He may have signed a deal with a major record label, finally spoke to the press and handed over the directing reins to the pros, but The Weeknd wants fans to know: He hasn't changed. It's still all about the music for the elusive, reclusive musician from Canada.

Abel Tesfaye first blipped onto the music world radar back in 2011 with a series of self-released albums, the first being the excellent House of Balloons. His identity was kept close to the vest at first, and Tesfaye resolutely turned down requests for interviews. He was a spectre then, a kind of great white hope in a world obsessed with image and money. He gave away his music for free and his face — well, we didn't know Abel from Adam at first.

In recent years, however, Tesfaye started dabbling his toes in the mainstream, signing a deal with Universal Music Group, releasing his trio of mixtapes under the moniker Trilogy and finally, finally consenting to his first-ever interview before dropping his debut studio album, Kissland, Tuesday (September 10).

Still, Tesfaye wants fans to know he's still the same music-obsessed mystery the world first met — or, rather, tried to meet — three years ago. Recently, The Weeknd and Co. sent MTV a series of video pieces — written and directed by Tesfaye, of course — that tell the story behind Kiss Land's creation, including a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his .

While Tesfaye more or less directed all the videos made for the Trilogy album, this time around, he ...

In anticipation of Monday's premiere of Britney Spears took to Twitter Wednesday night to share a photo of the track's lyric sheet. Unfortunately for fans, the actual lyrics were blacked out.

But fans did learn who worked with her on it. In addition to frequent collaborator and pal will.i.am, the "Work Bitch" crew also includes former Swedish House Mafia DJ Sebastian Ingrosso, Swedish producer/DJ Otto Jettman, Irish singer/songwriter Ruth-Anne Cunningham, as well as Antony Preston, who has worked with will.i.am.

And while Spears' fans are certainly excited to hear what Spears has cooked up for this new track, the Black Eyed Peas frontman has already added it to his driving playlist. "@britneyspears im so excited for #workB1TCH...i heard 1billion times in my car...im getting speeding tickets because of it...#workB1TCH," he wrote earlier this week.

The song, the lead single off Spears' eighth studio album, will get its first spin at 6 p.m. ET on Monday. And Spears is still slated to make some kind of announcement on Tuesday, September 17, the same day she appears on "Good Morning America."

Additionally, Spears wrapped up work on the Ben Mor-directed video for "Work Bitch." Mor worked with Spears on both as well. And when MTV News spoke to Mor last December, he only had the nicest things to say about the pop icon. "I mean, she's kind of an enigma. Every generation has their pop queen/icon, and I think she is just that person," he said. "Needless to say, her track record speaks for itself — her albums, her ...

Talk about terrible timing. On the same day her debut album, Yours Truly
, opened at the top of the Billboard charts
, Ariana Grande was ordered by doctors to rest her voice.

"First day off in forever," Grande, 20, tweeted on Wednesday. "Vocal rest and watching movies in with my best friend @alexaluria dunno what I'd do without her."

Still buzzing after her #1 debut, Grande tried to stay positive about the news. "Thank you guys for the well wishes," she wrote. "I'll be better in no time. Just need some rest." Later in the day, she explained how she wrecked her voice. "For those of u asking about my voice, I screamed too much at my party totally irresponsible but it's better now, thanks for the well wishes."

E! News confirmed that Grande is suffering from a hemorrhaged vocal chord, which will force the cancellation of some planned promotional events this week. The one gig she didn't call off was an appearance on Los Angeles' KIIS FM on Tuesday night, which she managed by using text2voice.

The keyword for the third season of "X Factor" is fun. You could tell from the flood of smiles and laughs in the opening montage, where we were re-introduced to boss Simon Cowell, sole returning judge Demi Lovato and newbies Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio.

Wednesday night's season premiere also reminded us (or told us for the first time?) that 
 has minted more stars than any other reality singing show in the world. Of course, the montage highlighted such British household names as Cher Lloyd, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and, the biggest of all, One Direction.

But with the exception of last season's third-place finishers Fifth Harmony, it was noticeably light on American finds, of which the American "Factor" has minted a grand total of zero so far.

With the focus on the talent, the one-hour kick-off was heavy on major talents, including a late blooming gospel belter and an inspiring teen mini-diva. It also quickly established that this year's mix of judges is big on personality and easy chemistry.

Promising talent
First auditioner Carlito Olivero, the "Latino Chris Brown," made nice right away with Rubio by speaking her language and doing a credible job on Rihanna's "Stay." Showing off a strong, supple falsetto, he earned the first unanimous vote of the evening.

Annoyingly adorkable couple Alex and Sierra won the crowd over with their unplugged acoustic folk take on Britney Spears' "Toxic," which also pleasantly surprised the panel. Even Cowell, who was sure at first that they were going to be corny, couldn't help but smile at the duo, who Lovato ...

