Jay Sean
Photo: MTV News

Just before he kicked off a star-studded roster of performers at the Justin Timberlake & Friends Concert in Las Vegas last weekend, MTV News caught up with Jay Sean, who was beaming with pride. After all, not only is Sean basking in the success of his "Down" single, on Saturday night, he would share the stage with some of the biggest names in music: Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Ciara and Justin Timberlake.

"I was like, 'What are you talking about? Me? I'm brand new to America,' " Sean said when asked about the lineup. "You could choose anybody and I'm from England, so this is incredible. To be up there with such amazing, Grammy Award-winning artists is an honor."

Indeed, for Sean, his success story continues to play out in fairy-tale fashion. In a matter of months he has accomplished what many in music seldom do: his single and video for "Down," featuring labelmate Lil Wayne, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart recently and its popularity continues to spread.

Sean also divulged that his official second single will be a song called "Do You Remember" and features bars from Jamaican rapper Sean Paul and crunk king Lil Jon. The feature of Sean Paul on the track is largely due to their meeting last month on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet.

"On the red carpet, doing an interview," he recalled. "Sean Paul is over there and he goes, 'Yo! Yeah man, Jay Sean!' And I said, 'Hi Sean ... Paul.' This was the first time I'd ever met him. And he just said, 'Me and you need to work together.' Two days later I called him and sent him the track, and sent it back to me the same day — and he was in Jamaica."

Sean plans to shoot the video for "Do You Remember" in two weeks, and he revealed a bit of the theme to come.

"Again, this is a fun track. It's an uplifting song and I want the video to match that, so expect a universal theme."

Jay Sean's U.S. debut album, All or Nothing, is set to drop on November 24.

• Justin Timberlake & Friends Perform In Las Vegas, NV

• Jay Sean
• Sean Paul
• Lil Jon

Miley Cyrus and Lil Jon
Photo: David Aguilera/ Steve Granitz/ BuzzFoto/ FilmMagic

Friends of Miley Cyrus shouldn't be offended if, when they try to text or call the teen queen, she doesn't respond. They should know that these days they aren't getting in touch with Cyrus, but instead with rapper Lil Jon, who recently acquired the Disney star's old phone number.

"I was basically in shock, like, 'How did that happen?!' " Lil Jon said in a statement, according to "Access Hollywood." "Especially when I get texts like, 'Congratulations on Teen Vogue!' "

The rapper added that in addition to congratulatory texts, he's also been receiving calls from a lot of the stars' friends. Lil Jon doesn't seem to mind, now that the initial shock of getting the number has worn off. In fact, he's going to keep it and maybe eventually Cyrus' friends will realize it's not her number and finally get Cyrus' new digits.

"I'm gonna keep it 'cause I don't answer numbers I don't know anyway," he said. He added that he's a fan of the "Hannah Montana" star. "Yeah, I like Miley! My son likes her show," he told "Access Hollywood." "I'll probably run into her at some award show."

The rapper — whose new album, Crunk Rock, is coming out later this year — initially broke the news of getting Cyrus' old phone number on his Twitter page last week. He Tweeted, "How come I jus got a new phone number and it's f---ing Miley Cyrus old number!!! Stop callin me lil damn girls!!!! Trues story!! No BS!!"

• A Week Of Miley

• Miley Cyrus
• Lil Jon

Usher
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images

Usher hasn't officially announced an album title or release date for his years-in-the-making follow-up to 2004's Confessions, but it looks like the wait won't be too much longer.

"I was speaking to him the other day, asking him when he was gonna start putting singles out," Jermaine Dupri told MTV News late last week. "He said, 'Soon.' So it's coming."

Dupri, of course, is Usher's longtime collaborator and one of the producers who has contributed to the singer's next opus. His words are looking like a prophecy fulfilled because since last week, two new Usher records have surfaced.

The first, called "In This Club," was produced by Polow Da Don and is getting play on Atlanta radio now. The bass line is triumphantly brass, the tempo is mid and Young Jeezy brings his often-copied swag to the party. Meanwhile, Ush gets his calm, cool pimp game poppin'.

"I wanna make love in this club," Usher sings on the chorus. As the song ends, he confidently addresses the target of his seduction: "I know you scared, baby/ They don't know what we doing/ Let's go get undressed right here ... I don't care who's watching."

Jeezy's guest verse is doused with confidence: "I'll be like your medicine, you'll take every dose of me," he says to the ladies. "Have you ever made love on the bar or on the floor?/ You can meet me in the bathroom, I'm trained to go."

The second record, which has already hit the Internet, is called "Moving Mountains" and is said to be produced by Timbaland. It's a bouncy ballad in which Usher sings about trying to maintain a relationship rocked by the "great depression."

As for the rest of the album, Philadelphia producers Dre & Vidal have contributed several songs while Lil Jon is waiting for the right record to add to Usher's mix. After going three for three with "Yeah!," "Red Light" and "Lovers and Friends," the King of Crunk isn't trying to force anything.

"I want to," Jon said recently about working on the project. "I'm trying to find a new sound, though. I don't wanna come and have the same old same old. I'm trying to give Usher that stadium record again. I don't wanna give him no bullsh--. I think I'm gonna get on there, though. I've just had so much stuff going on, and I've gotta find that right new sound for him. I wanna give him another 'Yeah!,' another record that sets the tone for his entire album."

