out during 50's performance of "I Get Money." Later, Fif ceded the stage to Em, and the Detroit superstar brought out Dr. Dre.
The hulking producer treated the crowd to "Still D.R.E." and "Nuthin' but a G Thang" sans Snoop Dogg; Eminem, though, filled in admirably for the Long Beach lyricist.
D-12 also took the stage during Em's set; the group dedicated their hit "My Band" to their fallen friend Proof.
The outfield was filled with fans, and their phones made the grounds look like a Lite-Brite as the screens lit up the stadium.
Jay-Z shouted out hip-hop's fallen heroes during his performance. He picked up Pimp C's "Big Pimpin' " verse a cappella and later ordered the DJ to play the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" and "One More Chance."
The show was smooth, but not without any hiccups. Drake delivered a stirring version of his "Light Up" with Jay-Z; the Toronto star sported a Blueprint 3-designed Yankees fitted cap to pay homage to Hov. "Welcome to the stage a man that's been getting busy as of late," Jay told the audience. "He goes by the name Drizzy Drake."
But minutes later, Drake stumbled through his and Nicki Minaj's "Up All Night." Hov offered a mulligan to Drake and later a olive branch when he told the crowd during his final song that he may have to offer the Young Money rapper a "free verse" to make up for messing up his sound.
Although Jay's most memorable performance involved his guest stars (Beyoncé also joined him, as did Nicki Minaj), this time it was a familiar face that helped him with the most moving part of the show. Memphis Bleek and Jay-Z ran through a series of the latter's past numbers as an encore.
"I got a million of these," Jay repeated twice, as he introduced songs ranging from "Jigga My N---a," "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "Where I'm From."
"For anyone that hasn't been down since Reasonable Doubt," Jay-Z told the crowd shortly after midnight, "you can head to the [exit]."
If you were at the Home and Home shows, share your reviews in the comments!
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'Mission: Impossible IV' Cast Adds Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Photo: Alberto Rodriguez/ Getty Images
The heavily hyped cast of "Mission: Impossible IV" has added another star to its beefy roster: "Lost" actor Josh Holloway.
Holloway is reportedly in final negotiations to play a member of the Impossible Mission Force, the high-tech and top-secret task force headed up by Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This will be the first big feature-film role for the "Lost" star, who is best known for playing broody antihero Sawyer on the ABC series.
Holloway joins a band of high-profile actors on the Brad Bird-directed film. In addition to Cruise and Holloway, the cast includes Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Vladimir Mashkov, as well as returning "Mission" co-stars Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg. The production is supposed to begin shooting sometime this fall and filmmakers are currently scouting locations in Vancouver, Prague and Dubai. Paramount announced earlier this year that "M:I 4" will open on December 16, 2011.
While the production has already weathered a few storms, Cruise has been vocal about his commitment to bringing new talent to the franchise.
"My whole thing with the series is always having a new director come on and put their stamp on 'Mission: Impossible,' " he told MTV News this summer. "Brian De Palma was first, then John Woo, J.J. Abrams and now Brad Bird, so it will be Brad Bird's 'Mission: Impossible.' " Regarding his thoughts on the story line — which is, of course, very much under wraps — Cruise said simply: "It's sick. It's fun, really fun."
Pegg reacted to the latest casting news via an enthusiastic Twitter "conversation" with "Lost" executive producer Damon Lindelof.
Lindelof wrote: "Okay. They had me at Brad Bird. But now? I am TOTALLY IN"
To which Pegg responded, "I think I just squeed in my pants!"
Check out everything we've got on "Mission: Impossible IV."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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Dimmu Borgir Release Live DVD; Plus Led Zeppelin, Brujeria, & More News That Rules, In Metal File
Dimmu Borgir's Silenoz
Photo: Nuclear Blast
On October 14, Dimmu Borgir — who just happen to be Demi Lovato's favorite black-metal band — will release a a three-disc DVD/CD set called "The Invaluable Darkness," the band's first visual offering since 2002's "World Misanthropy." Boasting live footage shot last year, during gigs in Norway, Germany and England, "The Invaluable Darkness" demonstrates the unbridled furor of seeing Dimmu live, guitarist Silenoz said.
"It shows the honest rawness and atmospheric darkness of our concerts," the Norwegian told Metal File last week, after dismissing recent online rumors that his band's next LP would be coming out through Roadrunner Records. "Basically, it shows the intense live side of the band, as opposed to the perfection and the cleanness of how we sound on our albums. It's just a different side to the band, basically."
Dimmu Borgir began thinking about "The Invaluable Darkness" two years ago, but didn't start capturing footage until last summer, Silenoz explained, adding that the band will use its current stint on the Blackest of the Black Tour — which got underway Thursday night in Miami Beach, Florida, and also features the tour's founder, Danzig, along with
Moonspell, Winds of Plague and Skeletonwitch — to promote the DVD. Dimmu Borgir will not, however, use the tour to write material for their next LP.
