May 18, 2024

About the author  ⁄ John Walker

13 Most Over-The-Top Diva Renditions Of The National Anthem

by 46 mins ago

With today being the Fourth of July and all, I feel it’s my civic duty to unite us, if but for a short time, with the one act of blind patriotism we can all get behind: counting down the most over-the-top, overwhelming renditions of the national anthem, as performed by Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, and the rest of your favorite divas of pop music. (In no particular order, of course, so please don’t tweet me death threats. Thanks!)

To clarify, by national anthem I mean “The Star-Spangled Banner” only. (As in, the actual, official national anthem.) That means that neither Aretha Franklin singing “My Country, ‘Tis Of Thee” at the 2009 presidential inauguration nor the bejeweled-bow hat she wore at said inauguration are on the list. Pour out a vial of eagle tears in mourning, and move past it. Your country needs you. Please rise.

1. Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV, 1991
There’s a reason we’ve invented the phrase “I CAN’T,” and this is it. Literally, the gold standard of national anthem performances.

2. Beyoncé at the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show Press Conference, 2013
After being accused of lip-synching “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration on January 21 of that year, Bey used her halftime show press conference to prove that she’s more than capable of vocally annihilating the song. She also demonstrated one of the unsung benefits of singing the national anthem: automatic ...

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Harry Overload: Ariana Grande Busts Out Harry Styles Impression, Sorts Herself Harry-Potter Style

by 25 mins ago

In case you missed it on “Total Ariana Live” on Wednesday night (July 2), Ariana Grande totally fangirled over two very famous Harrys: Harry Styles and Harry Potter. Sorry, Prince Harry, better luck next time.

First up, the oft-shirtless, ever-floppy-haired Harry Styles. After talking about “Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart,” a song that the One Direction member wrote for Ariana’s upcoming sophomore album, My Everything, the 2014 Video Music Awards performer even whipped out a killer impression of the Brit. (“Sure, mate!”)

Speaking of British people (flawless transition), Ariana also revealed which Hogwarts house she would be sorted into, were she a character in the “Harry Potter” series. With her background in the arts, you’re probably thinking she’s a total Ravenclaw, right? Well, this is the part where I break free that fantasy into a million little shards because she’s a Slytherin. You heard me, a Slytherin.

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Wait, Could This Be Hilary Duff’s Album Cover?

by 12 mins ago

I knew I lit that promotional “Lizzie McGuire Movie” votive candle for a reason. Less than a week after teasing a song on Instagram, Hilary Duff has tweeted and Instagrammed another sneak-peek at her first studio album in seven years.

“Took a sneaky pic of one of the Polaroids yesterday on set. Shhh!” Duff wrote, tagging photographer Harper Smith. The mystery! It shrouds her so well.

hilary duffInstagram

A quick scan through Smith’s Instagram feed reveals another photo from Wednesday (July 2), captioned: “First day back on set post-surgery shooting for the new @hilaryduff album.” WAIT. In case you need me to spell it out for you, the key words in that caption are “shooting for the new @hilaryduff album.” That means that this visual might very well be one of the booklet photos included with Hilary’s forthcoming LP — if not the album cover itself.

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a whole lot of this right now.

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‘Total Ariana Live’: Relive Ariana Grande’s EPIC Night In GIFs!

by 33 mins ago

From dropping the first official listen of her new single, “Break Free,” to announcing her performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards — not to mention, um, breathing new life into MTV staple “TRL” after seven years off the air — Ariana Grande’s “Total Ariana Live” was clearly a lot to process.

How ’bout we all just grab a family-size tub of hummus (chips optional), take a seat on the nearest couch, gather our breath ponytails, and relive “Total Ariana Live” in all its glory — in GIFs, obviously.

Open on SCREAMS. “TAL” host and objectively incredible human being Sway introduced Ariana Grande.

“I’m very, very excited, but I’m so nervous!” Ariana revealed. “I’ve never done anything like this. I brought ‘TRL’ back!”