"I don't know how the whole album is coming," Dupri added. "I'm not there at Arista or [Jive] now. I can't see the album as a whole. I heard a lot of the other songs. As far as I'm concerned, it started feeling good. It's still growing. He's in the process of making more songs."

Usher's rep did not respond to requests for comment from MTV News. There is no word yet on whether "In This Club" and "Moving Mountains" are official singles or will even make the album.

• Usher
• Jermaine Dupri
• Lil Jon

Pete Wentz
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

It used to be so easy: You released an album, it sold millions of copies, you were on the cover of major magazines, maybe on billboards hawking soda, and then Hollywood came calling with offers of cameos in major motion pictures.

In 2007, — the year the music industry broke — that script went out the window for good.

Even if you were the most famous rapper on the planet or the winner of "American Idol," your album might have gotten lost in the shuffle as music fans spent their time downloading free albums from bands like Radiohead, watching the new "Chocolate Rain" viral clip, scouring gossip sites for news on Britney's latest antics, dialing up Soulja Boy ringtones, watching bootleg clips on YouTube, buying the latest J. Lo fragrance or trying on some of Gwen's L.A.M.B. clothes. All of which made those artists even more famous (or infamous) and maybe rich, even if it didn't really add up to huge album sales on the Billboard charts, which used to be the main way of separating flavors-of-the-week from the truly mega.

Even a band that's enjoying traditional platinum-level success — Fall Out Boy — knows very well that its true popularity can't be measured by traditional means.

"We could complain all day about it, but I don't know that anyone would've ever heard of Fall Out Boy if it wasn't for peer-to-peer downloading," bassist Pete Wentz said. "It was something that [made] a giant surge for our band.

"I just think it's kind of an interesting time to be out there and be a band," he continued. "It's leveled the playing field. If you're some schmo in Nebraska, this is your chance right now. You have a great idea, a great song — this is your chance."

The Future Of Music Part 1:The Year The Music Industry Broke: In 2007, CD sales continued their freefall and superstars began bailing from major labels. And that's just the beginning ... Part 2: What Makes A Star These Days? CD sales are just a small part of it. We take a look at other ways artists are getting their names out there and making money ... Part 3: The Future: What will the music industry be like in a year? Five years? We spoke with experts — they don't know either but have some fascinating theories ...

So, if the tried-and-true Billboard charts can't really be relied on to tell us who is the hottest artist at any given moment — what can?

"I'm a firm believer that an artist's cultural impact and their popularity has never been the same," said Steve Stoute, a former executive at Sony Music and Interscope Records and founder of Translation, a company that specializes in pairing huge stars with huge brands, such as Jay-Z and Reebok (for the highly successful S. Carter Collection) and Justin Timberlake and McDonald's. In a year when album sales took yet another double-digit dip — the seventh straight decline in as many years while a billion songs a month were downloaded, mostly illegally — Stoute said he doesn't rely on charts to tell him which artists matter.

"Impact and popularity were never aligned in my mind," he said. "Jay-Z never had a #1 song, but he's been the most culturally impactful artist of the last five years. Celine Dion has sold way more records than Mary J. Blige, but Mary has had a much bigger impact." Stoute defines that impact as anything an artist does that makes fans want to look, dress, smell and be like them — which lately has little to do with buying their latest album.

On that score, Stoute said he's working on a top-secret project, which he hopes to unveil in late 2008, that will create a tool to help people like him measure the pop-cultural impact of an artist using a wide variety of factors. "Nobody's found a way to measure cultural impact," he said, "and I think the entertainment business needs to look at which artists on their roster may not sell the most records, but have a tremendous value in commerce."

That value could be measured in the number of blog or gossip-column mentions, how many spins a record got in clubs or even a snapshot of the "pass-along" value of music, a measure used in the magazine world to set advertising rates based on estimates of how many times a magazine is passed from a subscriber to someone else.

Stoute isn't the only executive dreaming up new popularity yardsticks. Steve Greenberg, founder and CEO of S-Curve Records and former president of Columbia Records, said the music industry is missing a chart that combines album and single sales with downloads, radio play, viral-video popularity and ringtones to give a picture of which artists are really on everyone's brains from one week to the next.

"SoundScan gives you what albums are being bought by people going to stores, but that's skewed," he said. "If you could put all that data together, you could see what is really going on. You can still look at the Billboard Hot 100 to see, based purely on radio play and single downloads, what people are listening to — but in a way, what is the most-watched video on YouTube or MySpace, or which video is most viral, is the better measurement."

To that end, Greenberg is part owner of a company called Nabbr, a widget-promotion network that allows users to decorate their MySpace pages or desktops with branded viral-video players, which, of course, are embedded with ads for things like Lil' Jon's Crunk Juice. "Kids can take these video players and put them on their MySpace pages and we can update them from our end with new material," explained Greenberg of players such as the one found on WhateverLife.com, which rotates in 10 new clips every week from artists like the Jonas Brothers, the Pack and Jordin Sparks. "And we have a page where we can see how many people watched the video, how many watched it for more than 30 seconds, how many embedded it on their MySpace page and how many of those players on their pages got taken and copied onto someone else's page."

