With the ghost of Biggie nowhere to be seen, Taylor Swift still managed to invite some incredibly impressive guests to join her on stage last night at her Madison Square Garden show. When Taylor welcomed BFF Selena Gomez to the stage to sing with her, we were half hoping the two would cover Nicki Minaj‘s “Super Bass” after their fan-girl display at the AMAs. Unfortunately, we had no such luck, but we were just as delighted with their adorable performance of “Who Says.” Taylor also performed with legendary singer/songwriter James Taylor (who she was named after). Describing the circumstances as “magical,” Taylor played “Fire And Rain” and “Fifteen” (video below) with her namesake, and proved that “magical” was somewhat of an understatement.
The Top Five Artists We’d Like To See Taylor Swift Perform With Tonight At Madison Square Garden
Taylor Swift has been blazing across the country on her Speak Now tour, and in her warm, earnest way, she’s been welcoming city-specific guests to share the stage with her while she pays unique tributes to all the towns she visits. And now, on the final leg of her tour, Taylor is in that town, New York City, and the opportunities for tributes and guests are almost endless. For her first New York show last night at Madison Square Garden, Taylor played “one of the greatest songs ever written,” The Goo Goo Dolls‘ “Iris,” with the band’s frontman Johnny Rzeznik. With one last show set to light up the Garden tonight, we’re speculating who of the New York set will join Taylor on stage. Will it be a Strokes affair? Mother Monster? Or a spectral visitor from the afterlife?
Who did we miss? We want to hear your thoughts!
[Photos: Lauren Deiman/Getty Images]
Ten Helpful Conversation Starters If You Missed The 2011 American Music Awards
Did you watch the 2011 American Music Awards last night? No worries whatsoever if you didn’t, because we here at VH1 Tuner have got your back. Whether you need something to discuss with Sally from Accounting about for the 20 seconds you’re awkwardly standing together in the break room waiting for your coffee to finish brewing OR you want to make sure your pop culture game is on point at the bar tonight, we put together this handy summary of the 10 most likely events from the evening that would come up in conversation. From Christina Aguilera‘s hot mess ensemble (which we kind of loved!) to Taylor Swift‘s constant state of surprise (“Who, me?”), from the correct way to pronounce Ellie Goulding (which will come in handy if you run into Robin Thicke) to the correct answer of whether that was indeed Little Pitbull that appeared in Pitbull‘s trousers while he was mock humping J.Lo, here is the story of the American Music Awards told in ten easily digestible parts. Bon appetit!
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AMAs Best Fashions: From Retro Jenny McCarthy To Futuristic Justin Bieber [TheFABLife]
2011 American Music Awards: Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez Know All The Words To “Super Bass”
The American Music Awards are to the Grammy Awards what the Golden Globes are to the Oscars — they’re slightly looser, filled with more frivolity and slightly less consequential in the grand scheme of things. However, when it comes to generating viral moments, score one for the producers of the AMAs.
Tonight’s show opened with Nicki Minaj performing her a medley of her song with David Guetta, “Turn Me On,” and her 2011 Song Of The Summer contender, “Super Bass.” While she was performing, someone in the truck noticed that Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez were rapping along to the song in the crowd and wisely cut to that shot, which we have for you above courtesy of @mattchew03.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that T-Swizzle has publicly professed her love for the Queen of the Barbies. Back in February, she rapped a few bars of “Super Bass” during a trip to a Los Angeles area radio station, and Nicki returned the favor by duetting with Taylor at a concert over the summer.
Taylor Swift Wins Entertainer Of The Year At The 2011 Country Music Awards, But Grace Potter And Kenny Chesney Steal The Show
The 2011 Country Music Awards aired on ABC last night, and Nashville’s finest dusted off their boots and gussied themselves up for the national TV spotlight. For the second year in a row, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley (whose new record, This Is Country Music, is pretty great) proved themselves to be a surprisingly deft and wholly likeable hosting combo, particularly when they’re roasting Kim Kardashian over the spit in song form. There was no “big winner” of the night, per se, but The Band Perry took home a couple of awards (Best New Artist, Best Song for Song Of The Summer contender “If I Die Young”) and Taylor Swift took home the evening’s biggest prize, Entertainer of the Year.
