Britney Spears, Lil Wayne, Mariah Carey Among MTV VMA Nominees For Best Male, Female Video

Britney Spears, Lil Wayne, Mariah Carey Among MTV VMA Nominees For Best Male, Female Video

We asked for your help, and you did not disappoint. You voted in record numbers, whittling the list of Moonman hopefuls for Best Male Video and Best Female Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards down to the final five, as the nominees were revealed Friday (July 25).
After thousands of votes on VMA.MTV.com (along with ballots from select industry insiders), two diverse battles are set. A pair of legendary pop icons will square off against two relative newcomers and one wily underdog in the fight for Best Female Video. Pop queen Britney Spears takes another step on the comeback trail as her "Piece of Me" grabs a nomination, while Mariah Carey will try to end her VMA dry spell with "Touch My Body." "American Idol" champ Jordin Sparks scores a nomination for her Chris Brown collaboration "No Air," and Rihanna is in the running as well with "Take a Bow." Quirky long shot Katy Perry rounds out the Best Female race with her cheeky summer anthem "I Kissed a Girl."
Meanwhile, hip-hop's hot streak continues in the Best Male Video category as two of the hottest MCs in the game face off against some of R&B's leading men. Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" exploded this year, so it's no surprise that he's in the running, along with T.I., whose "No Matter What" chronicles his struggles over the past year. Chris Brown and Usher made the list with "With You" and "Love in This Club" respectively, and Flo Rida is in the mix with "Low."
Of course, when one door closes, another opens, my friends — voting in two other categories is now officially open at VMA.MTV.com. Hundreds of hopefuls will now duke it out in the Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Pop Video categories! The nominees will be announced on next Friday's installment of "FNMTV." After that, two more rounds of voting remain to determine the nominees for Best Dancing in a Video, Best New Artist, Best Rock Video and the highly coveted Video of the Year.
The 25th VMAs will take place at the legendary Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood on September 7. The Jonas Brothers are confirmed to perform, and British funnyman and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" co-star Russell Brand was just announced as the show's host.

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CHRIS BROWN TAPPED FOR DANCE COMPETITION SHOW: Mark Burnett behind new series set in world of hip hop and street dance.

CHRIS BROWN TAPPED FOR DANCE COMPETITION SHOW: Mark Burnett behind new series set in world of hip hop and street dance.

*R&B sensation Chris Brown has agreed to lend his star power to a new dance competition series from reality show gurus Mark Burnett and J.D. Roth, via their respective Mark Burnett Prods. and 3 Ball Prods. shingles.
According to Variety, the untitled series will center on the world of hip-hop and street dance culture, with contestants battling each another in impromptu dance-offs. Brown will appear in every episode to help determine which B-boy or B-girl moves on to the next round.
The show is being developed as an hour-long performance series that will have an elimination episode as well. Brown would be at the center, although an as-yet-unnamed host and other judges may also be involved.
A title has yet to be chosen, but "Chris Brown Presents" will likely be included in the name, Variety reports.
"Chris Brown really is a superstar, and someone who lives and breathes music and dance — so his credibility is massive in this arena," said Burnett, who recruited Brown to open this year's MTV Movie Awards. "It's his show; he's headlining it. He's the final arbiter on those who win and those who don't."
Brown adds, "Dancing is more than just a way of moving, it's a different expression of music. That's what I want to focus on with this show."

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Katy Perry, Rihanna lead U.S. singles chart

Katy Perry, Rihanna lead U.S. singles chart

Katy Perry led the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for a fifth week on Thursday with "I Kissed a Girl," while Rihanna's former chart-topper, "Take a Bow," was No. 2 for a third week.
Chris Brown's "Forever" rose one to No. 3, swapping places with Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. Coldplay's former chart-topper "Viva La Vida" rebounded two to No. 5.
Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" slipped one to No. 6, Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine" was also down one, to No. 7, and Lil Wayne's "A Milli" held steady at No. 8.
Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall scored his first top 10 hit with "Dangerous" featuring Akon, which jumped five to No. 9; the song was also No. 2 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. Jesse McCartney rounded out the top tier as "Leavin'" jumped one to its previous high of No. 10.
Current Rolling Stone magazine cover boys the Jonas Brothers had the top debut with "Pushin' Me Away" at No. 16.

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Rihanna and Chris Brown: Grammy Ready

Rihanna and Chris Brown: Grammy Ready

resh off of learning that the writers’ guild won’t be picketing the 2008 Grammy Awards, fellow scheduled attendees Rihanna and Chris Brown were spotted spending a little time together in New York City.
The R&B stars did their best to avoid cameras as the exited Barney’s after shopping for some new gear at the well-known department store.
According to the Washington Post, “Over the holiday weekend, CBS ran ads saying that a number of stars, including Beyonce Knowles, Carrie Underwood, Rihanna, Chris Brown and Brad Paisley, are scheduled to appear (at the Grammy’s).”
And while Rihanna and Chris are happy to be able to enjoy music’s biggest night without controversy, CBS sang similar sentiments, declaring yesterday’s announcement “very welcome news.”

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T-Pain, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake And More Are Our Favorite R&B Acts Of 2007

T-Pain, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake And More Are Our Favorite R&B Acts Of 2007

Top 10 R&B Acts of 2007

1. T-Pain
So 'hood, so good, Teddy P. was to R&B what Lil Wayne was to rap: a track showstopper whose versatile talent made his guest vocals a must-have for a plethora of artists. His presence was persistent, and while he'll never be heralded among the great voices of all time, you can't forget that the hits came incessantly. Pain's reign saw his computer-enhanced vocals pop up on records by top-of-the-food-chain acts like Kanye West and R. Kelly (twice) as well as street warriors DJ Khaled and Plies.
More importantly, Pain established his songwriting and producing acumen on Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss," as well as on T-Pain's entire LP, Epiphany, which spawned the smashes "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" and "Bartender."

