The Music 5 & 1 12.05.11: The Horrible Exes Edition
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 12.05.2011
Roselyn Sanchez takes on Shania Twain in Vs, Kanye West is almost not arrogant for a moment, Usher's ex wants him drug tested, Jay-Z gets a college course in his honor, Mariah Carey's ex-boyfriend is writing a tell-all book, Katherine McPhee is your "& 1" Model of the Week and more!
STUFF I WANT TO TALK ABOUT
Got nothing to talk about this week; this may well become the comment response section soon if I get any good comments to respond to. Until then, onto the Girls & Gossip!
Man, it wasn't even remotely close last week, as Roselyn Sanchez continued to just destroy the competition. Paired up against Beyonce, Roselyn waltzed away with a huge win, knocking off the Queen of R&B by a 124 - 42 margin! Roslyn has only one more obstacle before she makes it into the Hall of Bang, but it is a mighty one in the woman who is possibly the hottest woman ever in pop-country history, Shania Twain! Will Shania be the spoiler or will Roselyn make it to the hallowed Hall? It's up to you, so get your vote on!
Roselyn Sanchez Vs Shania Twain
VOTE BELOW!
If there are any future participants that you would like to see in Vs, let me know either in the comments section or by email!
TWITTER BREAK!
Twitter is a powerful thing! Make sure you're following all the comings and goings around 411mania in 140 characters or less.
Being a Music Zone, you would think that we have a lot of people who love to talk about music. You would not be wrong. As such, when an album comes out that we have something to say about, we just can't help ourselves. We call that the Review Section…not the most original name, but it gets the point across! Anyway, the review section is a great place to find new music as we cover all sorts of genres and styles, from mainstream artists to lesser known acts. Here's an overview of our latest reviews.
Mac Miller - Blue Slide Park(6.0) "Mac Miller released his debut album, which was mostly a disappointment. Surprisingly the album is not all about teenage partying, and tries to be more serious. The album would have been much better had Miller stuck to what he does best, and that is create party tracks and having fun with his music. The end result is somewhat of a mess of an album that has decent production but is limited by Millers lyrical ability." - Bill Wannop
Drake - Take Care(7.0) "Drake was given full control of his latest album and the result was a big disappointment. The greater focus on the singing and R&B and less focus on the rapping make the album a much slower, and overly emotional release. Although some ladies might like the super slow songs, most fans based off his radio hits and first single will find this album to be disappointing." - Bill Wannop
Yelawolf - Radioactive(7.5) "Yelawolf created an album that truly has a mixture of everything. Long-time fans will likely gravitate to the first half of the album, where Yelawolf seems more familiar providing similar tracks to those in the past, while the latter half of the album is more geared towards pop radio. While some of the tracks are disappointments (Throw It Up) and others just don't work (Slumerican Shitizen), Yelawolf kept enough of his signature sound to garner a successful debut." - Bill Wannop
M.O.P. & Snowgoons - Sparta(8.5) "M.O.P. make a triumphant return to the raw, gritty hip hop that they are loved for. With great production from the Snowgoons, mixed with the hardcore lyrics from M.O.P. the album moves along at a quick pace and has you wishing there were more than 10 tracks. Whether you are an old school fan of the Mash Out Posse or someone who is just listening to them for the first time you will be equally impressed with this album." - Bill Wannop
Lady Gaga - A Very Gaga Holiday EP(6.5) "In just four songs, Gaga aims for numerous things. She wants a home-for-the-holidays feeling, a classic vocal pop record and a unique rapport with her loyal Little Monsters. It could also feasibly be a Gaga record for people who don't really take heed to her usual style. Or it would be had it not been for her own personal traits and excesses that still manage to permeate the EP (still laughing that she stopped a song to tell a story about cookies). Worth hearing if you like that old style, or if you long to have a taste of Gaga without the beats and craziness. For the most part, though, it's for fans, even if this is all still pretty good music. Here's hoping she tries this style again one day." - Wyatt E.