"It's our first time on Blackest, but Glenn [Danzig] had wanted to bring us out before [on the tour], but we weren't available until now," Silenoz said. "We've done Ozzfest before, but we're looking forward to this tour more. We did the main stage on Ozzfest, playing in f--_ing broad daylight. This tour will let us play in bigger places, but at the same time showcase more of what the band's about, visually. We are going to concentrate on the tour for now. Some years ago, we tried putting [material] together on the road, but once we got home, we listened back to it, and were like, 'What the f--- is this?' So, we just scrapped it all. We find it's so much better to totally focus on one thing at a time, and then, when that's over, you move on to the next [thing]. We don't really feel like we need to rush things, anyway, so we'll just take our time, and it's going to be what it's going to be."
Dimmu Borgir hope to reconvene in late December to begin writing the follow-up to 2007's diabolically titled In Sorte Diaboli. "We have some ideas floating around already, but we haven't arranged any material yet," he said. "We'll start doing that once the touring for this DVD is over." The band's frontman, Shagrath, is also due to marry soon — he's engaged to actor Nicolas Cage's ex-girlfriend, Christina Fulton, so that may have an effect on when Dimmu finish their next album, which Silenoz said could be out this coming spring.
"I'm sure [Shagrath] won't let anything get in the way [of] the band — I think, I hope," the guitarist said. "We don't need a Yoko [Ono] situation."
While Dimmu have been at it going on 15 years now, Silenoz said he doesn't think their forthcoming material will be much of a departure from their previous black-metal offerings.
"And we have always been about more than just that term, 'black metal,' " he said. "Luckily for us, the older you get, the less concerned you get with the categorization and putting labels on your music. Things start getting more and more limitless with us, and we know that we operate within certain frames. But we try not to analyze things too much, because it's just going to be working against you in the end. When we write new stuff, we don't think about what we should write — we just get together, and put material together, and if we like it, we keep it. That's the formula, if we even have a formula."
Dimmu Borgir are definitely getting older — guitarist Galder will be missing Blackest because of a recent addition to his family, and Susperia's Cyrus will be filling in for him; while former Vader drummer Dariusz Brzozowski takes over for Hellhammer, who had to leave the band in 2007 after sustaining a neck injury that's now limited the use of his right arm. As Dimmu has gotten on in years, Silenoz admits they have failed to keep pace with some of the more extreme black-metal acts that have followed in their wake.
"We helped open doors for the more extreme bands out there," Silenoz said. "I'm sure we helped open doors for bands like Watain, [insomuch as] people that had maybe started listening to us first then went on to the more extreme stuff. Let's face it — we're not as extreme as Watain and other bands like that, but we're fine with that."
The Blackest of the Black Tour continues through November 10 in San Francisco.
The rest of the week's metal news:
Dimmu's tourmates on Blackest, Winds of Plague, have announced ex-Azusa drummer Art Cruz has joined their ranks — he replaced Jeff Tenney. According to the band's blog, "Art has already added a new spark to the band and has provided us with a solid backbone that will allow us to continue our rampage stronger than ever." ...
What the world really needs is another
Led Zeppelin box set, so, on November 4, Rhino Records will issue the Led Zeppelin Definitive Collection Mini LP Replica CD box set. For just $200, you'll get 1969's Led Zeppelin, 1969's Led Zeppelin II, 1970's Led Zeppelin III, 1971's Led Zeppelin IV, 1973's Houses of the Holy, 1975's Physical Graffiti, 1976's Presence, 1976's The Song Remains the Same, 1979's In Through the Out Door and 1982's Coda, as mini-LP replicas, with artwork from the original U.K. LP sleeves. Now, you know what you can get your dad for Christmas. ...
Former Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach and current Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz have teamed up for a new project they're calling Times of Grace, and they've already started working on material for their debut album. According to Leach, "We have two songs to go and we will be finished with all of the vocals. Adam has taken lead vocals in three songs as of yet and he is doing a great job. We also worked on a track yesterday that is so epic — we trade vocals and do two different melodies at the same time. This album went from a melodic metal album to an epic mix of metal/rock/pop/shoegaze and punk. So all of your metal expectations will be incorrect — we are pushing genre boundaries." To quote "Meet the Parents," we'll look forward to that, Greg. ...
The Funeral Pyre and Early Graves will be hitting the road together next month, starting November 7 in South Lake Tahoe, California. Dates are booked through November 21 in Hollywood. ...
The latest incarnation of Brujeria, which features Carcass frontman Jeff Walker and Napalm Death's Shane Embury, have lined up several U.S. dates for this winter. The band will begin its brief trek November 28 in Denver, and wrap things up in Dallas on December 7. ...
