–by Meghan O’Keefe (@megsokay)
Azealia Banks just had an exciting weekend in Australia. She almost got into a fist fight with The Stone Roses, and then promptly joined Prodigy on stage for a live performance of “Firestarter”, and if that wasn’t enough, she took to twitter to call Rita Ora out for being a mean girl–a charge Ora promptly denied via text…that Banks then shared with the world.
Rita Ora turned down her chance to become the voice for her country after auditioning for Eurovision: Your Country Needs You at the age of 18. The judges were blown away by a young Rita, but for whatever reason–perhaps she thought bigger things were in store for her–she said thanks, but no thanks. Read more…
Last year was dominated by celebrities, athletes and even politicians miming the lyrics to an undeniable musical force known as “Call Me Maybe.” The first few spoofs were cute–dare we say entertaining?–but after a while the sheer ubiquity forced us to temporarily break up with Carly Rae Jepsen and her infectious piece of pop perfection. It was for the best! Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Psy‘s “Gangnam Style” stepped in toward the end of 2012, but which act and his or he super duper catchy track will receive the same treatment in the new year?
These trends start with the kids, but often get the biggest boost once celebrities get involved. James Franco made a case for Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” last week, which was interesting (as all things Franco tend to be) but covering a song that’s nearly a year old feels like too little too late; there are more important Bieber topics to discuss nowadays. The latest entry vying for most shareable proof of celebrity goofiest comes courtesy of BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, and features a bevy of British acts giving their best G.O.O.D. Music audition. Oh, God!
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Her name created enough buzz in 2012 for Rita Ora to make our Music’s Biggest Breakout Stars of 2012 list. But according to Jay-Z‘s British protege, 2013 is going to be her year. In an interview with MTV she is seemingly excited about the U.S. release of her debut Ora. “2013 is really important for me because it’s gonna to be the first time the U.S. hears my official album and I wanted to put a few extra tracks on there and make it really special,” she told MTV. “So I’m basically giving you guys a whole new album of new material.” Read more…
We’re three days away from ending 2012– the year the Mayan’s math didn’t quite add up–with a bang. Before we bid this year adieu we’ve documented the Best Ofs for the past 12 months; so during the next predicted Apocalypse rears its false head, we’ll reminisce on the Crunkest Songs of 2012 or 2012′s 8 Most Underated Singles or the Best Songs of 2012.
Our countdown continues with the 12 of Music’s Breakout Stars of 2012. It’s been a glorious year musically with diverse projects by promising new artists. While Frank Ocean‘s stardom is no surprise, who would’ve expected PSY to sing with Bieber‘s manager Scooter Braun? Meek Mill sketched his name in cement as one of hip-hop’s brightest stars this year transitioning from mixtape storyteller to mainstream success. How good 2013 will treat these breakout stars is unforeseeable, but with raised glasses let’s all toast to the year of stars coming out (no pun intended). Read more…
If Rita Ora was “really upset” about that little #ritawhora incident, she sure didn’t let it show during last night’s packed show at the Highline Ballroom in New York. The only possible nod to the drama came at the end of “Fair,” a bold Ester Dean-penned ballad about letting go, when she joked, “I should, right?” The aside may have made for a juicy gossip item, but we were too busy thinking she was sounding like Beyoncé to care.
Over the past few years Ora has become quite a celebrity, often seen out on the arm of Jay-Z or Rob Kardashian, a regular presence at fashion weeks round the world and a frequent subject on our Tumblr dashboards. And so its easy to forget that most of all she fancies herself a musician, and though you can’t buy it in American stores yet (next year, she promised), that she’s got a whole album full of songs that are generally pretty good. A bunch of them were written by the same people that write all the hits (Sia, Deen, Stargate, The-Dream, Drake), and more than a few of them might have her sounding an awful like Rihanna if it weren’t for one thing: Rita Ora can really sing.
The new visual for “Radioactive” has Rita Ora really stepping up her video game. Ora’s prior releases have been glossy but down-to-earth — “How We Do (Party)” finding her at party way cooler than any we’ve ever been invited to, “Shine Your Light” returning the pop star to her native Kosovo — but this video does the opposite, taking her out of this world and landing her in some sort of glamorous outer-space kingdom. Because when you look as good in a leotard spacesuit as she does, why not?
Oh, brother. Did Rita Ora land the role Rihanna secretly coveted in the forthcoming The Fast and the Furious 6? Hopefully this is just another silly ploy by the tabloids to create a non-existent chick beef between the singers. The fact is: Rita Ora did nail her audition enough to snag a role in the sixth flick in the series that shall never end. Read more…
Like much of the past few weeks, last night’s MVT European Music Awards were in large part a celebration of our VH1 Storyteller Taylor Swift. Taylor spent much of the night flexing her Surprise Face muscles for each of the three awards she won — for Best Female, Best Live Act and Best Look — and gabbing about how excited she is to have clocked her first EMA win. Of the other winners, a broken hearted Justin Bieber took three of his own (Best Male, Best Pop and Beste World Stage), Carly Rae Jepsen took Best Song, One Direction took Best New and Biggest Fans, and PSY of course won for Best Video; Rihanna meanwhile went 0 for 6 nominations, leaving empty handed.
And perhaps we’ve caught the Red fever, but we really enjoyed the old time-y circus act that was Taylor’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” performance (which the evening’s host, Heidi Klum, made way for by floating away with a balloon in hand). She donned a big black top hat and a red sequined jacket, and was joined on stage by clowns on tiny bikes, a harem of ballerina clowns and some fire breathers (pyrotechnics were big with all the performers last night). It was maybe not her strongest vocal showing, but after all the time she spent twirling round the circus ring of a stage, who could blame her for being a little short of breath by the end? Red has only just come out, and award show season is just around the corner, and there’s sure to be more winning night’s like this in the near future of Taylor
All the way from Frankfurt, Germany, this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards is serving up a platter of musical guests for the continent’s biggest award show. Taylor Swift‘s album promotion and upcoming VH1 Storytellers debut won’t keep her from flying across the pond to grace the stage for the big night. No Doubt and Muse will also show Germany what they are made of. Secretly we’re hoping No Doubt rocks out with a wild performance of “Just A Girl.” Is that too much to ask? Read more…
VH1 Presents Mixtape Festival: Train, NKOTB, TLC, The Script + more! Tickets on sale now at MixtapeFestival.com!
