Live4MusiC

Justin Bieber's first American Music Awards was perfection.

 

The 16-year-old teen heartthrob went four-for-four on Sunday night, capturing every award he was nominated for, including the top award of the night, favorite artist. He beat a list that featured veterans Eminem and Usher as well as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.

Bieber became the youngest person to ever win the trophy. Bieber also won favorite pop/rock album, favorite pop/rock male, and the show's breakthrough artist award.

"I can't stop smiling; this is amazing," Bieber said after he also beat Eminem and Usher for favorite pop/rock male. "Truly I don't know how this is possible because I've been singing Eminem since I was three and Usher is my mentor. So this is big."

Eminem, along with Lady Antebellum, had been the leading nominee with five awards. He didn't come up empty handed though, winning two, along with Usher, who also nabbed a pair. Lady Antebellum took home one.

Other winners included Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift, but Sunday's ceremony at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles was as much a showcase for acts with new albums as it was a celebration of the biggest achievers of 2010.

Rihanna, with her hair dyed a ruby red, gave the show a colorful and sexy start, performing a medley of songs from her just released album "Loud," including the No. 1 hit "What's My Name," wearing a bustier and what seemed like a scarf wrapped around her backside.

"This is amazing!" said an exuberant Rihanna, who danced onstage later to receive her award -- favorite soul/R&B female. She ended her speech by yelling, "Wassup! Thank you!"

The Black Eyed Peas, winners for favorite pop/rock band, gave a levitating performance, singing from boxes atop the stage during part of their performance of their new single, "The Time."

But some of the prime-time performances were given to acts who weren't nominated, but had albums to promote. Diddy's latest incarnation with the group Diddy-Dirty Money sang material from their upcoming album, while Kid Rock gave a stirring, acoustic performance of "Times Like These," his song lifting up his hometown of Detroit during its recent economic struggles, from his new CD, "Born Free."

A pregnant Pink was among the evening's performance highlights. Unlike recent performances marked by a high-wire act, she stayed close to the ground to perform her latest song, "Raise Your Glass," but thrilled nonetheless with a tightly choreographed, high-energy dance number.

Katy Perry had the evening's most explosive performance as pyrotechnics accentuated her performance of her latest song, "Firework."

Swift, last year's artist of the year, took home favorite country female. Sporting sleek blonde hair instead of her usual cascading curls, Swift said simply: "I just want to thank the fans."

Click here to see more of Taylor Swift at the AMAs.

Swift later performed her new single "Back to December," a song she also performed on the CMA Awards earlier in the month, but mixed things up by incorporating some of OneRepublic's "Too Late To Apologize."

Ke$ha, perhaps trying to make up for the absent Lady Gaga, had the night's most bizarre performance: She performed her heavily Auto-Tuned hit "Take It Off" looking like something out of space, with beams of light for eyes and sporting a motorcycle helmet. She then stripped down to a mirrored outfit, segueing into the next song with a pack of male dancersdressed like her, complete with blond wigs and fishnet stockings.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/11/21/usher-black-eyed-peas-capture-amas-night/#ixzz164CTTOaZ

"YOU have to serve an actual purpose!" said the chirpy voice on the other end of the line. "Nobody comes along and just hangs out! You have to have a job. Any openings? No, no, we're good, actually. Thanks for asking, though."

We were chatting with the hottest female singer in country music, Taylor Swift. Our question: How can we be part of her entourage? 

Can you blame us? Just over a week ago, singer-songwriter Swift won top honours as Country Songwriter Of The Year at the BMI Awards in Nashville, becoming the youngest person in history to win the award. She also took home the Country Song Of The Year award, for You Belong With Me, making her the first-ever songwriter to win that award three years in a row. Swift's previously won for Love Story (2009) and Teardrops On My Guitar (2008).