Demiricous will be touring with the Gates of Slumber starting November 9 in Denver, for a jaunt that's scheduled to run through December 6 in Indianapolis. ...
Nearly three years after Roadrunner Records' Roadrunner United concert, which took over the Nokia Theater in New York's Times Square, the label is now releasing footage from that special night as "Roadrunner United: The Concert." The DVD, which hits stores December 9, will boast two discs and 24 live tracks, including Life of Agony's "River Runs Red," King Diamond's "Abigail," Killswitch's "My Last Serenade," Type O Negative's "Black No. 1" and Sepultura's "Refuse/Resist." ...
According to Blabbermouth, Verrot, bassist for Swedish black-metal outfit Elimi, committed suicide on October 3. In a statement, the band said, "Verrot was a very good friend, brother, an excellent bass player/musician and an important part of Elimi; we respect his decision and hope he'll find his way with the dark gods of Chaos. Let your black flame be a part of what brings forth the day of wrath."
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Rihanna Ties Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Mariah Carey For #1 Pop Songs
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Photo: Troy Rizzo/ Getty Images
Rihanna is making hit songs, breaking records and taking names. The singer is currently tied with a few of her pop comrades for the most #1 songs on the Pop Songs radio airplay chart. She ties with Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey for the most #1's in the Nielsen survey. Rihanna now has six #1's on her résumé thanks to her chart-topping collaboration with Eminem, "Love the Way You Lie," according to Billboard.com.
Rihanna's other #1 songs on the pop chart include 2006's "SOS" (for one week); 2008's "Take a Bow" (for three weeks); 2008's "Disturbia" (three weeks); her late-2008 T.I. collabo "Live Your Life" (two weeks); and this year's "Rude Boy" (two weeks). "Love the Way You Lie" has been on top for one week so far.
Earlier this year Beyoncé and Lady Gaga tied Mariah Carey for six #1 pop songs with their collaboration, "Telephone." Carey had six songs hit #1 on the Hot 100 before the Pop Songs chart was created in 1993, and then six others since its creation. Meanwhile, Beyoncé collected hers from 2003 to 2010. Gaga was the fastest to tie the record, with all six released from 2009-2010.
Avril Lavigne, Pink, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake all come in a close second with five #1 pop songs in their careers.
Rihanna had fans talking last week when the video for "Love the Way You Lie" was released. The singer, who was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, appears in the video that depicts a violent love affair between Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox.
How do you think Rihanna compares to the other women at the top of the pop chart? Sound off in the comments.
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Lady Gaga 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Speech 'Resonated' With Maine Crowd
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Photo: Cliff Kucine/ Getty Images
PORTLAND, Maine — On Monday, thousands packed into Deering Oaks Park to witness Lady Gaga's rather spur-of-the-moment speech in support of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Many of them were students at the nearby University of Southern Maine, active in the school's Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity, and they were understandably amazed that one of the biggest pop stars on the planet had come to their town to speak on their behalf.
But, as MTV News learned in speaking with some of them, the event had a much deeper meaning too. As it turns out, many of them also had a personal stake in the ongoing debate over "don't ask" — which failed to get enough Senate votes on Tuesday (September 21) to spur a formal debate — and to have Gaga in their corner meant more than they could express.
"Her speech really resonated with me because, actually, this summer, I thought about joining the military, but because I'm gay, I can't," USM student Kelly Golek said. "If it's repealed, there's a very good chance I will [enlist]. So I thought this whole event was amazing, because you really don't see something like this. Like, what other pop star would come out and do this? She's very brave, and I was totally moved by that speech."
"It really resonated with me, because I've actually been considering the military, because I took my ASVAB [military aptitude exam], and I got an incredibly high score, so I could basically do anything I wanted to in the Navy," Ellen McDonald said. "But because I'm a lesbian, I'm not able to do that at the moment. So, [her speech] really touched me, because those are my hopes and dreams."
And even those who weren't prohibited from serving openly still felt a personal connection to Gaga's speech, because, the way they see it, she's lending her voice to the voiceless.
"She wasn't paid to come here and speak; she did it because she felt like she needed to. [She said] 'I'm coming to Maine ... be there,' " Chris Johnson said. "It makes you feel like you have a voice, because she takes the issue and says, 'I will be your voice, because I know you're not being heard right now.' She's the voice of this generation that's not old enough to vote, but we have different points of view from the generation that raised us."
"There are celebrities that do things to help humanity, but Lady Gaga really does things," USM student Marepheen Berry said. "She has a way of putting forth her messages. She shocks people, and that's what I like about her: She shocks people, and it really opens up their eyes and turns heads."