In his 17 years in the film industry, actor/director/writer James Franco has inspired many a raised eyebrow and scratched head — this is the man who constructed a replica of the "Three's Company" living room for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, after all. But Franco's latest directorial effort, an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 1973 novel will truly test the mettle of movie-goers.

The film follows the deeply troubled Lester Ballard, a violent social outcast whose depravity leads him to murder and necrophilia.

Despite the project's controversial content, Franco assured MTV News' Josh Horowitz, while at the Toronto International Film Festival, that he wasn't trying to bait audiences into outraged responses.

"I don't get turned on if somebody hates my movie, but I did go into this project knowing that it was an extreme subject matter," Franco said. "It was an extreme way of talking about these themes that I'm talking about, but that's why I make movies. That's why I'm drawn to it. I could easily talk about loneliness in a much tamer way, imagination in a much tamer way, but then I feel like it would just be a movie that would fall in the middle somewhere. There's nothing interesting about that to me."

Franco knew he could draw an audience (albeit, a small one) if he crafted the film in a very particular manner.

"So as long as I made it in a responsible way, meaning don't make the budget too big and figure out ways to make it good but manageable, I would be fine," he said. "I ...

Sorry world, with Charlie Hunnam confirmed to play Christian Grey in the big screen adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey," it just means that "Harry Potter" star, Daniel Radcliffe, won't be able to explore the billionaire's kinky world. And, if you ask him, he's quite fine with that.

"I literally had someone say to me for the first time today, 'The world's in uproar you're not playing Christian Grey.' And I'm like 'If this is uproar, it's inaudible.' I think there was approximately no people wanting me to play Christian Grey, including myself," he told MTV News at the Toronto International Film Festival. "I have to say, no offense to anybody, I'm sure they're going to do a great job on the movie, but it's not something that I think of would have been a good next step for me."

Of course, Radcliffe has plenty of projects that his fans can check out in lieu of "Fifty Shades," including "Horns" and "Kill My Darlings." But, perhaps, Radcliffe would have felt differently about missing the chance to adapt E L James' novel if pop siren, Katy Perry, nabbed the role of Anastasia Steele away from Dakota Johnson. Why? Well, Radcliffe owned up to having a on the "Roar" singer back in 2012. Yet, he still doesn't have the courage to talk to her.

"Mentally I am very close to Katy Perry, a lot," he joked. "I've been in a room with her since and I couldn't say [anything]. I was across a room from her and I was like ...

Still no word yet on whether Rihanna will be releasing her eighth album in eight years later in 2013, but we do know that she's making music — for one of her "favorite artists."

On Wednesday (September 11), she tweeted, "Just left the studio... Recorded a #monster hook for one of my favorite artists! And that's all I can give you..."

The mysterious tweet — not surprisingly — rallied her Rihanna Navy, who were feverishly guessing who the artist could be. Predictions included Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky, and Drake, to name a few. We here at MTV News compiled a list of who we think Rihanna could be collaborating with, and even added some odds for you betting types.

Lady Gaga
Since Rihanna tweeted the word "monster," some automatically assumed she could only be talking about the Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga. Even though her Little Monsters have heard a majority of the ARTPOP at the iTunes Festival, there may still be some time to add in an extra track, or maybe even a remix to "Sex Dreams," which fans are hoping will be the next single.
Odds: 20 to 1

Kanye West
Another logical person that Rihanna could be working is ", so it might be time for her to return the favor on that rumored Yeezus remix EP.
Odds: 15 to 1

Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj had a stand-out verse on West's "Monster" track, which made us think that Minaj just might be the artist Rihanna could ...

While "Breaking Bad" fans eagerly await the final episode to find out the fate of Walter, Jesse and the rest of the gang, they're also dreading the end, since it will be goodbye to characters they've gotten to know over the course of five seasons.

But the September 29 finale of "Breaking Bad" will not be a goodbye for at least one character. "Better Call Saul," the proposed spin-off series for Bob Odenkirk's dirtbag lawyer, is officially happening at AMC.

The network announced Wednesday (September 11), along with Sony Pictures TV, in an official statement that it will be a prequel to "Breaking Bad."

Many of the fans who have been meticulously crafting their personal predictions on how "Breaking Bad" will end took rumors of a Saul Goodman spin-off series as a sign that the lawyer would survive the current series. The detail that "Better Call Saul" will be a prequel doesn't let him off the hook for the remaining three episodes.

'Breaking Bad': Who Will Die Next Week?

"As conceived, the new series is based on the show's popular Saul Goodman character with the working title 'Better Call Saul,' " the network and studio said in a joint statement. "Plans call for Saul to be a one-hour prequel that will focus on the evolution of the popular Saul Goodman character [played by Bob Odenkirk] before he ever became Walter White's lawyer."

While Vince Gilligan will not be helming the show — that responsibility goes to "Breaking Bad" writer and producer Peter Gould — the showrunner will be working in some creative capacity behind the ...