It's not the only site offering branded, mountable players, either. Among a dozen sites with similar takes on sharing music streams are Fuzz.com, where you can make and share your own mixtapes; Haystack.com, which allows you to share playlists; and Mog.com, which lets users instantly listen to any song in any other user's library or playlists thanks to a recent deal with Rhapsody (which has a partnership with MTV).

Greenberg said every major label group is using the Nabbr widget and, as an example of the kind of data it can collect, he pointed to an internal page on one of his S-Curve bands, We the Kings, that tracks, second to second, how many plays, views and embeds its video is getting, the number of MySpace and YouTube views and a male/female breakdown of viewers.

"What you have to do is separate out the people who are really engaging in music and those who are encountering celebrity through a perfume or the cover of People magazine, which is interesting, but doesn't tell me how popular their music is," Greenberg said.

Even if a chart, or widget, is developed that is able to synthesize all the information floating around us every day, the chances that an album like Michael Jackson's Thriller — which was a monumental cross-format, cross-generational smash 25 years ago — could have the same impact today are very slim. Success, though, is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. Longtime manager Jim Guerinot, whose clients include Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, Trent Reznor and Social Distortion, said his bands know what they want and judge their success or impact accordingly, though not always in units shifted.

"If you want to be seen on the cover of People, that's a different criteria than selling a couple hundred thousand records, so it depends on what your goal is," he said. "For the artists I work with, nothing matters as much as doing what you want to do over a long period." As an example, he pointed to punk lifers Social Distortion, who have been able to sustain a career since 1979, pay their bills and be creatively satisfied while selling a relatively modest number of albums and playing to steady, adoring crowds.

"Will Trent Reznor survive not being on Interscope?" he asked of the Nine Inch Nails leader, who very publicly split with his longtime label this year over his claims that it was overcharging his fans for music. "He did it before and he will after. Will it sustain at the level of stadium tours like [the reunion tour by '80s superstars] the Police? I don't know."

Though Year Zero was one of Nine Inch Nails' lowest-selling albums in the U.S., Guerinot said the alternate-reality game that was launched to promote it was an unqualified success, with 1.6 million phone calls flooding a Cleveland phone number and 8.6 million page views for one of the game's Web pages. "Was that as important as getting played on MTV or radio?" he asked. "We thought so. It dovetails with a larger, long-term strategy for his career that's about creating a long-term relationship with fans, not selling a quick ringtone or having quick first-week album sales."

William Beckett, lead singer for the Academy Is ..., also knows that the numbers don't always tell the truth. He has watched as other bands shoot up the charts and score #1 songs, but if they can't fill a ballroom, he said, so what? "You certainly can't measure things in terms of units sold," Beckett said. "There are countless bands that have outsold us, but they can't fill the rooms that we do. They don't have fans that are real like our fans are real."

Williams' manager, Bob McLynn of Crush Management, told MTV News earlier this year that he has always gauged his artists' strength by looking at its live-show and ticket sales. He said he feels that increasingly, the ability to be a strong live draw will play a more vital role in sustaining or launching careers. That equation might explain why companies like mega-promoter Live Nation are cutting so-called "360 deals" with established touring giants like Madonna, banking on the fact that the more people who see Madonna live, the easier it will be to sell more of her records, merchandise, DVDs and license her songs for commercial use at a time when the music charts have taken on the first-week make-or-break blockbuster mentality of the movie business.

These equations are being hashed out all across the rock and pop world, but they're a bit harder to calculate for the majority of contemporary hip-hop artists, many of whom can rack up huge ringtone sales but whose album sales might be more modest, and who rarely have the benefits of earning extra cash by touring the country. Part of it is the result of the proliferation of what veteran manager Michael "Blue" Williams (Outkast, Killer Mike, Scarface) calls "ringtone rappers": artists so focused on catchy hits that they don't bother to put together a strong album to lure in more fans.

"You used to look at two or three things — like radio play or club play — but now you have to look at MySpace pages, iTunes and chat rooms to figure out what the buzz is," Williams said. "It's not just about what the physical, club buzz is, because if you're getting 1,000 spins a week but no one's talking about it on the Internet or you only have 4,000 MySpace friends, something's wrong."

No one has come up with the definitive new equation yet, but for now, according to Billboard Executive Editor Bill Werde, it will include all of the above factors, plus some we haven't even begun to imagine yet.

"How would I define success in today's music industry?" Werde said. "Maybe 'survival' would be a good word! I think the definition of success is changing a lot in the music business today. Once upon a time, it was pure and simple: 'Did your record go gold? Did your record go platinum? Did your record sell a million copies its first week? If not, it's not that hot ...' Those days seem to be gone. The way success gets defined in 2007, in 2008, it's really changing. I think once upon a time it was just about the album — now I think it's about, 'Can I create a career for myself, and how do I go about doing that?'

"I think bands are more open and understanding of the idea that they make all of their money this year touring and the album becomes sort of a calling card for that. On the hip-hop side, success can be defined by your ringtone sales — T-Pain is going to sell a lot more ringtones than albums. That would've been unthinkable a couple of years ago. There are so many different ways to define success now."

