Music Biz Spot

It’s a crazy day in the world of Buzzworthy, as two of our favorite artists, Justin Bieber and Ke$ha, celebrate their birthdays today.

At 16, Justin Bieber is king of the world. He’s friends with people like Diddy, Usher and Asher Roth, he makes great, sugar-coated R&B and drives fans into emotional overdrive. With his new release, My World 2.0 on the way, he’s sure to have a pretty sweet 16th year.

What can you say about Ke$ha? Well, by snagging a number-one song for “TiK ToK” and a No. 1 album with Animal, she’s reclaimed the chart throne for alt-rock queens everywhere. Plus, with her new single, “Blah Blah Blah,” catching fire, this trash-pop diva is making sure her 23rd year is off to a great start.

Instead of dishing out birthday presents, we’d pass along these two amazing fan-made videos. Check out adorable 12-year-old Avery singing and dancing to Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” (found via Buzzfeed) and a special Justin Bieber birthday rap, courtesy of two superfans.

Enjoy and happy birthday, Justin and Ke$ha!

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Tim Burton’s big-screen adaptation of Alice In Wonderland hits theaters this Friday, March 5, and it seems like the whole world—including lil’ old me—has gone crazy for all-things Wonderland. In order to celebrate the upcoming release, I plan on blogging in my Queen Of Hearts costume for the rest of the week, even though I got a really strange look from the mailman this morning… And it’s kind of hard to sit down in.

Regardless, I’ve been on the hunt for curiouser and curiouser Alice-themed items, and it’s finally time to share my favorite picks with you. Take some more tea and check ‘em out!

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrations by Camille Rose Garcia: Even if you’ve already read Alice In Wonderland, you’ve never read it like this! Camille Rose Garcia’s tripped-out illustrations make Alice’s adventures pop off the page like never before and we have a feeling that if Lewis Caroll could see the newest version of his literary masterpiece, he’d be beyond stoked.(Amazon.com, $9.93)

Disney Alice In Wonderland Red Queen Keyhole Bag: This red-canvas bag is plastered with a black-heart print and pleather trim. No one’s gonna mess with you when you’re sporting this tough-as-nails regal totes. Just ask the Queen Of Hearts, whose no-nonsense face appears on the front of the bag. (Hot Topic, $39.99)

Thomas Paul Clock Scarf: What time is it? You’ll want to look at a watch for that. However, you’ll always sport a timeless look with this cotton gauze scarf. (Burke Decor, $24.50)

Disney Alice In Wonderland Cheshire Cat Face T-Shirt: Your creepy T-shirt collection isn’t complete without this Cheshire Cat tee. Warning: Don’t be surprised if you scare small children—and a couple elderly people—when you wear this. It sure gives me the heebie-jeebies—but in a good way. (Hot Topic, $19)

The Tom Binns For Alice In Wonderland Keyhole Rose Ring: I love this ring because it’s trendy enough to fashionably celebrate the movie but classic enough to still wear long after the film hits my Netflix queue. (Karmaloop, $50)

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We recently hipped y’all to “No Hassle,” a new track from Swedish dancing queen, Robyn. At the time, we figured it must be an early single from the long-awaited follow-up to her 2005 self-titled album, which spawned dance-pop hits like “Konichiwa Bitches” and “With Every Heartbeat.”

Well, we were right—sort of. Robyn will be releasing one album this year… And then she’s gonna release two more. According to an interview in the Swedish magazine Bon (spotted via Pitchfork), Robyn is looking to make up for lost time with three LP efforts.

Expected amongst this flood of new material—which will apparently be released seasonally, with albums dropping in the spring, summer and fall—are collaborations with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Röyksopp and Diplo, who produced “No Hassle”.

Be sure to check out Pitchfork’s take on the Bon Magazine interview and read what Robyn has to say about Lady Gaga (she’s not a fan!), Fever Ray and Barack Obama.

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With the Academy Awards airing this Sunday, March 7th, we thought it would be a great idea to give props to our film-buff brethren and take this “From The Vault” opportunity to celebrate those brilliant directors who have successfully made the transition from music videos to big-screen blockbusters. Allow us to present you with the Top Videos By An Oscar-Nominated Director.

