GULF SHORES, Alabama — Crowd surfing on inflatable whales, getting photobombed by "The Vinny Show" star Vinny Guadagnino and holding up Twenty One Pilots as they bashed away at drums while hoisted up by fans. Those were just a few of the highlights of the first day of Hangout Festival.

With action taking place on five stages, two of which are located right on the crystal sand beaches for a spectacular view you won't find at any other summer gathering, the only question was which direction to head.

Twenty One Pilots helped kick off the steamy day with a high-energy show that included singer Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun standing on wood planks
 on top of the audience's hands and bashing away at drums to end their triumphant set on the Letting Go Stage. Just next door at the Boom Boom Tent, EDM superstar Afrojack got the party moving and Passion Pit became one with the surf thanks to the warm embrace of hits including "The Reeling."

We also set loose fellow superstar DJ Dillon Francis on the crowd, sending him out with a GoPro camera to spend some quality time with his fans. He thought he spotted a Pikachu (but he was wrong) and got way into some boot-scooting fiddle playing. Meanwhile, model and special correspondent Chrissy Teigen mingled with the masses and scaled the giant inflatable waterslide set up between the main stages on the beach and had a wet and wild ride.

The Six Best Moments From Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Hangout Set!

But ...

NEW YORK -- For Kanye West, presentation is everything and on Friday night (May 17), rap's reigning mad scientist conjured up a revolutionary way to premiere his "New Slaves" music video.

Instead of YouTube or MTV, Yeezy projected his latest clip on the sides of buildings in 66 different countries, giving fans little forewarning before the first premiere. He posted the viewing times and locations on his KanyeWest.com site and about 100 fans answered the call and gathered on the corner of 14th Street and 10th Avenue in New York City's Meatpacking District as many as 30 minutes before the scheduled 11:45 p.m. showing. The truck that drove around the city projecting the vid was an hour late, but the delay didn't seem to matter much to the dedicated flock who gasped as the stark black and white image of their rap hero shot up on a matte black wall.

"My mama was raised in the era when/ Clean water was only served to the fairer skin/ Threw on clothes, you would've thought I had help/ But they wasn't satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself," 'Ye spit, setting the tone.

From the video's first few moments it was clear that this was something different, even for a rapper who has made a career off of wearing pink polos and singing an entire album in auto-tune. At the same time there was something familiar as Kanye challenged materialistic habits and racial stereotypes like he did on his 2005 single "All Falls Down."

"What you want a Bentley, fur coat, a diamond ...

GULF SHORES, ALABAMA — All the Kings of Leon ever wanted was to be loved at home. In 2005, soon after release of their second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, they lamented that all folks in the U.S. seemed to care about was their mustaches ... and though KOL finally broke through in the states with 2008's Only By The Night, they've seemingly never lost that desire for acceptance. And that was abundantly clear during their Friday-night headlining slot at the Hangout Fest, which was as heavy on the hits as it was the sentiment. Down in Alabama, before tens of thousands of screaming, sunburnt fans, they truly felt the love. "I feel like we're surrounded by our own people here," frontman Caleb Followill told the crowd, "So I'm just gonna be myself tonight."

So for nearly 100 minutes, the Kings basked in it all. They opened with "Radioactive," from 2010's Come Around Sundown, tore through fuzzy versions of tracks like "Taper Jean Girl," "My Party" and "The Bucket," slowed it down for the couples in the crowd on "On Call," "Cornerstone" and "Renegades," and worked the new song — "It Don't Matter" — in midway through. Shoot, at one point, Caleb even smiled.

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GULF SHORES, Alabama — When Afrojack took the stage Friday (May 17) at Hangout Music Fest 2013, he had the festival's complete attention replete with lights, smoke and ... Instagram.

Fresh off a flight, the EDM superstar alerted the audience via the photo-sharing site that he had arrived in Gulf Shores with only one hour of sleep. But the Dutch DJ assured his throngs of cheering fans that they were, in his words, the "best hangover he'd ever had."

These were words not to be taken lightly in the Deep South's heat and humidity. The Grammy-winning DJ would unleash an explosive set on the Boom Boom Tent's sweaty captives, further cementing his place as a modern-day dance-music icon.

