Kanye West, Rihanna & Kid Cudi › All Of The Lights

If you're familiar with this Kanye West song you should know it features a whole lot of other people and for some reason only Rihanna and Kid Cudi made it into the video. Big up for Kid Cudi and his sorta Gold Digger dance during his cameo. Directed by veteran Hype Williams, the All Of The Lights video is full of flash, color and should really have a disclaimer for possibly causing seizures. Really. Expected a whole lot more for this one, not only because of the amazing array of artists featured, but because even the small plot got lost in all the lyrics from the song flashing on screen (what was that all about?), not to mention the unforgivable edit-out of one of the song's stand-outs: Fergie's whole verse! Such a HUGE disappointment.

Just recently, All Of The Lights went on to spend four weeks at the top of my chart starting January 8th. The song is currently back up one spot to #2 on this week's chart issue.



Get All Of The Lights | More music by Kanye West | More music by Rihanna | More music by Kid Cudi

BEP Announce Second Single

The Black Eyed Peas announced yesterday that the second single from their album The Beginning will be the one titled Just Can't Get Enough. I just had a listen and it's less stellar than the first single, which is really bad considering I still sorta dislike The Time (Dirty Bit). On the other hand, it has a lot of Fergie and that makes it an incomplete disaster.

Will.i.am Breaks Down Black Eyed Peas' New Disc

I think we'll have to wait and hear what The Black Eyed Peas are bringing this time around because so far their new single is not cutting it for me. The sample? It's a total cheese-fest! The only good parts are the robotized Fergie vocals, and that's already giving it too much credit. What was wrong with Elephunk, really?

From SPIN.com:

"Boom Boom Pow." "My Humps." "I Gotta Feeling." It's easy to hate on the Black Eyed Peas for making mindlessly fun pop music for the Jersey Shore set. But it takes true skills to write hit music, and while most musicians would kill for just one hit song, the Peas had five Top 10 singles off their last album The E.N.D. alone.

On November 30, Will.i.am, Fergie, Apl.de.ap, and Taboo will return with a new album The Beginning. And the record finds the group going in an out-there, almost-avant-garde direction. Sure, they rejigger the Dirty Dancing song "I Had The Time of My Life" on lead single "The Time" — but they also use samples of classic songs by Chic and Slick Rick while pushing catchy synth melodies and Auto-Tune-heavy vocals to the extreme. It's the sort of eclectic album that art-rockers, club kids, and B-boys could get behind.

"Our last record was just, 'Yo! We're making crazy beats — party, party, party!" Will.i.am tells SPIN.com. "This one is more inspired by electro and dance music — it's the only thing alive at the moment. There are some songs where we're going all the way, but we mix it up. Some songs are 120 BPM and others are like 320."

He says the Peas' main goal was to connect the greatest music of the '80s to more modern sounds. "The 80s was very unique — it launched humanity into hyper mode," says Will. "From then to now, we've transcended to a totally different culture, like, 'What?' Now we have high-definition, 3-D animation whereas the beginning was Tetris and Space Invaders. How did Space Invaders become Madden NFL. That's what we're doing — we're connecting the pixels."

Working with producers like David Guetta and DJ Ammo, the Peas cut the record all over the world, in hotel rooms while on the road and after Will.i.am's late-night DJ gigs, where he tested out many of the album's beats on the crowd. Tracks like "The Time" were recorded on the fly so there's a homespun, DIY vibe coursing throughout. "We had no speakers so I had to hi-jack the hotel television set and plug my computer into it," says Will. "I needed a new beat because I had to go DJ that night."

SPIN.com caught up with Will.i.am. to break down some of the album's highlights:

"Do It Like This"
Like the two-part techno-funk epic "Imma Be," the Black Eyed Peas splice together two club-ready jams into one five minute track. "Do It Like This" was months in the making. Will had left-over beats from working with Usher on "Oh My God" so he wanted to sample fans' opinions before using them on Black Eyed Peas' new tunes. After DJ'ing one night in Toronto, Will brought back strangers to play them his creations. "I told them, 'Don't be afraid to say its whack. Don't tell me it's cool because you're being polite,'" says Will. "So I played them music and everybody was like, 'Ugh!'"

Still, Will stands by the beats that make up "Do It Like This," which has a dizzying, minimal German techno vibe. "I don't care if you've shot a billion people and I don't care if you've sold crack to the Pope," says Will. "That beat is harder than any attitude or any freakin' mug-shot face. It goes to a place no hip-hopper would go to right now."

"XOXOXO"
The wildest song on the record, "XOXOXO" is four minutes of robotic voices, icy synths, skeletal beats and Will wooing a lady via text message with hilarious lines like "Girl, you stole my heart like a klepto / Butterflies in my stomach, need Pepto." Will says he wanted to make something totally unlike "I Gotta Feeling," where each member had easily-identifiable vocals. So he crafted a hook so saturated in Auto-Tune, it's impossible to tell if it's Will or Fergie singing on the chorus. "We wanted to use the combination of our voices, which is unique," he says. "It's not about who's singing what part. A lot of times, people fall short in the studio worrying about who gets to sing which part."