Check back on Wednesday, when the third and final installment of our "Future of Music" series rolls out.

• The Future Of Music: What's Next?

• Fall Out Boy
• Gwen Stefani
• Jennifer Lopez
• Nine Inch Nails
• Jay-Z

Ciara
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Will Ciara's next video be able to live up to the stir she caused with the 50 Cent-featuring "Can't Leave 'Em Alone"?

That last risqué clip featured the Atlanta beauty topless, latching onto and hugging Fif. The scene started tons of gossip that the two were dating — despite the artists' claims to the contrary.

But if things in Ciara's life actually went in chronological order, we would have seen a video for "That's Right," featuring Lil Jon, first. The clip for the fourth single from her sophomore album, Ciara: The Evolution, was actually recorded the day before she filmed "Can't Leave 'Em Alone" with 50.

"You'll see this video, no matter what," the singer told MTV News last week on the VH1 Hip Hop Honors red carpet. "I shot this video a long time ago. ... And you'll probably see that video very soon. Something I do for my fans."

The high-energy track was also produced by Lil Jon, and although the video has a warm, summery tone, Ciara said the energy and meaning behind the song is still fitting for any time of the year.

"It's a summertime video, so it needs to come out right now!" she laughed. "The record talks about how tonight I'm doing me — as a woman, I'mma go out and have fun. I'm going to do my thing. And the record also says how guys sometimes get routine. They like to call you the same time every day; they want to see you the same time every day. No. Tonight, it's a different day. I'm doing me. I'm gonna have fun. I'm calling my girls up, we're riding out and having a good time."

Next, Ciara will be playing a preacher's daughter-turned-pop star in the movie "Mama, I Want to Sing!," directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. Patti LaBelle and Lynn Whitfield co-star in the movie, which is due in theaters in early 2008.

• Snoop, Pharrell, Diddy, Ciara And More At The 2007 VH1 Hip Hop Honors

• Ciara
• 50 Cent
• Lil Jon

Lil Jon and Metal Skool perform at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage.com

LAS VEGAS — "If you don't like this f---ing song, blame Van Halen, dude," sneered Metal Skool guitarist Satchel, a rocker who flashes his tongue at the ladies while fondling his chest. The Los Angeles-based glam-metal lampoon act then prepared to launch into the Halen classic "Jump." But before the song's synth-laden opening began to chime, the band — a parody of every hair-metal band there ever was, wrapped up in one tight spandex package — invited old pal Lil Jon up to handle lead vocals (See snaps of Lil Jon jamming onstage with Metal Skool, plus pipin'-hot party-scene pics featuring Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and many more.)

But Jon was nowhere to be found -- at first. "Dude, I can't find him," frontman Michael Starr said as he gazed out into the audience. "That's 'cause he's lil'!", Satchel shot back.

The rapper, rocking an enormous gold chain around his neck and a diamond-encrusted bracelet around his right wrist, eventually emerged from the darkness to take control of the mic. In between lyrics like, "I get up, and nothing gets me down" and "You got it tough, I've seen the toughest around," Jon belted out his trademark "Whaaaat?!"s and scurried around the stage, pogoing furiously. The MC's constant movement was enough to send foam spurting out the neck of the beer that never left his hand.

Metal Skool, one of the only bands on the planet that'll have you doubled over with laughter while still managing to throw the horns, performed in Las Vegas Thursday night at the Hard Rock Hotel's Body English club. The concert was one of several pre-MTV Video Music Awards events being held in Sin City and perhaps one of the strangest, teeming with odd collaborations.

The gig attracted a bevy of scantily clad beauties and a strange assortment of rockers and celebrities, including Pauly Shore, the Bravery's Sam Endicott, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan and mixed martial-arts fighter Tito Ortiz and his girlfriend, former porn star Jenna Jameson, who spent much of the night canoodling in one of the corners of the club's V.I.P. section.

With their long teased hair, zebra-print spandex pants (complete with requisite bulge), ripped T-shirts and over-the-top makeup (bassist Lexxi Foxxx touched up his lip gloss between each and every song of the band's set, which included Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City" and Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart"), Metal Skool's takeoff on '80s Aqua Net metal is nothing short of perfect. They've even got the whole song-dedication thing down: Before honoring Journey with a brilliant version of "Don't Stop Believin'," Starr sent the track out to all of the well-endowed ladies in the crowd, without whom "there would be no reason to wear green spandex."

At one point, Metal Skool even threatened to "play Hoobastank all night" if the crowd didn't respond vigorously enough to their performance.

Jon guested on two songs: "Jump" and an impromptu jam session with Skool and System bassist Shavo Odadjian, who, when joining the band onstage, was himself joined by two women who pranced around him like strippers on acid. "Show us your [breasts]!" Jon shouted at one of them, encouraging the audience to chant along with him. When the woman refused, Jon let his frustration get the best of him. "Get your a-- offstage if you're not going to show us those [breasts] — this is a f---ing rock show!"

The special guests didn't end there. During the Skool's cover of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me," Incubus bassist Ben Kenney hopped onstage to sing, but he didn't know the song's lyrics — but then redeemed himself by strapping on Foxxx's bass for a rendition of Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer."

"Make some noise for that guy from Incubus," Starr said. "He's famous ... whatever his name is."

