May 3, 2024

Review Category : TMZ Music News

The Perfect Aliyah Cover? BANKS Just Nailed It

Covering Aaliyah without pissing people off can be tough. Just ask Drake. But BANKS, a young singer/songwriter with some Lorde-like vocals and a stripped-down sound, has done just that with her rendition of "Are You That Somebody?"

On Wednesday, BANKS stopped by BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, the program famous for requesting covers of fan-favorites by their musical guests. Put to the test, BANKS offered up a chilling interpretation of Aaliyah's 1998 hit. Accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, BANKS' vocals are haunting; her powerful voice offers a striking contrast with Aaliyah's breathy original. Moreover, the L.A. native's version has a certain brooding punch to it.

It makes sense, too, that BANKS is featured on the "wanted: "futuristic, dangerous and tribal."

BANKS, a.k.a. Jillian Banks, has been on the scene since 2012 but first made waves when she toured with The Weeknd in late 2013. The pairing made sense — both share a similar sound (raw, industrial R&B) and public presence (enticingly elusive).

One big difference? BANKS is taking calls. The singer shares her cell number on her Facebook and she encourages you to call or text with questions. Hit her up and let her know if you like what you hear.

In the meantime, if you're looking for some more modern-day Aaliyah love, check out Haim's latest video, "If I Could Change Your Mind," choreographed by Aaliyah's longtime collaborator Fatima Robinson, or bump Zendaya's debut disc, whose sound was heavily influenced by the late, great star.

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Lorde Said What? 18 Inaugural Celebrity Tweets

Twitter is eight! Which means if you were an early adopter, you've likely said a lot of embarrassing and amazing things (sober and otherwise) over the course of those heady years. And so, of course, have the musically famous set — while they were famous and not-so-much-known.

Due to the boredom that is scrolling, a lot of our earliest assertions have been lost in that infinite sea of tweets, but, today, the microblogging service has decided to give us all a serious case of #TBT in the form of a fun little tool called #FirstTweet. Yup, simply plug in your username to get your very first tweet.

Mine, predictably, had something to do with joining Twitter. Other newly minted tweeters, however — like Chance the Rapper, Katy Perry and more — had more interesting things to say.

Check out a cadre of famous first tweets below:

1. Macklemore

Little did he know, he'd be the selfie king in a few short years...

2. Chance The Rapper

Before he was famous.

3. Lady Gaga

Forever fierce.

4. Cher

Hello, Cher.

5. Jared Leto

What? Your road to the Oscars?

6. Katy Perry

Katy's first tweet was sick. Literally.

7. Justin Bieber

Yeah guys, hit him up on MySpace. This kid might just have something...

8. Miley Cyrus

So innocent...

9. Beyoncé

Nice to meet you, B!

10. One Direction

XOXO to you, too, dudes!

11. Veronica Roth

Research for your future futuristic blockbuster, perhaps?

12. Lena Dunham

Cribbing on Sinatra.

13. Rihanna

OK, but what about in 2014?

14. Wayne Coyne

It was worth the wait.

15. Kesha

Yes to the please power.

17. Courtney Love

You said it.

18. Lorde

But your fingers themselves are just black enough, kid.

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‘Nymphomaniac’ Offering Free Tickets For Babies, And Other Inappropriate Promotions

If you've been just burning for the chance to bring your infant child to see Lars Von Trier's "

But guess what, weirdo: today is your lucky day! Because on March 26 and April 2, the Landmark cinema in New York City will screen the wildly explicit "Nymphomaniac" as part of its Rattle & Reel Wednesday special, which allows parents to see a movie and bring their baby gratis.

Says the theater's website, "Adults pay normal admission prices but all babies are FREE!"

Realistically, it's actually a great thing for movie-loving caregivers to see films like this with an audience of fellow baby-havers, who'll be sympathetic if a fussy infant starts making noise.

And of course babies below a certain age won't be aware enough of what's happening onscreen to suffer any ill effects from sitting through "Nymphomaniac," apart from possibly bursting into tears at the sight of Stellan Skarsgard's O-face—and let's be honest, that's alarming enough to make even a grown man cry.

