More Trouble Between Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons

On last night’s episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, we watched as whatever progress Gene has made with Shannon Tweed went right down the drain. The KISS power couple journeyed to Shannon?s home town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. Almost immediately, Gene Simmons began to feel ignored as Shannon was getting all of the attention. This week on Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Shannon Tweed gets all the attention in her home town of Saskatoon. Image Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN.com. A local radio station wanted to interview her, not even asking if Gene would be present. The city tourism board decided to name a street after her. The local hockey team wanted her to drop a ceremonial puck. Not to mention just how her family focused on her with old stories and photos. Gene wound up falling asleep in the Tweed living room while Shannon?s family showered her with love. To make matters worse, Gene went from just feeling left out to actual jealousy when an old boyfriend arranged for a party for Shannon to reconnect with friends from school. After a mere two days of this, Gene calls his business manager to see if there is anything he [...]

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Robert Plant And Alison Krauss Win Grammy Album Of The Year

Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff


Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."

He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.

You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.

Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.

And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.

And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.

To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.

"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."

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Rebecca Black Set To Drop New Single, EP

Follow-up to smash 'Friday, titled 'My Moment,' will be released July 18.
By Jocelyn Vena


Rebecca Black
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Thanks to her ubiquitous hit "Friday," Rebecca Black quickly went from YouTube sensation to starring in a Katy Perry video for that singer's equally ubiquitous hit "Last Friday Night." Now Black is ready to take her career to the next level.

She'll release a new song, "My Moment," on July 18, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The song was written by Brandon "Blue" Hamilton (Justin Bieber) and Quinton Tolbert and the production credits include Charlton Pettus.

The video is reportedly less kitschy than her "Friday" video (but perhaps just as literal). It will include footage of her attending red-carpet events and receiving an award at her junior high school, telling "the story of her sudden rise to fame," according to a statement. "It's a fairy tale story, but it happened in real life."

Black is also working on finishing up her five-track EP, which will be released in August. "We're thinking about it; we have so many different options right now. We're trying to decide which route we should take," Black told MTV News earlier this year about her career plans and following up her viral smash.

"I really like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez; all just the fun upbeat stuff, teenager songs," she said of her musical inspirations. "My dream duet would be Justin Bieber. Even just doing something with Taylor Swift, or any of my favorite artists would be so cool."

Are you looking forward to Rebecca Black's next single? Tell us in the comments!

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Looks Like R. Kelly Is About To Be Homeless

Grammy-winning singer R. Kelly faces a $2.9 million foreclosure on his suburban Chicago mansion. Crain’s Chicago Business reported Tuesday that JPMorgan Chase Bank filed the foreclosure lawsuit last month in Cook County Circuit Court. The complaint states that Kelly hasn’t made monthly mortgage payments since June of last year. Crain’s reports the Olympia Field home’s [...]

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