Wait -- don't cash out on the VMAs just yet! From Britney's sultry comeback performance to the big winners, you saw it all -- well, almost everything! Get yourself even richer with our wall-to-wall show coverage, party reports, videos and loads more at www.VMA.MTV.com. For reports, photos, video and much, much more from previous VMAs, dive into the VMA archives.

• VMAs 2007: The Vegas Honeymoon

• Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene

• Lil Jon
• System of a Down
• Incubus

Lil Jon
Photo: Brian Appio/ MTV.com

For the better part of two years now, Lil Jon has spent every waking moment reminding us, via shouted missives and the ginormous hunk of platinum and diamonds around his neck, that "Crunk Ain't Dead." Now, thanks to the wordsmiths at Merriam-Webster, his contention has been validated. Crunk, it seems, is not dead.

In fact, it'll pretty much live on forever.

That's because "crunk" is one of roughly 100 new additions to "Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary," joining words like "speed dating," "telenovela" and, yes, "ginormous" in linguistic immortality.

Officially defined as "a style of Southern rap music featuring repetitive chants and rapid dance rhythms," crunk — and all the new additions to the dictionary (or neologisms, as etymologists call them) — was selected from a list of roughly 17 million words and phrases that have entered the public lexicon in recent years, through a process that's both incredibly complicated and, well, pretty basic.

"There's only one rule for a new word getting in: If it's likely to be found in printed reading matter — magazines, newspapers, novels — it's likely to get in," Peter Sokolowski, an associate editor for Merriam-Webster, told MTV News. "Our entire staff reads and marks everything we can get our hands on: Vibe magazine, magazines on pregnancy and sailing, math journals, physics journals, soup-can labels, menus. Basically, when a word gains a critical mass of citations, we'll include it.

"We try to include words that aren't just trends," he continued. "We're looking for words that will be referred to in the future and people won't need any explanation to know what it means. If the editor of a newspaper can publish a word and he or she expects readers to know what it means, we'll include it."

Sokolowski said that in the case of a word like crunk, they had followed its use from the pages of hip-hop publications to magazines like Sports Illustrated and finally into Time and The New York Times. And yes, he's aware that including crunk in the dictionary suggests that it's no longer a "cool" word (this actually happened sometime around 2002), but that's just another part of the process: When your parents know what a word means, it's probably about time to include it in the dictionary.

"It has to be said that when a word makes it into the dictionary, it's already past being cool. It's no longer cutting-edge," he laughed. "I mean, a crunk song won an Oscar a few years back [Three 6 Mafia's "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow," which took home the award for Best Original Song in 2005], so it's already become part of the establishment."

While even your Aunt Bernadette might be aware of what Lil Jon means when he's screaming about "getting crunk," it's still not clear where the word came from. Even the folks at Merriam-Webster aren't 100 percent sure, so while their official etymology (in regular speak: origin) mentions both Jon and Outkast, Sokolowski is quick to point out that, as is often the case, they'll probably never know for sure where the word came from.

"The etymology is important, and the fact is, sometimes we don't know. We're not sure about crunk. It either comes from this blend of the words 'crazy' and 'drunk,' or it's an alteration of 'cranked up,' meaning high-energy," he explained. "People are being playful with their language. In the South, people [say], 'Let's get crunk,' or, 'Let me crunk this engine.' "

"Crunk" is just the latest in a string of hip-hop-related slang to be recognized by Merriam-Webster ("bling bling" was added last year — see " 'Bling Bling' Added To Oxford English Dictionary"), and it's a trend that doesn't show any sign of stopping. Sokolowski said that "hyphy" is already on their watch list, with plenty other words on the horizon.

"There are a ton of them out there right now, and as long as the word becomes part of the culture in the broader sense, it'll be in our dictionary," he said. "Honestly, the search for new words and phrases becomes a compulsion. You can't read anything without a pen in your hand."

• Lil Jon

Maroon 5's Adam Levine at their album release party on Tuesday
Photo: Jean-Paul Aussenard/ WireImage.com

If you're going to buy one album this week, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine has a little advice for you.

"I would probably buy Maroon 5's album — it's pretty good," he said (see "Maroon 5 Back With 'Harder' Album After Adam Levine Gets Sick Of Partying").

Maybe there's a slight bias there, but the band did have some credible supporters in its corner at the It Won't Be Soon Before Long album-release party held Tuesday at the Lot in West Hollywood, California.

Lil Jon — who also has his Crunk Rock album on the horizon (it's currently slated for a fall release; see "Name-Dropping Lil Jon Plans To Rock With Mariah, Snoop, R. Kelly") — told MTV News, "The new album, the single ['Makes Me Wonder'] is crazy. So I'm just here having fun, supporting my boys."

(Watch Adam Levine thank Lil Jon for his support by giving him a big bearhug, right here.)

The band arrived just as Katharine McPhee was chatting with MTV News. "They're so cute!" she said, stopping mid-sentence to check out the very dapper boys as they posed for photos on the red carpet.

(Who is Katharine McPhee voting for in the "American Idol" finals? Watch what she has to say right here.)