MUSIC VIDEO A-GO-GO
This is so surreal that I just don't have a better introduction for it. Check out none other than Mike Tyson singing "The From Ipanema" on Brazilian TV recently and try to wrap your head around it:
CRAZY GALLAGHER QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I'll tell you what: he's playing 50 percent Oasis material, which says to me that he's a complete fucking parasite. He's a complete fucking shitbag."
- Liam displays his ever-present brotherly love in comments about Noel playing Oasis songs in his concerts.
"It takes balls to go onstage and not play Oasis songs. I don't miss those songs yet, but we're definitely going to play them on the next tour. We just wanted to get this album out and let people know who we are and that we're [just fine] without Noel Gallagher. As long as you don't let nostalgia take over, we'll definitely keep our eyes on the future. So instead of playing 10 Oasis songs, we'll play two or three."
- Liam on his decision to play Oasis songs in Beady Eye's upcoming tour.
BUBBLING UNDER You know what time it is, folks...these are the stories that I found worth touching on but didn't quite make the Top Five and thus become little bites of snark as opposed to a full course of it.
Brand Name Suggestion #1: MMMMBudweiser
You have to hand it to Hanson for continuing to be successful years after at least one of them statistically should have been dead from the standard child star premature drug overdose incident. The boy band that annoyed the crap out of the world in the 1990s with "MMMBop" have managed to continue as a music group and now are expanding out to other products, specifically their own beer. The brew, titled "MMMHop," was announced by drummer Zac who said, "We are soon going to be selling our own beer … I'm not joking – MMMhop IPA anyone?" On one hand, I'm a little depressed that these guys are now old enough to drink beer, much less make their own. On the other, I suppose this gives hope to Justin Bieber that there is a shot at him having a career once his music stardom bubble breaks.
He probably wouldn't make a good doorman, though
Will.i.am to Be a Coach on The Voice UK
Is it possible to be a coach on a singing competition called The Voice when no one knows what your natural singing voice sounds like anymore? Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am is about to explore that question, as he's signed on to help guide the path of contestants on the UK version of the NBC show that stars Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo Green here stateside. I like the Peas and all, but you have to question whether the show's producers will allow Will to Auto-Tune the hell out of the contestant's voices, because that seems to be his strongest skill as a producer. Will will join Jessie J as a Coach with Cheryl Cole rumored to be up for another spot. And suddenly, the reason for Will signing on becomes clear.
Not that I can blame Will for being a bit obsessed...
Adele Using Voice-Generating App To Speak
In the wake of her recent throat surgery, Adele isn't taking any chances in terms of damaging her voice. Frankly, I wouldn't either if I were her. The British pop star has been using a voice-generating app for her smartphone in order to speak, since she's unable to talk until it fully heals for fear of causing further damage. "She's been using the speaking app to buy coffee at Starbucks and to order cabs," says a source. It is far easier to communicate using it rather than writing everything down on paper and showing people." I find it ironic that Adele has finally joined the other 99% of the pop music world in relying on a voice app, but that unlike the rest she actually sounds worse through the app than she does naturally.
I'm not saying she's Auto-Tuned all to hell, but I am saying that
it's a good thing she has a variety of talents to rely on.
Bono Thinks He Sounds Like A Girl
The frontman of U2, it would seem, doesn't like the sound of his own voice. Bono told Ellen DeGeneres that he does his best to avoid the songs recorded during the early part of the band's career because he doesn't like the way he sounds. "I do try to avoid it," he said. "If I hear our songs on the radio I tend to turn them down. Not because I don't like them or believe in them. Actually, my voice annoys me. I always think I could have sang it better. I am sort of a macho, Irish guy and particularly in those '80s songs, I think I sound like a girl." What he doesn't know is that most people agree that he sounds like a girl, but only when he complains about how hard it is to be a rock star.
Not that girls are whiny, mind. Just that Bono makes it
sound like that's the case.
It's time to crank this mother up to 11 as we take a look at some random stuff from the last week and one smoking hottie.