However, the evening’s best moment didn’t involve pandering to Hollywood (Blake Shelton’s raucous version of “Footloose”) or even a huge, pyro-laden production number (sorry, Miranda Lambert!). It occured when Kenny Chesney and VH1 fave Grace Potter each slung an acoustic guitar over their shoulders, hopped on a stool and duetted on a positively gorgeous version of their hit, “You And Tequila.” Of course, we’re suckers for any and all things Grace (those stems!), but the way these two harmonized last night reminded us why we listen to country music in the first place. There’s no slick production, no glossy radio sound, just two great voices (and some palpable chemistry) blending together to make something special. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Last Lap: Bey-Bee Steps Out In New York City For Halloween
Beyoncé And Belly Go As A Giant Bumble Bee To Halloween
We’ve dubbed Beyoncé‘s Halloween get up “The Bey-Bee”. You can see how adorable Mamma B (and some other celebrities) looked last night as she stepped out for Halloween at The Fab Life. [The Fab Life]
Liking Nickelback Will Not Get You Laid The Most
According to a hilarious infographic doing the rounds on the Internet today, your chances of getting laid decrease as your liking of Nickelback, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber or Coldplay (amongst others) increases. Turns out your music choices are just as important as your cologne and winning sense of humor when you’re trying to get between the sheets… [Flavorwire]
T.I.’s Jam-Packed Weekend Includes Taylor Swift Duet
Last night, T.I. joined Taylor Swift onstage at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena for a rendition of his own “Live Your Life,” with the country-pop singer providing Rihanna’s hook. That duet (above) was merely the cherry atop a huge weekend for the until-recently incarcerated rapper. Friday night, he released “I’m Flexin’,” his first post-prison single, featuring (and produced by) Big K.R.I.T., then went straight to Club Esso for a “Welcome Home” celebration that doubled as a BET Hip Hop Awards pre-party. After that ceremony, which will premiere on BET at 8PM ET on Tuesday, October 11, taped on Saturday, T.I. co-hosted an after-party with Diddy, and even served as a mediator when his co-host responded poorly to an attendee’s taunts (the guest bragged about specifically not drinking C?roc, for which Diddy is a spokesman).
The rapper’s appearance at Swift’s Sunday night show, then, was the end of a very long weekend. T.I. has always been a hard-working MC, but he seems doubly determined to put in work after his recent prison stay. We’re looking forward to looking behind the scenes of this period when his reality show starts airing next year.
Read more…
Nicki Minaj Brings “Super Bass” To Taylor Swift Concert
Despite memorable moments at the 2010 and 2009 Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift was not in attendance this year?but she had a good reason: a concert the same night at the Staples Center, which put her in the same city as the ceremony but unable to attend.?
The VMAs were broadcast live on the east coast, which meant that they wrapped taping just shy of 8:30PM Pacific Time?cutting things far too close for the country star, but certainly leaving plenty of time for a VMA attendee?like, say, Nicki Minaj?to catch a ride over to the Staples Center and make a surprise appearance.?
Swift, who “rapped” with T-Pain for the 2009 CMT Awards, but whose Nicki-karaoke skills pale somewhat in comparison to Michelle Trachtenberg‘s, nevertheless is a big fan of the Young Money star, particularly of summer hit “Super Bass.” So she (and her Los Angeles fans) thrilled at the impromptu duet. That’s one way to celebrate a Moonman!
Read more…
Fight Night: Top Ten VMA Beefs
The Video Music Awards are a celebration of the best music video work that musicians and technical personnel have to offer. They’re also a live event attended by more than a few outsized personalities, all interacting with each other in close proximity. Part of what makes the event so exciting to us is the tension that proximity creates. Sometimes, though, it boils over past professional rivalry into personal beef.
With that in mind, here is a look back at the ten most memorable VMA fights. Will anyone get into it this year? (Pitbull and Lindsay Lohan?) We’ll be tuning in to MTV on Sunday at 9 p.m. to find out.
[Images: Getty Images]
Is Joe Jonas Singing About Dumping Taylor Swift In “See No More”?
Joe Jonas would be incredibly happy if his career followed the same trajectory as Justin Timberlake‘s. Both started out as cogs in the Disney machine, then followed that up with successful stints in boy bands. Timberlake, as we know, was able to parlay his early stardom into a wildly successful solo career, and now Joe Jonas is trying to do the same. In an attempt to gain a new audience, he’s played in front of a bunch of egg-throwing hipsters in Williamsburg and buddied up to Jimmy Fallon, but what he really needs to break through is a hit song, preferably one with a juicy tabloid angle, à la Justin’s cool and calculated Britney takedown, “Cry Me A River.”
Jonas’ first single off his forthcoming Fast Life LP, “See No More,” stiffed; it peaked at #92 in the Billboard Hot 100. However, the single was just released in the UK last week, and the British press inquired as to whether it was directed at his ex, Taylor Swift. You may recall that Jonas dumped Swift during a 20-second phone call in 2008, an event which the heartbroken Swift eventually chronicled in the song “Forever & Always” (“Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest / That made you run and hide like a scared little boy?”).
After listening to “See No More,” we can’t imagine why anyone would think this song about a “cold” girl who “threw it all away” is directed at the Swift (especially considering Jonas already dissed T-Swizzle on the Jonas Brothers track “Much Better”). That didn’t stop London’s press-hungry Metro from asking the question, though, which Joe flatly denied. “No, that?s not about her,” he tersely stated. “When I write songs I don?t say who they are about because I don?t want the audience to relate to what was going on with me when I wrote it. You say one thing and it becomes a big rumor.” Much to the (likely) chagrin of his publicity team charged with generating interest in his solo career, it appears that this case is closed.
Joe Jonas: I Didn’t Write a Song About Dumping Taylor Swift [US Weekly]
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