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Monday 26 September 2011

Kristin Cavallari's 'Dancing With The Stars' Rehearsal 'Sweaty But Fun'

'I don't have any dance experience, so this is very new for me,' former 'Hills' starlet tells MTV News.

Kristin Cavallari may not have started out as a dancer, but she's definitely a quick learner.
On the season 13 debut of "Dancing With the Stars" last week, the 24-year-old former "Hills" and "Laguna Beach" starlet wowed the judges and audiences alike when she shook her way through the cha-cha, proving she has more to offer than just reality-TV drama. MTV News caught up with "DWTS" pro Mark Ballas and the former reality bad girl, who stressed the show's grueling (but fun) rehearsal schedule.

"Mark and I have been rehearsing since 8 in the morning, which Mark's not very happy about," the blond bombshell confessed. "But it's been a good day. We're getting a lot done. We've been here for five hours almost, so we're a little sweaty, but it's been fun."
"I'm not a morning person at all," Ballas reaffirmed.
Even though Cavallari nabbed a respectable score during the season premiere (19/30), the starlet told us she's not used to all the showstopping choreography. "I don't have any dance experience, so this is very new for me. I'm out of my element here. The only style of dance I would do is like bop around at a club," she laughed.
Coming off a rough year, which includes a broken engagement, Cavallari said she's "having a lot of fun" in rehearsals, particularly learning the quickstep, which she'll be performing on Monday night's (September 26) episode. There is another dance on her bucket list as well.
"I'm looking forward to learning how to salsa dance. That's something I've always wanted to do," she said. "Dancers ... how they way they carry themselves is just completely different than how we do it in our everyday lives. They're just very free with their bodies, which I'm not very used to, although with the quickstep, I have to be very in frame and strong."
Ballas is also intent on helping the reality star build up her physique, saying, "We're working on core muscles, trying to get those abs rocking."

Kristin Cavallari

Video: Kristin Cavallari Rehearses For 'Dancing With The Stars'

Photos: 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 13 Cast Revealed

Sunday 25 September 2011

Alex Kingston to join Upstairs Downstairs cast

Kingston has recently been seen in the BBC's Doctor Who

Actress Alex Kingston is to join the cast of Upstairs Downstairs when the BBC costume drama returns next year.

The former ER star, recently seen in the BBC's Doctor Who, will play Blanche Mottershead, the younger sister of Dame Eileen Atkins' character Lady Holland.
"I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to get inside the iconic 165 Eaton Place," said Kingston, 48.
Her casting follows Dame Eileen's announcement that she would not be returning for the next series.
The 77-year-old conceived the idea for the original 1970s series with fellow actress Jean Marsh but did not appear in it prior to its revival last year.
The new series, which begins shooting in October, will begin in 1938 and span the months leading up to the outbreak of World War II.
"Outside 165 Eaton Place, London and Europe are poised on the knife-edge of calamity," said writer Heidi Thomas.
"Inside, there's a whole world of dark and dangerous emotions to explore."
"Heidi really has created a wonderfully, intriguing character in Blanche who will over time reveal some secrets of her own," said Kingston.
Actor Kenneth Cranham will also join the cast of the BBC One drama, which follows the fortunes of the masters and servants who cohabit a London townhouse.

Booker Prize current shortlist is 'best-selling'

The shortlisted books for the Man Booker Prize 2011

The six hopefuls have had a sales boost since they made the shortlist

The shortlist for this year's Booker Prize has enjoyed the best sales boost since the announcement of the six contenders, new figures reveal.

Some 37,500 copies of the books have been sold since the shortlist was revealed on 6 September, more than double the previous record set in 2009.
Snowdrops by AD Miller is the biggest seller so far, followed by Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch.
The prize winner will be revealed at a ceremony in London on 18 October.
The successful author will walk away with a cheque for £50,000 and is likely to see a considerable sales increase after the win.
Price is thought to be a contributing factor in the current sales boost with the shortlisted titles available for less than £8 each, most in paperback.
Julian Barnes rates third in post-shortlist sales with his novel The Sense of an Ending.
But the author may be considered a leading contender to lift the prize, having been shortlisted for it on three previous occasions.
Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan's Half Blood Blues make up the second half of the shortlist sales list.
Miller is at number one with 11,800 sales following the announcement, with Edugyan registering 2,800 in sixth spot.
It is thought that Miller is also enjoying a boost in fortunes due after featuring on Richard and Judy's WH Smith book club picks.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Commentary: The roots of grunge run deep

The Melvins were friends and mentors to Kurt Cobain, and their sonic influence on Nirvana's first album is unmistakable.