*****
Kanye West Is Almost Not Egotistical For a Moment, Then Makes Up For It
I love Kanye West. And of course by "love," I mean "enjoy his music and wouldn't mind seeing him get his ass kicked." Don't get me wrong, the guy's great when the tape rolls and he's almost always entertaining to hear bluster about and make insanely egotistical statements about himself, but I don't know many people who deserve to get knocked down a peg or two more than Yeezy. Maybe Lady Gaga during some of her most pretentious moments, but even that's splitting hairs. Lately however, it seems like Kanye's been getting a little perspective as he's done things like treat a whole hotel staff to free tickets to a Watch the Throne contest and generally keeping his mouth shut; even when he's opened it he's seemed fairly toned down.
Case in point: this past week's Grammy nominations. Kanye actually headed up the list of nominations with seven nods, but his name was noticeably absent from the Best Album category where he was passed by in favor of Adele, Foo Fighters, Gaga, Bruno Mars and Rihanna. Now I'm not one to cry about snubs and conspiracies and such, but the idea that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy got passed up in favor of Rihanna's Loud has to be one of the dumbest oversights in recent music awards show memory. Nothing against our Barbadosian pop beauty, but Loud was merely an okay album while MBDTF is easily one of the best albums of the last twelve months.
If the Grammys were decided by sex appeal though, she'd totally be in.
With this snub in place and Kanye's well-known propensity for conspiracy theories against him, one would expect that the man would have been shouting to the mountain tops about how the world was out to get him and it was completely unfair and such. That's why it was so surprising--pleasantly so--when he turned out to have a much more balanced take on the subject. When asked about the snub Kanye said, "People focus, they say, 'You ain't have Album of the Year or Record of the Year.' But I figured out though, that's my fault for dropping 'Watch the Throne' and 'Dark Fantasy' the same year. I should have just spaced it out a little bit more. "But don't worry, because me and Hov gonna keep on making shit." I know a lot of people might consider this typical Kanye egotism, but he's not necessarily saying that both albums deserved to be voted Album of the Year, just that they split the votes and frankly, he's probably right. Awards shows have been notorious for snubbing work when there have been a way to split the votes, whether it was the Academy Awards splitting on two actors or actresses in the same category for the same film, multiple works by the same artist causing dissention in the voting or so on. I don't personally think that Watch the Throne should have been nominated for Album of the Year, but a lot of people do and I would not at all be surprised if it's what caused the better of Kanye's album to get left in the dust by other, lesser works. So I'll give the man credit; for a guy who talked about how he was passed over in favor of Britney Spears for the MTV Music Awards opening performance a few years back because he was black, this is a remarkably sane statement.
Of course, you knew it couldn't last, and it didn't take long for him to hop back on the arrogance bus with his ego intact. This week a video made its way around the internet where he said that he hoped his funeral would be attended by all of the world leaders he'll be helping to create. "The people I want to be there [at my funeral] are like world leaders," he said. "Ones that say, 'Kanye gave me my first shot, he told me to believe in myself'. I want to affect people like that if I pass away. It's a mission in this amount of time. When the light bulb was invented it wasn't to stop a war. I'm not saying what I'm doing is the most important thing that's happening on the planet. But it's necessary. Just like one teacher teaching in a class." See Kanye...this is why we can't have nice things such as the hope you might stop saying dumb shit. Because every time you give us a reason to hope, you shoot that hope in the foot. Way to go, my man.
There are actually four other people in this picture; you just can't see them
because Gaga and Kanye's collective egos are forcing them out of focus.
Usher's Ex Wants Him Busted For Wellness Violation
Divorce is an ugly thing, and child custody disputes are even uglier. What's worse is that it never truly ends. Take Usher, for example. The R&B singer settled his divorce with ex-wife Tameka Raymond back in 2009 and got joint custody of their two children, but now two years later Tameka's back trying to get full control of the kids. Tameka filed a request early last week trying to get Usher's right to custody stripped because he's falling down in his legal obligations as a parent. According to Tameka the man who brought us part two of his confessions has neglected to get her approval before hiring nannies, give her the first chance to watch the kids when he's away for more than eight hours, let her take the kids for a couple of weeks this last summer and, probably most importantly to her, shut off her Saks 5th Avenue credit card.
