When he’s not making love in clubs it seems that r’n'b veteran Usher still likes to make a public nuisance of himself — albeit in less sexy ways. Having parked his giant SUV in a handicapped spot outside a mall in Atlanta, Usher was accosted by an angry bystander in his very own Seinfeld moment. The deeply affronted woman took wild swings at Usher, screaming something, something about something, something, doing a lot of manic pointing and finally having to be restrained and dragged from the scene. Usher seemed characteristically nonchalant, failing to apologize for his faux pas while popping his collar and whatnot.
The best part of the whole debacle is the Elvis Presley impersonator that somehow found his way to the center of the action (apparently there was a Halloween parade near by), and the fact that the dudes filming the incident were more preoccupied with the fake Elvis than with Usher, who they only noticed at the last minute.
The MGM Grand played host to a plethora of pop stars this weekend for the Clear Channel-sponsored iHeartRadio Festival, two nights of genre-spanning, crowd-pleasing pop music. A mix of veterans and newcomers thrilled the (reportedlyvery drunk) crowd on both nights. The most successful performers were those who stuck to a setlist of hits, like Jay-Z, who may have performed “On To The Next One” but didn’t take its advice about his old songs, including favorites from The Blueprint and The Black Album alongside newer singles like “Empire State of Mind” (with a guest appearance by earlier performer Alicia Keys). Those whose songs were less well-known by the crowd, like Sublime with Rome, were less well-received.
Perhaps the big surprise of the weekend, according to reports, was Jennifer Lopez, who, in a set that spanned her musical career, proved supremely capable of standing among the pop titans of today (with a Pitbull feature on “On the Floor”). Saturday’s “special guest” Sting also more than pulled his weight, backing Steven Tyler on bass early in the evening, then joining Lady Gaga for performances of “Stand By Me” and his own “King of Pain.”
There might not be anyone who is as endearing, fashionable, and well-connected as La La Vasquez. Yes, she’s a humble “basketball wife,” but she’s spent years as a radio DJ and later a VJ at MTV, and she’s now an actress and style icon in her own right. Basically she’s done it all, worn it all, and hung out with some amazingly cool people at the same time. As a tribute to her evolving style and her lasting friendships in show business, we’ve created a mega-gallery of La La through the years, from her early days at MTV where she was a jeans and t-shirt gal, to her Full Court Wedding, to today, where she can hold her own at Fashion Week with the best of the best, like her pals Beyonce, Russell Simmons, Kelly Rowland, and of course, Po and Dice.
Lawyers for Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox have filed a last-ditch motion in hopes of stopping the copyright lawsuit filed against them in California Central District Court from going before a jury. The suit, which was brought in April of 2008 by Ernest Lee Straughter, alleges that Usher’s 2004 #1 single “Burn” copies “No More Pain,” a 1999 album cut recorded by Reel Tight based on Straughter’s “The Reasons Why.” Last month Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that Straughter’s case had sufficient grounds for a jury trial. Friday’s motion challenges that ruling.
Straughter’s case aims to prove that “The Reasons Why” is the basis for “Burn” based on both musical similarities and proof of exposure by the songwriters to “The Reasons Why.” A musicologist’s report indicates corresponding features of the two songs; you can listen to them both below. Friday’s motion mainly challenges the claim of exposure: “The fact that the song had virtually no radio airplay forecloses any inference that it was widely disseminated, let alone remotely popular.” Ouch! If Snyder rejects the motion, the case is headed before a jury. We suspect that the defendants still have pretty good odds of winning the case, but they are trying to avoid the sort of publicity a jury trial might invite. [click to continue…]
As we parallel park into July and officially hit the curb of this year’s halfway point, it’s time to take a quick look back at what the past six months have taught us. Not conventional life lessons, however; we’re talking about stuff that’s a little bit less intense and also involves YOU! That’s right, in the first installment of our Top 100 Videos of 2011… So Far, we’re spilling the beans on the #100-51 most clicked-and-viewed videos on VH1.com. You’ll see that this piñata-like list of content contains tasty treats and slippery surprises alike! We’ve got brand-new videos that just recently launched, some VH1 Classic leaning clips (hey there, Megadeth), repeat offenders, and of course, effervescent, essential vids from the music video cannon. So take a look at the first fifty videos below and don’t forget to come back later this week as we continue on our quest to discover what artist snags the #1 spot!
Earlier this week, we gave you an alphabetical list of 35 of our Top 40 Music Videos of the year and asked you to guess what artists where going to be included in our top five music videos of 2010. Well, we’ve got good news and we’ve got bad news. If you’re one of the Little Monsters or a card carrying member of Glam Nation, you’ll be happy to see that Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me” each made the Top Five. However, if you count yourself as a die-hard 30 Seconds To Mars fan, um, well, there’s always next year!
Without any further ado, here is our complete list of VH1′s Top 40 Music Videos of 2010!
We’ve asked you this before, but it can’t hurt to ask again: Do you like to dance? Do you have a computer? Do you like money? If you answered yes to all three of these questions, then you’re not only going to love Dance Cam Slam, but you should probably enter to appear on the show, too! We’re only a few days away from the show’s premiere at 10/9c on Tuesday, October 26, and we just wanted to share some of the amazingness that we have received at the show’s casting site. Since you’ve already seen our compilations of contestants performing to “Bootylicious” and “Everybody Dance Now,” we figured it’s high time to share this clip of people just like you getting down to Usher’s “Yeah” (including Philip from Money Hungry).
Oops! The recent Behind The Music episode on Usher mistakenly stated that his ex-girlfriend, recording artist Chilli, was previously married to producer Dallas Austin. Though the two had a long relationship that produced their son, Tron, they were never married. VH1 regrets the error.
Usher has gone crawling back to his mama like the baby that he is. The singer, who was last heard cooing about banging us in a club, has booted celeb manager Benny Medina and rehired his mother Jonnetta Patton, who helped her son sell 1.1 million copies of his album Confessions in its first week. Full story at Scandalist.com
Has Usher finally realized that firing his Mom-ager Jonetta Patton was a bad idea? The singer dumped his mama last year around Mother’s Day for super-manager Benny Medina (he’s handled Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez, to name a couple), but has apparently been freaking out that his latest album is selling way below 2004′s “Confessions.” Medina supposedly tried to stroke his ego and assure him that “Here I Stand” is doing just fine considering the current economic climate, but when Lil Wayne sold over a million copies of his new album in one week, Usher flipped his sh*t. “Usher was livid!,” said a spy. “He threatened to fire everyone.”
The BET Awards, which the singer headlined, also performed poorly in the ratings, and the show’s stinky performance only added to Usher’s anxiety. Now friends are telling the star that maybe he should re-hire his mom, whose beef with Usher’s wife apparently contributed to her getting axed. Now that the ladies are getting along, while her contract get picked back up? [NYDN]
