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| CHRIS BROWN |
In November 2005, Chris Brown’s Scott Storch-produced “Run It!” -- a rewrite of Usher’s “Yeah!” -- topped the Billboard Hot 100, making the 16-year-old singer the first male artist in over a decade to top the chart with a debut single. While there was nowhere to go but down, at least in terms of chart positions, the pop-oriented R&B vocalist was only getting started. By the end of the decade, he was one of the biggest active pop stars, with a clutch of Top Ten singles and platinum albums to his credit, along with constant comparisons to Michael Jackson and several acting roles on the side. His momentum slowed little when, in 2009, he pleaded guilty to assaulting girlfriend Rihanna -- one of the year’s biggest celebrity news stories.
Brown came from a small Virginia town called Tappahannock. Like a lot of kids born since the early '80s, he was initially into his parents' favorite music but eventually fell under the spell of hip-hop. Around the time he reached puberty, he discovered his singing ability and switched his focus away from MC'ing. A move to New York led to being discovered by Tina Davis, a Def Jam A&R executive who became the singer’s manager shortly after losing her position to the Sony-BMG merger. The Jive label, due in part to its track record with younger artists who had established longevity (like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake), won the bidding war for Brown and lined up several production and songwriting heavyweights, including Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Sean Garrett, and Storch, for his self-titled first album. An immediate Top Ten hit when it was released in 2005, Chris Brown not only featured the number one “Run It!” but two other Top Ten singles in “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” and “Say Goodbye.” Exclusive, released in 2007 and a bit of a departure from the squeaky-clean image displayed throughout the debut, was even more successful, featuring the number one single "Kiss Kiss" and two other Top Five hits. Yet another Top Five hit came with “No Air,” a duet with Jordin Sparks that appeared on Sparks' own self-titled album.
In March 2009, Brown was charged with felonious assault of Rihanna -- an altercation that had prevented his then-girlfriend from taking the stage at the Grammy Awards. Brown was scheduled to perform as well, but he did not appear and maintained a low profile for several months. A fairly substantial backlash resulted in Brown’s songs being pulled from rotation on several radio stations. Ultimately, however, it had little bearing on the progress of his music and acting careers; the week prior to the December release of his third album, Graffiti, the single “I Can Transform Ya” was well on its way to reaching the Top 20 of the Hot 100, and his acting roles -- which had already included spots in Stomp the Yard and a recurring role on The O.C. -- hadn’t shown any sign of drying up. Graffiti fell considerably short of gold-selling status, but it was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best Contemporary R&B Album, and the Tank collaboration "Take My Time" was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Weeks after the 2011 Grammy Awards ceremony, Brown released his fourth album, F.A.M.E., which already had four singles on the charts. That album topped the Billboard 200 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts, and it also took the 2012 Grammy for Best R&B Album. During the ceremony, he performed a medley of "Beautiful People" (off F.A.M.E.) and "Turn Up the Music," the latter of which previewed Fortune, his fifth album, released in May 2012 ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi.
The 2012 VMA nominees: battles, BFFs, and boy bands!
1.) Rihanna's got one of the biggest potential VMA hauls -- she's up for five VMAs. Katy Perry's up for four VMAs, and they're battling each other in head-to-head hot-girl-to-hot-girl competition in four different categories: Video Of The Year, Best Female Video, Best Art Direction, and Best Visual Effects. My thing is like, I hope this doesn't affect their BFF status, you know? I actually hope they each win two each for the sake of parity and for the sake of friendship.
2.) Rihanna's got four different videos on the board -- "Take Care," (which she's nominated for with Drake), "We Found Love," "Where Have You Been," and "Princess Of China" via Coldplay. If you're Rihanna, how do you choose your favorite video? Do you think she does that thing my mom did, where she told me and sisters that we were each her favorite so we'd all think we were the most special in a backwards way? Like, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE? Thankfully you guys are doing the voting.
3.) Five of the six professional VMA categories feature a video Rihanna was in. The point is, if you want a cool-looking video, make sure Rihanna's in it.
4.) Speaking of Rihanna, both Drake and Chris Brown are battling each other in the Best Male Video category... Awkward.
Find out more about the 2012 MTV VMA nominees after the jump!
