B.O.B


Photo: MTV News

The Fourth of July weekend. A time for potato salad, backyard barbecues, trips to the ER following fireworks mishaps and patriotic concerts headlined by Canadian tween stars.

Yes, Ontario’s own Justin Bieber will headline this year’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on Sunday. The show will be broadcast on NBC and also feature appearances from Enrique Iglesias, LeAnn Rimes and a few yet-unnamed “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” castmembers. Nick Cannon will host the night’s festivities, which will beam out from the deck of the Norwegian Epic cruise liner.

Rapper B.o.B will also be in New York, performing at the third annual Brooklyn Music Festival along with a host of reggae stars, including Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, Barrington Levy, Marcia Griffiths, Yellowman, Gregory Isaacs and Lady Saw.

The Independence Day holiday coincides with Chicago’s massive Taste of Chicago event, a gastronomic mecca that this year will host Passion Pit, Carney, Alejandro Escovedo and Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

In St. Louis, John Legend will warm things up on Saturday night under the famous Arch before new-wave favorites the B-52s headline on Sunday. Rockers Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will do the honors at the San Diego County Fair, and Mary J. Blige will top the bill at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans as part of the Essence Music Festival, which will also feature sets from Jill Scott, Estelle, Earth, Wind & Fire and Trey Songz.

One of the day’s biggest celebrations is A Capitol Fourth in Washington, D.C., which will be hosted by actor Jimmy Smits and feature sets from Reba McEntire, Gladys Knight, Darius Rucker, David Archuleta and a number of military bands. In Boston, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will get a hand from country icon Toby Keith, while the Roots, Goo Goo Dolls and Chrisette Michele will hold it down in Philadelphia at Ben Franklin Parkway, which organizers are promising will be the biggest free concert in the United States on Independence Day.

How will you spend your Fourth? Let us know in the comments!

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Janet Jackson (file)


Photo: MTV News

Essence magazine is celebrating two very special anniversaries this weekend in New Orleans. It’s been 40 years since the publication started and 16 years since they began what has become their Fourth of July holiday weekend staple: the Essence Music Festival.

This year, three of the biggest names in music — iconic figures, especially for the black community and women — are the headliners. Alicia Keys highlights the bill on Saturday, Mary J. Blige closes out the weekend on Sunday, and on Friday night, the 2010 Essence Fest was honored with pop-culture royalty. Janet Jackson brought the crowd in the New Orleans Superdome to their feet with an onslaught of timeless music from her globally cherished catalog.

With the lights out in the stadium, Janet’s voice was heard saying, “I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. … Are we ready? It’s all about control.”

With so many hits, Jackson chose to start off with “Pleasure Principle,” wearing a one-piece outfit with leotards underneath. “You might think I’m crazy, but I’m serious,” she began singing. Jackson’s set reminded you of how Mike Tyson used to pound his opponents back in the ’80s: graceful but extremely forceful with, of course, a first-round knockout.

Jackson started with everything you would imagine: more backup dancers than MC Hammer, seamless choreography, great lighting and the chart toppers. She exploded with “Control” and then “What Have You Done for Me Lately.”

“New Orleans, do you want more?” She asked. “Do you want this?”

“You Want This” followed. Then came “Alright,” with Jackson poppin’ and lockin’ with youthful ease. During “Miss You Much,” Jackson said, “I know you remember this one … New Orleans, I miss you.”

Jackson left the stage temporarily and the audience was taken for a stroll down memory lane through acting highlights. It started with a clip of “Good Times” in which J.J. Evans brought Penny home after she ran away. There was Janet in that memorable shot, a preteen with a bandage on her head.

“I’m sorry, Momma. I promise I won’t do it again,” the abused Penny said. Everyone knew what was coming next: that wretched iron.

From there, a clip from “Different Strokes” was shown, with Charlene, Arnold and Willis. Next up was the scene in “Poetic Justice” where her character meets Tupac’s Lucky and sexual tension ensues. The highlights ended with “Nutty Professor II” and the Tyler Perry “Why Did I Get Married?” movies.

Janet came back on the stage and sat down, wearing a gown … with spikes on the shoulders. She sang “Let It Go” and then thrilled the audience with sing-alongs “Come Back to Me” and “Let’s Wait a While.”

“This was my first number one, thanks to all of you,” she said during “When I Think of You.” And during “Got ‘Til It’s Gone,” Q-Tip appeared on the video screen, rapping his part.

Later in the show, Janet switched into a dominatrix outfit and led her leather-clad male dancers to the stage. The men crawled on their knees like dogs as Jackson donned a fur coat. Later she went into “Any Time, Any Place.”

During a breakdown, Janet took off her coat to reveal a flesh-colored catsuit. She brought up a male fan from the audience and he was promptly put in a harness that constrained his hands and feet. Jackson lay on the floor and the man was suspended, practically laying on top of her. She took his head and placed it in her bosom. Later, the positions were reversed, with the man laying on the floor and Jackson bouncing over him. She also grabbed his crotch at one point.

Jackson’s show ended with “Nasty Boys,” “Rhythm Nation” and, after another costume change, this one all white, “Together Again.”

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Justin Bieber gets ready for Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular


Photo: NBC

After performing at the White House in April, Justin Bieber will continue his domination over all things uniquely American by performing at the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC this Sunday. In footage posted online, as a preview of his performance, Bieber is seen singing his hit song “Baby” to a crowd of excited fans.

Bieber also chatted about having the chance to play the show even though he is Canadian. “I don’t really celebrate 4th of July because I’m from Canada, but it’s still fun to be here,” he said in the online footage. “And, you know, I enjoy it. I live here now so, you know … it’s going to be fun.”

