by Jim Shearer

Shearer’s Spotlight: 5 Things That Need To Happen In To Make 2012 A Great Year For Music

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.

As you know, 2012 is still an infant — yes, just like Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s baby girl — so while January welcomes us with open arms, here is a list of things that need to happen in the next 12 months to help ensure a high-quality year of music:

1. Adele Needs To Sing
No word yet if Adele will be performing at the Grammys, but she will be singing at the Brit Awards in March. You can’t have an album as big as 21 and not tour. And because Adele’s sophomore album was so huge, she may have to play arenas, the type of venue she fears playing (ironically, her voice is made for such big places).

2. Buy A Ticket To See Madonna
Every young pop star needs to buy a ticket to see Madonna when she inevitably goes out on tour this year in support of her forthcoming album, MDNA. Yes, there are pop stars younger, sexier and more talented than Madonna, but this is a lesson in longevity and consistency. Madonna is 53 years old and is going to put on a high-energy, non-stop show that will humble the artists who drive on the pop-highway she paved.

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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Will Jay-Z And Beyonce Film A Music Video In Outer Space?

“We gon’ take it to the moon, take it to the stars. How many people you know can take it this far?” Apparently, Beyoncé‘s lyric on Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s “Lift Off” might be truer than you first thought, with the couple allegedly in talks to, “Take this whole thing to Mars.” The power pair are allegedly planning to film their next video, very literally, in outer space — aboard one of Virgin mogul Richard Branson‘s Virgin Galactic ships. It is being reported by UK tabloid The Sun, that “everything is being done to make it happen,” although we won’t be holding our breath. Not only is the report unfounded, it would be extremely impractical for new parents Jay and Beyoncé to blast off into outer space — and not just because of the baby. We’re not sure of the logistics of space travel, but we have an inkling that it’s not as simple as say, setting out to sea or flying overseas. And what song would they record a video for? Would it be “Bonnie & Clyde: Reloaded”? Or something new? Regardless, there’s a little part of our imaginations that would love to see something like this happen, and who better than the Knowles/Carter dream team?

Beyonce and Jay-Z to film first music video in space? [NME]
BEYONCE and her husband Jay-Z want to make the first music video in SPACE [The Sun]

[Photos: Getty Images]

by Kat George (@kat_george)

Last Lap: There’s Speculation That The Spice Girls Will Reunite For The 2012 Olympics

There’s Speculation That The Spice Girls Will Reunite For The 2012 Olympics
Rumors are flying that the Spice Girls might reunite (again) for the 2012 Olympics. This is what we want, what we really, really want! [Idolator]

Famous Fashion Photographer Cancels On Lady Gaga
Famous fashion photographer David Bailey cancelled a recent shoot with Lady Gaga saying, “There were too many rumors about her storming out and being silly. And I can’t be bothered. If she can sing, why wear funny clothes? Ella Fitzgerald never wore funny clothes.” SNAP! [The Cut]

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by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Beyonce’s Alleged Miscarriage, Aaliyah’s Death And Other Insights Into Jay-Z’s New Song, “Glory (Featuring B.I.C.)”

The Internet has pretty much come to a standstill this afternoon thanks to Jay-Z’s new track “Glory”, which features vocals from the youngest MC in the game, his 2-day-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter (aka The Notorious B.I.C.). In the halls here at Video Hits One, the song is pumping out of offices, tinny laptop speakers and even iPod earbuds, and has driven all of the women (and even some grown ass men) to tears. Well, your friendly VH1 Tuner editors have managed to keep the tears at a minimum and stay focused on the task at hand, and we’re happy to bring you this close reading of “Glory”:

BEYONCÉ SUFFERED A MISCARRIAGE … OR DID SHE?
Lyrics In Question: “False alarms and false starts, all made better by the sound of your heart / All the of the pain of the last time, I prayed so hard it was the last time” and “Last time the miscarriage was so tragic / We was afraid you’d disappear but nah baby, you magic”
Translation: Everyone in the media is inferring that this lyric is about Beyoncé, but there’s a pretty good chance that it isn’t. In Jay-Z’s song “This Can’t Be Life,” he makes reference to a stillborn baby (“Baby came out stillborn / So I gotta move on”) from a previous relationship, a fact that was also confirmed in his book Decoded. Now, this isn’t to say DEFINITIVELY that the reference isn’t to something that happened between Jay-Z and Beyoncé —as we know, these two are nothing if not tremendously private— but rather that all of the media speculation attributing this reference to Bey is a bit premature.

THAT SH*T CRAY: BLUE IVY CARTER WAS CONCEIVED IN PARIS
Lyric In Question: “You don’t yet know what swag is / But you was made in Paris / And Mama woke up the next day and shot her album package.”
Translation: Step off, Beyoncé birthers! Much has been made of the legitimacy of Beyoncé’s pregnancy, and the inclusion of this line is a not-so-subtle “Eff you” from Jay-Z to the haters. Because we’re nothing if not sticklers for the truth, we did some research and discovered that Bey and Jay took a 9-day trip to Paris from April 19, 20102011 until April 28, 2011. During this time, they recorded the vocals to “Lift Off” (which appeared on Jay and Ye’s Watch The Throne collaboration) and, apparently, made sweet, sweet love. If you do the math, that trip was eight months and some change ago.