But still: if "babies see 'Nymphomaniac' free!" is the next big thing in movie promotions, we assume it won't be long before the door opens wide for even more outrageous, tasteless and disturbing campaigns to lure disenchanted audiences back to their local theater. For instance:

"Requiem for a Dream" Mother's Day Special: Zip your mom into her favorite red dress and bring her to see the movie for free!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 40th Anniversary BYO Celebration: Bring your own booze, bring your own chainsaw, bring your own FUN!

Family sing-along night at the movies, featuring ...

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EXCLUSIVE: Check Out Paramore’s Smashing Record Store Day Release

Usually sounding like a broken record is considered a bad thing. Not so with Paramore's Record Store Day release, which was designed to look like smashed vinyl. MTV News has the photo of that sure-to-be-coveted piece of plastic.

"The Paramore 'Ain't It Fun' 12' was designed by Hayley [Williams]," Record Store Day founder Michael Kurtz told MTV News. "And, essentially, it looks like somebody broke the record. That was the picture she drew for the label and they figured out a way to do it."

I'm not exactly sure how the record will play, but it does look strikingly similar to the logo of Brooklyn punk band The So So Glos, so perhaps Paramore could give them some tips for future releases.


"Ain't It Fun" comes off of the band's 2013 self-titled record.

Paramore are long-time Record Store Day participants; the band released a special edition record in the shape of a hibiscus flower titled The Holiday Sessions in 2013, and the RSD crew supplied us with some classic snaps from 2008 of the band rocking out in-store.


Record Store Day goes down in stores across the world on April 19 with releases from a bevy of indie and big bands alike — including the likes of One Direction, who are releasing a tricked-out picture disc for the occasion.

While you're waiting to get your hands on that jagged vinyl, Paramore is currently squaring off against American Authors in our Musical March Madness tournament, so we suggest you get voting.

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‘Hey Girl’ The Musical: Ryan Gosling Picks His Next All-Singing, All-Dancing Project

After a spate of steely roles, from getaway driver to gangster hunter, Ryan Gosling is ready to show his softer side in a classic Hollywood biopic — and heading back to the halcyon days of classic Hollywood to do it.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gosling is set to produce and most likely star in a film about the life of Busby Berkeley, the iconic choreographer from the golden age of cinema.

And if you're scratching your head right now and saying, "Good for Ryan Gosling, but what the hell is a Busby Berkeley?" don't you fret: we've got the essential skinny on the Depression-era icon, and why he's so interesting to your favorite A-list dreamboat.

Choreographer Extraordinaire!
After a stint as a field artillery lieutenant during World War I, Berkeley returned to his family roots in showbiz and became famous for choreographing elaborate, massive, and militaristic dance numbers for the outsized musical movies of the 1930s and 40s.

His specialty: using an overhead camera to create a kaleidoscopic effect as the dancers moved their limbs and changed formation, a technique which he pioneered and that's still being used today.

Zac Efron Owes Busby, Big Time
As does the entire cast of "Glee," for that matter. Without Berkeley to lead the way, "High School Musical" hero Troy Bolton would never have gotten his head in the game to the thud of rhythmic dribbling — and even more horrifying, Will and Emma would have had to get engaged without the benefit of an Esther Williams-style synchro swim to set the romantic mood.

Busby's Legacy ...

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Is Justin Bieber Brewing Up ‘Bangers’ With DJ Mustard?

Justin Bieber's back in the studio, and he's got the Instagram video to prove it.

In the new clip, Bieber is seen dancing to a song that sure sounds like it was produced by DJ Mustard — at one point, you can hear his signature "Mustard on the beat ho!" drop, which also shows up on tracks like Tyga's "Rack City" and 2 Chainz's "I'm Different" — and, though it's sorta difficult to see (this studio apparently has more black lights than a '70s dorm room), he's definitely feeling it.

A rep for Mustard could not be reached for comment by MTV News at press time. But to expound on his feelings about the new track, Bieber also attached a note to the video: "Girls be in the the club like OMG this is my song!!!!! LOL."

LOL, indeed. In another Instavid, Bieber shouts out producer Soundz, and tells him to get to Toronto, ASAP, since "We're making bangers, bro!"

