Usher, Ke$ha And More Help Dance Music Go Pop In 2010

But is it here to stay? Our music-industry experts weigh in.
By Akshay Bhansali


Ke$ha
Photo: Andreas Rentz/ Getty Images

In 2010, pop princesses, R&B icons and chart-dominating newcomers all danced to the same beat. Not only did dance music go pop, but pop music caught the club-music bug.

Between Katy Perry's "Firework," Ke$ha's "We R Who We R," Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)," Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It," Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "OMG" and countless other singles, established artists definitely looked to dance beats for surefire hits. And two of this year's biggest success stories in music were Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz; could there be a soul left in this country who hasn't heard "Dynamite" or "In My Head"?

The love went both ways, with dance music's biggest stars finding mainstream success this year. Dance-music maestro deadmau5 took up house-artist duties at this year's VMAs, and Swedish House Mafia and Usher teamed up for a medley of their gems at the American Music Awards.

So how did this happen? We caught up with some music-industry experts to get their takes.

"You definitely saw tempos go up this year," Jon Caramanica of The New York Times told MTV News. "And I think what you had are a lot of producers who are really familiar with nightclub stuff. They are familiar with Europe. Things are happening on a more global scale now."

"I think everything from Europe, and sometimes even Asia, it comes to America, and we just adopt things a little bit slower," said Jared Eng of JustJared.com. "I think it was just a change. People like different types of music at different times. And dance was of this moment."

Noah Callahan of Complex magazine added: "I think 2010 saw the merging of the pop and dance genres. Pop artists realized that there were best practices that could be borrowed from dance music. And, ultimately, [all] pop music that has been made in the past 20 years had ended up being remixed for the club by dance artists. I think they basically just cut out the middleman and went straight there."

Dance music being introduced into the hip-hop and R&B realms was particularly notable this year.

"I think David Guetta kind of at the end of last year and the beginning of this year spearheaded it," said freelance writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd. "He produced a lot of tracks. I think as trends go, people revile 'unst-unst.' But it's just coming back around. Big-room techno was a way for people to get decadent in a year that no one could get decadent."

"You have someone like will.i.am, who's like, 'Well, I spent all this time in Ibiza, and this is what they are doing,' and he wants to find a way to bring that into his music," Caramanica said of the Black Eyed Peas mastermind. "R&B especially became dance music. And especially with your Jason Derülos, Taio Cruzes. Guys like that would have literally been blocked at the border two years ago. That would not have made it through customs. And now all of a sudden they have #1 songs. I think will.i.am had a lot to do with that last year."

Elliott Wilson of RapRadar.com added: "It's actually even affected hip-hop. I was talking to Q-Tip, and his next record, I feel like that's gonna kind of go in that vein. I know that was also Jay-Z's thought process with Blueprint 3 at first, that he wanted to make a little bit more of a world music [vibe], a little more dancey. I think the kids today want to go to the clubs. They wanna have a good time. They wanna dance. So I think the artists of today are trying to kind of feed that audience."

"I think it's caught on this year because the people who've done it have been successful," offered Clover Hope of Vibe magazine. "Like 'OMG,' with usher, he didn't have success until he made a dance record. He had 'There Goes My Baby' and these really, like, adult-contemporary records that didn't really catch on. And then once you see that everybody is doing it and that people are liking it, they are like, 'OK, let me just try this out.' It's like Auto-Tune. Like, 'Let me see what I sound like on a record by David Guetta.' They end up liking it and doing more of it."

So does the club-music trend have staying power. According to our tastemakers, not so much.

"I do think it's a blip," Caramanica said. "I don't think that's gonna be something that lasts in America. I think this is gonna be a moment we'll all look back on and go, 'Wasn't that weird when Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz had #1 records?"

"At some point, these R&B artists will get kind of sick of it and be like, 'Let me go back to my soul background,' " Hope said. "When you actually have to say something, dance doesn't really lend itself to substance. And I think that R&B artists, they really want to talk about love and in a deep way, and to do that, you need to do, like, a soul or a traditional R&B record. I want to say that it's kind of a fad."

"I think music is very cyclical," Eng offered. "So I think dance music might be here for a little bit, but I'm sure it will phase out at some point."

Wilson called dance music "the sound of today. I think that people want more aggressive, faster beats, and I think that that probably has legs until at least next summer."

What do you think? Is dance music here to stay? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655031/20101228/usher.jhtml

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Afternoon Links With Jason Statham

Jason Statham is spotted at Heathrow Airport in London. (INF) Easy and delicious Whoopie Pie recipe! (Lady & the Blog) Old Navy is having one crazy sale today! (Getting Gorgeous) Did Ryan Gosling have a fight with the “All Good … Continue reading

Source: http://www.imnotobsessed.com/2010/12/27/afternoon-links-with-jason-statham/

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'Teen Mom' Star Amber Portwood Reunited With Baby Leah

Portwood still can't have contact with ex-fiancé Gary Shirley after domestic-violence arrest.
By Terri Schwartz


"Teen Mom" stars baby Leah and Amber Portwood
Photo: Scott Gries

"Teen Mom" star Amber Portwood's hope for the "no contact" order preventing her from seeing her daughter Leah to be lifted came true. Radar Online confirmed that a judge modified the initial order Wednesday so Portwood is able to have contact with her daughter, but she is still prevented from seeing ex-fiancé Gary Shirley.

Portwood has primary custody of Leah, but the "no contact" order was put into effect after she was arrested Monday over domestic-violence charges. She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and was released on bail. Shirley kept baby Leah overnight Tuesday, but the Indiana Department of Child Services brought her back to Portwood's home Wednesday. If Portwood is convicted of any of the felonies for which she was arrested, she will lose custody of her daughter.

The charges stemmed from a September episode of "Teen Mom" that showed an altercation between Portwood and Shirley where she punched him in front of then-1-year-old Leah. Anderson, Indiana, police started investigating Portwood for domestic battery and child neglect and passed the case to the Madison County Prosecutor's Office, which issued the arrest warrant with three felony counts of domestic battery and one misdemeanor count of neglect of a dependent.

Child Protective Services have been strictly supervising Portwood since November. If they found her living situation to be unsuitable or felt that Leah was in any danger, she would be returned to her father's custody.

During the reunion episode after season two of "Teen Mom," 20-year-old Portwood opened up about the incident, saying, "I have no clue why I hurt Gary. I sort of do, but it's kind of beyond myself. I can't help myself. I have to get help and then help myself. I never notice how bad I am until I see it. And I feel so terrible. And it's like, did I really do that? The people who are around me, how do they feel? I don't remember it being that bad at the time. How did Gary feel? What the hell was I doing?"

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655113/20101230/story.jhtml

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Jeff Bridges Heaps Praise On 'True Grit' Co-Star Hailee Steinfeld

Bridges calls the 14-year-old actress' performance 'remarkable.'
By Terri Schwartz


Jeff Bridges
Photo: MTV News

With the Coen brothers' "True Grit" making its way into theaters this week, all eyes likely will be turning to newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who plays the film's young leading lady, Mattie Ross. In her first major role, the 14-year-old actress ultimately has to carry the first portion of the movie, and her performance has been garnering some serious buzz during this awards season. When MTV News caught up with Steinfeld's co-star Jeff Bridges while he was promoting "True Grit," he said he was impressed by the intensity of her performance while they were filming on set.

"What a tough, challenging role for a seasoned actor. All that dialogue, kind of tricky way of speaking. Thirteen-year-old girl, never been in a movie, and she comes up with that performance," Bridges gushed. "Isn't that remarkable?"