Of course, there were also those in the crowd who, while active in the fight to repeal "don't ask," were mainly there to see Lady Gaga. And, really, can you blame them?
"I think it's unbelievable. I was in shock when we first heard. I don't even know how to describe it," USM freshman Joseph Sibley laughed. "When we found out, I was like, 'There's no way, nobody ever comes to Maine, and nobody ever talks to us.' ... And I'm glad I came. It was awesome."
What do you think about Gaga's rally against "don't ask, don't tell"? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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?Dragon Tattoo? star Michael Nyqvist is new ?M:I-4? villain
Michael Nyqvist, who played journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the Swedish thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and its sequels, will play one of the lead villains in Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 4."
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New 'Harry Potter' Trailer Shows Humor Along With Action
Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
Photo: Warner Bros.
The first trailer for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" dropped in June and kept its focus squarely on action: whirlwind spells, explosions galore and plenty of boy-wizard-vs.-Voldemort fisticuffs. The second trailer, so it seems, will add a healthy dose of whimsy to the supernatural action.
USA Today has a sneak peek at the newest trailer, which is set to arrive online early Wednesday evening (September 22), and it looks like we're going to get looks at Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his oddly dressed doppelgängers, Dobby the wrinkly-faced house elf and some wacky, warped-out, elevator-based magic. There will also, of course, be plenty of action, including a creepy glimpse of Voldemort entering the tomb of Hogwarts head honcho Dumbledore.
"These are dark times," says Bill Nighy as Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour in the trailer, according to USA Today. "Our world has faced no greater threat than it does today. But you can't fight the war on your own, Mr. Potter. [Voldemort] is too strong."
Harry's going to have plenty of help. One of the new photos shows off Harry's magical doppelgängers (variously, hilariously dressed in oversized coats and tight-fitting tops), which help our hero flee the nefarious Death Eaters. Other pics showcase Harry casting a Patronus charm while in an elevator, Harry and Hermione (Emma Watson) visiting his parents' grave, and Harry and Ron (Rupert Grint) engaged in an intense argument while Hermione looks on.
"Ron and Harry are arguing and in conflict," explained producer David Heyman. "The relationship's become frayed. The pressure is on them, and their relationship has become heightened and more intense.
"We're reaching the climax, so the relationship between the three is more intense," he added. "They're on the run, and they're not in the safe confines at Hogwarts. The pressure is on them to sort things out. It's ominous in the sense that the end is nigh."
Check out everything we've got on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1." For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
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Ke$ha Breaks Through To The Big Time: A VMA Cheat Sheet!
Ke$ha
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images
Ke$ha is, without question, one of the biggest breakout stars of 2010. A slurring, whirling, hard-partying pop oddity (who may also be a genius) with a #1 album and a boatload of hit singles to her name, not to mention more than a few enemies. She even has under her star-spangled belt, her very own, very public WTF debacle in the form of a rather, uh, divisive "Saturday Night Live" performance.
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Justin Bieber's Got Big Post-VMA Plans
Justin Bieber performs at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
He performed on the VMAs and even took home a Moonman for Best New Artist, so it looks like Justin Bieber's plan to take over the world is working. What will be his next steps to global domination? Here, we've gathered everything we know so far, but given how fast his career has moved in the past year, we're sure there's much more to come.
Bieber recently revealed plans to release a new album sometime next year and has mentioned some dream collaborations he'd like to get for the follow-up to his successful sophomore release, My World 2.0.
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
Usher - There Goes My Baby
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Natalie Portman Would Do 'Professional' Sequel In 'Two Seconds' If Luc Besson Directed
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Jay-Z, Eminem Close Yankee Stadium Shows With Kanye West, Drake
Jay-Z performs at Yankee Stadium on Monday
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage
NEW YORK — Like a good cleanup man in baseball, Jay-Z delivers big hits on a consistent basis.
On Tuesday night (September 14) at Yankee Stadium, the Brooklyn rapper closed out the fourth of his and Eminem's Home and Home shows (two in Detroit, two in the Bronx) with a performance that would make A-Rod envious.
"Break a record in this bitch, Hov," he rapped during a freestyle right after the opening number, the intro to his The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album. "Hit them with that BALCO."
The Roc Nation head, however, wouldn't need any performance-enhancing substances to give him an extra boost on this night. He confidently cruised through 90 minutes of material; Jay-Z was just as cool as the fall night.
Kanye West quickly arrived onstage two songs into the show for a mini-set of his own, riding shotgun with Hov on the "Power" remix and "Monster."
Jay-Z grabbed the crowd's attention again minutes later with an anecdote about his exit from the venue the night before. The legendary MC said on the way out after Monday's performance he ran into rap pioneer Kool Herc. Jay said he asked Herc to join him for Tuesday night's festivities, thanking Herc for creating hip-hop culture. "We wouldn't be here without you," he said.
