R. Kelly has conquered R&B, and now it seems that the Pied Piper is on to new horizons.

“I want y’all to know a secret,” the singer announced to an excited crowd during his performance at The Chosen Few Picnic Weekend 2014 in Chicago earlier this month. “I’m working on a house album right now! I want y’all to know, it’s coming!”

Yeah. You heard that right. R. Kelly and House music. If you’re feeling iffy about that proposition, well, you’re not like Kells. He’s certainly not lacking confidence.

“And y’all know I love music and I feel like I can do anything when it comes to music because I am music,” he said.

Kind of reminds of that time last year when he told MTV News — and stressed he wasn’t exaggerating — that “a trillion” babies had been made to his music.

Who knows what this album will sound like, but with the Kells’ silky vocals, we’ll probably be able to add a few more to that modest number when it’s all said and done.

Adam Fleischer

When I first moved to New York, La Roux’s “Bulletproof,” an anthem for shaking off bad love and entering new chapters of one’s life, blasted from every bar and club that my friends and I wandered into.

That was half a decade ago, though, so much in the same way that I’m not the same person now who hung out at Williamsburg hipster meat markets dancing to MGMT’s “Kids” until 3 a.m., La Roux (a.k.a. Elly Jackson) is far from singing the same refrain.

“‘Bulletproof’ is a whole thing of its own,” Jackson told MTV News of her hit song. “I knew I never wanted to write another song like ‘Bulletproof.’ I don’t think I’d be able to make the record I’ve made now if I had made another ‘Bulletproof’ since ‘Bulletproof.’”

La Roux’s sophomore record, Trouble in Paradise — her first in five years — drops on July 21, and it’s streaming as of today on iTunes Radio. She cut ties with past collaborator Ben Langmaid this time around, working instead with producer/engineer Ian Sherwin, and that decision — along with vocal issues — made the road to this record a difficult one.

An album that Jackson said was supposed to sound like “what people in the ’70s thought the future would look and sound like,” the collection of tunes is about “all about the darkness lurking behind the most beautiful tune, the doubts in even the happiest of ...

Brenton Thwaites has been on the cusp for a while now, with recent roles in the horror hit “Oculus,” the sci-fi film “The Signal,” and a small but crucial role in the megahit “Maleficent.” But it’s the upcoming “The Giver” that will most likely break him through to the next level.

The YA adaptation of Lois Lowry’s beloved novel stars Thwaites as Jonas, a boy who lives in a post-apocalyptic society engrained with Sameness. Only when he starts to work with an old man with secrets of his own (Jeff Bridges) does Jonas start to realize the world is less black and white — quite literally — than he first thought it was.

“I was drawn to Jonas mainly because he has such a complex journey throughout the film,” Thwaites told MTV News when we talked over e-mail. “He is literally chosen to ‘learn the history of the world.’ I thought, ‘I would like to learn me some history of the world from Jeff Bridges. Let’s do this!’ ”

Thwaites’ enthusiasm for the project wasn’t muted by the challenges that lay ahead of him on set. The first of those was the very precise language in the story, as the characters spend a good amount of time figuring out the exact right words to use in order to deliver their desired effect.

According to Thwaites, this is something they spent an enormous amount of time working on, on set as well, as, “Jeff, [Director] Phil [Noyce] and I ...

Since it went off the air in 2003, fans have been begging show creator Joss Whedon to bring back “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” in one form or another. Now, finally, like some sort of wish-granting Vengeance Demon, Whedon has finally brought the beloved show back to the air for one last episode:

Sorry, did we say episode? We meant napkin.

After summoning Whedon (currently directing “Avengers: Age Of Ultron“) on Twitter, because that’s a thing that can happen, the multi-hyphenate promised one wish. And that wish was granted.

Fans may note that there has been an (excellent) ongoing Dark Horse comic book series that’s added another three seasons to the show’s life, overseen by Whedon himself; as well as various spin-offs following Angel, Faith, Spike and Willow.

But look at that napkin. It has all the hallmarks of a “Buffy” episode: the angst, the jokes, the epic action sequences. And since Whedon wrote this napkin, we expect he’ll take a break for the next 20 napkins, only to return to tie things up when he writes the last napkin of the season.

…And then five seasons of napkins later, they’ll create this weird fanfic where the Buffy napkin has bizarre sex with a Spike napkin and okay now we’re pushing the metaphor just a little.

Point is: isn’t the Internet fun, you guys? You can make celebrities do WHATEVER YOU WANT.

Time to get Whedon to create that next season of “Firefly” on a series of towels and paperweights.

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We’ve been dying to see anything from “Horns,” the eagerly anticipated adaptation of Joe Hill’s critically acclaimed novel, pretty much since we first heard news of the project. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as a man accused of killing his girlfriend (Juno Temple) — who wakes up one morning with very satanic looking horns growing out of his head — the dark fantasy novel is superb, and begging for a film adaptation.

Happily, director Alexandre Aja (“The Hills Have Eyes”) complied, though it’s been a good long time since we’ve heard anything about the film. With a San Diego Comic-Con panel featuring Hill, Aja and Radcliffe on the horizon, though, things are heating up (like the flames of Hell, etc, etc).

Empire Magazine has the first teaser poster, which not only shows off a non-horned look at Radcliffe’s dark turn in the movie, but also finally gives us an appropriate release date: Halloween.

At least, that’s the date for UK cinemas. Whether the movie will land domestically at the same time is still to be confirmed, though Hill did tease on Twitter that the movie would be out in October. Stay tuned for more (including a surely impending trailer).

Alex Zalben

Writer/Editor at MTV News. You can follow him on Twitter, but not in real life because that would be weird.

