One Direction Rules a dreadful VMA’s.

This year’s MTV Video Music Awards ratings were down 50 percent and I’m not really surprised. The show was really lackluster with only Pink delivering a killer performance with her latest amazing single “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”. Other performances by Taylor Swift, One Direction, and Rihanna were pretty blah while Green Day and Alicia Keys (featuring gold medal winning Olympian Gaby Douglas) could only muster a little more excitement. And then there was the mess that was 2 Chainz. Aside from that you had egotistical and arrogant winners like Rihanna and her douchebag jerk bf Chris Brown spouting ungrateful speeches or just incoherent ones from the likes of Nicki Minaj (oh dear what is she gonna be like on American Idol next season?)… Speaking of One Direction, they were the big winners with 3 awards while Rihanna took home two including Video of the Year for “We Found Love”. Take a look at all the winners below and head to MTV here for more info on the show and the performances.

2012 MTV Video Music Award Winners~

Video of the Year: “We Found Love”- Rihanna w/ Calvin Harris
Female Video: “Starships”- Nicki Minaj
Male Video: “Turn Up the Music”- Chris Brown
Pop Video: “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction
New Artist: “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction
Hip Hop Video: HYFR”- Drake w/ Lil Wayne
Rock Video: “Paradise”- Coldplay
Video with a Message: “Skyscraper”- Demi Lovato
Electronic/Dance Video: “Feel So Close”- Calvin Harris
Shareworthy Video: “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction
Art Direction: “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry
Choreography: “Turn Up the Music”- Chris Brown
Cinematography: “Bad Girls”- M.I.A.
Editing: “Countdown”- Beyonce
Visual Effects: “First of the Year”- Skrillex
Direction: “Bad Girls”- M.I.A.

And here’s Pink’s amazing performance of “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/832106/blow-me-one-last-kiss-live.jhtml#id=1692712

 

Carly Rae Jepsen, Katy Perry and Chris Brown conquer the Charts

Carly Rae Jepsen just won’t settle down til everyone in American gives her a ring as her smash “Call Me Maybe” makes it 5 weeks in a row on top of the Billboard Hot 100. She fends off the usual challengers Maroon 5 and Katy Perry while David Guetta & Sia make the biggest move up from 9 to 7 with “Titanium”. We’ll see if any of them can stop her from holding at # 1 next week. However, a sleeper may stop her in the form of P!nk’s brand new single “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” which debuts on the Hot 100 at# 58 but is now featured on the front page of iTunes and has risen to # 2 on that sales chart. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out the new top ten singles below.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (last week~ 1)
2. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/ Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 2)
3. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/ Kimbra (lw~ 3)
4. “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
5. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 7)
6. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~ 5)
7. “Titanium”- David Guetta w/ Sia (lw~ 9)
8. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 7(
9. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~8) * sets the record for longest reign a song has spent in the top ten of the Hot 100 that debuted there with 21 weeks
10. “Scream”- Usher (lw~ 1)

Over on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, that douchebag unapologetic jerk Chris Brown grabs his second #1 album with Fortune. However, the collection sells only 134,000 copies, less that half of his last album to land at the top of the chart… Right behind him making a massive 21 to 2 move is Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream aided by the release of her concert film Katy Perry: Part of Me. That album also benefitted from a $.99 sale at Amazon.com last week on July 3rd where a ton of albums were sold at that discount price. Others benefitting from that sale were The Black Keys, Gotye and fun. who all return to the top ten. For more on that sale and all the numbers, head to Billboard here and check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Fortune- Chris Brown (debut)
2. Teenage Dream- Katy Perry (last week~ 21)
3. Believe- Justin Bieber (lw~ 3)
4. Overexposed- Maroon 5 (lw~ 2)
5. Living Things- Linkin Park (lw~ 1)
6. Making Mirrors- Gotye (lw~ 31)
7. Some Nights- fun. (lw~ 27)
8. Welcome to the Fishbowl- Kenny Chesney (lw~ 6)
9. 21- Adele (lw~ 7)
10. El Camino- The Black Keys (lw~ 55)