The show will take place in New York City, of which Bieber said, “I think New York City kind of represents all of the United States. It’s kind of the center of America. It’s the center of the world they say, so it’s pretty cool.”

On the day he filmed, Bieber noted there might be some inclement weather, but he had high hopes nonetheless. “It’s amazing. It’s a pretty nice night. Hopefully it doesn’t rain — looks like there’s clouds over there,” he said. “There’s this beautiful bridge, we got the water in the back. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. A lot of people are going to be coming out. There’s a lot of cool magic tricks. You’re gonna see some stuff you haven’t seen before.”

Are you planning to watch Bieber at the Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular this Sunday? Tell us in the comments!

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Lady Gaga


Photo: Getty Images

President Obama, Starbucks, “House,” “Twilight” and “South Park.” What do all of these things have in common? As of Friday, they all had fewer Facebook fans than Lady Gaga.

According to the British social-network statistics site FameCount.com, Gaga is on the verge of becoming the first living person to roll up 10 million Facebook fans. As of press time on Friday (July 2), she surpassed the only other living person on the list who had exceeded her tally: President Obama. Gaga’s fan count reached 9,940,462 to the leader of the free world’s 9,444,942. She also continues to spank Obama in Twitter followers (4,762,938 to 4,422,923) and YouTube subscribers (311,716 to 191,562).

The singer, who never misses a chance to shout out her rabid fanbase of “little monsters,” is also miles ahead of other living celebs on the list when it comes to Facebook followers, including Britney Spears (3.1 million), Ashton Kutcher (3.6 million), Taylor Swift (5.8 million), Selena Gomez (5.2 million) and even Justin Bieber (5.9 million). But she still can’t hold a candle to the King of Pop. Among musical acts, only the late Michael Jackson’s Facebook fans list is more massive than Gaga’s.

As of press time, the only other Facebook pages to top Gaga’s were for Texas Hold ‘Em Poker (20 million), Jackson (14.1 million), the online game “Mafia Wars” (12.7 million), “Family Guy” (10.1 million) and Facebook itself (10.7 million). Other entities that are surprisingly further down on the friends count list than Gaga?: “Twilight” (7.1 million), “South Park” (6.5 million), Coke (6.1 million), Lil Wayne (5.9 million) and, yes, Skittles candy (5.5 million).

Gaga’s upsurge this week on Facebook might have something to do with her cover story in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, in which she provides the most intriguing peek yet into her closely guarded private life. In addition to the bombshell interview with former Afghan war General Stanley McChrystal, the Gaga feature has helped to propel the magazine’s newsstand sales to twice what it usually does.

Are you a Facebook fan of Gaga’s? What do you think of her passing President Obama in total friends? Tell us in the comments!

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Gucci Mane


Photo: MTV News

Gucci Mane sure is happy to be home. The Atlanta rapper was released from prison in May, and he’s been working feverishly ever since. Not only is he crafting his upcoming album, The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted, but fans can look forward to seeing the Southern MC onscreen soon too.

Gucci recently teamed with Lil Wayne to shoot the video (albeit separately) for their collaboration “We Be Steady Mobbin’,” from Young Money’s compilation album. In exclusive footage from the set provided to MTV News by DJ Scoob Doo, who directed the clip, Gucci beams while texting Drake about a song the pair recorded together.

“Drake just hit me about the song we did,” Gucci tells Scoob as he taps back a message to the Toronto lyricist. “We going in.”

The “We Be Steady Mobbin’ ” video is set to premiere on the Fourth of July on MTV Jams. And behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the clip will be featured on DJ Scoob Doo’s latest DVD, “Entourage: Fetti Holmes Edition.” In addition to Gucci, Wayne and Drake, the project will also feature appearances by Birdman and Jadakiss.

In another scene from the DVD, Gucci is seen talking to Ciara about the visual he and Weezy completed; the two rappers weren’t able to film any scenes together since Wayne began his jail sentence in New York just a week before Gucci was released.

“We shooting my part, but Wayne already shot his part before going to jail,” Gucci Mane says to Ciara during a phone call.

Since his release, Gucci Mane has said he’s embraced a straight-and-narrow path, vowing not to make the kinds of mistakes that nearly derailed his burgeoning career.

“I feel like I got a whole new beginning, like my career just started again,” he said in May.

Are you excited to see the “We Be Steady Mobbin’ ” video? Let us know in the comments!

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Maroon 5′s “Misery” video


Photo: A&M/ Octone

In Maroon 5′s “Misery” video, the bandmates are stabbed, shot, smacked around, set ablaze, blown up, tossed off buildings and run over by cars … among other calamities. Needless to say, there were stuntmen involved.

“I did a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff is me!” frontman Adam Levine insisted. “But most of it wasn’t very dangerous. Although, by the end of the day, even not being hit by things is such a physical thing that I was really kind of beat up … I was like, ‘Man, even thinking I got my ass kicked feels like getting my ass kicked.’ ”

Yes, the video — directed by Joseph Kahn, whose credits include clips for the 50s, Britneys and Ems of the world — certainly packs a wallop, full of sex and violence, nifty special effects, gunplay, knife fights and even a wayward rocket launcher. So of course, ever since it debuted Thursday on MTV.com, we’ve been watching it nonstop.

Lucky for us, the guys from Maroon 5 just happened to swing by the MTV Newsroom the same day the clip premiered, and they were nice enough to give us the inside scoop on the video — Violent girlfriends! Censorship! Burly stuntmen in tight-fitting jeans! — for a segment we like to call Frame by Frame.

“I’ll tell you a little secret … the stuntmen were so great, but they probably weren’t too happy because they had to dress like us [for the video], which was hilarious, because we aren’t the most masculine dressers,” