May 17, 2024

About the author  ⁄ MTV News

‘American Idol’ Report Card: Candice Glover Holds Strong, Angie Miller Moves Up

Another week of double duty on as the remaining five females performed a song from the year they were born and a tune from the diva of their choice. This, of course, made for a night that had us feeling unspeakably old (seriously, people born in 1994 are doing things now?!?) and left us with a serious Mariah Carey hangover, as a full 40 percent of the performers chose a song of hers to sing.

Still, Wednesday also gave us a few memorable moments ... and we're not just talking about the Nicki/Mariah meltdown, either. The usual favorites delivered the goods, but there was a rather dramatic reshuffling atop the leaderboard, and, as we head into the home stretch of season 12, the pressure is starting to build.

So, with just weeks left in the competition, who continued their march to the title? And whose "Idol" journey may be coming to a close? Here's our "American Idol" Report Card.

Candice Glover: We learned from her father that she's apparently "a great wrestler," which is fitting, considering she's basically had this competition in a Camel Clutch for weeks now. Last night, she put a jazzy, coffee-house spin on Paula Abdul's "Straight Up," which was solid in spots — not to mention as controlled and effortless as ever — but didn't really seem to go anywhere, an opinion I apparently share only with Jimmy Iovine (so take that for what it's worth). Of course, she more than rebounded with her second performance, positively slaying the Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston duet "When You ...

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Jay-Z Praised By New York Mayor Bloomberg In <i>Time</i> Cover Story

It's politics as usual for Jay-Z. In a week where the rap icon and celebrity mogul indirectly drew a response from President Barack Obama, Hov was saluted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a Time cover story.

Hov was one of seven celebrities to cover Time for its Most Influential People in the World issue.

"Jay-Z embodies so much of what makes New York New York," Bloomberg opened, toasting Jigga's rise from Marcy Housing Projects in Brooklyn. "When no one would sign him to a record contract, he created his own label and built a music empire — before going on to design clothing lines, open sports bars and, most recently, represent professional athletes."

The 2013 incarnation of Time's annual list is marked by seven different covers. Paul Rand, Aamir Khan, Jennifer Lawrence, Malala Yousafzai, Elon Musk, Li Na all share the honor alongside Hov.

This isn't the first time Jay made the list. Back in 2005 he was profiled in the mag's section alongside Rupert Murdoch and Steve Jobs. Hov even went on to rap about it in his Hot 97 "Grammy Family Freestyle." "Time's most influential was impressive/ 'Specially since I wasn't in the artist section/ Had me with the builders and the titans, had me right with Rupert Murdoch/ Billionaire boys and some dudes you never heard of," he rapped.

In an interview earlier this week with the "Today" show that quickly went viral, President Obama fielded a question about Jay and Beyoncé's recent trip to Cuba. On his recent track "Open Letter," Jigga claimed ...

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Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ Gets Very Specific Release Date

Daft Punk's phabulous, Pharrell-assisted "Get Lucky" has leaked roughly a thousand times over the past week, with fans taking it upon themselves to stitch together snippets from the dynamic duo's Coachella album teaser, myriad of "Saturday Night Live" spots, and "Creators Project" interviews, then attempted to pass the end result off as the real deal.

Of course, most folks haven't been fooled ... though things reached a head on Wednesday, when a radio edit of the song — supposedly broadcast by a Dutch radio station — began making the rounds, and, with its added lyrics, and improved audio quality (Nile Rodgers's guitars sound awesome), well, it certainly seemed legit.

MTV News attempted to verify the leak with a spokesperson for Daft Punk's label, Columbia Records, but received a firm "no comment," though, a second source confirmed it was, in fact, the genuine radio edit of the single (and yes, things are so super-secretive when it comes to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories album that we're relying on anonymous sources).

However, that same spokesperson for Columbia did confirm one bit of conjecture: "Get Lucky" will be made available for download at exactly 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday (April 19), meaning that, in less than 14 hours, you'll finally know if that version you've been listening to is legit.

Meanwhile, Random Access Memories is due on May 21, which is still like five weeks away. Pace yourself, kids.

Do you love Daft Punk's "Get Lucky?" Let us know in the comments below.

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Jonas Brothers Live Tour: Coming To A Theater Near You?

After a three-year hiatus, the Jonas Brothers are officially back! Still reeling off their peppy new single, "Pom Poms," Nick, Kevin and Joe are looking ahead to their upcoming 25-city North American tour, kicking off in July.

Flanked by their biggest fans and Columbia University's cheerleading squad, the trio stopped by MTV News on Wednesday for where they opened up about the upcoming Jonas Brothers Live Tour.

"We always try to make each show a little bit different," Joe said. "If you want to get a van and trailer and follow us, then I hope you have gas money. It's going to be really fun. We are going to do something different every night and if you've seen any of our concerts before, we like to do a lot of cool visual stuff; whether it's a video content or just the staging, we've come up with a lot of ideas."

JoBro fans are in for a treat since they are hitting the road a few months before their yet-untitled fifth album hits stores, meaning they'll testing out "a lot of new music."

"It's one of those things that right when you write a song you want to perform it in front of people," Joe said. "So you can see the reaction and watch them hopefully fall in love with the song like that you did and then you learn what song is their favorite or maybe that they hate."