And here’s the latest video from Katy Perry, featured on her Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection collection, for “Wide Awake”. Enjoy

Taylor Swift and Adele win Big at a very Boring American Music Awards

For the past few years, ok like the past decade, the American Music Awards have become more and more irrelevant. The fan voted awards rarely have recognized the artists with the most merit and the performances have gotten pretty bad with each passing year. This year there were few exceptions. For every great winner (yay for 3 trophies for Adele and Bruno Mars beating Justin Bieber), there were several ridiculous winners (Taylor Swift for Artist of the Year? Vomit!… And Hot Chelle Rae for New Artist over the Band Perry, are you kidding?). But I should know better than to have any high expectations for this mess of a show. And of course, I don’t have to put myself through it, but I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. At least there were two great highlights~ Katy Perry giving perhaps her best live performance ever on a beautiful version of her latest single “The One That Got Away” and Kelly Clarkson delivering a brilliant Big Band version of her latest top ten smash “Mr. Know It All”. If only the other performers would’ve risen to their levels. With that said, here is a list of all the winners and some of my thoughts on the show and the performers. For more on the show itself, head to the AMA site here.

2011 American Music Award Winners~

Favorite Duo or Group: Maroon 5
Female Country Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Male Country Artist: Blake Shelton
Favorite Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Favorite Soul/R&B Album: Rihanna, Loud
Favorite Country Band: Lady Antebellum
Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday
Special Award (for being the first woman to have five #1 singles from one album) : Katy Perry
Favorite New Artist: Hot Chelle Rae
Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist: Casting Crowns
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artitst: Adele
Favorite Alternative/Rock Artist: Foo Fighters
Favorite Latin Artist: Jennifer Lopez
Favorite Soul/R&B Female: Beyonce
Favorite Soul/R&B Male: Usher
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist: Adele
Favorite Country Album: Taylor Swift, Speak Now
Favorite Pop/Rock Album: Adele. 21
Favorite Pop/Rock Female: Adele
Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift

And some quick thoughts on the show…

Nicki Minaj: one of the better performers of the night, but get some shoes you can walk in girl! And am I the only one who thought she was British for some reason?
Justin Bieber: that was the most horrifyingly awful Christmas Caribbean song I’ve ever heard… and yes, you’re still incredibly annoying
Enrique Iglesias: what’s up with the crazy eyes?
One Republic: stick to producing and writing Ryan Tedder~ you’re good at that. Singing live? Not so much.
Mary J. Blige: thanks for bringing a little class to the proceedings
The Band Perry: why is the hair on the band members so scary? It’s like they all just escaped some brainwashing cult in the midwest. Something is off about these kids. But kudos for nice vocals on your song.
Christina Aguilera: oh gurl. You can sing…. but wow, do you need a new stylist. I mean appreciate a lady with curves, but just wear something that accentuates you in the right places. (P.S. I’m very proud of myself for being polite here. lol)
Chris Brown: yup, you still suck and you will never be Michael Jackson.
Jennifer Lopez: ok that was some awful lipsynched car commercial crap. But you’re pretty…
Will.I.Am: um, no you’re not
Taylor Swift: the fake humble act is not becoming or believable… you need to take a loooooooooooooooooong break.

Now, to end things on a positive note, check out Kelly Clarkson’s fantastic performance of “Mr. Know It All” big band style below.

Kelly Clarkson “Mr. Know it All” (Live on the AMAs)