I tried to figure out how that was relevant to being a parent and just gave up.
Apparently Tameka has decided those charges aren't enough though, so she's taken her allegations another step by demanding that Usher take a drug test. She claims that he's been doing drugs and has proof in the form of video footage that shows Usher "in delirium" on stage in Germany back in January, and wants him to back up his claims that he was just sick. "I really feel strongly that something was going on there, and it wasn't, ‘Oh I have laryngitis,'" she said. "I believe he gets high. And if he doesn't then he'd take the drug test, correct?" Usher, of course, is denying the reports and calling them "frivolous." Personally I would officially respond with "Crazy bitch be graspin' at straws," but that's just me. Tameka also wants a rush put on the drug test requirement as she is concerned that it will soon be too late and the man may soon be able to cleanse his body of the drugs, and has gone to a judge in order to obtain a court order.
Listen, I'm no fan of most of Usher's music, especially these days. "OMG" is one of the worst songs I've heard in the last two years and I can never get it out of my head. I'm also not denying the fact that it's possible the dude is doing drugs. But I think Foster's claims here reek of desperation. First off, if the only proof she has is video footage of him "in delirium" during a concert in Germany, that's pretty sketchy. Is she trying to say that in the last eleven months that he's supposedly been getting high, she hasn't been able to get anything more substantial? Also, the old "Take the test and if you don't, you're guilty" argument has been proven to be an invalid one many times over. Let's be honest; the girl is pissed that she lost her Saks card and she wants to take it out on him. Let this be a lesson, aspiring pop stars: make sure your woman isn't crazy before you hook up. It'll pay off in the long run.
Not that crazy isn't hot sometimes...
Jay-Z 101: Required Course Study For a Bachelor In Thuganomics
I love it when celebrities become the focus of college courses, mostly because the reaction of most people to the news is highly entertaining. It's certainly not a new phenomenon; USC and UCLA have offered classes on The Beatles, Syracuse had a Radiohead course, Bates College created a course about Whoopi Goldberg's controversial public persona and other colleges have had courses on everything from Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan to Lady Gaga, Lil' Kim, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tupac Shakur and more. But every time it happens, someone somewhere has to go all into an uproar about it and talk about how it's a superfluous college course that is a waste of good money for parents. The latest celebrity to be offered for study is none other than the King of hip-hop himself, Jay-Z. Jay has become the subject of a college course at Georgetown University called "Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay-Z" and is taught by Michael Eric Dyson. Dyson, who taught the aforementioned Tupac one, is using Jay-Z's lyrics to study sociological issues such as racial and gender identity, sexuality, capitalism and economic inequality in America.
Also studied are the various problems you can have, other than a bitch.
Of course, not everyone is a fan of the course. People are busy shaking their heads across the internet and even on Georgetown's campus there are a few people speaking out. Take student Stephen Wu for example, who published an opinion piece in a student newspaper calling the course "poppycock" and stating, "It speaks volumes that we engage in the beat of [Jay-Z]'s pseudo-music while we scrounge to find serious academic offerings on Beethoven and Liszt. We dissect the lyrics of 'Big Pimpin',' but we don't read Spenser or Sophocles closely." No offense to Mister Wu, but I think the fact that he used "poppycock" in a completely non-ironic sense shows exactly how in touch he is with current social standards; the guy could probably use a little education in how to deal with actual human beings.