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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Welcome To The World Of Famous Musical Offspring, Blue Ivy Carter! (PS: Here’s How Fast Your Peers Got On Stage)

This weekend, the world welcomed baby Blue Ivy Carter, the offspring of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and possibly the most important baby on earth right now (or ever, who knows?) into its open arms. After months of speculation, second guessing, and red herrings, the baby girl is finally here and now we’ve got a whole new set of questions to deal with. For starters: When are we going to see baby Blue Ivy? Do you think she’s made of gold or magic or sparkles? Does she have super powers? Will she grow up to fulfill Mom and Dad’s musical legacy? And if so, how long do we have to wait to hear the chosen one’s voice on a record?

With all these questions in mind, we tracked down some other famous babies with musician parents, found out how long it took them to get from the womb to the recording studio, and employed the law of averages to try and figure out when we can expect Blue Ivy’s first number one song. According to the following cross section, we’re expecting Blue Ivy to lay down her first album by age 11…

  • Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In 1981, at the age of 5, Sean recited a story on his mother’s album Season of Glass.

  • Hailie Jade Mathers, daughter of Marshall Mathers a.k.a Eminem. At age 6, Hailie’s vocal was featured on Eminem’s “My Dad’s Gone Crazy”.
  • Chloe Lattanzi, daughter of Olivia Newton John. At age 8, Chloe provided backing vocals for “The Way Of Love” from Olivia’s 1994 album Gaia.

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by Kat George (@kat_george)

Last Lap: A Man Is Stabbed For Not Knowing Jay-Z And Beyonce Are Married

A Man Is Stabbed For Not Knowing Jay-Z And Beyoncé Are Married
A man was actually stabbed by someone else for his failure to comprehend that Jay-Z and Beyoncé are married. It’s lucky the attacker didn’t quiz him on the baby too… [Prefix]

Jack White To Collaborate With Tom Jones
Veteran crooner Tom Jones is reportedly set to collaborate with contemporary rock star Jack White. Apparently the unlikely couple will be covering Howling Wolf’s “Evil,” and also “Jezebel,” from Jones’ 2002 album, Mr. Jones. [Spin]

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by Kat George (@kat_george)

The Top 10 Music Stories Of 2011: From Baby Bey-Z To Lana Del Rey

2011 has been a big year in music, and between the Grammys, new babies, viral artists and some great losses, the music world has been rocked over and over again. With only a few days left until we wave goodbye to 2011, we’re reflecting on the 10 biggest stories of the year…

1. Beyoncé’s Pregnancy
Forget actual music — who cares about music when the Queen Of Everything is pregnant? It seemed like all anyone was talking about in 2011 was Beyoncé‘s pregnancy, from the initial, dramatic reveal during her VMAs performance of “Love On Top,” to the controversy surrounding the realness of her baby bump. And now the world waits with baited breath for the chosen one to emerge from the most revered womb on earth.

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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 Kat George (@kat_george)

Beyonce Is Rumoured To Be In Labor, We Bite Nails, Pace Anxiously, Can’t Think About Anything Else

Apparently, the moment we've all been waiting for well may be upon us. Reports are rushing in from all over the Internet that last night nurses and security at New York’s St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital were placed on high alert with the imminent arrival of a high profile patient — and given that Beyoncé‘s pregnancy is the most high profile pregnancy in New York this year, tongues have been sent wagging. Rumours say that half the floor of the hospital’s “Labor And Delivery Suite” has been booked by the special mystery guest, and while there’s no actual confirmation yet that Baby Bey-Z is on his/her way out of the womb, speculation is rife given that the booked ward is the exact same ones Knowles-Carter close friend Alicia Keys gave birth in. While Beyoncé has been cryptic about her due date, first announcing she was due in February then releasing a video in which she declared herself 6 months pregnant in September, it seems that our Pregoncé was simply throwing the paps off the scent. And while fans and critics alike have been questioning whether Bey might be faking her pregnancy, everything is starting to add up, and if she is indeed giving birth as you read this, well then, naysayers be damned! King B has been pregnant all along! We’ll be on the case all day, so watch this space for updates…

MTO World Exclusive: Beyonce Set To Give Birth . . . At Any Moment!!! (We Got All The Details . . . And Updates) [Media Take Out]
Beyonce To Give Birth At Any Moment [24 Hour Hip Hop]

by Kat George (@kat_george)

12 Days Of DIVAS: Destiny’s Child Turn It “Upside Down”

We’re creeping closer still to VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul airing on VH1 on Monday, December 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and we’re starting to get the pre-day jitters! The show will feature performances by Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Florence + The Machine, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J and other lovely ladies.

For the past 11 days, we’ve been feeling the soul of DIVAS by revisiting performances from DIVAS past, including Jill Scott, Beyoncé, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston and more. Today, we’ve giving you another dose of destiny, with Destiny’s Child performing Diana Ross“Upside Down,” and yep, they’re still in those amazing matching-but-slightly-different gold lame outfits that defined the year 2000. It’s pretty exciting to see Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland take the lead and shine (both literally and figuratively) way back when they were still part of a four-piece, and great to see the girls taking it to the audience. The performance is full of funk and synchronized hip popping, and is making us not only nostalgic for the DIVAS of yesteryear, but excited for the DIVAS of the future.

VH1 DIVAS Celebrates Soul will premiere exclusively on VH1 on Monday, December 19, 2011, at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.

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