Katy Perry, Chris Brown and Jennifer Hudson storm the Charts

Katy Perry made big news on the Billboard charts this week as she grabbed her fourth consecutive # 1 single from her Teenage Dream album with her latest “E.T.” featuring Kanye West. That follows “California Gurls”, “Teenage Dream” and “Firework” and puts Katy in an elite group of artists to achieve 4 chart toppers from one album. Some big names in that group include Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Usher, Paula Abdul, Mariah Carey and George Michael. “E.T.” dethrones Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” after a strong six-week reign and also leads the Hot Digital Songs Sales chart. Overall, this is Katy’s fifth # 1 on the Hot 100 as her first big hit “I Kissed A Girl” led for seven weeks in 2008… Take a look at this week’s new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West (last week~ 2)
2. “S & M”- Rihanna (lw~ 3)
3. “Fuck You”- Cee Lo Green (lw~ 4)
4. “Born This Way”- Lady Gaga (lw~ 1)
5. “Just Can’t Get Enough”- The Black Eyed Peas (lw~ 5)
6. “No Sleep”- Wiz Khalifa (debut)
7. “Look at Me Now”- Chris Brown (lw~8)
8. “Fuckin’ Perfect”- Pink
9. “Down on Me”- Jeremiah w/ 50 Cent (lw~ 10)
10. “On the Floor”- Jennifer Lopez w/Pitbull (lw~ 13)

Switching gears to the album chart, we have a big seven debuts in the top ten led by that abusive jackass Chris Brown whose craptastic new album, F.A.M.E. (which stands for “forgive all my enemies”~ rather ironic with his recent terrible behavior on G.M.A. that clearly created more enemies… Seriously, on a personal note, he is an appalling person and I don’t know why anyone is buying his music. I could go on and on but I digress)… Brown is able to hold off Jennifer Hudson whose sophomore album, the brilliant I Remember Me, debuts in the runner-up spot just like her first album. Other debuts in the top ten come from rockers The Strokes, the Songs for Japan benefit album, and Panic at the Disco. Take a gander at the new top ten albums below and for more on all the charts, head to Billboard here.

Top Ten Albums
1. F.A.M.E.- Chris Brown (debut)
2. I Remember Me- Jennifer Hudson (debut)
3. 21- Adele (last week~ 1)
4. Angles- The Strokes (debut)
5. Hello Fear- Kirk Franklin (debut)
6. Songs for Japan- Various Artists (debut)
7. Vices & Virtues- Panic at the Disco (debut)
8. Sigh No More- Mumford & Sons (lw~ 5)
9. Fly on the Wall- Bobby V (debut)
10. Lasers- Lupe Fiasco (lw~ 3)

And here’s your new # 1 single “E.T.” by Katy Perry w/Kanye West
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOg2imrUTxE

Cry Baby Chris Brown, his MJ Tribute and the BET Award Winners

At last night’s BET Awards, two big names returned to the public arena after recent lowpoints in their careers. Rapper Kanye West roared back with a performance of his new single hoping to erase memories of his ridiculous “Taylor Swift-gate” episode at last year’s MTV Awards and domestic abuse poster boy Chris Brown performed an entertaining and emotional tribute to Michael Jackson who passed away a year ago. Both performers probably scored big points with their fan bases. However, I’m not sure Brown won over new fans with his arguably calculated cry baby session at the end of his MJ medley where he couldn’t get through “Man in the Mirror.” I, for one, don’t entirely buy it. Did you? If you didn’t see it watch the video below and give me your thoughts.
Aside from those two men, there were lots of performances in the show hosted by Queen Latifah. Also taking the stage were Eminem, B.O.B, Monica, Usher, a preggers Alicia Keyes, Diddy, Drake, Trey Songz, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, El Debarge and a star-studded Prince tribute featuring Keyes and Patti Labelle. Oh, and they gave out some awards too. Check out the full list of winners below and for more on the show click here.

The 2010 BET Award Winners:
Lifetime Achievement: Prince

Viewers’ Choice: Rihanna

Best R&B Female ArtistL: Alicia Keys

Best Male R&B Artist: Trey Songz

Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Drake

Best Collaboration: “Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

Best New Artist: Nicki Minaj

Best Group: Young Money

Video of the Year: “Video Phone,” Beyonce and Lady Gaga

Youngstars Award: Keke Palmer

Best Actress: Mo’Nique

Best Actor: Idris Elba

Best Movie: “Precious”

Best Gospel: Marvin Sapp

Centric Award: Monica

Sportsman of the Year: LeBron James

Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams

Best International Act: Dizzee Rascal

Humanitarian Award: John Legend

And here’s cry baby Chris Brown’s performance: