Singer's donation to Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is second largest in Nashville museum's history. By John Mitchell
Taylor Swift Photo: Getty Images
Taylor Swift has a reputation for being a good girl with a big heart, and when you pair that with her sizable bank account, you get one very large charitable donation that will benefit music education for both children and senior citizens.
The six-time Grammy winner has donated $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville to fund what will now be known as the Taylor Swift Education Center, an exhibit and classroom space scheduled to open in 2014.
"In terms of what it will allow us to do, we do education very well now," museum director Kyle Young told the Associated Press (via Billboard). "It will allow us to do what we do better, serve more people, develop new programs, and I'm happy to say that as we talked through this opportunity with Taylor, she very much wants to be involved in an advisory capacity in what we do. Is there a better person out there who's in touch with a young audience?
I think not. I was joking we should be paying her to do that. I was only joking."
Swift's donation is the second largest ever gifted to the museum and is the largest given by a musician. The country-pop megastar has a long history with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. She signed her record contract there and gave one of her first public performances on the building's plaza.
In the past, she has also volunteered her time to the museum's "All for the Hall" fundraisers.
The Taylor Swift Education Center is part of a larger $75 million expansion of the Hall of Fame that will more than double the size of the museum and include a new concert theater and more space for exhibits and archives.
The planned education center will be more than 7,500 square feet spread over two stories. It will have its own exterior entrance that will lead to three classrooms and exhibit space. The expansion will allow the museum to dramatically increase its youth education programs, with plans for it to house a "musical petting zoo" and an art classroom where children can make concert posters and other art projects.
The center will also give the museum the opportunity to add new programs and workshops for teens and senior citizens.
"For Taylor to want to engage herself in the life of this place in such an appropriate way," Young continued, "every way you slice it and dice it, it's great."
'I still love her as a human being,' MTV Movie Awards host tells Ellen DeGeneres. By Jocelyn Vena
Russell Brand and Katy Perry Photo: Charley Gallay/ WireImage
Russell Brand has only the kindest words for his pop-star ex, Katy Perry. The actor chatted with Ellen DeGeneres on an episode of her talk show airing Thursday (May 17), and when asked about the split, Brand said that while they are no longer together, he still loves and respects her.
"I still love her as a human being," the comedian said. "But sometimes when you're in a relationship, I suppose it doesn't work out, does it?
But that doesn't mean I regret it or anything. I was very happy to be married with her. She's such a beautiful human being and I just have only love and positivity for her.
"You can't absolutely make everything the way you want it to be in life," he added. "Sometimes thing are just different and then you have to just move with that and try and remain in contact with what is beautiful about yourself and with each other with any situation."
Brand and Perry announced their split in December 2011, after a year of marriage. During the interview, he added that she's "a person I still consider to be beautiful. ... I have nothing but positivity for her. She is [an amazing person]."
The actor/comedian is now poised for a busy June. Brand is set to host the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, which will air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre on Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This marks the third time he's hosted an MTV awards show, having hosted the Video Music Awards in 2008 and 2009.
And it seems that his signature cheeky humor will be in full force at the show. "MTV Movie Awards incorporates two of my favorite things:
movies and awards. If somehow group sex could be involved, it would be the greatest night of my life," Brand said.
In addition to his MTV Movie Awards hosting gig, his new flick, the big-screen adaptation of "Rock of Ages," opens June 15.
'Between the two of us, we probably got five or six records,' T.I. tells 'RapFix Live' about possible joint album with Jeezy. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway
T.I. on "RapFix Live" Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News
After the success of Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne, fans are excited at the thought of two favorite MCs working in tandem. There's been talk of a Lil Wayne and Drake LP, a Rick Ross and Drake mixtape, and whispers of a T.I. and Young Jeezy full-length collaboration. We haven't received any updates from Wayne, Drake or Rozay in a minute, but Tip says he and the Snowman already have songs in the stash.
"I got a few albums that I'm workin' on: the Man and the Martian project with B.o.B; me and Jeezy been talkin' about doin' this project for a minute," T.I. told Sway when he held court on "RapFix Live" on Wednesday. "It wouldn't take us long to do. We got records already in the can and it don't take us no time to put it together. It's just a matter of when they would be released."
Right now Tip is focused on Trouble Man, his eighth solo album, which is slated for a September 4 release. Then there is the tag-team LP with B.o.B — considering that Bobby Ray is signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle label, the pair's Man and the Martian album is more than a fantasy project.
When it comes to a project with Jeezy, the King of the South says that the studio work isn't the problem: Getting the album out in stores is the tricky part. "It's not the recording, the recording is easy. It's a matter of when we would have time to market and promote 'em and release 'em," T.I. said. "We got maybe 30 or 40 [percent done]. Between the two of us, we probably got five or six records."
How interested are you in a T.I. and Young Jeezy project? Let us know in the comments!
At intimate New York listening party, singer says new album 'widened the expectations of what I can do.' By Jocelyn Vena
John Mayer Photo: Mark Sullivan/ Getty Images
NEW YORK — Fans and industry folks gathered at the famed Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village on Wednesday night to get an advanced listen to John Mayer's new album, the country-fried, introspective Born and Raised.
Before the album even played, Neil Young songs blasted through the hallowed halls of the studio. Given Mayer's vibe on Born and Raised, which pays homage to the Young sound of the 1970s, it all made sense. When Mayer's album was eventually put on, it was an easy transition from Young's jangly guitar and harmonica to Mayer's own on the album, out Tuesday.
The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, and the Big Apple is referenced on some tracks, as on many Mayer songs before. "Records are pure reflections," Mayer told the room. "I'm so proud it's out. The finish line is so far off [when you're making the record]."
In recent years, Mayer has been through it all. After going TMI crazy in the press in 2010, he has shied away from media attention. Some of that had to do with the fact that he had surgery on his vocal cords in late 2011. In fact, he still needs to go through another surgery to correct the problem. But he said he plans to record a new album this summer, regardless.
"If you're lucky, you get to make giant evolutionary steps from your first record, so I was able to do that. And you guys, I think, you're able to come along with that step and be psyched about that evolution and I'm excited to even go further now and start coming up with melodies you haven't heard yet," he said, referencing his "Your Body Is a Wonderland" days on his 2001 debut, Room for Squares. During the chat he explained that every song on this album is his favorite, for perhaps the first time in his career, adding that they "widened the expectations of what I can do."
Additionally, after having to cancel his 2012 spring trek, Mayer confirmed he want to hit the road in spring 2013 "and have two records to pull from. ... I think I can cheat time a little bit because as you know, I try to cheat time all the time. So I think we can all catch up so that a year from now there's two records. It'll be like Born and Raised part two because there's certain things I want to keep doing."
Phillip Phillips gets mostly rave reviews and Joshua Ledet praised on path to what appears to be another all-male finale. By Gil Kaufman
Joshua Ledet performs on "American Idol" Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images
You can understand if the contestants on "American Idol" make some bad song choices when left to their own devices. But on Wednesday night's triple-play episode, in which Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet had to sing a judge's choice, a tune picked by mentor Jimmy Iovine and one of their own, the selections were ... bizarre.
With only two songs from the current millennium, the top three reached back, sometimes way back on a night when it became clear that Sanchez is too green, Ledet is just the right shade of blue(s) and Phillips is, well, whatever he wants to be because he's probably going to win no matter what happens.
So, who made it thisclose, but is probably headed home tonight and who can get their big boy pants pressed for the finale? Read on to find out!
Joshua Ledet: Randy Jackson picked the Etta James song "I'd Rather Be Blind" for Josh, who busted out the retro mic and some sleepy soul for a performance that simmered but took way too long to boil. It was solid, but even Jennifer Lopez seemed a tad bored with it and it didn't push him any closer to this century. (It was cute, though, how a Kraft commercial using THE SAME SONG aired right after Ledet performed. Synergy!)
Josh went big with his choice, John Lennon's "Imagine." And because he's a preacher's kid, he skipped the "no religion too" verse. The pageant-y, 1970s AM lite radio arrangement flattened out the song's emotion, which Ledet tried to pump back in courtesy of some swooping gospel moments. It was a heartstring-tugging layup, but if you really listened it sounded like coasting, or, as JLo politely deemed it, "pulled back and controlled."
Jimmy hit Josh in his sweet spot with Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama." Someone knows what they're doing. From the manic bouncing to the nearly out-of-control, bedazzled jacket-dropping spazz at the end, Josh murdered it. That alone made up for the other two tame performances and locked him into next week's finale. A-
Phillip Phillips: Steven Tyler was going for melody with "Beggin'" by Madcon. But what he likely did was send tens of millions of "Idol" watchers to Google to find out ... who the hell Madcon is? So, a 2008 cover of a 1967 Four Seasons hit by an obscure Norwegian dance duo? Wouldn't you know it, strummy P managed to make it sound like, oh man, do I even need to say it? (Rhymes with Shave It Bath Hues.) The jammy, vanilla soul frat party rocker is exactly what I expect a P Phil album to sound like. "New Springsteen?" Really Steven?
The sexy sax player was back for Phil's choice, "Disease" by Matchbox 20. Yeah, that Matchbox 20. It was moody, conga-y, mid-tempo and so intense he had to sit down on some road cases just to contain the, um, intensity? Like Ledet's "Imagine," this one felt too easy, like a sprinter pulling up in the final 20 yards to avoid injury after looking over his shoulder and realizing he's got it. In a rare bit of real talk from the panel, Lopez called it "easy flowing" and said it lacked the "wow performance" element.
Phil's dad loved Jimmy's choice of Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight," and Iovine dared the pawn shop worker to ignore the 1978 hit's melody. Without his guitar, Phil was forced to awkwardly stroke and caress his thigh as he muscled through the heartland ballad. Between the sappy strings and the suggesting hand fidgeting Phillips looked like he was waiting out the clock in detention. Randy, of course, called it the "perfect song" and Phil's best performance. So, now all you have to do to win this thing is sing the melody of the song and not worry about actually hitting the notes correctly? I give up. You can have him, America. Remember how awesome that nighty-night song was when you don't buy his album in December. B
Jessica Sanchez: Lopez aimed for Sanchez's sweet spot with Mariah Carey's "My All," but ended up trapping the singer in a breathy lower register that made Jessica's powerhouse voice sound weak and pitchy. The snoozy lullaby robbed the high schooler of a big moment and may have punched her card home. Did Randy mention he's worked with Mariah? Well, if he thought that was one of the best renditions of a Carey song ever on TV, Carey should lose his number.
In the ultimate brown noser move, BeBe chose Aerosmith's power anthem "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing." I kept waiting for girls in swimsuits or evening gowns to start parading around her, but this kind of Velveeta ballad is her sweet spot and while she didn't move the bar any higher, it's exactly what America wanted to hear. But, ugh, that last shouty note was as off as Jennifer's pink pantsuit.
Iovine went retro with 1970's "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5, which despite what he argued, didn't really make Sanchez seem contemporary, and dropped her back down into that lower range that doesn't do her favors. When she kept it up high, Sanchez sounded strong and confident, but the lazy tempo didn't provide the rocket fuel she needed to lock in a spot next week. B-
Who do you think nailed it last night? Who deserves to go home? Let us know in comments below.
Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Emma Watson, Leighton Meester and Logan Lerman added as presenters for June 3 show. By John Mitchell
Wiz Khalifa Photo: Jason Merritt/ WireImage
Rap superstar Wiz Khalifa will perform his new single "Work Hard, Play Hard" for the first time on television at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards.
Khalifa joins chart-topping indie-pop group Fun. as the second performer announced for the annual Golden Popcorn-fest. "Work Hard, Play Hard" is the debut single from the Pittsburgh rapper's hotly awaited second studio album, O.N.I.F.C., which will hit stores in August.
In addition to Khalifa, several of the biggest stars in film have been added to the lineup of presenters for the big show. "That's My Boy" co-stars Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, "Gossip Girl" diva Leighton Meester and "Perks of Being a Wallflower" castmates Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller will join already-announced presenters Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg at the Russell Brand-hosted event.
Watson, Lerman and Miller will also be on hand during the Movie Awards pre-show to debut the first "Perks" trailer. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," based on the popular Stephen Chbosky novel of the same name, tells the story of introverted high school freshman Charlie (Lerman) as he slowly comes out of his shell thanks to new friends, siblings Sam (Watson) and Patrick (Miller).
The 2012 MTV Movie Awards will air live on MTV from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on Sunday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.
'Kanye and Kim, they're kind of like two peas in a pod,' Khloe Kardashian says in clip for 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians.' By Jocelyn Vena
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Photo: Splash News
"Kanye and Kim, they're kind of like two peas in a pod," little sister Khloe Kardashian says about Kim's romance with Kanye West in a "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" teaser. While not much footage of Kim and Yeezy made it into the clip, the little bit that did will certainly spark interest in Sunday's season premiere of the E! reality show.
As Khloe narrates her feelings about the twosome, the trailer cuts to them sitting together, dressed all in black and sharing a laugh.
Kimye isn't the only headline that made the jam-packed show trailer. Kourtney reveals to her family that she's having a baby girl, the family goes on a drama-filled vacation to the Dominican Republic and Lamar Odom ponders his basketball-playing future, telling in-laws Bruce and Kris Jenner, "I know that I can make any team a championship-caliber team. I got to just get back."
And, yes, the infamous red-carpet flour-bombing also makes the cut. Toward the end of the teaser, mama Kris proclaims, "I left my husband for this guy," as footage of her hugging a mysterious man is teased. A teary-eyed Kourtney says, "I don't understand. I could never do that to my children." However, it is unclear what exactly will play out.
When MTV News caught up with Kim and Khloe, the eldest Kardashian sister noted that she wanted to keep as much of her relationship with West as private as possible. "I don't know if I'm ready to talk about him," Kim said. "I feel like I've had such a hard time sharing my love life that now I'm a little bit more reserved on that."
While Kim was tight-lipped about her man, Khloe teased her sister a bit about the romance. "No I love, it. You're like a wild, crowd-surfing child and I love you."
On Wednesday, Kim and Kanye were spotted in London, where Kim will launch her jewelry line. According to E!, the twosome touched down to lots of paparazzi. Kim will be doing some press while in town, including radio and TV appearances.
Master of pranks will host a special episode ahead of the MTV Movie Awards on June 3. By Kara Warner
Ashton Kutcher in Punk'd Photo: MTV
If you haven't been keeping up with our bright and shiny new episodes of "Punk'd," then you've missed a star-studded lineup of guest punk-ers and punk-ees including Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, Lucy Hale and Josh Hutcherson, and Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth.
If you think it can't get any better than that group of noteworthy, fun-loving and slightly gullible individuals, think again, because the show's godfather himself, executive producer Ashton Kutcher, will return to host a special episode of "Punk'd" on Sunday, June 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, as part of the 2012 MTV Movie Awards pre-show.
Kutcher is coming back with bigger punks than ever before, and his targets are two of the hottest celebrities in Hollywood, the identities of whom will be revealed soon. Fans will see some of the most elaborate and outrageous punks only the master himself could pull off.
Once the shock and awe has worn off from Kutcher's expectedly memorable antics, don't forget to tune in on Thursday, May 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, when host Kellan Lutz pulls off hilarious punks on "Awkward" star Ashley Rickards, "Friday Night Lights" actress Aimee Teegarden and "Rock of Ages'" star and "Dancing with the Stars" alumna Julianne Hough.
The MTV Movie Awards will air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.
'The first reaction is like no other,' Usher says on 'MTV First' about witnessing Bieber's ascent to fame. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway
Usher Photo: Jessica Hyndman / MTV News
Back in 1994, a teenaged Usher dropped his self-titled debut album and skyrocketed to fame. Nearly 20 years later, Usher is still on top, having lost little career momentum. While he's maintained his own career over the years, he also helped launch Justin Bieber to mega-fame as well.
As Bieber continues to grow as an artist, Usher explained that the 18-year-old has built up the kinds of friendships and relationships that he would have wanted as a kid star. "Cool part about it is, he's really able to live a dream that I think most teenagers would want to. To be able to have friends like Mayweather. They are actual friends, hang out, talk," Usher told MTV News during "MTV First" about Bieber's friendship with boxer Floyd Mayweather, who he recently hung out with in Las Vegas. "It's really cool to be able to have friends all around the world and people that can relate to your reality.
"I don't think Michael [Jackson] had people like that," he continued. "I didn't have a ton of people like that. I had Puff. I had JD [producer Jermaine Dupri] ... but to be able to have friends all around the world that keep you, it's cool."
Their friendship was on full display recently when Usher performed in "Fuerza Bruta" back in April in New York City. Bieber dropped by to catch him getting his theater kid on, and midway through the show, the twosome battled it out on the dance floor.
"I was like, 'Come on, I got you. Just chill out.' Set it up," he recalled about tricking the sleepy globe-trotting star to hang with him at the show. "[We] brought him to the middle of the dance floor, and we got it in. But we always show support for each other like that. We was housing a little bit."
The guys will soon go head to head on the Billboard charts: Usher is set to drop his album, Looking 4 Myself, on June 12, and one week later, Bieber will release Believe. While it'll be interesting to see those two fight it out on the charts, what's more interesting for Usher is watching Bieber go through the same stuff he went through as a teen heartthrob.
"I relive every bit of it, from the screaming fans and the first reactions, shutting down the malls. The first reaction is like no other. To be able to be there, to be there with him and go through those emotions and see that shock for the first time [is exciting]," he said.
It's a trick question! 'I had this idea that we should come up with a different way of respecting the line,' director Peter Berg tells MTV News. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
Taylor Kitsch in "Battleship" Photo: Universal Pictures
From the moment Universal announced plans to transform Hasbro's classic board game Battleship into a full-length feature film, the question weighing on fans' minds was not necessarily "How will they make that into a movie?" but rather "How will they work in the 'You sunk my Battleship!' line?"
For those who didn't grow up playing the game, we're talking about the classic tagline from Hasbro's old-school commercials that featured two players calling out targets until one proved victorious with a direct hit on their opponent's big boat, resulting in one of the most memorable and quotable board-game taglines ever: "You sunk my Battleship!"
We've made attempts to get various castmembers to spill the beans about the line, but it wasn't until MTV News caught up with director Peter Berg that we were able to get a definitive answer on the subject — which, in a nutshell, is no, the direct quote is not in the finished film.
"We have a version of it, though," Berg said. "There was a reference to the line: 'Ain't gonna sink this Battleship, no way,' " he quoted. "We say, 'No, we ain't sinking this battleship. ' They don't sink our Battleship. Sorry.
Berg said they put a lot of thought into how they could pay homage to the line but ultimately decided it would be best to provide their own spin on it.
"We played around. We said the line, we didn't say the line, and then I had this idea that maybe we should come up with a different way of respecting the line. But you know what? They didn't sink the Battleship," he reiterated, adding a "Raging Bull" reference in the process. "It's like Jake Lomatta said: 'You [didn't] get me down, Ray.' There a lot of ways you could've done it; we chose our way."
HHE Version Homepage was just corrected! May 09 2012 12:35 AMHHE Version Homepage was just corrected as I was manually checking each block because the page was not automatically resized correctly from the upgrade to 3.3 over a week ago and this should be fixed now. I do remember that I have made some correction in our CSS file even adding gallery slider to it because it was missing from IPB Version Homepage that you might have seen before the upgrade we did even the way it look have improved that I have done.
Yes IPB Version Homepage is not working at the moment and I will fix it soon as I can once I figure out why. Once that is done a announcement will be posted.
Also to view comments in our affiliates block with each link on our homepage is not working too because the showlink variable is being ignored for some unknown reason and I'll look into that later. Enjoy!
Of course it does have iOS application support now for Apple devices and IP Downloads application on this board was upgraded to 2.5.1 from 2.5.0. Bug fixes could be found at http://community.inv...er.com/tracker/ Enjoy!
o Update Announcement on 05-08-12 @ 22:51 EDT: Sphinx search engine configuration is now rebuilt.
SmarterMail product was just upgraded! May 05 2012 11:54 AMSmarterMail have been upgraded to 9.3.4499 from 9.2.4469. The additional changes and fixed features log are listed below.
o ADDED: A SetSubscriberList2 function to the svcMailListAdmin Web service. The SetSubscriberList is now deprecated as it was adding subscribers instead of replacing them.
o CHANGED: Messages resent from the outgoing spam quarantine now skip spam checks to ensure they are not placed back into quarantine.
o CHANGED: Migrating from Microsoft Exchange now uses Microsoft's Exchange Web Services Managed API instead of calling the Web services directly.
o CHANGED: The Commtouch module has been updated to the latest version.
o FIXED: Clicking to view all addresses in the BCC field when some are hidden now properly displays all the addresses.
o FIXED: Enabling or disabling aliases from being included in the Global Address List no longer requires a restart of the SmarterMail service to take effect.
o FIXED: Propagating the "Exclude IP from received line" domain default setting now functions as expected.
o FIXED: Removing the reminder from an existing calendar appointment now saves correctly.
o FIXED: Renaming a folder in the webmail interface no longer shows the full path as the folder name in Outlook 2011 for Mac when syncing via Exchange Web Services.
o FIXED: Resolved a timing issue that could cause chat to stop working in webmail when using Firefox 11.
o FIXED: Syncing of calendar colors via WebDAV now functions as expected.
o FIXED: Syncing with Outlook for Mac version 14.2 via Exchange Web Services now functions as expected.
o FIXED: Tasks and appointments deleted via Exchange ActiveSync now update correctly when synced via Exchange Web Services.
o FIXED: The option to link a file from file storage is no longer displayed when composing a message in plain text.
o FIXED: Windows Phone 7 devices synchronized using Exchange ActiveSync no longer stop syncing mail.
SmarterStats product was just upgraded! May 05 2012 11:20 AMSmarterStats have been upgraded to 7.1.4499 from 7.1.4450. The additional changes and fixed features log are listed below.
o FIXED: Changing the campaign in SEO-related custom report items no longer resets other fields on the page.
o FIXED: Creating sites using our deprecated Web services now functions as expected.
o FIXED: Definition files for Google SEO reports have been updated for more accurate results
o FIXED: Disabling an SEO keyword now functions as expected.
o FIXED: Enabling site tuning for a site now functions as expected.
o FIXED: FTP .tmp files are now cleared before attempting to download log files from an FTP server.
o FIXED: Refreshing the management interface no longer loads the incorrect page.
o FIXED: Results for the Bing search engine now display as expected.
o FIXED: Site tuning now supports additional page extensions.
o FIXED: Site tuning values can now be propagated to sites as expected
o FIXED: The selected campaign is now remembered when adding an SEO-related report item to a custom report.
o FIXED: The selected competitor is now remembered when adding an SEO-related report item to a custom report.
o FIXED: The status of a site now updates as expected.
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Once that is done a announcement will be posted.