Steinfeld found herself surrounded by a full cast and crew of cinema veterans. The Coen brothers won an Oscar for directing 2008's "No Country for Old Men" and have been nominated two other times, Bridges took home a Best Actor Oscar for his role in last year's "Crazy Heart," and Matt Damon and Josh Brolin both have received Academy Award nods in acting categories in the past. But Bridges said Steinfeld didn't need any acting tips from himself or any of the other castmembers.

"I might have slipped out a tip once or twice, and I always regret when I would do that. It's almost like a reflex action — you can't help but put yourself into the other actor's position sometimes," he explained. "I always appreciate a tip from some guy, one of the other players, but no, I let her run free. The brothers directed her beautifully."

With all the buzz Steinfeld has been getting for her "True Grit" performance, she now is one of the main actresses being looked at to play another strong female character: Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games." When Steinfeld spoke with MTV recently while promoting "True Grit," she said it "would definitely be an honor" to even be considered for the Katniss role.

"I didn't even realize that people were mentioning my name," she said. "It's every actor's dream to be recognized for something that they love to do, and to get recognized for that is pretty amazing. I thank the people out there who think that."

Check out everything we've got on "True Grit."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1654886/20101223/story.jhtml

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Free Jeans!

So I'm FINALLY getting around to giving away all those Gap 1969 jeans left over from my Gap party a year ago. I know, I know... no excuses as to why it has taken me so long to do this; I've just been busy, I guess. So, here's what I have:

I have nine pairs of Gap 1969 jeans, six certificates for a free pair of Gap 1969 jeans (redeemable in stores only), and one $50 gift card (redeemable online or in stores.)

All of the jeans are brand new, although they may have been tried on by someone at my party. In my opinion, they run a size too big, so if you're unsure how the new Gap jeans fit you, I'd go down a size. Please note, if you win a size that doesn't fit, I don't think you'll be unable to exchange them at a Gap store because they say "sample" on the inside tag.

A note on the jeans... I LOVE THEM. And I'm not just saying that. My favorite style is the Long & Lean, which are a wider leg/trouser-type jean. I don't have any L&Ls to give away, but you can find them in the stores. In the past year I've gone through about five pairs of them because I wear them every. single. day. No joke.

Okay, here are the style/sizes I have to give away:

 

Sexy Boot

Low Rise, Slim in the Hip and Thigh, Boot Cut Leg Opening

Medium Wash, Sizes:

  • 26/2L (I have 2 pairs of these)
  • 28/6L
  • 29/8L
  • 31/12L

 

Real Straight

Low Rise, Slim in the Hip and Thigh, Straight Leg Opening

Dark Wash, Size: 

  • 27/4

 

Always Skinny

Low Rise, Skinny in the Hip and Thigh, Slim Leg Opening

Saturated Dark Wash, Sizes:

  • 27/4
  • 30/10
  • 31/12

 

And now, here is how you win. First, take note of the letter that corresponds to the item(s) you want to win.

  • A  -  $50 Gap Gift Card
  • B  -  Gift Certificate for One Pair of Gap 1969 Jeans (I have six)
  • C  -  Sexy Boot 26/2L (I have two pairs)
  • D  -  Sexy Boot 28/6L
  • E  -  Sexy Boot 29/8L
  • F  -  Sexy Boot 31/12L
  • G  -  Real Straight 27/4
  • H  -  Always Skinny 27/4
  • I  -  Always Skinny 30/10
  • J  -  Always Skinny 31/12

Next, leave a comment with your first name and last initial and the letter(s) of the item(s) you want to win.

Example:

Susie Q.

A, B, G

Important: Make sure you enter your email address in the email address box when leaving your comment; I will be the only one who will see it and it's how I'll get in touch with you if you win; it will not appear in the comment section.

And finally, please do not write something like "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J" or "I want to enter to win everything!" next to your name. I know you don't wear a size 2 and a size 12, so let someone who actually wears the size win. It's not nice to be a contest piggy!

Okay, so I will close comments and pick winners randomly this Thursday 12/9 in the morning.

Good luck! I hope you win!

Happy Holidays!

Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2010/12/7/free-jeans.html

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