In all seriousness, I'm sympathetic to Wu's complaint to a certain degree but I have to think that he's skewing things a bit because he's angry that a small percentage of his tuition toward the Old English degree that he's diligently studying for is going to the study of a one of those speaking singer types. I don't have the full class list of Georgetown University's philosophy department but I would be willing to bet that Sophocles is mentioned in there somewhere. He may or may not have a full class dedicated to his works, but it's not like people aren't coming out of Georgetown saying, "Dude, is he the guy that Bill and Ted went back in time for? Oh no, that's So-crates..." Whether you're a fan of Jay's music or not, you can't deny that he is an important part of the current socio-political climate. Sure, he's a pop culture icon too but his work has been a huge influence on the direction of modern music and if you want to talk about his influence...well, Barack Obama has him on a few iPod playlists. I'm not trying to say that the President uses "Big Pimpin'" to inspire his foreign policy, but he's certainly more relevant to the modern mindset than Pachelbel.
And his wife is more attractive, too.
I can understand people being frustrated that with the combination of rising tuition costs and courses directed toward people they don't necessarily consider important, but let's also be honest. When I was in college I took a karate class because I needed some sort of physical education requirement. And no, this wasn't some class where we studied the philosophy to make us better people as well as conditioned athletes; this was a class where we spent an hour two days a week practicing front kicks. I also took airbrushing, a pretty superfluous class unless you're in art major, which I wasn't. Does that mean I wasted a little money? Actually, I probably did. But the fact remains that in college, you need a few classes that are not heavy, intensive study toward your major and have the potential to help burn you out on what you want to do with your life. A class on Jay-Z or someone similar is the kind of class you can take as a diversion, and you'll even learn something in the process about how pop culture influences the world in very real ways. I can't think of anything wrong with that, can you?
A course on Ke$ha is where I draw the line, for the record.
Mariah's Ex Has A Lot to Say
For a price, of course. That's right, Mariah Carey's ex-boyfriend Damizza has written a tell-all book about his relationship with the multi-octave singer. According to the man--real name Damion Young--the book, which is set to be released on the 14th of the month, will "come clean about his dating relationship with Mariah, J-Lo stealing Mariah's music, and Mariah using Facebook's lawyers to serve him a new confidentiality agreement." I wish that was all that he'd said, but unfortunately the crazy didn't stop there; he issued a full statement that for the sake of your precious sanity I won't reprint in full here. All you need to know is that he tells Nick Cannon to step back and let him speak, that dating Mariah "was hell," that the book isn't about money or exploiting artists and that it's "the most sanitized version of my story I could give, without hurting any one's feelings." Um...and I want to read a sanitized version why?
Three words: Potential Nude Pictures.
In all seriousness, I have no reason why I would want to read this. I'm not particularly interested in Mariah Carey's life in the first place, and I'm certainly not interested in hearing what a guy who thought "Damizza" was a good professional name has to say about dating herm particularly in a sanitized form. If I want some fun hints at what it's like to date someone as crazy as Mariah is, I'll listen to some Eminem because at least he's entertaining to listen to. Reading Damizza's statement alone killed enough brain cells that I feel like I have to go back to school again...which on the plus side, means that maybe I can take a course on Jay-Z, but I digress. I'm not going to deny that Mariah is a hell of a singer, even if her pseudo-pop/R&B-mix wannabe music isn't my thing. But I don't care if Jennifer Lopez stole a song or two from her, and I certainly don't care if she's slapping restraining orders on self-important douchebag ex-boyfriends, so reading about those things aren't my cup of tea. If Damizza has some insight into why Mariah thought doing Glitter was a good idea than I might check his book out; otherwise I expect it to be in the bargain bin in no time.
Seriously though, why Glitter?
New Music Monday
This is the home of some of the best new music that will soon be available, where you get to hear the hottest new tracks and find out about forthcoming albums and videos as well.
Nicki Minaj has released the first track from her upcoming, all-Roman album. Check out "Roman in Moscow" below:
50 Cent has a new mixtape on the way. The tape is titled Big 10 and is being released to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his first mixtape release. Check out one of the songs below, titled "Stop Crying":
Now it's time for the reason you're here, the ‘&1 Model of the Week'.
This week's Model of the Week is known for both her music and a touch of acting as well. She first gained TV notoriety as the runner-up on season five of American Idol and has parlayed that into a successful film and music career. Say hello to your "& 1" Model of the Week, Miss Katherine McPhee!
