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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Lady Gaga?s Judas Video Leaks Early! (WATCH)

Lady Gaga?s Judas video just couldn?t be contained for tonight?s big debut on E!, and has already made it?s way across the globe?as if we needed any more proof that the Internet is slowly killing television. People love them some Gaga. It?s a lot like being coo-coo for Coco Puffs?her fans are insatiable little monsters. E! had originally planned to debut the video Thurday night during its primetime broadcast, but a few devious fans apparently had different plans. By early morning it had already made its rounds online, and despite their best efforts to have it taken down, the video is still lingering on a handful of sites. Even before this video?s release, the concept of her new album had miffed religious conservatives who were none too thrilled to see her gyrating around on stage dressed as a half-naked nun. But with the new video zapping its way across the Internet we?re sure to hear more of that yammering nonsense in the coming days. I was able to track down the video for you (see below), which is something like Terminator 2 meets The da Vinci Code. A bunch of swarthy bikers make their way to a party with Gaga [...]

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Lady Gaga To Premiere 'Uncut' 'Judas' Video Thursday

The clip is co-directed by Gaga and creative director Laurieann Gibson.
By Jocelyn Vena


Lady Gaga
Photo: Jon Furniss/ WireImage

Little monsters are just days away from the highly anticipated "Judas" video premiere. With a version of the video to drop on "American Idol" this week, another "uncut" version will be premiere on "E! News" on Thursday.

The video will debut at 7 p.m. and be shown again at 11:30 p.m. on the cable entertainment news program. The video is seven minutes long and was co-directed by Gaga and her longtime creative director Laurieann Gibson. Gaga will also chat about the video in an interview that airs with the premiere.

As expected, the video is filled with religious imagery that is sure to spark the usual amount of Gaga controversy and backlash. "It's fantastic to have Gaga back at E! for the debut of 'Judas,' " Suzanne Kolb, president of marketing, news and online for E! Entertainment and the Style Network said about the premiere. "She's an incredible talent and pop culture icon and we're excited to work with her and Interscope once again to bring our viewers this highly anticipated premiere."

As MTV News previously reported, Gaga will play Mary Magdalene and actor Norman Reedus will play the song's title character in the video.

"The video, in essence, suggests that forgiveness and betrayal are hand in hand," Gaga said recently. "The video puts destiny above all things and postures that the mistakes in your life are in fact not mistakes at all, they are just part of your overarching potential and your destiny."

She went on to describe the video "as a motorcycle Fellini movie, where the apostles are revolutionaries in a modern-day Jerusalem. And I play Mary Magdalene, leading them into the town where we meet Jesus, and I will leave the rest for you to see."

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So a Lady and Her Monkey Walk Into a Petsmart...

I went to Petsmart yesterday to get some things for little Mary Margaret, and while I was pulling into the parking lot, I passed a lady getting out of her car with a monkey on her shoulders.

Of course I came to a screeching halt because there was a lady getting our of her car WITH A MONKEY ON HER SHOULDERS, and that's just something you don't see every day.

I proceeded to take a photo...

...but then thought it would be better to capture the craziness on video, so here it is:

Lady and Her Monkey Go to Petsmart from Karyn Bosnak on Vimeo.

 

When I told Mark about the lady and her monkey and showed him my movie, he said, "You really are crazy." I was like, "I'm crazy? THE MONKEY WAS WEARING A DIAPER AND PEARLS."

I mean, for real, let's put this into perspective.

Anywho, here's another photo of the lady and her monkey at the checkout counter:

I realize I now have one cat and two dogs, but at least I don't walk around with a monkey on my shoulders. (Yet.)

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Deadmau5 Brings Dance Music To The 'Masses,' Wolfgang Gartner Says

'He has a major role in the younger generation to this music,' producer/DJ tells MTV News of his collaborator.
By Adam Stewart


deadmau5
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images

It's no secret that 2010 was a pivotal year for electronic dance music here in the States. With deadmau5 and Swedish House Mafia becoming household names, the genre's momentum shows no signs of slowing down. Using a conduit of collaboration, artists such as deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman) have paired up with various underground acts to further the rapid expansion of the genre.

Perhaps one of the most notable movers and shakers of the year is now-Grammy-Award-nominated producer and DJ Wolfgang Gartner, who recently sat down to chat with MTV News about deadmau5 and dance music's rise to the top.

"He has a major role in the younger generation to this music," Gartner says, "but there have been certain artists that have been instrumental in helping it cross over and reach the mainstream — which I think is a good thing. I think rap artists using dance beats is a great thing. I think it just brings more people towards this music that we all love."

