March 22, 2025

About the author  ⁄ MTV News

‘Vampire Academy’ Captures ‘Hilarity’ Of Teen Years

star Zoey Deutch knows which scene you're most anticipating in her upcoming fang flick (*cough* lust charm *cough*), and she doesn't blame you. But if she had her pick, she'd select a slightly-less-sexy-yet-still-intimate moment with co-star Danila Kozlovsky as her favorite.

"Funnily enough, there's a little scene of Dimitri and I walking back from training that ended up being my favorite scene, and I think it had something to do with the fact that it was a scene where the camera was very far away," Deutch told MTV News' Josh Horowitz recently. "It was very weird. It just felt very natural and very real, and it was towards the end, and it was also during the day, and we were mostly shooting at night, so it was like, 'Sunlight!'"

Night shoots are just one of the occupational hazards of filming a movie about teen bloodsuckers, but Deutch insisted that she actually felt quite comfortable on a new, nocturnal schedule.

"What's even weirder, I felt like I was supposed to be there. I felt, like, totally happy and content and fine with adjusting to night shoots and being away from home for four months," she said. "It was a joy. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I became so close to everyone in the cast, including Lucy [Fry], who is my best friend now, truly. I talk to her every day, and Mark Waters, who is the director, he's wonderful. He really made me feel at home."

While Mark directed the film ...

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Outkast’s <i>Speakerboxxx/The Love Below:</i> Insiders Reveal Story Behind Hip-Hop’s Biggest Album

Quick, who has the best-selling hip-hop album of all time? Eminem, Jay Z, Drake? Try Outkast. According to the RIAA, the Atlanta duo's landmark double solo release, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, has moved 11.4 million copies, putting it above Slim Shady's The Marshall Mathers LP as the #1 rap release of all time.

The double-disc of solo albums from Big Boi (Speakerboxxx) and Andre 3000 (The Love Below) mixed the pair's signature down-South hip-hop grooves with the purest evolution of their pop smarts for a once-in-a-career phenomenon that was both unstoppable and irresistible. Andre's hit "Hey Ya" was the kind of mega-single that crossed over to every demo, as did Boi's "The Way You Move," pushing them to previously unimagined career heights.

On the 10th anniversary of the huge breakthrough — which won three Grammys, including Album of the Year — we spoke to Outkast and some of the people who worked on the albums to get a behind-the-scenes take on the making of the discs.

Outkast Speak
Big Boi: "We made timeless classics," Big Boi told MTV News last week at the pair's Stankonia studio in Atlanta, where the discs were recorded. "Our music don't have no expiration date on it. Same way you can pop in a Michael Jackson album, or a Prince album or an Isley Brothers album."

For his part, Big Boi integrated the group's signature skittering, uptempo hip-hop grooves with even more elements of soul and a healthy nod to the brain-frying funk of George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic. "It can ...

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Daft Punk: Who Actually Inspired <i>Random Access Memories</i>?

Alex Rhida is no stranger to spending time with the wildly famous and talented. From hanging at Snoop's house, to spinning with Skrillex, Boys Noize is always at it. The 30-year-old German DJ recently tweeted from the studio with another industry pal of his: Thomas Bangalter, one half of electronic duo Daft Punk.

"@Boysnoize: in the studio w Thomas Bangalter playing him demos i did w @chillygonzales ! my life is complete."

We caught up with the German producer, who clarified that beyond a friendship, they have a very influential working relationship. And it turns out, he's a fan of the work he did with pianist and producer Chilly Gonzales, whose name is most recently being recognized for his work on Drake's album Nothing Was The Same.

"It was funny 'cause when I was hanging out with Thomas from Daft Punk, he was saying that the album we put out before — Chilly Gonzales' Ivory Tower (which they wrote and produced together in 2010) — that that album inspired them to make their new album," Rhida told MTV News. "I thought that was the biggest compliment I could ever get."

Since most of the electronic music community usually draws creative motivation from the French duo, this is significant praise. Boys Noize is no different though, quickly adding how Random Access Memories was inspirational not only to him, but for the genre as whole.

"With the Daft Punk album, they go totally old school. It has nothing to do with actual dance music right now; it isn't a dance album at all, but it's ...

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Justin Timberlake Streams <i>The 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2</i>, Fans Start Making Babies

Justin Timberlake unveiled the second chapter of The 20/20 Experience with the sleek, sumptuous and now, one week before his new album is due in stores, he's letting fans hear the whole story.

Yes,The 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2 is currently streaming in full on iTunes, and with its 70-minute running time, reliance on smooth, retro-leaning grooves, and electronic excursions courtesy of Timbaland, it definitely feels like the proper sequel to the first 20/20, which dropped in March. Shoot, there's even another Jay-Z cameo, this time on a track called "Murder" (Drake also shows up earlier on the album, on the super-charged sex anthem "Cabaret.")

Another thing it shares in common with the first installment of The 20/20 Experience? Fans truly seem to love it.

Yes, we predict many babies shall be made in the coming weeks: The 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2 hits stores on September 30, and Timberlake will promote both editions on a world tour that kicks off October 31 in Montreal. The first installment of the series debuted at #1 in March, to record-setting sales of more than 968,000 copies ... a mark that still stands as the biggest debut of 2013.

...