In the past two years, Swift has gone from being just another successful country artiste to being one of the world's most exciting female country-crossover performers since Shania Twain. Her latest album, Speak Now, sold over a million copies in its first week (according to Nielsen SoundScan, it's the biggest single-week sales total since 2005 ), giving her a total of over 13 million albums sold so far. 

She's received so many accolades and awards - not least the famous MTV award for Best Female Video that sparked off "The Kanye Incident" - that a little blip like not bringing home any hardware from the recent Country Music Awards isn't going to faze her.

"One of the things that I've been really excited about is the positive reviews about my new album," she said over the phone from London, where she was about to perform on a Radio 1 show. "So for it to come out and sell a million records is … that's something I'm grateful for.

"My life has been really inspiring in the last two years - it's been very emotional, very intense and so much has happened. I've had a lot to write about."

Wonder if she sent any loud-mouthed rappers a thank-you card.

They who shall not be named

It's understandable why many are curious to understand the psyche of this young phenom - she's only 20 - and find out what makes her tick. But, like in that Suzanne Vega song, Swift isn't going to give away the goods too soon. Much.

"I write songs about my life and I always have ever since I was 12 years old," she said. "One of my goals as a songwriter was to stay the same songwriter, even when I got successful. And what that means is to continue to write songs as I already have - that's why I continue to write songs about my life. 

"Nowadays, it seems like people are a little more interested in what the subject material is all about," she continued. "But I don't tell ... And if people are going to talk about what the songs are about, it doesn't bother me as much as you think, because I don't really ever Google to find out who's thinking about what the songs are about."

The songs in question are from Speak Now, and yes, people are guessing: Is Innocent, for example, really about rapper Kanye West? Is Dear John her retort to John Mayer? Is Back To December is about ex-boyfriend and Twilight star Taylor Lautner? And which song is about Jake Gyllenhaal?

"I understand it can seem confusing because I sing songs about my personal life but I don't talk about my personal life in interviews," Swift reiterated. 

"I understand that I can be a blurry line. But to me, it's very clear. I guess I just don't talk about some things because some things you just have to keep to yourself."

Great. To kill time, we chatted about her upcoming concert in Singapore next year.

"We'll be performing songs off the new record Speak Now and, hopefully, it'll be a really high-energy, fast-paced concert that will have some acoustic moments in it and lots of storytelling about what the songs have been written about."

But didn't she just say she doesn't talk about ... Ah yes, a blurry line.

Another reason she's excited to perform on our little island set in the sea is that her mother grew up in Singapore. 

"Yes, my mum actually grew up there and she's always telling me about Singapore. And, yes, she is going to visit, so I can't wait to see what she thinks about the place that she came from."

Tattoos take dedication 

Her Speak Now world tour will traverse 18 countries, with 85 shows currently on her plate - including one on a cruise ship, apparently. 

"I'm not sure, I've not heard about that. But if you've heard about that, then I guess it might be happening," she said. Ooh, sarcasm, anyone?

"I've performed in airport terminals, Boy Scout meetings, little hole-in-the-wall bars, hospitals ... anywhere you can possibly go. I've had a lot of crazy moments on the road, mostly because I tour so much. And sometimes you wake up with the craziest jet lag and you don't know where you are or what time it is or what language they speak in the country you're in. So I try to stay as aware of where I am as possible."

It's a crazy life, but her fans keep her going. 

"I stay motivated because the fans are really sweet to me. They come up to me and tell me these amazing stories about how much my music has affected their lives and I feel very privileged to get to hear from them. 

"I have met a lot of people who have my face tattooed on them! It's pretty awesome - I love it! I think it's a major form of dedication." 

"It makes me feel very lucky to live the life I live," she continued. "I know that if I had ever imagined that I'd get to do this, I wouldn't ever see myself complaining about it."

Not even when pesky journalists keep bugging her to talk about things she doesn't want to talk about. It's not that she doesn't get annoyed - she just doesn't let it get to her. 