NOW THAT I'M DONE…
You can go and read some more greatness on 411.
Let's start by giving a shout-out to the rest of the 5&1 Illuminati! There's Steve Gustafson, who brings you the hottest in movie tidbits and girls with the original Hollywood 5 & 1; Greg DeMarco, who brings you the hottest chicks who could kick my ass in the Wrestling 5 & 1 and now Stewart Lange, who has brought the 5&1 to the Octagon with the MMA 5 & 1! The 5 & 1 Illuminati is expanding and growing ever stronger; world domination isn't far behind!
When you are done checking out how the other zones roll, go read all the goodness in the rest of the Music Zone.
Make sure to click the Facebook and Twitter "Like" links, as well as the new Google +1 option, and support 411mania, your home for the best in pop culture entertainment news.
And that's all, folks! I'm out...have a good Monday and come back for more 411 tomorrow!
Posted By: Ramone (Guest) on December 05, 2011 at 03:17 AM
Shania
Posted By: Cabbage (Guest) on December 05, 2011 at 06:46 AM
Can't believe people are voting for Shania. Take away the rack and she's Celine Dion's retarded sister.
Posted By: Mojotheclown (Guest) on December 05, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Sanchez by a damn mile...
Kanye is an idiot. I wish he was just playing a role, but i really believe he thinks this shit. I'm pretty sure Jay-Z gives him the side eye on a regular basis.
Actually like the 50 track.
Posted By: Slickback Ivanhoe (Guest) on December 05, 2011 at 11:41 AM
For looks only, give it to Shania. Only song I've heard from Mariah is one about a hero. I think it's hers. Cannot listen to her do Holiday music. Spoils the mood. By looking at all the other pictures of the "talents" out there, should we determine that when all is said and done, this is where their talents really are?
Posted By: guest (Guest) on December 05, 2011 at 11:54 AM
It baffles me of how many votes Shania is getting over Sanchez. You know where my vote is going.
Posted By: SS87 (Guest) on December 06, 2011 at 01:45 PM
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"Mac Miller released his debut album, which was mostly a disappointment. Surprisingly the album is not all about teenage partying, and tries to be more serious. The album would have been much better had Miller stuck to what he does best, and that is create party tracks and having fun with his music. The end result is somewhat of a mess of an album that has decent production but is limited by Millers lyrical ability." - Bill Wannop
"Drake was given full control of his latest album and the result was a big disappointment. The greater focus on the singing and R&B and less focus on the rapping make the album a much slower, and overly emotional release. Although some ladies might like the super slow songs, most fans based off his radio hits and first single will find this album to be disappointing." - Bill Wannop
"Yelawolf created an album that truly has a mixture of everything. Long-time fans will likely gravitate to the first half of the album, where Yelawolf seems more familiar providing similar tracks to those in the past, while the latter half of the album is more geared towards pop radio. While some of the tracks are disappointments (Throw It Up) and others just don't work (Slumerican Shitizen), Yelawolf kept enough of his signature sound to garner a successful debut." - Bill Wannop
"M.O.P. make a triumphant return to the raw, gritty hip hop that they are loved for. With great production from the Snowgoons, mixed with the hardcore lyrics from M.O.P. the album moves along at a quick pace and has you wishing there were more than 10 tracks. Whether you are an old school fan of the Mash Out Posse or someone who is just listening to them for the first time you will be equally impressed with this album." - Bill Wannop
"In just four songs, Gaga aims for numerous things. She wants a home-for-the-holidays feeling, a classic vocal pop record and a unique rapport with her loyal Little Monsters. It could also feasibly be a Gaga record for people who don't really take heed to her usual style. Or it would be had it not been for her own personal traits and excesses that still manage to permeate the EP (still laughing that she stopped a song to tell a story about cookies). Worth hearing if you like that old style, or if you long to have a taste of Gaga without the beats and craziness. For the most part, though, it's for fans, even if this is all still pretty good music. Here's hoping she tries this style again one day." - Wyatt E.