During the days leading up to the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's landmark album "Nevermind" on Saturday and the grunge album's deluxe reissue the following Tuesday, you're going to hear a lot about how "Nevermind" changed everything:
How the band's single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," was a phenomenal, seemingly overnight success that ushered so-called alternative rock into the mainstream.
How "Nevermind" killed hair metal and unseated Michael Jackson -- the old guard -- from the top of the Billboard album chart.
How the success of "Nevermind" ignited a major-label feeding frenzy to find "the next Nirvana," resulting in the signing of previously way-too-weird-for-a-major-label bands such as underground heroes The Jesus Lizard and Japanese noise-rockers the Boredoms.
How most of these groups were unceremoniously dropped when they didn't sell boatloads of records, while groups perceived by many to be Nirvana and/or Pearl Jam ripoffs (i.e.: Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox, Bush) achieved multiplatinum success.
How Kurt Cobain gave voice to a disaffected, flannel-clad Generation X. And how Cobain was a musical genius, gone from this Earth too soon.
And all of these things are true, aside from the hair-metal myth (glam-metal was already a genre in decline by that point).
You'll also be hearing a lot of use of the word "grunge," a label used -- typically to the labeled party's chagrin -- to describe purveyors of the raw fusion of heavy metal and punk rock that emerged from the Pacific Northwest. But what you won't hear quite so much are the specifics of that emergence. In some quarters, it seems 1991, which also saw the release of Pearl Jam's multiplatinum debut album "Ten" and Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger," is being treated as year 0 of grunge, because that's when the music exploded into the mainstream consciousness.
In fact, grunge's roots can be traced back to the 1980s, if not further.
"Deep Six," the 1986 compilation on Seattle label C/Z Records, is recognized as the first record to document this burgeoning regional sound. It featured a half-dozen local bands: Soundgarden, Green River, the Melvins, Malfunkshun, the U-Men and Skin Yard.
None of those groups is a household name, save for Soundgarden, which scored a No. 1 hit with the album "Superunknown" in 1994 and just this year embarked on a North American reunion tour after more than a decade apart.
But if you want to know how Nirvana and Pearl Jam came to be, these six bands -- whose histories are tightly intertwined -- are a good place to start.
Skin Yard's guitarist, Jack Endino, produced Nirvana's the down-tuned and scuzzy debut album, "Bleach." Members of Green River, often cited as the first grunge band, went on to form Pearl Jam and quintessential grunge rockers Mudhoney.
The Melvins, who have essentially never stopped touring or recording with 20 studio albums to their name, were friends and mentors to Nirvana's Cobain and Krist Novoselic, who hailed from the same rural part of Washington state. As Novoselic once said of the sway Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne held over him: "Buzz was the preacher, and his gospel was punk rock." The Melvins sonic influence on Nirvana's first album is unmistakable.
But to hear Osborne tell it, his band's importance has too often been diminished.
"All (Nirvana) biographers want to do is pretend that we don't matter," the never-shy singer/guitarist said to me at the onset of the first interview I conducted with him for my book. "They talk us down like none of this makes any difference, but what they have to understand, and what needs to be clearly stated, is that without us, there is no Nirvana. Without us, there is no Nirvana."
So by all means go ahead and purchase the "Nevermind" reissue or catch a showing of Cameron Crowe's new "Pearl Jam Twenty" documentary, and relive the glories of grunge's most commercial era.
But if you want a deeper understanding of where grunge came from, investigate some music by the Melvins (those Nirvana biographers be damned!) or Mudhoney or any number of other grunge bands not fronted by someone with the surname Cobain, Vedder or Cornell.
Yes, 1991 was a very good year for grunge, but why not try something of a different vintage?

Friday 23 September 2011

X Factor beaten by Modern Family in US TV ratings

X Factor USA's Nicole Scherzinger, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, LA Reid and Steve Jones

The new show has come in for a mixed critical reception

The first episode of X Factor USA has been beaten in the TV ratings by comedy Modern Family, according to new viewing figures.

Simon Cowell's show was seen by 12.1 million people on Fox, while the ABC programme captured 14.3 million, making it the night's most watched show.

Modern Family was honoured with five prizes at Sunday night's Emmy Awards.

During the opening show, Judge Cheryl Cole was replaced by singer Nicole Scherzinger with no explanation given.

Cole was dropped during filming of the show in June, amid speculation that her accent was too strong for US audiences.

However, television critics responded warmly to the British singer's brief appearance on Wednesday night, with one critic calling her accent "fabulous" while another called Scherzinger a "seat-warmer".