"Fashion Beats"
An undeniably catchy dance number featuring Fergie's sex-kittenish, Debbie Harry-esque vocals. The disco and funk pulse is authentic: Will cribbed a sample of Chic's 1979 classic "My Forbidden Lover" for this tune. "Fergie's all like, 'Faaaaaashion!'" says Will. "It's crazy fresh!"

"Don't Stop the Party"
A buzzing, hot club jam that features whoosing synths and slap-funk bass grooves. Will's lyrics are some of his funniest yet: dude manages to rap "lyricals" and "digital" with "aboriginals" and "genitals" in a thick, Caribbean patois. It's the longest track on the album at close to six-minutes — but Will is proud enough of the song that he'd even play it for Jay-Z. "I would go to Jay's studio and play this be like 'Boom! Check it out!,' says Will. "Then I go dirty Caribbean on him on the last verse."

The Black Eyed Peas Reveal Album Covers for 'The Beginning'

The Black Eyed Peas are heading back to The Beginning with variant album covers for Standard (white cover) and Deluxe (black cover) versions of their sixth album dropping November 30. The official artwork features 8-bit versions of will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo, and apl.de.ap.

While the title of The E.N.D. was a play on words (standing for "The Energy Never Dies"), the new album's title, The Beginning, "refers to what is actually happening in the world right now," says will.i.am. "The Beginning is symbolic of adopting new technologies, such as augmented reality, 3D, and 360 video. It's also about being experimental and taking songs we've liked from the past and playing around with sick, crazy beats."

The first single from The Beginning, “The Time (Dirty Bit),” will be available from all digital retailers on November 9th. “The song is a celebration of this amazing time in our lives,” says Fergie.

The Beginning will be released as a Standard CD of 12 new tracks, a Deluxe CD with three bonus songs, a full album vinyl, and a combo two-disc set of 20 songs that includes The Beginning and The Best of The E.N.D.

Taken from the Black Eyed Peas' Dipdive page.

Nelly: "Party People (Feat. Fergie)" video

Fergie Adds Some New Gems To Dutchess Reissue, Says She'd 'Love' To Work With 'Sex And The City' Ladies

Say what you will about Fergie, at least she's honest.

As Exhibit A, we present the following quote, which she gave to MTV News backstage at "TRL" after we asked her why she was planning on re-releasing her smash debut The Dutchess as a "deluxe edition" on May 27.

"That's what everyone's doing nowadays, I hear," she laughed. "The label came to me and said this would be a good idea, and I thought, 'Well, OK, if this is another way for me to put out these songs that I've been wanting people to hear, then great.' The music business is changing, and this repackage thing is a new way for people to put out songs that they want people to hear, so I'm cool with it."

We're cool with it too, Ferg. We'll have more info about the Dutchess reissue closer to its release, but we'd be remiss if we didn't pass on some information about one of its new tracks right now: "Party People," which, incidentally, is also featured on Nelly's upcoming Brass Knuckles. Turns out, it was Fergie's first.

" 'Party People' with Nelly, I'm thrilled with that one. It was originally going to be on The Dutchess, but we didn't finish it. So Polow Da Don played it for Nelly, and he put his thing on it without me even knowing," Fergie explained. "I had originally recorded a version of it with Trina ... and I thought I was saving that one for my next album, but Polow played it for me with Nelly on it. They called me over the phone: 'Fergie Ferg, what's up? You're gonna die!' And I just went, 'OK, maybe I should save this one for the next album,' 'cause it just really excited me when I heard it. It's that song that just gets me going."

The dynamic duo shot a video for the song earlier this month in Los Angeles. "It's just us wilding out. ... We had a mosh pit going on," Ferg said of the video, which is already beginning to make the rounds. And though Fergie's plans for the next few months include a whole lot of "couch-potato stuff: just relaxing and watching 'I Love New York' marathons," she's already got her mind set on filming another video — one that she's not ashamed to admit would be a complete "dream" for her.

"I've got a new song called 'Labels or Love,' which is going to be the [theme] to the 'Sex and the City' film, and I'm so thrilled that they picked me to do it. ... I grew up with those characters. I used to watch with my mom all the time — we'd tune in every week," she said. "And so I loved those characters, and to be a part of the whole thing was such an honor. I would die to do a video with the girls — I would just want to see what was in their stylist's closet — to see how many trailers they would bring filled with clothes for the video."

And while that "Sex and the City" video may or may not happen, Fergie says her fans should be on the lookout for plenty of new stuff from her and her Black Eyed Peas compadres over the next few months. And we're not just talking about "deluxe edition" reissues, either.

"Taboo is filming 'Street Fighter' right now. Will just got finished filming 'Wolverine.' Apl's working on a solo record, so everyone's working on their solo stuff," Fergie explained. "So we'll all get back in the studio this year. I'll get back in the studio this year. ... We'll keep working. We're workaholics."