The set was just one in a slew of festival performances for the 25-year-old producer, who is also set to perform at the Electric Daisy Carnival this weekend in New York, among others, throughout the summer.

Find Out When Your Favorite Band Plays Hangout 2013!

Meanwhile, Afrojack recently announced that he and fellow DJ Steve Aoki — who also plays the Hangout Fest this weekend — will reunite on a track called "AFROKI," a follow-up to their wildly successful 2011 club banger "No Beef."

Passion Pit, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Kings of Leon closed out day one of Hangout, now in its fourth year. Weekend performances are on tap from Kendrick Lamar, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Stevie Wonder.

All weekend, check out interviews, behind-the-scenes access and on-demand performances from all your favorite artists on our Hangout Fest 2013 ...

GULF SHORES, Alabama — Seattle rap duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis didn't have the clearest view of the pristine white sandy beach during their Friday evening (May 17) headline set at the Hangout Festival.

But even though the Boom Boom Tent was a bit removed from the oceanside, they brought the good vibes to dry land with a super-hyped hour-long set that featured cameos from Mack's spectacular mullet wig, a sea of giant inflatable dolphins and whales and a moving tribute to marriage equality.

Wearing a wool poncho, black jeans and a black tank top, Macklemore ran onto the stage to the booming strains of "10,000 Hours," kicking off the pair's first Alabama show with a thunderous roar. "How many white people are already sunburnt?" he asked the screaming, sweat-drenched crowd. "That's 100 percent of the white people."

Though he's established a reputation as a sharp-dressed man, Macklemore then asked the audience if anyone had a fur coat he could borrow. Shockingly, given the day's pea-soup mugginess, a gentleman in the crowd kindly offered up his printed fur jacket (and girlfriend). The rapper asked the female to step aside, but he proudly squeezed into the too-small "Alabama Cheetah" topcoat before pretending to leave the stage just three songs into the set.

The tease set up the earth-shaking first notes to the group's titanic hit, "Thrift Shop," which was greeted with an endless sea of digital cameras waving in the air. As he happily performed the song that put them on the map, Mack climbed aboard an inflatable whale and rode it out ...

Beyoncé is no stranger to the rumor mill, but have you heard the latest?

Word is, Queen Bey and hubby Jay-Z are expecting their second child, and while multiple sources confirmed with E! News that the Carters are adding to la familia, the superstar singer's reps haven't given any indication one way or another. If the reports do turn out to be true, a Beyoncé pregnancy could have a major impact on her upcoming album and current and future tours.

Earlier this week, the "Crazy in Love" singer was forced to cancel a Belgium date on her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour on doctor's orders after she reportedly suffered from dehydration and exhaustion. Bey swiftly issued an apology to fans, and on Wednesday, she ignored doctor's orders and went on to resume her tour. If she is, indeed, pregnant, chances are Beyoncé wouldn't let it slow her down anyway. Back in August 2011, while she was pregnant with daughter Blue Ivy, the performer put on four shows in a six-night span at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Beyoncé Apologizes To Fans For Canceled Concert.

In fact, Bey released her 2011 album, 4, while she was with child. After Blue Ivy was born in January 2012, Jay-Z dedicated to her and revealed that the day after baby Blue was conceived, Beyoncé woke up and shot photos for her 4 album. In the months that followed, she successfully released the LP, hit #1 on the Billboard 200, earned a platinum plaque and put on ...

GULF SHORES, Alabama — Twenty-One Pilots singer Tyler Joseph promised to give the crowd who showed up early for the first day of the Hangout Festival on Friday (May 17) his all and he wasn't kidding. The Ohio rap-rock-tronica duo brought the full arsenal during their hour-long lunchtime set, running the gamut from screamo and hip-hop to piano pop, daring back flips and death-defying scaffolding scaling.

"We're going to give you everything we have today and we're just gonna pour it out for you," promised Joseph, who like drummer Josh Dun, took the stage wearing a skeleton hoodie that zipped up over his face. When he wasn't sprinting across the Letting Go Stage, Joseph was crooning at his beat-up piano (or bashing its keys with his chair) and leaping off the drum riser as Dun stood up to spin his cymbals around in circles.

