VMAs Backstage: Five Things You Didn't See

Find out what happened backstage at the 2011 MTV VMAs.
By Kara Warner, with additional reporting by Matt Elias and Jim Cantiello


Beyoncé
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

For all the unforgettable moments that occurred onstage during the VMAs on Sunday night, there were just as many equally amazing happenings that went down behind-the-scenes. Thanks to our VIP connections, MTV News had access to everything that happened before, after and during the live broadcast. Therefore, in no particular order, we are proud to present five moments you didn't get to see:

Gaga's Gentlemanly Behavior Leaves Celebs Starstruck
As is her M.O., Lady Gaga's presence at the VMAs was a highlight in and of itself, and every celeb who encountered her had a wide-eyed story to tell of his/her encounter. Particularly Foo Fighter Dave Grohl's first introduction to Gaga as her alter ego Jo Calderone.

"I got to meet her for the first time tonight [as Jo Calderone]," Grohl said of meeting Gaga when he went to say hello to Queen guitarist Brian May, who performed with her during the show. "I was like, 'Brian May, what's up!' and she was right next to him and I said, 'Hi, I'm Dave,' and she goes 'I know who the f--- you are!' Yeah, it was rad."

We spotted Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and more hanging out backstage!

Another Gaga-centric highlight occurred during one of the commercial breaks, when Gaga as the confident ladies' man Jo Calderone (or Gago, as Twitter users tagged him last night) took a cigarette from behind his ear, lit it and smoothly passed it to Adele.

'Jersey Shore' Stars Make Friends Everywhere They Go
As part of the MTV family, the stars of "Jersey Shore" have become welcome additions to any and all of our awards shows. We witnessed the ladies of Seaside Heights — JWoww, Snooki and Deena — palling around with new BFF, none other than "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens. Later on we spotted them crossing paths with Jared Leto, which produced the following exchange: JWoww to Jared Leto: "Wow. I'm a huge fan! 'The Kill' is my favorite!" Leto: "Thank you so much!" Snooki, once they had passed the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman: "Aah?" To which Jenni replied, "That was Jared Leto. Don't you know who Jared Leto is?!"

Tyler, The Creator's Accidental Stage Dive Sends Him Into Unlikely Arms
Immediately following their win for Best New Artist, the many members of Odd Future and their assorted entourage were trying to shuffle off the circular stage, when suddenly there was a loud noise and everyone in the audience in the right section gasped. It was clear from the commotion that a member from Future had fallen off the stage. When the dust finally settled, we saw two unexpected heroes holding frontman Tyler, the Creator up: Kanye West and Kid Cudi.

Go behind-the-scenes with Wiz Khalifa, Kreayshawn and more at the VMA Pre-Show!

"It was really hard, but [the tears] came out when I fell offstage into Kanye's arms," Tyler half-joked as he processed the emotions surrounding his win and his almost fall.

Jay Z And Beyoncé Celebrate Baby News
Arguably the newsiest moment of the evening occurred when Beyoncé announced that she was pregnant, with a not-so-subtle rubbing of her belly at the end of her performance. Immediately following the big moment, Beyoncé and Jay-Z were enveloped backstage by ecstatic well-wishers including Kanye West, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. One of the sweeter of those moments was when Jay stepped outside Beyoncé's dressing room, to allow her some time with her female friends to gush and squeal over the news. The proud and sweet smile on his face when he did so made for our favorite VMA warm fuzzy moment.

BONUS: VMA Recap With MTV News' Jim Cantiello MTV News correspondent Jim Cantiello does many things well, but his 60-second recaps of important events in pop culture are a must-watch. Check out Cantiello's super-speedy recap that includes analysis of Gaga as Calderone, what gets a hard-to-impress Justin Bieber to applaud VMA performers and Beyoncé's big announcement.

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards have wrapped, but the real action is just getting started! Stick with MTV News for winners, fashion pics, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything that went down. Visit VMA.MTV.com for the latest.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669956/vmas-behind-the-scenes.jhtml

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With a Little Luck: A Novel

My good friend Caprice Crane's new book, With a Little Luck, is out today. Yay, Caprice!

It's gotten great reviews:

"Crane is one of the funniest writers of popular fiction around. The dialog (inner and outer) is laugh-out-loud, snort-inducing hilarious . . . Readers will want to cross their fingers and spit while throwing salt over their shoulders if it helps Berry reach her dreams. Highly recommended."

Library Journal

"Fans of Stacy Ballis and Cara Lockwood will appreciate Crane's effortlessly funny style, which is often attempted in popular fiction but is rarely this well executed...Lighthearted and charmingly honest."

—Booklist

"[A] satisfying romantic comedy...[with] real character growth."

—Kirkus Reviews

And even better blurbs:

"Romantic, poignant and funny—this book is a lucky find for lit fans. Caprice Crane is a nimble and gifted storyteller."

—Diablo Cody, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Juno

"A hilarious romp that oozes charm and giddy fun. Caprice Crane is a true talent."

—Molly Jong-Fast, author of The Social Climber's Handbook

"Witty, fast-paced, and sheer fun. Caprice Crane is a master of dialogue. Half the time I was reading this book I was smiling, which made me look like a crazy person on the subway."

—Jancee Dunn, author of Don’t You Forget About Me and Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?

"Absolutely charming and hilarious."

—Missy Peregrym, star of the movie Stick It and ABC's Rookie Blue

"With a Little Luck scores in humor, head, and heart. In other words, it’s a perfect trifecta."

—Karyn Bosnak, author of 20 Times a Lady (soon to be the major motion picture What's Your Number?)