"You ready for me to get out of here yet?" 'Ye asked Hov, bringing it back to the present.
"Not yet, we going all the way tonight," Jay-Z responded.
The Chicago star then burst into his "Good Life."
Next, Swizz Beatz joined Jay for "On to the Next One" before Eminem and the iconic lyricist traded verses on their collabo "Renegade." Eminem was agile onstage next to Jay-Z and appeared in arguably the best shape of his career.
"Go to war with the Mormons/ Take a bath with the Catholics," Em rapped. "In holy water/ No wonder they try to hold me under longer/ I'm a mother----in' spiteful, delightful, eyeful/ The new Ice Cube, mother----ers hate to like you."
Earlier in the evening, Eminem brought the capacity crowd to its feet by bringing out 50 Cent, who then brought out G-Unit's Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo with him. The trio from Queens sported glow-in-the-dark gear as the lights cut out during 50's performance of "I Get Money." Later, Fif ceded the stage to Em, and the Detroit superstar brought out Dr. Dre.
The hulking producer treated the crowd to "Still D.R.E." and "Nuthin' but a G Thang" sans Snoop Dogg; Eminem, though, filled in admirably for the Long Beach lyricist.
D-12 also took the stage during Em's set; the group dedicated their hit "My Band" to their fallen friend Proof.
The outfield was filled with fans, and their phones made the grounds look like a Lite-Brite as the screens lit up the stadium.
Jay-Z shouted out hip-hop's fallen heroes during his performance. He picked up Pimp C's "Big Pimpin' " verse a cappella and later ordered the DJ to play the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" and "One More Chance."
The show was smooth, but not without any hiccups. Drake delivered a stirring version of his "Light Up" with Jay-Z; the Toronto star sported a Blueprint 3-designed Yankees fitted cap to pay homage to Hov. "Welcome to the stage a man that's been getting busy as of late," Jay told the audience. "He goes by the name Drizzy Drake."
But minutes later, Drake stumbled through his and Nicki Minaj's "Up All Night." Hov offered a mulligan to Drake and later a olive branch when he told the crowd during his final song that he may have to offer the Young Money rapper a "free verse" to make up for messing up his sound.
Although Jay's most memorable performance involved his guest stars (Beyoncé also joined him, as did Nicki Minaj), this time it was a familiar face that helped him with the most moving part of the show. Memphis Bleek and Jay-Z ran through a series of the latter's past numbers as an encore.
"I got a million of these," Jay repeated twice, as he introduced songs ranging from "Jigga My N---a," "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "Where I'm From."
"For anyone that hasn't been down since Reasonable Doubt," Jay-Z told the crowd shortly after midnight, "you can head to the [exit]."
If you were at the Home and Home shows, share your reviews in the comments!
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Dimmu Borgir Release Live DVD; Plus Led Zeppelin, Brujeria, & More News That Rules, In Metal File
Dimmu Borgir's Silenoz
Photo: Nuclear Blast
On October 14, Dimmu Borgir — who just happen to be Demi Lovato's favorite black-metal band — will release a a three-disc DVD/CD set called "The Invaluable Darkness," the band's first visual offering since 2002's "World Misanthropy." Boasting live footage shot last year, during gigs in Norway, Germany and England, "The Invaluable Darkness" demonstrates the unbridled furor of seeing Dimmu live, guitarist Silenoz said.
"It shows the honest rawness and atmospheric darkness of our concerts," the Norwegian told Metal File last week, after dismissing recent online rumors that his band's next LP would be coming out through Roadrunner Records. "Basically, it shows the intense live side of the band, as opposed to the perfection and the cleanness of how we sound on our albums. It's just a different side to the band, basically."
Dimmu Borgir began thinking about "The Invaluable Darkness" two years ago, but didn't start capturing footage until last summer, Silenoz explained, adding that the band will use its current stint on the Blackest of the Black Tour — which got underway Thursday night in Miami Beach, Florida, and also features the tour's founder, Danzig, along with
Moonspell, Winds of Plague and Skeletonwitch — to promote the DVD. Dimmu Borgir will not, however, use the tour to write material for their next LP.
"It's our first time on Blackest, but Glenn [Danzig] had wanted to bring us out before [on the tour], but we weren't available until now," Silenoz said. "We've done Ozzfest before, but we're looking forward to this tour more. We did the main stage on Ozzfest, playing in f--_ing broad daylight. This tour will let us play in bigger places, but at the same time showcase more of what the band's about, visually. We are going to concentrate on the tour for now. Some years ago, we tried putting [material] together on the road, but once we got home, we listened back to it, and were like, 'What the f--- is this?' So, we just scrapped it all. We find it's so much better to totally focus on one thing at a time, and then, when that's over, you move on to the next [thing]. We don't really feel like we need to rush things, anyway, so we'll just take our time, and it's going to be what it's going to be."