With a sound that swings from Jason Mraz-like hang loose shuffles played on ukulele to a mid-set mash up of covers that included R. Kelly's "Ignition," DJ Khaled's "All I Do is Win," Nelly's "Rid Wit Me" and bits of Third Eye Blind sung Vaudeville-style accompanied by Joseph's uke strumming, the band's set was perfect for a festival that takes place on a white sandy beach.

As the ode to Joseph's mother, "House of Gold," came crashing to close, Dun did a perfect backflip off the piano, an acrobatic feat matched a short time later by the Joseph, who scaled the stage rigging to sing a song from high above the audience. The singer/rapper ...

The confetti has been swept up, the tiara placed on the head of winner Candice Glover and hope once again restored that might have found its next Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson.

Now for the hard work. Let's face it: Season 12 was a bit of a mess. The talent was lackluster, the attempt by producers to guarantee the first female winner in six seasons was obvious and the uncomfortable tension between high-priced judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj often made the show hard to watch.

The "Idol" brain trust has now tried an all-star judge reboot twice, and, clearly, that's not the answer. We know original Dawg Randy Jackson is gone, and it seems likely that Nicki, Mariah and Keith Urban won't be back either. And the Justin Bieber/ Diddy/ Selena Gomez rumor just seems silly.

So how does "Idol" reverse course before season 13? MTV News asked a few experts to offer their suggestions for what went wrong and how the show can get back on track.

"I don't think the problem was the panel," said Hollywood Reporter music editor Shirley Halperin. "Yes, there were problems, but that's not why people tuned out. The formula has gotten really stale, the contestants are not exciting and they have nothing to say. The show needs to reboot in a drastic way and they need to think about what today's generation of music lovers would like."

Halperin said step one for next year is to screen test the potential judges, get them in a room together ...

GULF SHORES, ALABAMA — As far as galleries go, it's pretty tough to beat a half a mile of white-sand beach on the Gulf of Mexico.

So when the organizers of the Hangout Festival reached out to a pair of local artists — Bruce Larsen and Nall — to see if they'd be interesting in displaying some of their work on said beach, well, it didn't take them very long to get a response.

"It's an honor," Larsen said. "I mean, this is one of the real cultural events in south Alabama."

What's more, Larsen, a sculptor who creates primal works out of metal and driftwood, and Nall, famous for his provocative pieces of mixed media, would be showing their works in Hangout's artist compound ... meaning the likes of the Kings of Leon and Kendrick Lamar will be strolling through and having a look. And though fine art might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a massive music festival, well, it turns out the two artists are feeling right at home.

"To include art [makes sense]; these are all intangibles, music, it goes right to your soul." Larsen said. "It's eclectic, we put together different pieces, and music uses different notes, it's like a sculpture. We're using pieces people recognize, and I think it evokes memories."

Of course, there's more to the gallery than just giving musicians something to look at in-between complimentary beverages ... it's also about raising awareness of Alabama's cultural treasures.

"It brings a world view; I was doing this ...

Are Beyoncé and Jay-Z really expecting baby #2?

According to E! News, they are. Multiple sources confirmed to E! that Blue Ivy Carter is about to be a big sister.

Rumors have run rampant that the power couple are expanding their brood ever since the New York Post's Page Six reported that she was keeping her pregnancy under wraps. Shortly after, Beyoncé attended the Met Gala sporting a Givenchy Haute Couture high-wasted gown that strategically covered her midsection.

And speculation turned into high gear this week after Bey was forced to cancel a scheduled tour date of the Mrs. Carter Show in Antwerp, Belgium, on doctor's orders. Beyoncé was reportedly suffering from dehydration and exhaustion and later apologized to fans in a handwritten note, revealing that it was the first time that she had ever postponed a show.

On Wednesday, Bey ignored those doctor's orders and resumed her tour, telling the crowd there was "no way in the world" she would miss her second scheduled stop in Belgium.

A spokesperson for Beyoncé did not return request for comment on the rumors at press time.

Beyoncé Apologizes To Fans For Canceled Concert.

It's no secret that Beyoncé and Jay-Z want their daughter, who is 16 months old, to have a sibling. During an appearance on "Good Morning America," Beyonce revealed that "at some point, when it's supposed to happen, "they would add to their family."

"I would like more children," she added. "I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely love being a big sister."