@azalben

With additional reporting by Janelle Myers

‘Who Dat? Who Dat?’ I-G-G-Y, Y’all!
Iggy Azalea opened for Snoop Dogg at a cowboy-themed festival in Canada called the Calgary Stampede on Sunday night. Besides performing “Fancy,” she donned a cowgirl hat while doing the two-step and twerking.

Germany Won The World Cup And Hung Out With RiRi
Rihanna fangirled when she met the German soccer team after they won the World Cup, and they even let her hold the cup! She took photos with them and got kissed (on the cheek) by Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Before the tournament started, she showed her support for the now-champions by changing her Twitter avatar to her wearing a German flag-colored bathing suit.

If You Flip Woww Over It Spells Momm
Jenni Farley a.k.a JWOWW and her fiance Roger Mathews welcomed their baby girl Meilani Alexandra on Sunday afternoon.

Christopher Walken Lands A Role On ‘Peter Pan’
NBC thinks Hook was made for Walken – yes, Christopher Walken. The television network will air a live broadcast of “Peter Pan,” and it cast the “Pulp Fiction” actor as the title character’s arch-nemesis Captain Hook.

Must See Video Of The Day
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” starring pugs is the latest adorable parody from The Pet Collective that basically proves the world would be a better place if it were run by pugs. And if you weren’t sold already, there is a baby pug stampede.

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A few weeks back, you may have opened iTunes or checked out Billboard and seen a name near the top and thought, who’s that?

That, my friends, was G-Eazy.

The Oakland native caused waves with the release of his debut album, These Things Happen, in June, becoming another example of an independent artist doing it on a major level. Now’s your chance to figure out what all that noise is about.

Getty Images

Who he is:

The 25-year-old, born Gerald Earl Gillum, just released his debut album, These Things Happen, on June 23. The disc moved an impressive 46,000 units in its opening week, which was good enough to top the Billboard Rap Albums chart and debut at No. 3 on the 200.

You don’t just make that kind of splash — as an independent artist, no less — by coming out of nowhere. And though it may seem like that’s the case with Eazy to some, he’s got a consistent grind to credit for the spot he’s currently positioned himself in.

The West Coaster put out his first mixtape in 2007, and since then has dropped a handful more, as well as a few EPs. But his music doesn’t just reach fans through the Net. The up and comer has been making believers out of concertgoers across the country, ...

Most eighth graders are trying to navigate their way through hormones and junior high drama. But for Malcolm Brickhouse, 13, Alec Atkins, 13, and Jarad Dawkins, 12 of the metal trio Unlocking The Truth, bigger concerns are on the horizon. Namely, the six album record deal that they just signed with Sony, oh, and traveling America on the Warped Tour.

Though they’re not even in high school yet, the three Brooklyn kids won over some major fans just by busking around the city. Eric Clapton’s drummer Steve Jordan discovered them playing in Washington Square Park back in 2012.

Since then, the boys have opened for Guns N’ Roses, played Coachella and landed this record deal.

Sony has confirmed a two album contract with the trio, including an option for four more records. The advance for their first record is $60,000—which is a whopping amount of money for a 12-year-old even when it’s split three ways.

“It’s so exciting. We’re jumping over the moon,” Jarad’s mother Tabatha Dawkins told the New York Daily News. “What started out as play dates went to Times Square and now this. It’s been one great thing after another.”

There are already plans for the boys to write a book about their rise to fame; it will be released through Penguin around Christmas. A documentary about the group is also in the works. Clearly, this is an act we’re going to be hearing a lot more from in the future.

Guitarist Malcom, bassist Alec and drummer Jarad all share ...

It’s far too easy (and frankly, far too overdone) to approach any story about Lindsay Lohan with an eyeroll and a bit of disdain. We’re an idealist sort and always hopeful that people will learn from their past mistakes and/or the chaos of their own lives — which is why we think maybe this move to London that Lohan is contemplating is a great idea.

Yeah, you read that right — Lohan revealed in an interview with BBC in support of her latest bit of work, a production of David Mamet’s Speed-The-Plow on the West End, that she’s a bit enamored with that jolly good home of Kate and Wills better known as foggy Londontowne. Mostly because, well, their celebrity obsession doesn’t drive her anxieties up a wall as much as it does here in the US.

“I don’t understand the crazy fascination with me because it kind of scares me,” the actress stated when asked about her life as a media magnet. But, quite sadly, in fact, the business of reporting on her every move has her more nonplussed these days than in the past. “I’m so numb to it at this point that it doesn’t affect me personally whereas in the past I think it did a little bit.”

“I will hear a flash of an iPhone camera, I’ll hear the shutter from a mile across the room, or I’ll feel it,” she quipped. “I’m so used to thinking that and feeling almost paranoid sometimes.”

As for the allure ...

OK, we’re going to try to not get all freakishly excited and overly hyperbolic about the new trailer (A non-teaser at last!) for “Doctor Who” season eight but OH MY GOODNESS is that ever a tall order.

Because — Gah! Jeez! Holy Mother of Daleks! — any hypothetical worries one could have had about the BBC franchise after the loss of our beloved Eleven have been squashed with the quickness thanks to the trailer! It debuted on BBC One during Sunday’s World Cup finals, because where else should the biggest show in the universe debut but during the biggest sporting event in this wee galaxy of ours, eh?

In 60 seconds, Peter Capaldi has managed to sell us on his iteration. And Clara Oswald’s Doctor-saving self is securely in place at his side. There’s even a wee cameo from The Paternoster Gang who will appear in the premiere episode, “Deep Breath” (yay more Strax)! This is turning into a timey-wimey family affair, now, isn’t it?

Obviously, August 23rd cannot come soon enough. And we’ve got heaps of questions in need of some answers. Anybody have an extra sonic screwdriver handy? River Song? You out there?

Oo-wee-ooooo!

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.