Luckily, she had her cuddly ponytail there to calm her down.

And then, the big reveal: Ariana will perform her new My Everything single, “Break Free” featuring Zedd, at the VMAs!

Next, Ariana whipped out a killer Harry Styles impression (“Sure, mate.”).

And played “Hip-Hop Mix-Up,” where she performed A$AP Rocky’s “F–kin’ Problems” in the style of Broadway. Truly, it was [EXPLETIVE DELETED].

Following that, Ariana slowed it down for an flaw-free, vocally driven rendition of “Problem.”

When reached for comment, the entire world had this to say:

How do you cap off such a perfect night? “BREAK FREE” ...

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Meet 29 Of The Most Adorable Arianators In Ariana Grande’s Fan Army

by 6 mins ago

Let’s pause all the Ariana Grande lovin’ for a second — we’ll have plenty of time to do that during “Total Ariana Live” tonight at 7p/6c on MTV — and give praise to the unsung heroes on the “Problem” singer’s side: her fans.

While Ariana was busy getting ready for her big ol’ “TRL” revival at MTV, I trekked out into Times Square in New York City to meet the many Arianators lined up outside. They’d traveled all over the country — and even from Brazil — for a glimpse of their flawless Queen Ari.

1.) Gabi

Ariana GrandeJohn Walker/MTV

Name: Gabi
Age: 15
From: Westchester County, New York

MTV: Are you an Arianator?

Gabi: Yes

MTV: Wanna drop some random Ariana knowledge on us to prove it?

Gabi: She has three dogs, and they’re Coco, Ophelia, and Toulouse.

2.) Maryam, 3.) Ustina, 4.) Alyssa & 5.) Marvy

Ariana GrandeJohn Walker/MTV

Name: Maryam, 12; Ustina, 11; Alyssa, 11; Marvy, 13
From: Staten Island, New York

MTV: Do any of you consider yourselves huge fans?

[All point to Ustina]

MTV: You’re an Arianator?

Ustina: Yes!

MTV: Any obscure Ariana facts you happen to know?

Ustina: Her parents got her name from a cartoon show when she was little.

MTV: Whoa, you must be card-carrying.

6.) Vanessa & 7.) Aurelia

Ariana GrandeJohn Walker/MTV

Name: Vanessa & Aurelia, 16
From: New Jersey

MTV: Any Arianator truth bombs you want to drop on us?

Aurelia: I still listen to “Put Your Hearts Up.”

MTV:

8.) Angel & 9.) Lourdes

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9 Problems Ariana Grande DEFINITELY Doesn’t Have Because She’s Perfect

by 23 mins ago

We’re so close to “Total Ariana Live” on Wednesday, July 2, that I can literally taste it. (It tastes like whipped cream, but the kind that you unleash straight out of the can, upside-down with your head tilted back while the fridge door is still open. THAT.) There’s just one problem: That still leaves, like, soooooooo many hours until Ariana Grande graces our screens. HOW WILL WE SURVIVE!?

Oh, I know. Why not channel all that nervous energy into something productive, like repeating the “One less problem with out you…” hip-sway choreography in an empty, windowless room until we reach an eerie state of meditative calm.

Or, um, how about we just count down the ways in which the “Problem” singer is basically flaw-free? Yeah, let’s do that. Here are nine problems that Ariana Grande doesn’t have!

1.) Lip-Synching — It’s pretty hard to have a problem with something when you, like, never do it.

2.) Hitting The Club — Girlfriend celebrated her 21st birthday on July 26. You know where to find her!

3.) Having Famous Friends — Have you checked out the features on sophomore album My Everything? Along with Iggy Azalea, Ariana’s got Childish Gambino, The Weeknd, Zedd, and A$AP Ferg on there.

4.) Living Out Her “Barbarella” Fantasies — At least if that “Break Free” video teaser is any ...