Dimmu Borgir hope to reconvene in late December to begin writing the follow-up to 2007's diabolically titled In Sorte Diaboli. "We have some ideas floating around already, but we haven't arranged any material yet," he said. "We'll start doing that once the touring for this DVD is over." The band's frontman, Shagrath, is also due to marry soon — he's engaged to actor Nicolas Cage's ex-girlfriend, Christina Fulton, so that may have an effect on when Dimmu finish their next album, which Silenoz said could be out this coming spring.
"I'm sure [Shagrath] won't let anything get in the way [of] the band — I think, I hope," the guitarist said. "We don't need a Yoko [Ono] situation."
While Dimmu have been at it going on 15 years now, Silenoz said he doesn't think their forthcoming material will be much of a departure from their previous black-metal offerings.
"And we have always been about more than just that term, 'black metal,' " he said. "Luckily for us, the older you get, the less concerned you get with the categorization and putting labels on your music. Things start getting more and more limitless with us, and we know that we operate within certain frames. But we try not to analyze things too much, because it's just going to be working against you in the end. When we write new stuff, we don't think about what we should write — we just get together, and put material together, and if we like it, we keep it. That's the formula, if we even have a formula."
Dimmu Borgir are definitely getting older — guitarist Galder will be missing Blackest because of a recent addition to his family, and Susperia's Cyrus will be filling in for him; while former Vader drummer Dariusz Brzozowski takes over for Hellhammer, who had to leave the band in 2007 after sustaining a neck injury that's now limited the use of his right arm. As Dimmu has gotten on in years, Silenoz admits they have failed to keep pace with some of the more extreme black-metal acts that have followed in their wake.
"We helped open doors for the more extreme bands out there," Silenoz said. "I'm sure we helped open doors for bands like Watain, [insomuch as] people that had maybe started listening to us first then went on to the more extreme stuff. Let's face it — we're not as extreme as Watain and other bands like that, but we're fine with that."
The Blackest of the Black Tour continues through November 10 in San Francisco.
The rest of the week's metal news:
Dimmu's tourmates on Blackest, Winds of Plague, have announced ex-Azusa drummer Art Cruz has joined their ranks — he replaced Jeff Tenney. According to the band's blog, "Art has already added a new spark to the band and has provided us with a solid backbone that will allow us to continue our rampage stronger than ever." ...
What the world really needs is another
Led Zeppelin box set, so, on November 4, Rhino Records will issue the Led Zeppelin Definitive Collection Mini LP Replica CD box set. For just $200, you'll get 1969's Led Zeppelin, 1969's Led Zeppelin II, 1970's Led Zeppelin III, 1971's Led Zeppelin IV, 1973's Houses of the Holy, 1975's Physical Graffiti, 1976's Presence, 1976's The Song Remains the Same, 1979's In Through the Out Door and 1982's Coda, as mini-LP replicas, with artwork from the original U.K. LP sleeves. Now, you know what you can get your dad for Christmas. ...
Former Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach and current Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz have teamed up for a new project they're calling Times of Grace, and they've already started working on material for their debut album. According to Leach, "We have two songs to go and we will be finished with all of the vocals. Adam has taken lead vocals in three songs as of yet and he is doing a great job. We also worked on a track yesterday that is so epic — we trade vocals and do two different melodies at the same time. This album went from a melodic metal album to an epic mix of metal/rock/pop/shoegaze and punk. So all of your metal expectations will be incorrect — we are pushing genre boundaries." To quote "Meet the Parents," we'll look forward to that, Greg. ...
The Funeral Pyre and Early Graves will be hitting the road together next month, starting November 7 in South Lake Tahoe, California. Dates are booked through November 21 in Hollywood. ...
The latest incarnation of Brujeria, which features Carcass frontman Jeff Walker and Napalm Death's Shane Embury, have lined up several U.S. dates for this winter. The band will begin its brief trek November 28 in Denver, and wrap things up in Dallas on December 7. ...
Demiricous will be touring with the Gates of Slumber starting November 9 in Denver, for a jaunt that's scheduled to run through December 6 in Indianapolis. ...
Nearly three years after Roadrunner Records' Roadrunner United concert, which took over the Nokia Theater in New York's Times Square, the label is now releasing footage from that special night as "Roadrunner United: The Concert." The DVD, which hits stores December 9, will boast two discs and 24 live tracks, including Life of Agony's "River Runs Red," King Diamond's "Abigail," Killswitch's "My Last Serenade," Type O Negative's "Black No. 1" and Sepultura's "Refuse/Resist." ...