5.) Speaking of guys doing battle in the Best Male Video category, Usher's up against his protégé, Justin Bieber in that category. Total "Emma" situation but with dance battles and gratuitous use of the word "swaggy."
6.) And speaking of students becoming masters, Carly Rae Jepsen, whose BOSS is Justin Bieber, is up for Best New Artist, which Justin Bieber won in 2010. Justin Bieber's probably like "Oh man, now I know how Usher must feel." And then he's probably like "whatever, swag," and hops in his chromed-out Fisker Karma and goes to Taco Bell.
7.) Speaking of Justin Bieber, he and girlfriend Selena Gomez were both nominated for VMAs; he's nominated for Best Male Video and Best Pop Video, and Selena Gomez and the Scene are nominated for Best Female Video. I hope they both win for the sake of things not being awkward in their relationship, you know? I wouldn't want to be "the one who didn't win a VMA that year" in the relationship, you know?
8.) Both One Direction and The Wanted were nominated for Best New Artist, which was a relief to me, quite frankly, because both British boy bands are of the boy bands are so talented and have major hustle and were equally deserving of a nod. (I thought "Glad You Came" alone should've been nominated for EVERYTHING, but they didn't ask me this year. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if either band can steal Best New Artist away from fun., Carly Rae Jepsen, or Frank Ocean.
9.) Two Beyonce songs were nominated, "Love On Top" and "Countdown." As a Beyonce Stan, I think EVERY Beyonce song should be nominated for EVERY award, so if one wins and not the other, I'll be deva, personally.
10.) Duck Sauce's "Big Bad Wolf" was nominated for two VMAs, proving that you can have a high-dea as completely revolting, hilarious, and NSFW as making a video made of human d***heads, and you could wind up nominated for two VMAs. Nicely done!
Alicia Keys To Perform 'Crazy' New Song At Video Music Awards
Keys says her return to the VMA stage will be the 'perfect setting' for her to introduce her never-before-heard track.
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| ALICIA KEYS |
"Debuting a new song at the VMAs is definitely special. I debuted 'No One' at the VMAs, it was the first time anyone had ever heard 'No One,' " Keys told MTV News. "It was just the perfect setting. It's the right energy. It's the right vibe. It's just that edgy enough for people to be open to hearing new songs. I think people are so excited about the night of music and hearing different styles that it just goes over really well, and this time I am going to debut a brand new song as well. This song is so crazy! I'm so excited for real. I'm so excited. I can't wait to tell y'all about it but it's just a really empowering and powerful moment."
And Keys admits that she is more excited and confident as ever to share her new music with not only her fans, but the entire VMA audience.
"I'm in my space and I feel more confident than ever to really just have a crazy, fun time," Keys said of performing at the Video Music Awards. "It's so exciting to bring people into my world and where I've been and what I've been working on. And there's no better place in the whole wide world than the VMAs to do that, so it's gonna be crazy!"
Keys has had a long history with the VMAs. She made her VMA debut back in 2001, when she won her first Moonman for Best New Artist in a Video and wowed the crowd with her performance of her hit song, "Fallin'." In 2004, Keys took the stage yet again, but this time had some assistance. She was joined by Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder for a performance medley of "If I Ain't Got You" and "Higher Ground."
Most recently Keys performed in 2009, as she and Jay-Z closed out the New York City show with a rousing rendition of, "Empire State of Mind." In 2010, the song won Keys her fourth Moonman — she has a total of 12 nominations — for Best Cinematography.
While Keys will be the VMA veteran performer, MTV is also welcoming some newcomers to the stage. On Tuesday (July 31), it was announced that British boy banders One Direction will make their VMA debut as a performer and have racked up two VMA nominations, including Best New Artist.
A full list of VMA nominations have been announced with Rihanna and Drake leading the crowd with five nominations each including, Video of the Year for "We Found Love" as well as their joint hit, "Take Care." Not far behind them is Katy Perry with four nominations and Beyoncé with three.
Beginning Tuesday, fans can vote for their favorite artists at vma.mtv.com or m.mtv.com on their mobile phones. Voting for all VMA categories, except for Best New Artist, will end on August 24 at 6 p.m. ET. Voting for Best New Artist continues through the show which airs live Thursday, September 6 at 8 p.m
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