There's still no word about when fans will get to hear said bangers, though in recent weeks, Bieber has been spending plenty of time in the studio — just this past weekend, he posted a video of a new song called "Life is Worth Living," which many speculated was about his on again, off again, back-on-again relationship with Selena Gomez.

Last month, Bieber unveiled a new song called which took aim at the critics that have hounded him since his DUI arrest in January.

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Freddie Gibbs Won’t Stop Dissing ‘Punk Ass’ Jeezy Till He Responds

When Freddie Gibbs first announced his split from Jeezy's CTE label, he said it wasn't personal. And maybe it wasn't then ... but things are clearly getting personal now.

Gibbs has most recently declared he won't stop throwing shots at his former comrade until Jeezy responds to the disses.

"I'mma stay on his punk ass till he say something about it. I'mma keep drilling his punk ass into the ground," Freddie told Grantland.com this week.

The Gary, Indiana MC recently linked with producer Madlib, and the duo dropped their collaborative Piñata LP. The soulful-yet-gangsta album is filled with a number of highlights, including the jaw-dropping where Gibbs takes aim at Jeezy.

"I thought the world was at my feet when I linked up with Snow/ But I refused to be his flunky, so we don't kick it no mo'," he spits over the slow-rolling track. "No nuts, got the whole team lookin' weak/ Guess why they ran up on you at the BET?" he continues, referencing Jeezy's altercation with Rick Ross at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta.

Gibbs signed to Jeezy's CTE in 2011, but split from the label a year later. "I started seein' the fake and the empty promises and all of that stuff and I just didn't wanna be around that no more," he told MTV News last year. "It's tough meetin' your heroes sometimes and kickin' [it] with them because when they take that cape off, boy oh boy, under that cape, sometimes it's some scary lil' boy hidin' under ...

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The ‘Nymphomaniac’ Cast Share The Stories Behind Their O-Face Posters

The first half of Lars Von Trier's "Nymphomaniac" hits theaters this week, and for an art house film set for limited release, there's been a lot of conversation about the two-parter. Some of that had to do with the odd antics of star Shia LaBeouf, but even before he wasn't famous anymore, the movie's character posters had everyone talking.

You remember posters, right? The ones with the entire cast giving their best o-face? It was certainly a new approach to the character poster, and the one-sheets spread like a wildfire.

I couldn't help but bring up the posters during my conversations with the cast of "Nymphomaniac" at the press day, and the stories behind the photos were interesting to say the least.

The tales from Christian Slater, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård and Uma Thurman about the making of the posters were all different, but it's pretty clear that it was an uncomfortable day on set.

"Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1" opens in theaters on March 21. Both installments are available digitally now.

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‘American Idol’ Recap: Finalists Take On Top 10 Hits With Mixed Results

"American Idol" 's top 10 tackled songs from the top 10 on Wednesday, trying their hand at Billboard's biggest hits from 2011 to the present.

Contestants took on songs from One Direction, Zedd and Avicii, and the performances ranged from strong (Malaya Watson) to extremely shaky (MK Nobilette).

Here's a look at how the night unfolded.

Malaya, Caleb Lead The Pack

The last time Malaya Watson took on a Bruno Mars song, she landed in the bottom three. But Watson did Mars again on Wednesday and was on point, delivering a solid, heartfelt and emotional version of "When I Was Your Man."

The judges were preoccupied with the song's gender specificity — Jennifer Lopez admitted, "I was ready to kind of hate on you" for the song choice — but Watson's sincerity shone through. "Well done for leaving it the way it was," Keith Urban told her.

Caleb Johnson also stood out, taking on a powerhouse female singer — this time, Lady Gaga — for the second week in a row. Even though the band didn't match his fire, which is a problem with nearly every performance this year, his version of Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" was a winner, earning Johnson "an A for originality" from sourpuss judge Harry Connick Jr. Lopez wasn't as impressed, however, knocking Johnson for lacking feeling and "showing off vocally." On a singing competition, can you imagine that?

One Direction, Hunter Hayes Get Covered

One Direction got the "American Idol" treatment for the first time Wednesday when Alex Preston tried "Story of My Life" on for size. It was a good fit, ...

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