Are you in a band? Do you think your band is good? Do you want to play a major festival alongside heavy-hitters like The Black Keys, The Killers and OutKast? Well, you're in luck! Hangout Festival wants you to hit the stage this May!

MTV is headed back Gulf Shores, Alabama, for the fifth annual Hangout Music Festival, May 16 through 18, and MTV Artists is letting you opt in for the chance to play. Simply set up your artist page on the platform — replete with audio, video, photos and info — and head to this dedicated page to opt in to the opportunity. Oh, and remember to get your fans to share the hell out of your page.

MTV will choose one artist to play the festival on Sunday, May 18, at noon on the Main Stage. Said band's tunes will be live-streamed to millions of fans at home and covered across MTV's websites and social networks. Plus, the band in question will get free passes to the fest, as well as lodging. Pretty sweet deal!

Last year, soul pop duo Johnnyswim were our big winner, soon after becoming a VH1 You Oughta Know artist and signing to Big Picnic, distributed by Sony/RED.

Do you think you have what it takes to fill Johnnyswim's shoes this time around? Well, what are you waiting for: Get out there and opt in!

"American Idol's" Top 6 played it a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll on Wednesday, with every contestant singing one song from each genre.

At this point in the competition, a clear picture is starting to emerge of how this season will shake out, and Wednesday's show reinforced those standings. Put plainly: This is now Caleb Johnson's to lose, and everyone else is fighting for scraps.

Here's how Wednesday's show unfolded.

Caleb Goes To Town On Black Crowes
Caleb Johnson has been a rock week in and week out in the competition, a clear frontrunner from the jump off, and on Wednesday he turned in his best performance yet when he belted out the Black Crowes' "Sting Me" in a way that would make Chris Robinson himself throw his hands up in praise. Johnson got so caught up in the performance that at one point he dropped his microphone, but as it rolled off he scooped it up without missing a note, and his reaction in the moment only made the performance stronger.

His second song — a rockin' take on Carrie Underwood's "Undo It" — made Keith Urban quip, "I can't wait to hear what country song you do later," but the first was so strong the night was undoubtedly his.

"When you take the perfect song choice and couple that with an incredible performance, it's virtually impossible to beat," Harry Connick Jr. told him.

Jena Takes On Heart, Alex Lets Out His 'Animal'
If things continue on their current trajectory, Jena Irene and Alex Preston will finish second and third, respectively, ...

In "The Avengers," Earth's mightiest heroes had it easy. All they had to worry about was the single threat of Loki — and, admittedly, his invading alien army. But one well-deployed nuclear bomb shot from New York and carried through to the far side of the universe took care of that problem right quick.

But in the upcoming sequel, Captain America and friends will face deadlier threats — and yes, that's "threats," plural, as in more than one. At least four, in fact, as "Age of Ultron" features incoming HYDRA menace Baron von Strucker (played by Thomas Kretschmann) and his cohorts, "The Twins," super-siblings Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

All three of those characters debuted in the "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" mid-credits sequence, and even though Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are best-known for their heroics, it sounds as if they'll start the film on the wrong side of the law.

Then, of course, there's the titular robot menace himself: Ultron, played by "The Blacklist" actor James Spader. The maniacal machine is one of the most hotly-awaited villains in the superhero movie scene, and writer-director Joss Whedon is having a field day with the character.

"I'm having a blast with Ultron," he told Empire in a new interview. "He's not a creature of logic — he's a robot who's genuinely disturbed. We're finding out what makes him menacing and at the same time endearing and funny and strange and unexpected, and everything a robot never is."

Four villains for the "Avengers" sequel, assuming there aren't others in ...

Beyoncé Influences The World
Bey covers this year's Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People issue. *QUEEEEEN!* The feature pairs well with the other MTV amigos on the list. Miley Cyrus is profiled by Dolly Parton and Pharrell Williams by Justin Timberlake.

Weren't You Wondering How 'Confident' Was Made?
Justin Bieber's producer / songwriter Soundz is featured in a short video about the making of Bieber's "

Rick Ross Will Now Take Your Questions
Relationship problems? Family issues? Turn to the Teflon Don. Rick Ross is the new Rolling Stone advice columnist and, though we were skeptical, it seems that if Rick Ross tells you to do something, you should probably do it.

Taylor Swift & Sarah Hyland Play Dress Up
Living my life like the title of a Mindy Kaling book. "Is everyone hanging out without me?" The answer is yes. T. Swift and Hyland noted that they were dressed as "a strait-laced mom and her rebellious teen daughter" during their hang sesh last night. I'm happy to play the trying-too-hard father, guys.

Olivia Wilde & Jason Sudeikis Welcome Son
The actress Tweeted out a sweet close up of new son Otis Alexander on Wednesday. The baby has "has LEFT the building! (I'm the building)," she joked. Congrats, Otis! You have two of the coolest parents around.