Source: MTV.com

'American Idol' Gives Back: Snoop Dogg Gets Sentimental, Fergie Does Cartwheels At Charity Event

A lot of musical guests have made their way to the "American Idol" stage over the show's seven seasons, but did anyone ever expect to see Snoop Dogg on the squeaky-clean show? Couldn't this hurt his street cred?

"Why could this hurt me?" the hip-hop heavyweight asked backstage at the Kodak Theatre during Sunday's "Idol Gives Back" taping. "This is beautiful, man."

Apparently even Snoop gets sentimental when it comes to the second-annual charity event — which raised $76 million last year for organizations in the U.S. and Africa — and on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the two-and-a-half-hour episode will air in the hopes of topping that total.

Snoop hit the stage with Charlie Wilson early in the show to perform his new Ego Trippin' street anthem, "Can't Say Goodbye." Kids from Snoop's youth football league took the stage as well, and he said being a coach is his way of giving back.

"These kids are at risk," Snoop said backstage. "And it's so easy to join a gang, so easy to get drugs, but it's so hard to do something right with yourself. I'm trying to give them an opportunity to do something right with themselves."

Snoop also had his own kids in tow — one of whom was a little confused about a certain Disney teen queen.

"My daughter thinks Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana are two different people," Snoop laughed. "She took a picture with her, and I was like, 'Who did you take a picture with?' She says, 'Miley Cyrus.' And I said, 'Where's Hannah Montana?' She says, 'She's not here yet.' "

No word on whether Hannah ever made it, but Miley hit the "Idol" stage a handful of times, to the highest-pitched — and longest-lasting — screams of the night (well, Brad Pitt's surprise appearance was right up there too). Cyrus performed a pair of songs, riffed with Billy Crystal about who he is and visited a needy family in the South with dad Billy Ray. Meeting with the family really affected Miley — especially since it was in her own backyard.

"I know some people are like, 'It's America. [Poverty] doesn't exist,' " Miley said backstage. "But it does. It does exist here, and that's something that gets overlooked. It's great if you can go to all the different countries, but ... there's things that you can do right here."

John Legend seconded that idea, urging young "Idol" fans to get involved in any way they can.

"It's a good example for young people to realize that when you have the ability to help somebody, you should help them," Legend said backstage. "I think it's a great message that a small donation can go a long way, and that even if you're not rich, you can be a philanthropist."

Legend kicked off a string of performances during the show, starting with his latest, the understated-but-powerful "Show Me." He then accompanied Fergie on their co-written song, "Finally," before Fergie brought Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson onstage to perform "Barracuda." The Black Eyed Pea did some pretty impressive cartwheels toward the end of the performance, to the befuddlement of Heart and possibly the audience.

Also surprising to the Wilson sisters is their newfound fanbase, thanks in part to the popularity of their songs with "Idol" contestants. "We see the result when we play live," Nancy Wilson said backstage. "All these younger and younger kids ... have been coming out, which has to be 'American Idol' — and 'Guitar Hero' — at work."

Carrie Underwood, who can also attribute some of her success to "American Idol," hit the big stage once again, but this time, there weren't any discouraging words from Simon Cowell — not that she ever had a problem with that.

"That's what he's there for," Underwood said of the often-grouchy Brit. "It always drives me nuts when contestants sit there and argue with him. I'm like, 'That's what he's paid to do! I took it! You stay up there and you take it! Take it like a man!' "

The country superstar was a little bit calmer when she performed George Michael's "Praying for Time," keeping herself from crying near the end.

"That's a song that I've always loved, and I've always loved the message," Underwood said. "It took me forever to be able to sing that through without crying, and I know if that song made me feel that way, maybe it will make a few other people feel that way as well and maybe make them feel strongly about doing something."

And now, in the spirit of giving back, we'll offer up some must-see moments from the big night:

» The show opened with the top-eight "Idol" contestants performing Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" with a "So You Think You Can Dance?" crew busting a move behind them. (BTW, we weren't entirely convinced that Jason Castro thought our aura was incredible.)

» Annie Lennox's visit with four orphaned African brothers and her mesmerizing performance of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" were definitely the emotional highlights of the night. "I think people are really hungry for a kind of consciousness shift, where we feel the connectivity between our different countries," Lennox said backstage.

» Jimmy Kimmel focused a little too much of his stage time on Simon Cowell's nipples, likening them to pepper mills and saying it looked like the judge was "smuggling the Olsen twins" in his shirt. Simon's simple response was priceless: "Jimmy Kimmel, I'd just like to say how much I like the Jay Leno show."

» And the winner for the celebrity guest who overstayed his or her welcome (and will hopefully get a good edit before the broadcast) is Robin Williams, who severely overacted the part of "Russian Idol" Ivan Popinov. The comedian even ogled Paula Abdul's chest and told her to "let the puppies off leash" in his rip-off Borat accent.

» Randy Jackson proved that he does, in fact, know Mariah Carey when he played bass for the diva on "Fly Like a Bird," the final guest performance of the night. Carey was at her over-the-top best, with a full gospel choir and the high notes that made her famous.

Source: MTV.com