(Omg, who is that last fantastic blurber?) (I meant every word of it.)

And most importantly, she has the cutest dog ever (who likes to video chat with Bev):

Anyway, check it out, buy it—it's fantastic!

Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/7/26/with-a-little-luck-a-novel.html

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Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash Light Up Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show

Foursome is joined by special guests and tons of lights for smash-hit medley.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Black Eyed Peas perform during the Super Bowl XLV halftime show
Photo: Getty Images

The Black Eyed Peas promised a party at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday (February 6), and the pop supernovas definitely delivered, with a performance teeming with lights, dancers and surprise appearances from celebrity pals.

Following a Chatter.com commercial that showed animated versions of the Peas showing off their social-media skills, the group kicked things off with their 2009 smash "I Gotta Feeling," descending from the ceiling on illuminated platforms onto a stage surrounded by a cluster of dancers clad in white bodysuits. The foursome led the team of fist-pumping troops in "Tron"-like getups, with Taboo sporting an outfit covered in flashing lights, will.i.am rocking a shiny hairpiece, Apl.de.ap wearing huge bright studs and Fergie vamping it up in bling-laden shoulder pads.

When the speaker-busting bass of "Boom Boom Pow" dropped, the dancers dispersed across the field to create arrow-shaped formations as the glow-in-the-dark lights on their suits illuminated the stadium. Then rumored surprise guest Slash of Guns N' Roses rose from below the stage for a "Sweet Child O' Mine" duet with Fergie. The GNR great rocked a finger-searing solo in a studded version of his signature black top hat as more angular platforms and dancers moved across the gridiron. The platforms were bearing scores of marching-band musicians who blasted their horns and pounded away on their drums as the Peas went into "Pump It" and blue lights splashed across the production.

Quick streams of fog heralded the arrival of the Peas' second surprise guest, Usher, who swooped in on a long chain to bust out his will.i.am-assisted joint "OMG." Rocking a sparkly collar on an otherwise all-white ensemble, the R&B hitmaker cranked out several counts of energetic choreography, enlivening moves from his "OMG" video and at one point jumping over Will and landing in a split.

A spray of pyro ushered in the collective's breakout 2003 hit "Where Is the Love?" as the oddly shaped platforms spelled out the word "Love" in bright-red letters. The team of dancers, which appeared to have multiplied to over 100, formed hearts across the field as will updated the lyrics of the smash with lines like, "Obama, let's get these educated."

Then the group jumped ahead to their most recent single, 2010's "The Time (Dirty Bit)," as several back up hoofers rocking cubed helmets joined the Peas onstage and dancers lined up along the gridiron to simultaneously bust out the Running Man, a move which drew cheers from the crowd.

The platinum-selling Peas wrapped up the performance with a reprise of "I Gotta Feeling," as the quartet triumphantly signed off amid of blitz of fog, firepower and flashing lights.

Ripping the halftime show was clearly a touching moment for will, who tweeted beforehand, "Me and apl started the peas when we were 16 yesterday we were dreamin now were livin it. Wow. I'm not crying out of sadness or nervousness its joy and pride and memories and the journey."

And once the crew left the stage, the frontman was not only proud, but pumped. "That was so freakin sick," he wrote. "Wow...!!!"

What did you think of the Black Eyed Peas' Super Bowl performance? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657356/black-eyed-peas-usher-slash-super-bowl.jhtml

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Drake Compares Rick Ross' Next LP To B.I.G., Snoop

Drake and Rick Ross play up each other's upcoming albums.
By Rob Markman


Rick Ross
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

LOS ANGELES — Trying to determine something as subjective as what constitutes a hip-hop classic is an impossible task, but there are a few albums that are widely recognized crown-holders. Among them are the Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, and it is in this same regard that Drake holds Rick Ross' upcoming fifth album.

"This guy right here," Drake said motioning to Ross as the two sat at Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV release party Sunday, "That God Forgives I Don't; the only way I can describe it is like Doggystyle or Ready to Die or Clipse Lord Willin' or any of the albums that I collected and held on to as a kid — whether it was cassette or CD."

Drake's measure may not be an objective one, but it isn't farfetched, considering that many have credited Ross with improving as an artist with each album he puts out. As of now, the album is still being recorded and only a select few have been able to hear it.

DJ Khaled also sang Rozay's praises when MTV News interviewed him back in July. "God Forgives I Don't is a classic-in-the-making. Let me tell you something right now: This album is so crazy from the beginning of what I've been in the studio hearing already," he said. "I can't give you too much because I'm going to let him do that, because that's his project, but I could tell you right now it's classic and he is talking that talk."

The Bawse isn't the only one with an album dropping soon. On October 24, Drake plans to release his sophomore LP, but the Bawse has already gotten a sneak peek. "I feel extremely grateful to hear a bulk of Take Care. Just to hear this man's tone of voice and the sh-- that he's saying is just so visual," Ross said. "And if you're a true Drake fan — if you love his first album, this one right here, this sh-- is uncut."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670172/drake-rick-ross-new-lp.jhtml

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Les News, 090211

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/~3/vSQbh0KNh08/

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Watch: Marc Anthony Opens Up About His Split From Jennifer Lopez

In early August, Jennifer Lopez gave an interview to Vanity Fair magazine wherein she discussed her recent split from hubby Marc Anthony. Since that interview occurred, a report came out that claimed that the reason that J. Lo and Marc broke up was because of an extramarital affair he supposedly had with Jada Pinkett-Smith. Last [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/~3/WXOi3L5JVi4/

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