With the first single "Makes Me Wonder" already on the airwaves, Maroon 5 confirmed that their second single will be "Wake Up Call." Although they wouldn't divulge too much about the video they have planned, Levine said, "Some really amazing directors are excited about it. I can't tell you who, but it's gonna be great."

Levine's personal approach to songwriting has not changed since the last album, 2002's Songs About Jane, despite his private life becoming more public. "All of this can kinda wash away when we write songs," he said. "The process hasn't really changed, just the situation."

Levine also got a chance to clear the air over recent he-said/she-said drama with Lily Allen — Levine bit back after the British singer called President George W. Bush an "a--hole" and Texans "backward." He said the situation was taken out of context. "We're good, Lily and I are good," he said. "We worked it out."

The band is no stranger to verbal jabs from across the pond. In 2005, Noel Gallagher and Levine traded words in the press after the Oasis guitarist said he wished Maroon 5 hadn't been on the bill for the U.K.'s V Festival. But the always-cool Levine took the high road again on Tuesday night: "We're huge fans of the band," he said.

Another band Maroon 5 are huge fans of? The Police. Levine and the gang are opening for the reunited rockers on July 10 at Miami's Dolphin Stadium and say it's the coolest thing they've done in their career (see "The Police Bust Out World Tour Dates; Will Their Reunion Last?").

But before that larger-than-life gig, the band will kick off an intimate club tour May 30 in Boston to preview new material for fans. "The tickets are going to be made available to our fan club first, which are the people that have been supporting us forever," guitarist James Valentine said.

The band is still searching for an opening act for the trek, which the guys made no secret about Tuesday night.

"Anybody got a band here?" Valentine joked.

"Yeah, we're taking submissions at this point. You got a band?" Levine added, directing toward a red-carpet photographer.

While Maroon 5 don't know where to look for support, the Police sure do.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Maroon 5
• Katharine McPhee
• Lil Jon
• Lily Allen

Pitbull
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

For most artists, songs usually come together with the help of a producer or collaborators. But the lead track from Pitbull's upcoming album Boatlift, due May 22, was actually put together by ... a secretary?

"I was up in New York, in Quad Studios, and was supposed to be working with my dawg Jim Jonsin, who's a big producer," the Miami rapper said, explaining how his song "Sticky Icky" came together. "And he was on the ninth floor. But when I go to the secretary and say, 'Yo, I'm here to see Jim Jonsin,' she thought I said, 'Jim Jones.' So she sent me to the seventh floor [instead]. I walk into the studio, and I see Jim Jones with all his goons. So I said, 'It's destiny for us to make a record.' I already had 'Sticky Icky,' so the next day I brought him that record and he just knocked it out."

The Lil Jon-produced song features more Miami bass than fans of Pit's recent tracks might be used to. But the Cuban-American rapper said Boatlift leans more to his rap roots than his previous album.

"It's a part two to El Mariel but more urban-based," Pit said. "There's more street records on there. I'm giving them another side to Pitbull. I had all the club records — you can easily go 45 minutes in the club just off my records. I just want to take these folks for a ride on this album based on what I know."

To help out, Pitbull enlisted not only Lil Jon and Jonsin on the boards but Mr. Collipark and the Diaz Brothers as well. And he said to expect collabos with Trick Daddy, T-Pain, Fabo of D4L and Trina, who's on the next single, "Go Girl."

"That's more uptempo," Pitbull said of the Trina track. "It's definitely a club joint, but with a street twist. This whole album is gonna be a lot more hard-core beats. The Afro-Cuban sound on my last album is gonna come to fruition more on my [Spanish-language] album."

In the meantime, Pit is working out the final track list for Boatlift, which features more guests than he's had before. To hear it from Pit, artists are lining up to work with him.

"You come through Miami and you got to see me one way or another," he said. "You come to the club, and you see me surrounded by four, five amazing-looking Latin women, and you like, 'Yeah, I definitely got to work with him.' [He laughs.] I ain't even gone platinum yet, and I got all the women. They like, 'What is the deal?' "

• Pitbull
• Lil Jon
• Trick Daddy

Madonna
Photo: Dave Hogan/ Getty Images

Madonna arrived in Malawi on Monday (April 16) with David Banda, the Malawian boy she is adopting, to continue her charity work in the country, Reuters reports. The visit is fueling rumors the singer wants to adopt a second child. ...

Jennifer Lopez hopes to tour in support of Como Ama Una Mujer, she told MTV Europe — and reveals that she'll have more music out before the year is up. "I have an [English-language] album that's coming out this year that I'm finishing up right now," she said. "First single in June, so it's a big musical year for me." ... Two Anna Nicole Smith diaries up for auction over the weekend failed to sell, ABC News reports. They're now available for a minimum big of $25,000 apiece at Dallas' Heritage Auction Galleries. ...

Senator Hillary Clinton isn't about to get embroiled in the Sanjaya Malakar hubbub, The Associated Press reports. When asked about the "American Idol" hopeful on a New Hampshire radio station, the Democratic presidential candidate diplomatically replied, "Well, you know, people can vote for whomever they want. That's true in my election, and it's true on 'American Idol.' " ... Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire and other "Spider-Man 3" castmembers strolled down the red carpet at film's world premiere in Tokyo on Monday, Reuters reports. ...