And… Action!

“Buddy Holly” by Weezer (directed by Spike Jonze, who was nominated for Being John Malkovich): You don’t have to be a Happy Days fan to appreciate the cinematic brilliance of this Jonze clip. Hell, the skateboard-loving director was even able to bring diner-owner Al Delvecchio out of storage for an unexpected cameo. Wonder if Ron Howard was busy…

“Vogue” by Madonna (directed by David Fincher, who was nominated for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button): Before directing big-screen cult classics like Se7en and Fight Club, Fincher got his start at the helm of videos for Paula Abdul (”Straight Up”), Aerosmith (”Janie’s Got A Gun”) and, of course, this particular Madge gem. We love the black-and-white tone and don’t get us started on the amazing dancing. You can’t see us, but we’re totally letting our bodies move to the music while we type this.

“Under The Bridge” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers (directed by Gus Van Sant, who was nominated for Milk): Understated yet powerful, this simple Chili Peppers clip is representative of Van Sant’s signature directing style. Before “Under The Bridge” was released, the Peppers were just another wild-and-crazy L.A. band; however, once the song and—more importantly—the video hit airwaves, the band became more than just keg-tapping figureheads. They became serious musicians—and inarguable rock stars.

“Fast As You Can” by Fiona Apple (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who was nominated for There Will Be Blood): Before hooking up with Maya Rudolph (and fathering a couple kids with the funnywoman), Paul Thomas Anderson was in a much-publicized, long-term relationship with Fiona Apple. He directed many clips for Apple but this one has got to be our favorite because the stop-action sequence at the end might’ve captured the only footage we’ve ever seen of Apple smiling. The man’s that talented.

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(Credit: Michele Crowe/MTV)

As you probably already know, we’re pretty big Never Shout Never heads. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Christofer Drew perform on MTV.com and host a pre-show chat, where all his fans were able to ask him any question that popped into their heads. So, we couldn’t be happier to announce that we’ll be premiering his new video, “Can’t Stand It,’ on Thursday, March 4th.

While we await his new video, check out this cool behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Can’t Stand It.”

We get to hear Christofer and director Issac Ravishankara chat about the concept behind the clip while Shankara talks openly about referencing iconic images of Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Looks like “Can’t Stand It” (which is taken from NSN’s What Is Love album) will pay homage to Dylan’s legendary documentary Don’t Look Back as well as the much-loved Beatles film, A Hard Day’s Night.

We can’t wait to see the final version and to see how this all shakes out! In the meantime, check out the making-of video below and make sure you’re with us on Thursday when we debut the full-length version of “Can’t Stand It.”

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(Credit: Michele Crowe/MTV)

According to the BBC, Dan Black makes something called “Wonky Pop.” What’s Wonky Pop? Think of it as genre-bending, dance-friendly electro-pop—much like the music of Little Boots, La Roux, Sam Sparro and New Young Pony Club—that happens to be currently emanated from similarly themed club nights in London.

As for Black, this particular British singer/producer has recently been making a big noise outside of the Wonky Pop scene with his song “Symphonies,” which combines the always fun ingredients of hip-hop drums and classical strings.

With all this hype, we had to find out more about this enigmatic new artist. In this episode of “The 5,” Black talks about his adopted hometown of Paris and the attitudinal similarities between Parisians and New Yorkers. He also muses on the role computers play in the way he shapes, creates and records his music, recalls an amazing trip to Senegal and waxes nostalgic about his time in dysfunctional bands.

Check out Dan Black’s episode of “The 5″ as well as his video for “Symphonies (Remix),” featuring Kid Cudi.

+ Click here to see all of MTV’s exclusive Dan Black photos

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(Photo credit: Christopher Polk / Getty Images)

If there were a pop-punk prom, we’d definitely vote New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert and Paramore’s Hayley Williams Prom King and Queen, respectively. This adorable couple makes such beautiful music together—literally.