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Avril Lavigne honestly has no idea what everyone is all upset about when it comes to her cupcake and candy-littered "Hello Kitty" video.

After the clip debuted on Tuesday on her website and then was briefly on YouTube before going dark on the site on Wednesday, a number of media outlets charged that the imagery was insensitive to Japanese culture
. That just made Avril laugh.

"RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!!," Lavigne wrote on Wednesday. "I love Japanese culture and spend half my time in Japan." She added that she flew to Tokyo to shoot the video specifically for her Japanese fans, in coordination with her Japanese label.

While the official "Hello Kitty" is now on YouTube and Lavigne's site, on Wednesday there was a moment of confusion when it appeared that the clip had been prematurely posted and then taken off YouTube in the midst of the controversy. A spokesperson for YouTube said the service had not taken the clip down and Lavigne's rep told MTV News that it was available on the singer's site and was not scheduled to go up on YouTube until later in the day on Wednesday.

The official version of "Hello Kitty" on YouTube — which says it was published on the site on Monday — had nearly 700,000 views at press time, as well as 9,270 likes and 10,996 dislikes.

What does "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling have in common with "Game of Thrones" mastermind George R.R. Martin? Aside from being responsible for two of the most widely loved fantasy series of all times, both authors also have homes on HBO.

No, there isn't a "Harry Potter" TV series headed to HBO. But HBO is getting into business with Rowling regardless. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rowling is partnering up with the premium cable network, as well as the BBC, to adapt her best-selling novel as a three-hour miniseries.

"The Casual Vacancy," the first novel Rowling released after the publication of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," tells a very different story and takes place in a very different setting than the wizarding world. It centers on the English village of Pagford, a quiet and peaceful place on the surface. In reality, the town's inhabitants are warring with each other over petty differences, political posturing and all other kinds of conflicts, from marital strife to class warfare and beyond.

No Voldemort, in other words, but unspeakable evils of a different color.

Production on "The Casual Vacancy" begins this summer in southwest England, with no cast members in place just yet. Could we see some of the "Harry Potter" veterans in the mix — your Jason Isaacs and Timothy Spalls of the world, if not quite the Daniel Radcliffes and Emma Watsons? Keep your fingers crossed.

By the way, if you're aching for more "Potter" action, you're in luck: Rowling is writing the screenplay for the first of

The most beautiful person of the year is headed to the jungle.

Lupita Nyong'o, fresh off of her Oscar-winning turn in "12 Years a Slave," as well as being named People magazine's most beautiful person of 2014, has scored a role in "The Jungle Book," director Jon Favreau's upcoming adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling tale. Scarlett Johansson, currently filming "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," has also joined the movie.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nyong'o will play Rakcha, a mother wolf who adopts a young human boy named Mowgli. Johansson, meanwhile, will provide the voice of Kaa, a python who hypnotizes and eats other animals. Kaa is the second villain of the film, following the ferocious tiger Shere Khan, voiced by Idris Elba.

The part of Mowgli has yet to be cast.

It's worth noting that "Jungle Book" marks a reunion between Favreau and Johansson, who previously worked together on "Iron Man 2." Elba, of course, has Marvel experience of his own, having played the watchful Asgardian warrior Heimdall in both "Thor" movies. Will we see more Marvel movie veterans join the "Jungle Book" cast? Robert Downey Jr. as Baloo the bear, perhaps? Samuel L. Jackson as King Louie?

And here's some fun food for thought: do you think that maybe, just maybe, by being around so many Marvel Cinematic Universe alums, Nyong'o herself could wind up getting in on the superhero action some day? There's already a petition circulating to see Nyong'o as the new Storm of the "X-Men" movies, but those films are owned by Fox. How ...

Rick Ross deemed her Lil Wayne told us she "never fails to amaze me." And even Kanye West — a man who has compared himself to God — admitted that her verse on "Monster" was the best on the entirety of his critically acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

But despite all that, it's been a challenge for Nicki Minaj to shed that identity as a female MC.

"I do not see myself as a female rapper anymore, I'm sorry," she told MTV News on Monday. "I see myself as a rapper."

That's why the Young Money MC has ditched the wigs and outlandish costumes and said "hell no" to anything like "Super Bass" or "Starships" on her highly anticipated third studio album. A deliberate from the pop-tinged Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, her latest singles "Chi-Raq" and "Lookin Ass N---a" remind listeners that she is, before anything, one hell of a rapper.

Nicki's proved that several times, and with some of the greatest rappers in the game, including Eminem on "Roman's Revenge," Nas on "Champion," Kanye, Jay Z and Ross on "Monster," and Lil Wayne on a countless number of collaborations.

"I've worked with the greats and I've held my own with the greats and they respect me," she told us while promoting her upcoming film "The Other Woman." "So I should respect myself enough to see myself the same way they see themselves."

But that's not to say Nicki doesn't feel a bit indebted to them — in fact, she thanked them specifically for taking her to "another ...