Lil Jon even represents Atlanta on ice. He's currently blogging about his love for hockey's Atlanta Thrashers at NHL.com, and revealed that while it's his 8-year-old son that actually plays the game, Jon's got his own place on the NHL team. "[Atlanta goalie] Kari Lehtonen actually has my picture on the back of his helmet," Jon wrote in a recent post. "We always go in the locker room to say 'what's up' to him before a game." Jon admits that he hasn't been following the Thrashers' every move this season, but he's tuning back in for the playoffs — and hopes to see the team bring the Stanley Cup to ATL. The Thrashers are currently in the first round of playoffs, down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series. ...

M-1 of Dead Prez appeared on Fox News' "Your World With Neil Cavuto" on Friday afternoon to debate hip-hop's role in the Don Imus scandal. The political-minded MC said drawing a parallel between rap lyrics and the racially insensitive remarks that cost Imus his job is like "comparing apples and oranges." Cavuto countered, "If Imus uses the expression and then you use the expression, you've both said 'ho,' " but M-1 noted that he didn't use the word "ho" in his lyrics. The rapper added that there's "something wrong" with offensive language being used whether it's by Imus or in hip-hop, but asserted that there is a difference between Imus' words and rap lyrics due to the "historical relationship of oppression" between black and white Americans. ...

Barry Gibb, the former Bee Gee who in 2006 bought the Johnny Cash Tennessee house that burned down last week, says he and his wife will rebuild a new home nearby. "Linda and I have decided to build our own home on the higher ground surrounding the Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash home and the original foundations shall be kept intact and preserved for the people of Hendersonville and the people of Nashville," he said in a statement obtained by AP. ... A woman injured in a car crash involving Godsmack frontman Sully Erna has had her condition upgraded to serious, according to North Andover, Massachusetts' Eagle-Tribune. Lindsay Taylor, 25, was in a coma and on life support following Wednesday's collision. Taylor was a backseat passenger in a Toyota Camry that was struck from behind by a Hummer H3 driven by Erna, who was not injured in the accident. The crash remains under investigation by state police, but so far, no citations or charges have been filed against any of the drivers involved. ...

Nickelback have raised almost $400,000 for Amnesty International and International Children's Awareness Canada via their aptly titled new single "If Everyone Cared." ... Ben & Jerry's will be releasing a new ice cream inspired by Queen. Called Bohemian Raspberry, it's the latest in a series of music-themed flavors, including Phish Food and Cherry Garcia. Sales of the ice cream will benefit the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was established to combat AIDS worldwide. ... DJ Clue, Ray J and Lance Armstrong were among the partygoers who helped Q-Tip celebrate his birthday in New York on Saturday. The surprise party was held at a downtown Manhattan loft. ... Richard Gere is getting some serious flak in India after kissing and hugging Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty at a recent AIDS-awareness event, AP reports. Angry throngs burned effigies of the American actor in New Delhi and Mumbai, while protests broke out elsewhere in the country. ...

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge warned prospective jurors in the trial of Phil Spector on Monday that the proceedings will not be a chance for them to have their "15 minutes of fame," AP reports. The prospective jurors were to be directly questioned by lawyers on Monday afternoon, with a focus on the questionnaire answers they provided when screened a month ago. ... The Village People's policeman is off the hook, AP reports. Victor Willis was arrested last month after his girlfriend accused him of choking and threatening her. Maria Velasquez, a spokeswoman for the San Diego City Attorney's Office, said the case would not be pursued for "evidentiary reasons." ... Don Ho, the man who came to personify Hawaiian music, died on Saturday in Honolulu at age 76. Ho, best known for his kitsch classic "Tiny Bubbles," with which he opened and closed each show, died as a result of heart failure, according to The New York Times. Ho was a tourist staple on Waikiki at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber hotel for more than 40 years, performing his signature song and telling jokes and hosting his own ABC variety series, "The Don Ho Show," from 1976-77. His daughter, Hoku, who released her own hit album in 2000, was often featured in his live show.

04.13.2007

Gwen Stefani as a brunette? The singer told Harper's Bazaar that she's considered coloring her hair brown — "Then I said, 'Nah, I'm gonna milk this blond as long as I can." The singer also spoke up on the future of her career. "Some days, I think there's no way to get away with this any longer," she said in an interview published in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands April 24. "I still feel like that sometimes, even though it's been 20 years. But then some days, I just feel really inspired and I really believe in everything. It's like the 15 minutes just keep getting longer." ...

Keeping up with the Joneses got that much more difficult Friday (April 13) with news from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas that Shia LaBeouf has officially been cast in the fourth installment of the "Indiana Jones" series. "We are excited about bringing Shia into our Indy family," Spielberg said in a post on IndianaJones.com. The announcement ends weeks of "Will he or won't he?" speculation, much of it fueled by LaBeouf himself. The 20-year-old "Disturbia" star had previously denied his involvement when news of the casting first leaked and recently told MTV News, "I haven't been presented with the idea. I haven't been approached." In the Friday post on IndianaJones.com, LaBeouf said, "I was hoping the rumors were true, so I couldn't be more thrilled. To be cast in an Indiana Jones film is like grabbing the brass ring and holding on for the ride. I can't wait to take that giant step in front of the Indy cameras." "Indiana Jones 4" will be released worldwide May 22, 2008. ...