The pair recently took to Chad’s What’s Eating Gilbert? blog to post a collaborative stab at the Moldy Peaches‘ off-kilter ode “Anyone But You”, otherwise known as the unofficial anthem to the movie Juno. Sure, the new version leaves out my favorite lyrics from the original—”squinched up your face and did a dance/you shook a little turd out of the bottom of your pants”—but I’m willing to overlook it because Gilbert and Williams’ voices fit together so perfectly. If you listen closely, I think you can actually hear the love between them. Too cute for words!

Eat your hearts out, Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Looks like you’ve got some heavy competition.

+ Listen to Chad Gilbert and Hayley Williams cover “Anyone But You” here.

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+ Ke$ha has found a new fairy godmother in the form of Courtney Love. The Hole frontwoman recently took to Twitter to provide some advice that Ke$ha will certainly find amusing, if not particularly useful: “”Sweetheart you make me go all maternal, I want to save you from the jaws of impermanence and soul death.” Awww, isn’t that sweet? (Perez Hilton)

+ Curious as to what exactly Lil’ Wayne’s daily routine in prison will be like? Well you could watch re-runs HBO’s Oz or, for a more realistic (and less violent) take, read this interesting interview with a corrections officer who breaks down exactly what Weezy will be facing. Apparently, “He’ll be able to watch television, go into the day room and congregate with people of his classification.” Sounds like my last vacation! (MTV News)

+ Last week, we highlighted the emotional plight of a certain 3-year-old girl who achieved Internet infamy after being captured on-camera, sobbing about Justin Bieber. Well, the frown is upside down now because the weeping toddler finally got to meet her favorite singer during the taping of a Jimmy Kimmel Live! sketch. (E! Online)

+ Lady Gaga had a pretty whatever weekend, bumming around London, grabbing some sushi and wearing… horns?!? Does this make you horny, baby? (PopEater)

+ Alicia Keys launched her Freedom tour this weekend and it looks like the R&B queen is getting rather theatrical this time around. Check out this collection of snapshots taken at the tour’s first stop in Ontario, Canada—and note the amount of cage-dancing that seems to be taking place. (That Grape Juice)

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Photo credit: Kevin Mazur / WireImage

“Let’s talk about sex, ba-by. Let’s talk about you and me. Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that can be.”

Salt-N-Pepa’s safe-sex anthem “Let’s Talk About Sex” might be nearly 20 years old, but the message still holds true today. In fact, at 11 AM EST / 8 AM PST / 4 PM GMT on March 1, Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper will be talking about sex and a bunch of other taboo topics as they participate in “An Electric Audience” hosted by MAC Cosmetics and moderated by Sharon Osbourne.

Gaga and Lauper were recently crowned celebrity spokeswomen for MAC’s Viva Glam line of makeup, which donates 100-percent of its proceeds to helping those living with and affected by the HIV/AIDS virus. To commemorate the pairing, the two singers have even released their own namesake MAC lipsticks, the profits of which will also go toward the MAC AIDS Fund.

The sex-themed discussion will be streamed live from London, England, on MAC’s Facebook page and Osbourne will even ask previously submitted fan questions to the two pop superstars.

Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick. Tune in and find out why you need to wrap it up before taking a ride on anyone’s disco stick.

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It seems like everyone fell in love with Estelle when her smash hit  “American Boy” invaded the airwaves in 2008: The hipster world loved her, the fashion world loved her and hip-hop world loved her (no thanks to her collaboration with Mr. Kanye West.)

But with love comes pressure—the pressure to keep fans happy, to keep the ball rolling and to come up with a follow-up anthem to “American Boy.” Well, based on the below behind-the-scenes clip taken on the set of her new video, “Freak,” you can say one thing about Estelle 2.0: She’s not playing it safe.

Directed by frequent West collaborator Nabil Elderkin (”Coldest Winter“), the video features a lot of green screen effects, Estelle dressed in full body-paint and the great Canadian M.C. Kardinal Offishall in “A Clockwork Orange mode.”

The song itself, produced by electronic hitmaker David Guetta, is a dirty, glitchy dance-floor filler. You can check it out now over at Estelle’s site.

Check out the video below and keep your peepers peeled for the full “Freak” video, coming soon.

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