Indecency complaint

Cowell has previously stated that he wanted the US version of The X Factor to perform better than American Idol in the ratings, but the first show attracted only about half the audience numbers of the rival talent show.

Last year's American Idol season finale was watched by 24 million viewers.t was the first series not to feature Cowell as a judge, after he stepped down ahead of the US launch of X Factor.

Meanwhile, an indecency complaint has been filed to US TV authorities after a contestant on the first edition of X Factor USA exposed himself while performing.

The Parents Television Council said the pre-recorded footage - although heavily obscured - was shown before the watershed.

Judge LA Reid called Geo Godley's audition "offensive and disgusting", while co-judge Paula Abdul was shown leaving the set, apparently made physically ill by the incident.

Kelly Clarkson Describes Stronger As 'Soulful'

Singer says influences for her upcoming album, due October 24, include Prince, Sheryl Crow and Radiohead.

In her nearly decade-long career, Kelly Clarkson has kicked out an album almost every two years. But if you're expecting something predictable from Clarkson's fifth studio effort, Stronger (due October 24), you're in for a surprise.

While she's not completely reinventing her sound, the former "American Idol" winner counts Prince, Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner and Radiohead among this album's big influences. Clarkson explained how you get from "Because of You" to Kid A.
"It was a lot of soulful stuff," Clarkson said. "You know what I'm saying? Like, Radiohead is alternative, but they're very soulful. And Sheryl Crow, very soulful singer/songwriter. So it's all very soulful, rhythmic pop rock."
"Oh yeah, there's a little bit of dance," Clarkson continued. "One of the songs, it's probably gonna be a single, 'What Doesn't Kill You,' it's a great song and definitely ... that's the one everybody will be jumping up and down to."
That combination of soul, rock, pop and dance is apparent in the album's lead single, the ultimate tell-off anthem "Mr. Know It All." But what are Clarkson's other top picks from the LP?
" 'You Love Me' is probably one of my favorites," Clarkson said. " 'Honestly' is another one. 'What Doesn't Kill You,' I can't wait to perform that live. We've already rehearsed it and it's so much fun. It's like this big dance anthem. That'll be the one [that's] kinda like 'Since U Been Gone,' [with] people jumping up and down to [it], and it's just kind of really inspiring, so I can't wait to perform that one."
In addition to "You Love Me" and "What Doesn't Kill You," we couldn't help but notice the frequency of the word "you" in the album's track list, with songs like "Standing in Front of You," "I Forgive You" and "You Can't Win." Add in the album's title, Stronger, and the clues are there that someone has done Kelly wrong over the past two years. Or at least that's how it seems.
"They're all different 'you's,' " Clarkson said. "There's no common, like, it wasn't like one, I didn't have a bad breakup or anything, it wasn't like that. No I just think life is about relationships, so I always write about all these different ones going on in my life and I don't really have a filter. So it's usually very [straightforward]."

Kelly Clarkson on the cover of Stronger

Video: Kelly Clarkson's Favorite Songs From Her New Album

Kelly Clarkson

Thursday 22 September 2011

Fat Joe Says Chris Brown Collabo Is 'Crazy'

'We getting so sexy for the ladies on this album,' rapper tells Mixtape Daily.

The O.D.: Fat Joe
Fat Joe's recent weight loss has the Bronx MC brimming with confidence. His last album, The Darkside Vol. 1, was a hard-nosed dedication to the streets led by his Jeezy collaboration "(Ha Ha) Slow Down."

For his next LP it isn't the Snowman who will lend the assist but Chris Brown. "We getting so sexy for the ladies on this album," the Don Cartagena told Mixtape Daily. "My first single that we're gonna drop in three weeks is me and Chris Brown, it's called 'Another Round.' It's crazy."
The Terror Squad leader won't completely abandon the streets, however. "I got a joint with Maxwell on the album, I got a joint with John Legend and [Rick] Ross, we're straight talking to the ladies. Of course I'm gonna give you some bop, bop," he said. "I thug 'em out on the sexy songs, but we're talking to the ladies on this one."
Through the years, Joe Crack has recorded hits with R. Kelly, Ashanti and Trey Songz. The rapper says that all of his collaborations begin with a feeling. "I will not collaborate or do a song with nobody unless I think it is a huge, huge event. I will not bother one of my friends," he said regarding his upcoming single with Chris Breezy, with whom he once toured Africa.
To prove his point, Joe mentioned Mary J. Blige. While the two have been friends for years, Crack hasn't reached out for a feature. "I have been dying to do a song with Mary J. Blige; she hangs out in my house, she's family," he said. "But I would not approach her with a record unless it's a smash-hit event."