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‘The Voice’ Premiere: Five Things To Look Forward To

"The Voice" is back! Coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green will reunite on the season five premiere of the Emmy-winning reality singing competition Monday (September 23) night, alongside host Carson Daly.

Besides the irreverent chemistry between the original four coaches, these are the things we are excited to see.

Guest Mentors
Every season coaches work with celebrity guest mentors to guide their team members onto the right musical path. While the star-studded show has already enlisted the likes of Kelly Clarkson and Pharrell Williams in the past, season five has upped the ante with Miguel (Team Cee Lo), Ed Sheeran (Team Christina), One Republic's Ryan Tedder (Team Adam) and the legendary Cher (Team Blake) set to dish out priceless advice. Guest mentors also tend to become performers on the show, so it's a double whammy this season.

Blake's Fingers And Zingers
Undoubtedly the most popular coach on "The Voice," Blake Shelton has won hearts with his trademark sales pitch to contestants, which includes a simple finger point to himself and his infamous one-liners like "You know what the right thing to do is" and "I brove you," to his partner in crime Adam Levine. But let's not get it twisted: Shelton is a competitor and the country superstar is totally down to take digs at his fellow coaches. In trying to win a contestant over from Xtina, Shelton once said, "There are some people who quit singing just after they met her."

Cee Lo's New Pet
If Levine brings the cool, Aguilera brings the fire and Shelton brings ...

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DJ Khaled Makes New Friends At Miami High School

All DJ Khaled does is win, and on Friday, the We the Best music man passed on that same positive attitude to the students at Miami Norland Senior High School in Miami, Florida.

Khaled's We the Best record label partnered with local hip-hop station 99 Jamz and surprised the students with a $10,000 donation to the school's band and music program.

"They could be young executives, young musicians, big artists," Khaled told MTV News moments before he walked into the school gymnasium, where students sat in the stands and the bands played hit records like "All I Do Is Win" and "No New Friends."

Miami Norland principal Reginald Lee saluted Khaled and 99 Jamz program director Derrick Baker, who is a graduate of the school. Lee stressed the importance of extracurricular activities, noting that participation in sports and music programs gives students the confidence to excel in the classroom. "They need something to feel good about, and this will definitely do it. That's a great donation they gave to the band program and we definitely need those funds," Lee said. "We have all these extracurricular activities kids can be a part of — drama, music and chorus — and then, you know, with budget cuts, this helps us. Those $10,000 are going directly to the band program so we can entice more of our kids."

The all-star surprise generated considerable excitement for the kids who cheered, danced in the aisles and posed for pictures with the executive, record producer and radio DJ. "I'm glad to see this kind of fun and excitement," said ...

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Lorde’s <i>Pure Heroine</i>: The Early Reviews Are In!

New Zealand songstress Lorde's new album, Pure Heroine, hit the Web Monday (September 23) as a special pre-release stream via her MTV Artist Page, and fans and critics are already stepping up to crown the 16-year-old singer the queen of nouveau pop.

"For so long, pop music has been this super-shameful thing, where people don't want to be associated with it, they want to be on Pitchfork," Lorde (a.k.a. Ella Yelich-O'Connor) told MTV News this past August. "But the way I see it, pop music doesn't have to be stupid, and alternative music doesn't have to be boring; you can mesh the two together and make something cool."

That's exactly what Lorde has done with her debut album, replete with insanely catchy jams like "Tennis Court," "Team" and "Royals," the track that saw Lorde become the first woman to top Billboard's Alternative Songs Chart in 17 years.

"She's a freshly fired antique," The Guardian said of the singer, speaking of her modern-tinged timelessness.

Meanwhile, Idolator gave Lorde props for living up to the hype: "Pure Heroine is one of the albums of the year from an artist who proved an unexpected breakout star, but earned it."

"Her low-key 'f----it-all' attitude is part of her charm," said Death + Taxes, an assertion we can get behind — the girl considers herself more 'real' than Bieber.

Some outlets pointed to specific tracks when doling out the praise. Consequence of Sound called "Tennis Court" and "Team" "standout tracks," while Billboard editorial director Bill Werde said, "This ...

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Chvrches Wanted Their Debut To Be As ‘Gnarly’ As The ’80s Themselves

Chvrches may have one of the most anticipated debut albums of the fall — The Bones of What You Believe drops tomorrow — but when it comes to fame, the trio don't think they're quite there yet.

"I don't think we'd consider ourselves famous at this point," Martin Doherty said. "We're just getting on with what we're doing. I think we've got a bit to go before we can say that."

Chvrches have been creating their share of buzz online and off since dropping their Recover EP in March of this year. In the ensuing months, they have toured with the likes of Passion Pit and Depeche Mode, recently appearing on MTV Hive's Artist To Watch Live stream on Friday.

Steady chatter has been growing for months about their debut LP, which is a darkly dancey — and extremely catchy — '80s-esque work replete with bangers like "Recover" and "The Mother We Share."

According to Iain Cook, the throwback sound of the record is mostly influenced by films — specifically horror flicks. "A lot of our earliest, most impressionable moments with music were when we were growing up watching movies and the songs from the soundtracks, but also the score," Cook told MTV News. "A lot of sci-fi and horror scores from the '80s where they wouldn't use orchestras and they would use electronic instruments, I guess for budgetary reasons or whatever, tend to be particularly memorable, because they can be really gnarly and they work really well with the gore." Cook is a big horror buff, he said.

That minimal equipment and rich ...

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