by Kat George (@kat_george)

What Your New Year’s Eve Party Theme Song Says About Your Party Style

It’s almost New Year’s Eve, that one, glorious, most hopeful night of the year. It’s also that one night you’re going to party like it’s 1999, so let this week be dedicated to mani-pedis, haircuts, outfit buying, midnight kiss daydreaming, preemptive sleeping and playlist making. When it comes to partying, everyone has a distinctive song, an anthem, if you will — and we’re here to tell you what your New Year’s Eve theme song, that banger you’re going to be cranking at midnight, says about your party style, and what kind of New Year’s Eve you can expect…

Britney Spears – “Til The World Ends”
You’re either a strong believer in Mayan mythology or you just really, really love dancing. Chances are you’re going to be on the dance floor all night — forget about everything else, you just want to dance (until the world ends, heh). We’re going to take a punt and guess that you were going through puberty the first time you heard “… Baby One More Time,” and that Britney just so, like, makes you feel like a teenager again! If you’re anything like us (a Britney stalwart since the start), you’re just completely ecstatic to see Britney get her groove back.

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by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown For The Week Ending December 10, 2011

If you missed this week’s VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown, you’re in luck. Not only is it re-airing tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. on VH1, but we’ve got this week’s complete list of the week’s 20 hottest videos for you. After narrowly missing out on the top spot to Usher and David Guetta last week, Katy Perry‘s wistful “The One That Got Away” has snatched this week’s top spot. Check out the complete list of videos in the final Top 20 Video Countdown episode of 2011 below.

A reminder: VH1′s Top 40 videos of 2011 will be airing at a special time: Wednesday night, December 14, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Watch this space for more details!

1. Katy Perry, “The One That Got Away” [WATCH]
2. Kelly Clarkson – “Mr Know It All” [WATCH]
3. Daughtry – “Crawling Back To You”
4. Bruno Mars, “It Will Rain” [WATCH]
5. David Guetta featuring Usher – “Without You” [WATCH]
6. Rihanna, “We Found Love”
7. Coldplay – “Paradise” [WATCH]
8. Safetysuit, “Let Go”
9. Adele – “Someone Like You” [WATCH]
10. The Fray, “Heartbeat” [WATCH]

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by Jim Shearer

Shearer’s Spotlight: Jim’s Favorite Non-Holiday Songs For The Holiday Season

Each week here on VH1 Tuner, our VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown host Jim Shearer (@jimshearer on Twitter) will be sharing his Shearer’s Spotlight with us. Be sure to tune into the Top 20 Countdown tomorrow morning when it airs on VH1 at 9 a.m. ET/PT.

Jim ShearerIf you’re already sick of holiday music—especially since department stores have been holding Muzak systems hostage since Halloween—here is a list of non-Christmas songs that still give an essence of the holiday season. (Rest assured, this list was not complied by doing a quick Google search; all of the following tracks are quality tested and in rotation on my iPod.)

1.) “Starlight,” Muse
One of the best “big-rock” love songs of the 2000’s.

2.) “Fake Plastic Trees,” Radiohead
A tune that always comes to mind whenever I zigzag through a plastic tree display at a department store.

3.) “Toys Go Winding Down,” Primus
Behooves me that this song has yet to be exploited on various Christmas music compilations.

4.) “Walking With A Ghost,” Tegan & Sara
Ebenezer Scrooge can totally relate.

5.) “Snowflake,” Malachai
Malachai’s The Ugly Side of Love was my sleeper-hit album of last year, and this is my favorite track from it.

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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Report: Rihanna Has Been Put Under “24 Hour Health Watch” After Suffering From Exhaustion

Poor Rihanna. The 23-year old performer is in danger of being seriously over-worked on her 101 date world tour, with reports flooding in that her health is suffering. It has been reported that RiRi broke down backstage in Dublin in November, almost cancelling her show, so she’s been put under 24 hour health watch — meaning that she’ll be under constant surveillance and now has a curfew — in a bid to curtail her overwhelming exhaustion.

It’s no wonder the star has been run ragged. Her Loud tour, which has kept her on the road for the last ten months, hasn’t been the only thing taking up RiRi’s time: she’s appeared on The X Factor and The Grammy Awards Nominations concert; she’s been looking for love, blitzing the charts as well as releasing her newest album, Talk That Talk, mid-tour. All in all, it’s been a jammed packed year for the “We Found Love” singer. We hope RiRi gets a good night sleep soon, or at the very least, takes another relaxing vacation with the gals.

Rihanna Reportedly On 24-Hour Health Watch (VIDEO) [The Huffington Post]

by Kat George (@kat_george)

Michael Buble’s Christmas Takes Number 1 Position On The Billboard 200 Chart

This holiday season it’s snowing Bublé, as Michael Bublé‘s album Christmas scrapes into the number 1 spot this week on the Billboard 200 chart. Ousting Nickelback‘s Here And Now by a freckle, Bublé’s Christmas reached the top spot by selling 227,000 copies, a mere 0.18% more than Nickelback (which is the closest race since 2007). While we’re huge supporters of both artists, as November ends and the festive season is well and truly upon us, we can’t stop humming Bublé’s “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” so we think it’s pertinent that the Christmas themed album should inch ahead. “Christmas” is Bublé’s third number 1 album and marks his best sales week ever — Merry Christmas to you, Sir Bublé!

Meanwhile, Rihanna’s Talk That Talk shifted 197,000 units, good for third place. This debut is a smidge off her first week sales of Loud last year, which sold 207,000 units, but with “We Found Love” firmly entrenched at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “You Da One” steamrolling its way towards the Top 10—it’s sitting at #14 this week—RiRi’s camp is sitting pretty for an extended chart run.

Bublé Bests Nickelback, Rihanna On Billboard 200 [Billboard]

[Photo: Getty Images]

by Lacey Seidman (@Lacezilla)

Young Jeezy Unveils New Film, A Hustlerz Ambition, in NYC

Sometimes “movements are bigger than single records,” says Jay-Z in Young Jeezy’s new biographical film, A Hustlerz Ambition; a comment that can easily summarize the Snowman’s rise to fame. Last night, in two theaters at New York City’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema, the documentary tied to the release of Jeezy’s fourth album, Thug Motivation 103: A Hustlerz Ambition, was unveiled and screened for the very first time by Def Jam and the man of the hour himself. Chronicling the drug-slinging trap rapper’s evolution, the film documents both sides of Jeezy’s (real name: Jay Jenkins) personal and professional lives, focusing on painful, comedic and triumphant moments while on his path to becoming a bonafide player in the rap game.

Making the audience privy to many intimate details of his life, the film delves into Jeezy’s childhood, how his uncle “Bo” first gave him forty dollars to flip at age 11, the divorce of his military father and substance abusing-mother (who he later saw buy and be high on crack), living with his grandmother in Hawkinsville, Georgia and utilizing her stove to dominate the streets, fighting for paternity rights to his son, and battling severe health problems like Bell’s Palsy and polyps on his vocal cords. While the glimpse into his personal history is informative and helps to understand his overall story, the film, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Chris Robinson, is mostly geared toward shedding light on Jeezy’s relentless drive to achieve everything he wants in life, plus much more.
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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Scars On 45 Cover Rihanna’s “We Found Love” Live At VH1 Headquarters

VH1′s You Oughta Know Artist, Scars On 45, stopped by the VH1 headquarters recently to play a short set of songs for us. We’re brimming with excitement to have the British quintet join our You Oughta Know stable, as we’ve been loving their new EP, Heart On Fire. The band was formed by former professional soccer player Danny Bemrose after an injury sidelined him from the game, and his new career direction is off to an incredible start. Scars On 45 have already had their songs featured on hit TV shows like CSI: New York, Grey’s Anatomy, and One Tree Hill, and their debut LP is set to be released sometime in early 2012. With a certain sincerity, Scars On 45′s sentimental brand of music embraces both the bleeding heart and classic rock, with an earthiness that speaks to the elemental qualities of the natural environment of their homeland in England.

During their stripped down set here in the heart of Times Square, between their endearing banter and heartfelt performances of their own songs, the band took a moment to cover Rihanna and Calvin Harris‘ number one smash, “We Found Love”. Admitting to the audience that they’d forgotten the words to the song when performing it live in concert the night before, Scars On 45 seemed confident regardless, and although they expressed a giggly trepidation, they took on Rihanna’s dance anthem head-on and didn’t miss a beat. However, Scars On 45′s rendition was no dance anthem — quite the opposite really, pairing a guitar-led, folksy sound with Rihanna’s lyrics, giving the song a completely new dimension. Pared back, slow and melodic, the song, but for the words, was barely discernible from the original, taking on a new, powerfully romantic poignancy. The rest of Scars On 45′s live performance will be coming soon, and we’ve got plenty of more whimsy where this came from!
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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Last Lap: Florence + The Machine Cover Drake And Rihanna’s “Take Care”

Florence + The Machine Cover Drake’s “Take Care”
Florence + The Machine covered Drake‘s “Take Care” on BBC Radio 1′s Live Lounge, and while the cover featured all the soaring, atmospheric vocals we love Florence Welch for, it missed the brooding darkness of Drake and Rihanna‘s original. [Spin]

Wyclef Jean’s Haiti Charity May Have Been Involved In Some Shady Spending
The books are allegedly failing to add up for Wyclef‘s Yele Haiti relief fund. The charity reportedly made $16 million in 2010, but only an alleged $5.1 million was spent on the relief effort. Wyclef is being defensive, and for Haiti’s sake, we hope he doesn’t turn out to be a swindler. [Billboard]

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by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown For The Week Ending November 19, 2011

If you missed this week’s VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown, you’re in luck. Not only is it re-airing tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. on VH1, but we’ve got this week’s complete list of the week’s 20 hottest videos for you. After losing the top spot to Adele last week, our brand new VH1 Unplugged star Kelly Clarkson is sitting pretty in the top spot of this week’s countdown with “Mr. Know It All.” Check out the complete list of videos below, and be sure to visit Top20.VH1.com to vote for your favorite videos all week long.

1. Kelly Clarkson – “Mr Know It All” [WATCH]
2. Britney Spears – “Criminal” [WATCH]
3. David Guetta featuring Usher – “Without You” [WATCH]
4. Daughtry – “Crawling Back To You”
5. Bush – “The Sounds of Winter”
6. Adele – “Someone Like You” [WATCH]
7. Coldplay – “Paradise” [WATCH]
8. Katy Perry, “The One That Got Away” [WATCH]
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” [WATCH]
10. Bruno Mars, “It Will Rain” [WATCH]

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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Imagined Personals Ads From Some Of Your Favorite Single Pop Stars

On a recently taped episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show, Rihanna got personal about her love life, revealing that she’s not dating anyone right now (Ed. Note — DM me, BB!). RiRi then went on to draft a personals ad for Ellen, revealing what she’s looking for, “I like men that are more aggressive but mysterious but I like a man to be very sure. I like them to be sure of themselves and know that you’re the man. I’m the lady and the only way for us to make this work is for us to play our roles. You know, I can’t really be the man for you. I don’t want to have to be. I’m the man at work all the time.” Rihanna’s perfect man criteria got us to thinking, and we took the liberty of creating some personals ads for some of our favorite single stars who are so awesome they definitely shouldn’t be single.

Lady Gaga
I’m looking for someone to love me for me, because I will love you for you, and that includes all your freaky business. Sure, I’m a monster (this will bode well for you in ‘special’ moments *wink*) but so are you. At least you should be. I only date other monsters. You must be tolerant of my many hats, wigs and vertiginous shoes. If you’re so inclined, you’d be free to share these things and borrow them for your own personal use. You should be creative and boundary pushing and passionate. Our relationship will be an art work, and we will perpetuate high-culture through our love.

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