'American Idol' judges aren't looking to hop on the 'Moves Like Jagger' bandwagon with their own collabo, Lopez tells MTV News. By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Jim Cantiello
Jennifer Lopez Photo: Michael Caulfield/ Getty Images
The usual rule in Hollywood is that if something works once, it's probably worth doing it again, and again, and again, and then maybe once more just to make sure the concept hasn't run out of legs.
But even though "The Voice" mentors Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera smashed digital sales records with their collaboration "Moves Like Jagger," don't expect "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez to follow in their fancy footsteps.
"None of us are kind of followers in that way," Lopez told MTV News when asked if she and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler might consider putting their very different pipes together to see if they could capture their own lightning in a bottle. "We kind of do what feels right, and anybody that's been in the business a long time knows that you don't chase."
You could see why they might consider it, though. Since joining the revamped "Idol" panel last year, Lopez and Tyler have helped set a standard for how career artists can reboot their fortunes by making a move to prime time. Aerosmith's back catalog sales blew up, while Lopez scored her biggest hit in years with the "Idol"-promoted single "On the Floor."
Despite that visibility, the singer said she's not into leading from behind. "You set the trail. You go out front, and anything that we do is something that feels good to us," she said, leaving the door open just a crack. "If that happened, it would happen. If a performance happened, it would happen. But it would have to feel real. ... Last year, we talked about performing together on the show for the finale, and we just couldn't agree on the same thing that felt good for all of us, so we just didn't do it."
Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
Five officers filed a defamation suit against Game in 2006 following the MC's arrest at a North Carolina mall. By Rob Markman
Game Photo: Peter Kramer/ Getty Images
Game's pockets are about to become significantly lighter. On Tuesday, a North Carolina appeals court judge ruled that the Documentary MC pay $5 million in damages to five Greensboro police officers upholding a 2006 ruling, according to report for local North Carolina affiliate My Fox 8.
The suit stems from an October 2005 incident, when Game was arrested at the Four Seasons Town Centre mall in North Carolina. Originally, Game was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct when he went into the mall to sign autographs wearing a mask. Mall security said that the rapper was wearing a full-face Halloween mask and cursing loudly. When Game was asked to leave, he refused and was arrested soon after.
The rapper's crew filmed the arrest and included an edited portion of it in a DVD titled "Stop Snitchin', Stop Lyin'," a documentary-style film which Game co-produced. The five officers filed a defamation suit against the rapper in 2006. The suit accused Game and Bungalo Records Inc. (a second producer of the film) of libel and slander, claiming their identities were wrongfully used.
Now, the five arresting officers (Hien Nguyen, Matthew Brown, Ryan Childrey, Romaine Watkins and David Gregory) will receive $1 million each for compensatory damages. The officers are also seeking an additional $10 million in punitive damages, but the appeals court decided a new trial would be set for that particular ruling.
21 sets a new high mark for post-Grammy sales. By Gil Kaufman
Adele at the 2012 Grammys Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Adele is starting to make this look a little too easy. And also, who out there doesn't own 21 already? After all, they've had a full year to get their act together.
In the same week that she celebrates 52 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, all of them spent in the top 10, the singer set yet another high-water mark when she notched the biggest sales week yet following her Grammy Awards comeback. In the wake of her six-for-six night at the awards show, Adele rolled up her biggest sales week to date, moving 730,000 copies, more than doubling her previous high mark of 399,000 for the week ending December 25, 2011, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.
The last album to sell more copies in a single week before Adele's big jump was Lil Wayne, whose Tha Carter IV moved 964,000 in August 2011. To put her giant leap into perspective, in her 52nd week on the charts, Adele moved the third-highest amount of product of any artist in the past year, surpassed only by Lady Gaga's Born This Way (1.1 million) and Weezy, and coming in ahead of highly anticipated chart bows by Drake (631,000), Coldplay (447,000), Jay-Z and Kanye West (436,000), Lady Antebellum (347,000), Beyoncé (310,000), Britney Spears (276,000) and Chris Brown (270,000).
Among the other records Adele set with her massive week:
» The biggest weekly sales increase following a Grammy win in the, um, 21-year history of SoundScan. With her 207 percent bump, Adele beat the previous record holder, Norah Jones, who sold 621,000 (a 331 percent increase) following her five Grammy wins in 2003 for Come Away With Me.
» With her massive sales hike, Adele became the first artist to go double-platinum on iTunes.
» With 21 non-consecutive weeks at #1, Adele now holds the record for the longest #1 album by a woman in Billboard history, beating the record formerly held by the late Whitney Houston's soundtrack to "The Bodyguard."
And it wasn't just 21 that got the Grammy love. Adele's debut, 19, zoomed up five spots to #4 thanks to a 144 percent sales increase, with 87,000 copies sold, setting another one-week sales best by eclipsing its previous high of 71,000 units shifted for the week ending December 25, 2011.
In the first full chart week after her death, Houston's only greatest-hits collection, Whitney: The Greatest Hits, saw a sales increase of 174 percent, shifting 175,000 copies to move up four spots to #2.
The rest of the top 10: Now 41 (#3, 94,000), 2012 Grammy Nominees (#5, 85,000), Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth (#6, down 69 percent in its second week on sales of 58,000) and Paul McCartney's Kisses on the Bottom (#7, 58,000).
A number of acts also got a significant Grammy boost, including performer Bruno Mars, whose Doo-Wops & Hooligans rose 133 percent on sales of 38,000, bumping it up 22 spots to #8; Lady Antebellum, whose Own the Night was up eight to #9 (37,000, up 47 percent); and the Civil Wars, who rocketed up 31 spots to #10 with Barton Hollow (36,000, up 178 percent).