2. Beyoncé
B bodied everybody. Her competition had to throw in the towel this year when she established that no one is in her lane when it comes to this thing we call entertainment. B'Day (released in September 2006) continued to sell like Blue Magic on a Harlem, New York, street corner in the 1970s; her Beyoncé Experience tour was sold out across the country (hey, she still deserves a standing ovation for falling down all those stairs in Florida and hopping back up); and those videos ... have mercy! Fans couldn't get enough of "Get Me Bodied," "Irreplaceable" and "Upgrade U."

3. Justin Timberlake

How can the Prince of Pop be on an R&B list? Did you listen to the album? Justin's FutureSex/LoveSounds (released in September 2006) stormed into '07 on the strength of Timbaland's mud-sopped funk, brutal bass and clean synths and Timberlake's suburban-rebel charm. "My Love," "LoveStoned" and "Summer Love" rocked every iPod, stereo player and stadium on his tour. Meanwhile, JT and the SoundScan Killer himself, 50 Cent, hooked up for "Ayo Technology."

4. Akon

He threw a kid offstage, got nasty with an underage girl in a club and probably cost Gwen Stefani a few million in sponsorship money, but alas, Akon remained a worldwide draw. "I Wanna Love You" and "Smack That" carried over from last year, while "Don't Matter," "Mama Africa" and guest spots on records such as DJ Khaled's "We Takin' Over," Plies' "Hypnotized" and Wyclef's "Sweetest Girl" sustained his popularity this year. Plus — and it's a very big plus — his scouting continued to pay off with the overwhelming success of the man he signed to a recording contract, T-Pain. We'll see if new additions to his roster, such as Brooklyn MC Red Café and TLC's Chili, pay off in '08.

5. R. Kelly

"Did she say there was other guys there? Were there other guys therrrrre?" The outlandish writing stayed at a premium for the King of Rhythm and Blues throughout his Double Up LP ("Real Talk," "Sex Planet," "Sweet Tooth," "Same Girl" and its remix) and the new chapters of "Trapped in the Closet." When he stepped outside of his own projects, Kells levied an onslaught of memorable guest spots including Snoop Dogg's "That's That," Young Jeezy's "Go Getta," Ciara's "Promise" remix and Fat Joe's "Make It Rain" remix. Even Michael Jordan didn't win the MVP every year — but that doesn't mean his game wasn't lethal.

6. Rihanna

Rih Rih chopped her curls into a slick bob, ditched the cute singles in exchange for sexy anthems and in the process became a tabloid target and ubiquitous presence on magazine covers. It started with her sexy hit "Umbrella" and the even sexier accompanying visuals that netted her a VMA win for Video of the Year. The Barbadian beauty's rumored romances with Shia LaBeouf and Josh Hartnett made headlines and helped her break away from the pack of teen starlets, putting her in the company of superstars like Beyoncé, Fergie and Gwen Stefani. Her third single, the Ne-Yo duet "Hate That I Love You," helped to showcase Rihanna's maturing vocal chops and proved she's not a one-hit wonder-er-er-er.

7. Alicia Keys

Since her debut, we've watched Miss Keys evolve from Harlem's ghetto songbird, cooing about the pains of love, into a global voice of indignation, raising the spirits of women and rallying against social injustices. She's as likely to fight for the rights of AIDS patients as she is to fight against radio formats. "No One," the lead single from her third album, As I Am, sounds nothing like a top 40 or R&B hit, yet the song has rested comfortably near the top of both charts. Add in the acting credits under her belt, including this year's "The Nanny Diaries," and there's no question about Keys' ability to push the R&B game to even further heights.

8. Chris Brown

One of these days C. Breezy is gonna become the first artist to literally dance his way into people's living rooms. There's no way cameras and TV sets are gonna be able to keep containing the Virginia native's explosive star power at the rate it's rising. Brown released his sophomore album, Exclusive, which features the MJ-esque "Wall to Wall" and the T-Pain-assisted smash "Kiss Kiss." He stole the show at this year's Video Music Awards with his rousing performance. And then he took his act to the big screen with a breakout role in the ensemble cast of "This Christmas." It's time to start watching ya back, Ursh.

9. Ne-Yo

He was great on his tour with R. Kelly ... all two dates of it. Oh well. Despite his differences with the Pied Piper (Ne-Yo alleges he got kicked off the tour because he was upstaging Kelly), everybody else loves the Las Vegas native. He has another platinum certification on his résumé thanks to Because of You, and his reputation as a writer was boosted with Beyoncé's irrevocably dope "Irreplaceable" and his duet with Rihanna, "Hate That I Love You." Still, the perennial overachiever hit us upside the head for good measure with Fabolous' "Make Me Better," a track he co-wrote and on which he sang.

10. Amy Winehouse

Amy, baby! Rich with throwback soul and lyrics so real that many of them have replayed themselves in tabloid headlines, Winehouse's Back to Black may just be the R&B album of the year. The British songstress had everything in place: The artistically bountiful music (from a chick whose personality came across as real as any MC from the 'hood) was rewarded with multiple Grammy nominations, critical coos and a platinum plaque.

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