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These Vines From Justin Bieber And Nash Grier’s Meet-Up Should Be Epic

by 6 mins ago

OK, so I don’t want to whip out a corncob pipe, hike up my dad pants (Pleated, For His Comfort™), and start lecturing Nash Grier on what he should be making Vines of. He’s got over 8 million followers on the social-media platform — he’s knows what he’s doing. But, like, I’d say hanging out with Justin Bieber would warrant at least one six-second video or two, wouldn’t you?

Well apparently, Nash didn’t see the value in recording such an encounter, so all we get from his meet-up with the oft-shirtless “Confident” singer are a selfie and a group photo on the 16-year-old viral star’s Shots profile, plus a photo on Bieber’s Instagram.

Nash Grier, Justin BieberInstagram/@justinbieber

Look, it’s cool enough for Justin Bieber and Nash Grier’s fans that they even get these pics in the first place. I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth (because lol wut why would I even); I’m just mourning the missed opportunity.

Or maybe they did film something and are busy editing it down to six-second perfection as we speak. BRB, refreshing Vine…

Nash Grier, Justin BieberShots/@nashgrier

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BREAKING: Britney Spears Was ‘Bored’ This Weekend

by 23 mins ago

How was your weekend? Did you have fun? Do anything exciting? Get the word “Stories” tattooed on the side of your head? (Lookin’ at you, Kelly Osbourne.) Well, Britney Spears managed to top all o’ you while staying bored the whole time.

Your faves.
When will they.

In an adorable new video Instagrammed on June 28 (caption: “How I spend my Saturdays….lol.”), the “Perfume” singer is seen walking two of her dogs through her neighborhood. “The boys are running. They’re ahead of me,” she narrates. “I’m bored. Bye!”

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Rihanna’s Eighth Album Is On Its Way — No, Rih-lly

by 2 mins ago

As obsessed as I am with Rihanna’s World Cup-trolling, I’m glad she put a pin in the live-tweets on June 30 to make a very special announcement: Her eighth studio album is on its way.

At least I’m assuming that’s the message that this tweet is meant to convey. It’s a photo of a mixing board, coupled with the hashtag “#R8″ — “R” as in “Rihanna” and “8″ as in “album No. 8″ I’m guessing? If she just wants to rate her new recording studio equipment, I’ll eat my hat.

And I hate eating hats.

The “What Now” singer’s kept pretty mum about the follow-up to 2012′s Unapologetic. There was that rumored “#barz” collaboration with Nicki Minaj that Rih might (or might not) have been teasing back in May, but otherwise the Navy’s pretty much been lost at sea. #PhlawlessWordplay

Until we get more concrete info though, it’s back to Rihanna’s Twitter handle, which blessed us with the 26-year-old singer’s “first selfie” on Sunday. Has she not aged since 2005? What kind of vampirism…

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Nicki Minaj Wins The BET Award For Best Audience Reaction Shot

by 11 mins ago

Forget Beyonce and Jay Z’s “Partition” performance or Pharrell’s brave (yet, um, questionable) decision to wear Uggs onstage (or in public, or ever). My favorite moment from the 2014 BET Awards came courtesy of Ms. Nicki Minaj.

While Iggy Azalea was performing “Fancy” on Sunday night (June 29), the camera panned to the “Pills N Potions” rapper in the audience. Without missing a beat, Nicki was posing for the cameras, giving major duckface, and dancing all seductively without ever breaking eye contact.

Needless to say, I felt morally obligated to make GIFs out of this already-iconic moment in the history of Her Minajesty. I literally couldn’t have created a better “Me at Your Son’s Open-Bar Wedding Reception” GIF set if I’d tried.

It’s likely this moment will be used as further evidence that Nicki and Iggy have some kind of silent beef brewing. Many wondered if part of the Queens rapper’s acceptance speech for Best Female Hip Hop Artist (“When you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it.”) was meant as a slight against the Aussie native.

Factually speaking, one thing is certain: Nicki Minaj is the new queen of the awards-show audience reaction shots. Sorry, Taylor Swift!

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