Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones Unveil Supergroup

Them Crooked Vultures make their debut with a post-Lollapalooza set.
By James Montgomery


Dave Grohl (file)
Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Officially, Lollapalooza ended Sunday night in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from the Killers and Jane's Addiction. Unofficially, it ended very early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures.

To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of Foo Fighters frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere.

According to some reports, the Vultures actually turned down Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town.

Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called Never Deserved the Future, and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans).

The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis.

It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October.

Early Monday, a Crooked Vultures Twitter account, which had previously posted links to the band's official-looking Web site and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a Deserve the Future T-shirt. Cost: $30.

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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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Justin Bieber 'Rooting For Drake' At BET Awards

But pop star stays mum on what he has in store for fans during Sunday's show, airing live on BET at 8 p.m. ET.
By Jocelyn Vena


Justin Bieber
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/ Getty Images

Justin Bieber isn't nominated in any of the categories at this Sunday's 2011 BET Awards, but that isn't stopping the teen superstar from making an appearance. With so many of his pals up for prizes at the show, it's anyone's guess what the Biebs might do come awards day, and he's keeping it a surprise.

"You never know. I will never tell you, ever, even if there was a fire right now," the singer joked to MTV News on Thursday at a New York City event for his fragrance, Someday. "I wouldn't tell you. I can't tell you [or I'd] have to kill you."

Usher, Chris Brown, Drake, former crush Beyoncé and Kanye West are among the performers nominated this year and they're also pals of Bieber's. And while he's excited for all of them, Justin said he's rooting hardest for his countryman. "I'm rooting for Drake," he said of his fellow Canadian. "Drake is my homey."

Brown has six nods, Lil Wayne has five, and Kanye West, Drake and Rihanna each have four. The Video of the Year category has a surprising mix of contenders, including Willow Smith for "Whip My Hair," Marsha Ambrosius' "Far Away," B.o.B's "Airplanes," Brown's "Look at Me Now," Hilson's "Pretty Girl Rock" and West's "Runaway."

In addition to the big-name nominees, among the A-list performers slated to take the stage at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium are Beyoncé, Jill Scott, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Drake and Brown. Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars have also been added to the show's lineup.

The 2011 BET Awards, hosted by comedian Kevin Hart, air live on Sunday, June 26, at 8 p.m. ET on BET.

What do you think Bieber will do at the awards show? Tell us in the comments!

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'SYTYCD' Recap: Season 8, Episode 9

'SYTYCD' Recap: Season 8, Episode 9

Previously: Nigel played fast and loose with the rules and eliminated no one last week, bumping this week's odds of elimination from 1 in 9 to 1 in 5. Pity those poor fools who had to dance out of their genre last night.

The opening group dance involves a lot of contrasting iconography. Everybody's dressed in suits above the waist, madras shorts below the waist, and bowler hats on top. Lots of slow-motion running combined with intricate hand movements and synchronization. Tough call as to who choreographed this.

CLICK TO READ THE FULL RECAP

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Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Muse Added To Grammy Show

Usher, Jaden Smith, B.o.B, Janelle Monae and Lady Antebellum will also perform on February 13.
By Gil Kaufman


Justin Bieber and Usher
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

While Willow Smith is the one who made music headlines with "Whip My Hair" last year, it's her brother, "Karate Kid" actor Jaden Smith, who will take the stage at the upcoming 53rd Grammy Awards in a special performance alongside Usher and Justin Bieber, with whom he collaborated on the song "Never Say Never" last summer.

The trio joins a list of new performers added to the show on Thursday (January 20) that will also include another power trifecta made up of B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe, according to a press release from the Recording Academy announcing the additions to the February 13 telecast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Also taking the stage next month will be nominees Muse and Lady Antebellum. They will join a roster of previously announced performers that includes Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Arcade Fire, Cee Lo Green and Miranda Lambert. It will be the first time on the Grammy performance stage for Bieber, B.o.B, Lambert, Mars, Monáe, Muse and Smith. Eminem, Green, Gaga, Perry, Usher and Lady Antebellum will be making return visits for the occasion.

While 11-time Grammy winner Eminem leads the pack in nominations this year (with 10 nods), Mars has seven nominations, and Gaga and Lady Antebellum are not far behind with six nods each. B.o.B has notched five, Perry and Green are each up for four, and Arcade Fire and Lambert are vying for three awards. Bieber, Muse, Usher and Monáe are each nominated for two Grammys.

No details of the collaborative performances were released, but the Grammy announcement promised a rare, never-before-seen event for the Mars, B.o.B and Monáe segment.

With the addition of Antebellum, all five Album of the Year nominees (Eminem, Arcade Fire, Gaga, Perry) are now scheduled to perform on the show. Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon.

Which Grammy performance are you most looking forward to? Talk about it in the comments!

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Chris Brown Leads BET Award Nominations

Chris Brown will have another chance at redemption when the BET Awards are presented Sunday night. The 21-year-old singer, whose image is still recovering from his attack on Rihanna more than two years ago, is up for a leading six awards, including best male R&B artist and video of the year. Brown scored several hits [...]

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Clarence Clemons, Sax Player For Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Suffers Stroke

E Street Band member, 69, suffered stroke in his home in Florida.
By Jocelyn Vena


Clarence Clemons
Photo: Getty

Clarence Clemons, legendary member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, has suffered a stroke according to The Associated Press.

A source close to the saxophonist confirmed to the AP that the 69-year-old suffered the stroke in his Florida home on Sunday night; no further details about his health were currently available at press time. However, Showbiz 411 reported that the musician's condition is very serious.

Send Clarence your well wishes on Facebook!

Most recently, Clemons was featured on Lady Gaga's massive Born This Way album, appearing on two tracks and performing with her live on "American Idol" last month.

Clemons, also known as "The Big Man," began performing with the E Street Band in 1972, giving an assist on Springsteen's debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.. In addition to appearing on 20 albums with Springsteen, including the breakthrough Born to Run, he's worked with a number of other artists including Gaga, Jackson Browne and Ringo Starr. He's also appeared in films like "New York, New York"and "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," as well as TV shows like "The Wire" and "The Simpsons."

Recently, however, he has had problems with his health, and following the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's tour in 2009, he had to have both knees replaced and a spinal fusion surgery, according to Rolling Stone. But he vowed, "As long as my mouth, hands and brain still work I'll be out there doing it."

When MTV News caught up with Gaga's longtime collaborator, Fernando Garibay, the producer recalled how excited Gaga was to hit the studio with one of her icons for the songs "Hair" and her latest single, "Edge of Glory."

"She grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and she goes, 'Can we get Clarence?' And I go, 'Of course we can get Clarence. You're Lady Gaga!' " he said. "You can see the years of influence and you can see her lighting up when he's playing [with her in the studio]."

Send your well-wishes to Clarence Clemons in the comments below.

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