The brothers went on to describe their onstage reunion as "natural" and are now even toying with the idea of turning their tour ...

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Kristen Stewart Drops Out Of ‘Focus;’ Will Smith May Step In

Kristen Stewart is no longer in The actress has dropped out of the con-man project months after her leading man, Ben Affleck, abandoned the movie.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stewart had exited it weeks ago. With her and Affleck both out, Will Smith is now reportedly in talks to step in to play the film's seasoned con man.

The film, the latest from "Crazy, Stupid, Love" directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, revolves around a veteran grifter who falls for his rookie con woman. When they head to Buenos Aires to pull off a scam, he's greeted by a former flame. "Crazy, Stupid, Love" duo Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone were originally intended for the leading roles, but also couldn't make it happen.

MTV News spoke to Stewart last December, while she was out promoting "On the Road," and she shared that she wanted to try to fit a project in before but wasn't sure she could make it happen. She added, "I mean, it's a really good story. I know the other day, the only thing I've said about it is that it's a comedy. It's like, 'OK, expect to laugh [and] expect [it] to be so funny,' but I find it so funny."

Weeks later, Affleck opened up to us about his decision to leave the project, opting for another film, "Live by Night." But, he had high praise for Stewart, "I was really excited to work with her. I think the movie is going to be fabulous. I'm sure they'll find a great ...

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‘American Idol’ Recap: Top Five Ladies Shine On Divas Night

The Diva battle royale commenced Wednesday night on "American Idol," with the show's first all-women top five slugging it out onstage for the chance to become the first female "Idol" champ since Jordin Sparks. At the end of the two-hour show, success was measured in standing ovations, and the competition proved to be as thick as it has been at any point this season.

Five of the show's 10 performances earned standing Os from the judges' panel, and two of those belonged to Angie Miller, who dedicated her opening performance of the Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You" to her hometown of Boston. She later turned in a rendition of Beyoncé's "Halo" that brought the judges to their feet. "You just did that song justice like a queen could," Nicki Minaj told her at the close of her second song, which fell under the "Divas" category (the first song represented the year the contestants were born). "You did your thang!"

Amber Holcomb earned high marks for tackling Mariah Carey's version of Badfinger's "Without You," and closed the show in grand fashion with her take on Barbra Streisand's "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," which Randy Jackson called "the most difficult song" anyone has taken on this season. All four judges rose to their feet when she was finished, and Jackson compared Holcomb to "a young Rihanna," saying she was "so current, so modern, so the thing for right now." Minaj told her the song was "simply perfection."

Kree Harrison was no slouch herself, opening with the Black Crowes' "She Talks to ...

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Kim Kardashian’s Acting Skills ‘Really Surprised’ Cast Of ‘Temptation’

In Tyler Perry's latest flick, flexes her comedic timing in the role of a sexy millionaire matchmaker who spits sassy one-liners. But if fans of her E! shows think the reality starlet might be in over her head on the big screen, co-star Robbie Jones tells MTV News that's definitely not the case.

"She's a great person and a wonderful personality," said Jones, who plays a millionaire bachelor looking for love in the movie. "She was amazing and I think a lot of people were really surprised with her work because she really held her own and she really brought it home. And she was really funny and I think she did a fantastic job."

While Kanye West's lady love may have had her doubters when news first broke of her casting last year, director Perry has also defended his decision to add her to the film.

"I believe that my films speak from the inside out," Perry said in a statement on his website in December. "Why wouldn't Kim Kardashian be invited into a film about faith, forgiveness and the healing power of God? What is wrong with that?"

With "Temptation" in theaters, next up for Kardashian is a new season of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," which kicks off in June and, of course, a baby with Kanye reportedly due in July. And co-star Jones had a message for the soon-to-be mama, teasing, "Be a good mom, Kim!"

Do you think Kim should take on more acting roles? Tell us in the comments!

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‘Star Wars’ Movies Coming Every Summer Starting In 2015

The Force will be with fans every summer starting in 2015. During a presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn announced the studio's plan to roll out a new "Star Wars" movie every year starting with the release of "Episode VII" in 2015.

This news aligns itself with what has already been revealed about Disney's plans for the "Star Wars" franchise. When the Mouse House acquired Lucasfilm Limited back in October, the company said fans should expect a new "Star Wars" movie "every two to three years." According to Horn, "Star Wars: Episode VII" will be released in summer 2015, "Episode VIII" will come out in summer 2017 and "Episode IX" will hit theaters in summer 2019.

Alternating between those releases will be . "We expect to have pictures derived from that universe," Horn said during the CinemaCon announcement, with one spin-off released in 2016 and a second in 2018. Simon Kinberg and "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan will write the two "Star Wars" films as stories separate from the sequel trilogy.

It has not yet been confirmed if the two spin-off films will tell the stories of Boba Fett and young Han Solo, as had previously been rumored. There had also been a report that Zack Snyder would write a spin-off "Star Wars" movie "loosely based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic 'Seven Samurai,' " though he has since denied those claims.

J.J. Abrams has been tapped to direct "Star Wars: Episode VII," which ...

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