Coldplay got a more modest boost from their performance, as Mylo Xyloto inched up three spots to #11 on a 26 percent sales increase to 35,000, while Grammy winners Foo Fighters were up 134 percent and 28 spots to #21 with Wasting Light (23,000).
Further down the line, two other Houston albums, her self-titled debut and the soundtrack to "The Bodyguard," both sold more than 17,000 copies, seeing respective sales increases of 113 and 123 percent.
Over on the iTunes charts, Grammy performer Katy Perry topped the singles tally with her new single, "Part of Me," followed by Houston's iconic cover of "I Will Always Love You," Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain" and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."
Coming in at #6 were buzz band fun. with "We Are Young," Nicki Minaj with "Starships," Brown's "Turn up the Music," Adele's "Someone Like You" and One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful."
21 was at #1 on the iTunes albums chart, followed by Houston's greatest-hits comp, the Civil Wars' Barton Hollow, Adele's 19, Coldplay, the Grammy compilation, Mars, Clarkson's Stronger, the Fray's Scars & Stories and Grammy winner Bon Iver's self-titled album.
With Houston's chart record in the rearview, next up for Adele is the 24-week #1 reigns of the "Saturday Night Fever" and "Purple Rain" soundtracks. She should be safe for another week, as the only competition coming up in the next chart frame is from Sleigh Bells, Tyga and fun.
'A lot of people kinda taking our swag too; I just wanted to bring that back and take that back from them,' Bangz tells Mixtape Daily. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Maurice Bobb
Kirko Bangz Photo: Warner Bros.
Mixtape Daily Main Pick Headliner: Kirko Bangz
Representing: Houston
Mixtape: Progression 2: A Young Texas Playa
Real Spit: Kirko Bangz has been progressing quite nicely. Even before his breakout single "Drank in My Cup" began charting on the Billboard Hot 100, the Houston upstart was laying groundwork in H-Town's mixtape scene. In 2009, he dropped the aptly titled Progression, and now, three years later, he has followed up with its sequel Progression 2: A Young Texas Playa on mixtape site Datpiff.
In this new digital era, where most rap artists occupy the same space on the Internet, it seems that where a rapper hails from has become less important. Still, Bangz clearly is looking to put on for his city.
"People were like, 'Where you from?' They thought I was from Cali, Atlanta, stuff like that. So really, with the mixtape and my last single 'Drank in My Cup,' I wanted people to know I was from H-Town," Kirko told Mixtape Daily. "It's real H-Town: We have stuff for the girls, of course, we got hip-hop stuff, we got storytelling stuff."
Progression 2 starts off with "Say Hello," an introductory freestyle over DJ Khaled and Drake's "I'm On One." It's not surprising that Kirko would jump on a track Drizzy has made famous, considering he has drawn more than a few comparisons to the Toronto rapper, thanks to his penchant for both rapping and singing. While Drake is openly inspired by Houston's screw culture, Kirko truly embodies his city's sonic characteristics on "Drank in My Cup." The slow-rolling, lean-inspired cut repurposes Houston's signature underground sound for radio; it debuted at #96 on Billboard's Hot 100 this week.
"A lot of people kinda taking our swag too. I just wanted to bring that back and take that back from them," Bangz said, never naming who the swagger jackers actually are.
On "Play Me," KB takes on Drake's "Trust Issues" and furthers the comparisons. Paul Wall reps for H-Town and shows up on "Knowmtalmbout," and on "Trill Young N---a," Kirk stakes his claim in the streets of his hometown.
For the most part Progression 2 keeps a consistent vibe with a number of soul-dripped, screw-inspired anthems. He does switch things up however, particularly on towards the end on the hilarious story-telling joint "Ugly Bitches" where he recalls all of his less than glamorous sexual conquests.
It's not flawless, but over the course of 13 tracks, Kirko Bangz shows a pretty solid progression.
Joints to Check For » "Touch the Sky." "It was really brought to me, like, it was already on a plate; I just had to put the food on the plate. I wanted a real hip-hop type beat. A lot of people don't know that I actually can spit a little bit, so I wanted to spit and touch on a lot of things that I thought about. Like a lot of people say a lot of stuff about me, so I touched on those things on that song and kept it real hip-hop.
» "Play Me." "I feel like a lot of people and girls be trying to play me. I'mma playa, so I had to address that situation, like, 'Don't try and play me.' "
First-ever festival is set for March 15 at South by Southwest and will lead up to the awards themselves. By James Montgomery
Chiddy Bang Photo: Patrick Ford/Redferns
The 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards will return to Austin, Texas, on March 15, during South by Southwest, and they're definitely getting in the spirit of the annual festival.
First, they announced this year's nominees, an epically diverse field that includes everyone from Jay-Z and Kanye West, the Black Keys and Skrillex to up-and-comers like Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino and Cloud Nothings. Then they announced the first round of performers for the first-ever Woodies Fest, a (grammatically adventurous) list topped by Fun., Wallpaper. and A$AP Rocky.
The 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Festival will take place March 15 down at SXSW and is open to both badge-holders and uncredited music fans alike. The entire fest will also stream live on Woodies.mtvU.com and leads up to the awards themselves. On Sunday, March 18, the best moments from the Woodies will be broadcast in a 30-minute special airing on MTV and mtvU at 8 p.m. ET.
Voting is also under way in all Woodies categories — including Woodie of the Year and the coveted Best Video Woodie — and will remain open until March 9. Voting in the Breaking Woodie category will continue during the live show March 15. Fans can cast ballots in all categories through the Woodies' website, on their mobile phones at M.MTV.com or by texting VOTE to 66333. Standard message and data rates may apply.
The 2012 mtvU Woodies invade SXSW on March 15 with the Woodies Festival. The best of the 2012 mtvU Woodies will air on MTV and mtvU on March 18 at 8 p.m. ET.