"I mean, I can handle questions, because people are going to ask questions, so I never really complain about it," said Swift. 

"I think it's very important to live in the moment. And be happy in the moment. I don't think your immediate reaction should be fear that you won't be able to beat this moment that you're in. I think that living like that would be a little ... tiring, don't you think?"

Touche, Ms Swift. A palpable hit. 

Back to the tour talk, then?

"I'm so stoked about the new music. To be on the stage and portray these songs visually will be really exciting. I can't wait to see (my Singapore fans). I want to thank them for all their support so far. They've been really wonderful to me and I'm very thankful for that. I can't wait! You have to wish me luck!"

Well, good luck, Taylor! Don't say we're not an obliging bunch. Now, about that job ...

- TODAYonline

Coldplay are the band most likely to send people to sleep, according to the findings of a new survey.

Canadian singer Michael Buble was second in the poll, while Irish group Snow Patrol came third.

The top-5 was completed by Alicia Keys and Jack Johnson, who is famed for his beach side easy listening music.

The study, conducted by Travelodge, found that 84% of people listen to music in bed before going to sleep, while one in four fall asleep with their iPod on.

Fifteen per cent of adults said they get a much better night's sleep if they have listened to music before drifting off.

Stevie Williams, of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, said that “listening to soft, relaxing music at bedtime leads to a number of different benefits to a night's sleep”.

He continued: "These benefits include a longer sleep duration period, fewer night time awakenings and shortening of the time it takes to fall asleep."

The music of composer Mozart and Radiohead also proved popular with sleepers. You can see the full top-10 below:

01. Coldplay
02. Michael Buble
03. Snow Patrol
04. Alicia Keys
05. Jack Johnson
06. Taylor Swift
07. Mozart
08. Barry White
09. Leona Lewis
10. Radiohead

Thanks for the report to Gigwise.com. 

 

AMERICAN country/pop star Taylor Swift will be in Singapore, the first stop in her Asian Tour, for her first gig here on Feb 9 next year.

Organised by Midas Promotions, Swift, 20, will be here for her Speak Now tour, and will perform at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Already, some categories of tickets have been sold out.

Her upcoming Speak Now album is said to be one of kiss-and-tell stories. "It's important to tackle life headon," she told British newspaper The Independent recently.

In a press statement on her new album, she said that "these songs are made up of words I didn't say when the moment was right in front of me... Each is written with a specific person in mind, telling them what I meant to tell them in person."

Her songs can be pointed.

Among those targeted on her album are reportedly singer John Mayer, actor Taylor Lautner, boyband star Joe Jonas, and rapper Kanye West.

Swift dated Mayer, 33, briefly last year, and the song Dear John is thought to be about him.

"Don't you think 19's too young/To be played/By your dark, twisted games/When I loved you so," she sings.

Back To December is thought to be an apology to Lautner, whom she broke up with last December.

Another track, Better Than Revenge, is thought to be aimed at a young actress Jonas pursued after dumping Swift in 2008.

Swift, hailing from Pennsylvania, is today's biggestselling performer, churning out chart-topping hits since her debut album in 2006.

She is a four-time Grammy winner and also the world's top-selling digital artist in music history with 24.3 million tracks sold.

Time magazine listed her as one of the most influential people this year. 

- AsiaOne 

 

Watch the live streaming online or on-air on MTV Asia at the following time slots!

MTV Asia LIVE BROADCAST and ONLINE STREAMING
Sat, 23 Jan, 9am(WIB), 9am (SG/MY/HK)

Repeats (on-air)
Sat, 23 Jan, 5pm (WIB), 6pm (SG/HK), 7pm (MY)
Sun, 24 Jan, 12.30pm (WIB), 1.30pm (SG/HK), 2.30pm (MY)
Sun, 24 Jan, 9pm (WIB), 10pm (SG/HK), 11pm (MY)

http://hope.mtv.com/?lang=en&ref=www.mtvasia.com