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'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' Rakes In Box-Office Cash
Michael Douglas in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"
Photo: 20th Century Fox
The Box-Office Top Five
#1 "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" ($19 million)
#2 "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" ($16.3 million)
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#4 "Easy A" ($11 million)
#5 "You Again" ($8.3 million)
Moviegoers didn't sleep on the long-awaited follow-up to the 1987 financial drama "Wall Street." 23 years after banking villain Gordon Gekko first fascinated audiences, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" took the box-office crown. Featuring Michael Douglas as fallen financial titan Gekko, Carey Mulligan as his estranged daughter Winnie and Shia LaBeouf as her fiancé, the sequel picked up $19 million during its debut weekend.
The animated, fantasy film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," about a crew of intrepid owls out to save the owl kingdoms from powerful foes, flew into second place. The adaptation from a children's book series, featuring voice-over contributions from Helen Mirren and Geoffrey Rush, raked in $16.3 million.
"The Town" maintained a top-five slot during its second weekend on screens. The Ben Affleck-helmed, cops-and-robbers flick is close behind "Ga'Hoole" with $16 million. The film's total estimated tally now stands at roughly $49 million.
Emma Stone, Penn Badgley and Amanda Bynes' high-school laugh-getter "Easy A" also maintained a solid second-week showing. Punching up well-worn, teen-friendly themes, such as rumor-mongering and social acceptance, the flick raked in $11 million. The weekend ticket sales bump the movie's total haul to nearly $33 million.
The rom-com "You Again" wrapped up its first weekend in theaters in fifth place. The film stars Kristin Bell as a PR professional faced with the prospect of her high-school enemy (played by Odette Yustman) becoming her sister-in-law. Hollywood vets Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver also turn in performances as soon-to-be-in-laws with their own strained past. The flick raked in $8.3 million.
Check out everything we've got on "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" and "The Town"
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
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'Wall Street 2' Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know
Michael Douglas in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"
Photo: 20th Century Fox
In the fall of 2008, a few weeks after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Washington Mutual collapsed — and the tenor of the U.S. financial crisis turned from panicky to nearly apocalyptic — Fox gave the go-ahead for "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."
Hooray for capitalism! There's always room for shareholders to profit from even the most dismal economic news. Two years later, with the country still shackled by high unemployment and out-of-control debt, "Wall Street 2" bullied its way into theaters Friday (September 24). The Oliver Stone-directed film arrives nearly 23 years after the Oscar-winning original. The first film also opened in the shadow of financial uncertainty, just a few months after the stock-market crash known as Black Monday. Now, as then, the timing is right for a story about greed.
Michael Douglas returns as Wall Street mover-and-shaker Gordon Gekko, fresh off a jail sentence and determined, at least initially, to expose his industry's borderline criminal excesses. Gekko is set, as well, on repairing his relationship with his daughter (Carey Mulligan), a quest that brings him into an alliance with a young trader named Jacob (Shia LaBeouf). Throughout the film, we get both MBA-level corporate discourse and you-abandoned-me familial hurt feelings.
You needn't know the first thing about a credit default swap, though, before you head to the cinema. MTV News has been betting big on this movie for years, and now we're ready to collect — and share our profits with you: Enjoy our "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" cheat sheet.
Returning to the "Street"
Fox had been developing a "Wall Street" sequel since 2007, when the economy first began its downward spiral. A green light only came in October of '08, amid those bankruptcies and bank failures. Allan Loeb ("21") was tapped to pen the script, and Douglas was reportedly interested in reprising his iconic role.
But in February, Stone told MTV News he had dropped out of the project. "I didn't want to do another 'Wall Street' movie. I think everything I had to say came through," he told us. "I'm just not interested because it's so complex now. I don't think people can understand security derivatives."
By April, however, Stone had changed his mind. He was said to be blown away by Loeb's script and jumped at the chance to helm the sequel. It probably didn't hurt, as well, that Douglas appeared likely to return and that LaBeouf was in negotiations to join up. Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella eventually signed on as well.
Getting Down to Business
Shooting kicked off in fall 2009, and we got our first look at Douglas and LaBeouf on set in October: the elder statesman rocking a casual-Friday look, the young buck in some designer duds. Charlie Sheen, who starred in the original, agreed to appear in a cameo for the new flick. "He came in. It was fun for a day. It was good to see him again," Douglas told us later.
The trailer dropped in January, giving us a grizzled, post-jail Gekko, copious shots of the go-go-go Wall Street and the supposition that greed, once good, has become legal. The movie debuted in May at the Cannes Film Festival.
Letting the Bulls Loose
As the release date approached, we got an opportunity to chat with the cast in New York and at the Toronto International Film Festival.
What convinced Stone to return for the sequel, he told us, was the chance to create "a completely new Gekko" and to dramatize an economic crisis he called "a heart attack, a real triple bypass to capitalism."