Thanks to several key moments, such as deadmau5 taking the helm as house DJ (well, technically "House Artist") for the 2010 VMAs, dance music has been thrown into the forefront of America's youth, a key demographic for any genre.

"Everybody knows who he is now and he's kind of exposing the masses to dance music. These little five-, six- and seven-year-old kids latch on to this 'mau5head' logo — they get into the music and he's bringing this tiny young generation into this music that probably wouldn't be exposed to it."

Gartner certainly doesn't mind the exposure either. Unless you were living under a rock for the past six months, you probably heard one of this past summer's hottest anthems, "Animal Rights," a collaborative effort brought forth by deadmau5 and Gartner.

"It was interesting because I kind of had a preconceived notion about how he would be to work [with]," said Gartner. "I think our sounds are really similar, so I figured he would work in a similar way to me, but the way that he writes music is actually completely different to me. But he achieves kind of the same sound through a completely different process."

Recorded in deadmau5's favorite Los Angeles studio — that would be rocker Tommy Lee's House — "Animal Rights" is a thumping progressive house anthem that melds Wolfgang's unmistakable harmonics and funk riffs with the driving bass line and wobbly synths that make deadmau5 one of the unique forces in the dance music world.

"[Deadmau5] writes these rich complex chord progressions and he does it by drawing these little bars on a grid, which is just amazing that you can do that and get that result," Gartner goes on to say. "It just proves you don't have to be able to play keyboards to write amazing music."

The two sound pioneers never cease to stop pushing the limits on what they are able to produce. Using drastically difference production approaches, deadmau5 and Gartner had the ability to play off each other's strengths while recording the track.

"I'd say the biggest thing is that I play everything in on a keyboard, like even my drums," says Gartner. "I play everything in live and he draws it in with notes on a mouse, which blew me away because his music is very musical."

What do you think 2011 will hold for deadmau5 and Gartner? Let us know in the comments below!

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Kim Kardashian: Back Home from Mexico!

Freshly returned from a family vacation in Mexico with boyfriend Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian was spotted getting back in the swing of things back home in Los Angeles on Thursday (May 5).

The E! reality hottie arrived at her west coast abode as her driver toted her many bags of luggage back into the house before she headed off to do a bit of shopping at local stores including Chanel.

Tweeting to her millions of fans about making it back home, Kim cheerfully wrote, "So happy to be home from a fun long family vacation! Its been a while since the whole family got together like that! We need to do that more"

Also offering up her well-wishes to those celebrating the holiday, Miss Kardashian wrote, "Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!!!"

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Lady Gaga Unveils Bilingual 'Americano' In Mexico

New Born This Way song has Gaga 'living on the edge of the law.'
By Gil Kaufman


Lady Gaga (file)
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Lady Gaga picked the perfect place to unveil yet another song from her upcoming Born This Way album. During a show in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Tuesday night, Mother Monster did a slow, sexy flamenco seduction at the piano as she pulled back the curtain on the funky bilingual outlaw love tune "Americano."

A YouTube video of the performance shows Gaga sitting at a piano, playing the song's seductive Latin melody and opening with some lines in Spanish about her rebel spirit: "Mis canciones son de la revolucion/ Mi corazon late por mi generacion," she sings at the outset, which translates to "My songs are of the revolution/ My heart beats for my generation."

The next bit will surely cause some serious discussion in Gagaland, as the singer teases, "If you love me/ We can marry on the West Coast/ On a Wednesday/ En el verano o en agosto (in the summer or in August)."

The emphatic chorus has her repeating the phrase "I don't speak your language, oh no," with mentions of Jesus ("Jesus Cristo") and the titular "Americano," before she busts into a section where she growls "Aaaahhh America, Americano" repeatedly.

By the end, Gaga seems ready to hop on the controversial motorcycle on the cover of Born This Way and hit the road for some "Born to be Wild" action, as she warns, "Don't you try to catch me/ No, no, no/ I'm living on the edge of/ Living on the edge of the law, law, law."

After mostly performing on piano, the band kicks in, joining her for a full-on Latin jazz breakdown to bring the tune home.

Tell us your thoughts on "Americano" in the comments below.

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The New 'Pee-wee Herman' Movie Will Be Fun For The Whole Family, Says Judd Apatow

The 9-year-old in me has been excited about the Judd Apatow-produced Pee-wee Herman movie since it was formally announced last summer, but it's been a while since we've heard any news on Pee-wee's highly anticipated return to the big-screen, his first cinematic adventure since 1988's "Big Top Pee-wee." Thanks to a delightful encounter with Apatow [...]

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