A judge has granted C-Murder permission to attend his first book-signing event to promote his street-lit novel "Death Around the Corner." The rapper, currently under house arrest, will participate in the signing during the New Orleans Jazzfest on May 5 at the one of the city's largest black-owned bookstores, Community Book Center. ... A judge has delayed a custody hearing over Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead's baby, The Associated Press reports. The decision was made to allow the deceased model's mother, Virgie Arthur, more time to negotiate a private-visitation arrangement with Birkhead. In related news, two Smith diaries will be auctioned as scheduled on Saturday, despite her former partner Howard K. Stern's claim that they are stolen property. ...

Ozzy fans, be on the lookout: Select copies of his Black Rain album will contain a code giving the owners first chance at seats for Ozzfest. The specially marked copies will be available at retail stores May 22 but can be preordered in the meantime. The code is good for two tickets, with supplies limited, and will be effective four days before the general public has access to tickets on June 12. ... James Blunt is in the clear. The singer/songwriter will not be charged for allegedly driving over someone's foot after leaving a party in February, AP reports. ...

Fred Durst misses being the frontman for Limp Bizkit, and according to a blog post, he'd like to head out on the road and stage "a landmark event." Durst said, "I would love to do a tour with the original Limp Bizkit" lineup, which no longer includes guitarist Wes Borland, who left the band to launch his own project, Black Light Burns. Limp haven't toured the States since 2003. "Imagine that me and Wes could work things out together and be a band again, friends again," Durst wrote in the post. "We had so many wonderful times. I am proud to say that I have learned so much from my mistakes and it has taken a long time to evolve to this place where I finally let myself be healed. Without Limp Bizkit, I would have never gotten here. Without Wes, I wouldn't know what it is like to work with the best." ...

Julian Lennon, the eldest son of John Lennon, has sold his stake in his father's compositions for the Beatles, according to The Wall Street Journal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a source told the paper that the shares of the catalog were "significant." The deal for the songwriting income generated by the Lennon compositions was made with Primary Wave Music Publishing, which last year paid an estimated $50 million for a 50 percent stake in the music-publishing catalog of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. ...

Muse frontman Matt Bellamy has spoken out against the Live Earth gigs, saying that it might be hypocritical to stage the event, aimed at raising climate awareness worldwide, when it could have an adverse affect on the climate. "Private jets for climate change, not sure about it, that seems to be a bit on edge really," he told the BBC. Ashok Sinah, a director of Stop Climate Chaos, responded to defend. "They have to reduce carbon emissions, we have to reduce carbon emissions, and in just the same way that we may look at a pop star and say, 'You use more carbon than I do,' people from Africa could look at us and think, 'We don't go flying around everywhere.' I have met people in Africa who haven't even made a phone call, let alone get on a plane." Sinah also noted that the concerts were just the beginning of a larger overall campaign. "We have got to make sure that the people that come to us post-concert are actively engaged and get involved in the campaign." ...

Trey Anastasio pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance on Friday, avoiding a possible 14-year prison term. AP reports that Anastasio, 42, accepted a plea deal in his felony drug case that will require the singer to serve 12-15 months in New York's drug court program, during which he'll make weekly court appearances, submit to drug testing and perform community service. The charges stem from a December arrest in which police claim he was found in possession of heroin and an anti-anxiety drug prescribed to someone else and was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. ... Heather Locklear's second rock marriage has officially ended. The actress' divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was finalized Wednesday, according to an AP report. She filed for divorce from Sambora in February 2006 after 11 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.

• Madonna
• Jennifer Lopez
• Lil Jon
• Dead Prez
• Godsmack

Bling Auction: Hip Hop's Crown Jewels

• Tupac
• Biz Markie
• Slick Rick
• Kanye West
• Pharrell Williams

Fergie, John Legend, Slash, Randy Jackson Perform At The Peapod Benefit Concert

• Slash
• Fergie
• John Legend
• Black Eyed Peas
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Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene

• Britney Spears
• Justin Timberlake
• Timbaland
• Nick Cannon
• Lil Jon

The Game And Kanye West On The Set Of "Wouldn't Get Far"

• Game
• Kanye West
• Lil Jon

2006: The Best of Studio Photos

• Lil Jon
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Kelis
• Beck
• Nelly Furtado

Lil' Jon, Big Boi, Rza And More At VH-1's 2006 Hip Hop Honors

• Lil Jon
• OutKast
• Salt-N-Pepa
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Remy Ma

VMA Backstage Pass: See Nick Lachey, Pink, Snoop, More Behind The Scenes

• Kanye West
• Busta Rhymes
• P!nk
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• Ludacris

Snoop, Pharrell, Ciara, Danity Kane, Luda, More Mingle At VMA Forum

• Snoop Dogg
• Pharrell Williams
• Method Man
• Danity Kane
• Chamillionaire

Beyonce, Kanye, Paris Hilton, More Hit VMA Pre-Parties And After Bashes

• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• Diddy
• Busta Rhymes
• Ashley Parker Angel

2006 VMAs: Bling Report

• Paul Wall
• Busta Rhymes
• Pharrell Williams
• Lil Wayne
• 50 Cent