LaBeouf, meanwhile, was pulled in by the opportunity to work with Stone, whom he dubbed "the most dangerous filmmaker alive" in the 1980s and '90s. Plus, the actor views Gekko as even more compelling than key characters in two of his other starring franchises: Optimus Prime of "Transformers" and Indiana Jones.
"He's got more bite, he's more dangerous, he's the most dangerous of the three," LaBeouf said. "Also the most interesting, I think. There's something in how tangible and visceral it is. Whereas the other films are fantasy films where the suspension of disbelief is necessary for you to get into the movie. This isn't that. It's a very tangible world, and you're living in the midst of the twilight of American economic dominance."
Check out everything we've got on "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."
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Did Lady Gaga Have Any Impact On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Vote?
Lady Gaga speaks in in Portland, Maine on Monday
Photo: Cliff Kucine/ Getty Images
There are many different ways for celebrities to leverage their notoriety to help a cause. They can play a concert, write a check, make a PSA or, as in the case of actor Sean Penn, live in a meager tent in an earthquake-ravaged country for six months and run their own relief organization. But few stars have given as much in as short a time as Lady Gaga has to the cause of repealing the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"The reality is that on Saturday night we were looking at what we could do on Monday, knowing that even if we sent out an alert to our base of 80,000 supporters, we'd be talking to the same people," said Trevor Thomas, spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national organization dedicated to ending DADT. "We wanted to expand our reach and reach more people nationally and, more than anything, the two swing senators [in Maine] who could give us a chance."
The SLDN quickly hatched a plan to organize a rally in Maine on Monday in an attempt to get swing-vote Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to possibly change their votes on the repeal. That's where Lady Gaga came in. The pop icon had walked the white carpet at the VMAs with four SLDN members, shouted them out from the stage, turned her website over to the issue and posted public video pleas about the issue. When word came of this last-minute appeal, once again, she stepped up.
According to Thomas, the singer finished a show in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday night, hopped on a bus and took a 15-hour ride to Maine, personally writing her address on the way.
"The dedication from her was amazing," he said. "She wrote the speech, did the research and talked to people, and it did exactly what we need to do — highlight the issue to young people and others who might not have heard about this cause. But most importantly, we did it in this key area we needed it in."
The Gaga speech garnered massive local and national coverage for the issue, with stories in the Denver Post, USA Today and The New York Times, among others. "You can work for months to place one story in the Times' print section, and even if politics prevail and we lose the vote, more people know about the DADT repeal than did yesterday," Thomas said.
And while Gaga's mighty push to lock in the necessary votes didn't save the day when the crucial Senate vote took place on Tuesday (September 21), Thomas said her help undoubtedly had a huge impact and put a global spotlight on the policy.
From the night Gaga first spoke out on the repeal at the 2010 VMAs and redirected traffic from her official website to the SLDN site until 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Thomas said, 314,446 people clicked to the "take action" tab, which sent them to a site listing the phone numbers where U.S. senators could be reached about the vote. While it's unknown how many of those clicks turned into actual phone calls, Thomas said he was "100 percent sure" that the site would not have gotten nearly that many visits without Gaga's efforts.
The total number of visitors was nearly four times the amount of supporters SLDN had gathered pre-Gaga, but Thomas pointed out an even more impressive number. During that same two-week period, the pages on the SLDN website with background information on DADT got 520,298 page views. In contrast, during the first two weeks of the month, the site had 13,000 visitors and 30,000 page views.
"There are many people who are high-profile who speak out in a positive manner on LGBT issues," Thomas said. "But the difference here is she asked, 'What can I do?' at a time when it was critically important for the passage of our bill. Not only did she say that, but she asked how and when to do it. When you look at the past couple of weeks, you see not just strategic tweets but the video address that hit days before the critical vote and which was driving many calls to the Senate switchboard. I don't know of many entertainers who at the critical moment for a bill would stop their website and direct it to a 'take action' page for a relatively small group trying to push an issue crucially important to servicemembers and those who support them."
Before Tuesday's vote, Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — the Nevada senator exchanged DADT-related tweets last week with Gaga — said the Democratic boss welcomed Mother Monster's advocacy. "We appreciate the support of Lady Gaga and her supporters," Manley said. "Sometimes that can have an impact, especially when you are as apparently committed as she is to the cause."
Even with all of Gaga's work, CNN reported that both Collins and Snowe said Gaga's appearance at Monday's rally in Maine had no effect on their crucial votes; the final 56-43 tally helped ensure that the Senate would not open a DADT repeal discussion during its current session. Collins, in fact, supported the repeal, but told the network she felt she had to stay in line with her colleagues and vote against debate for procedural reasons.
What do you think about Gaga's efforts in the fight to repeal "don't ask, don't tell"? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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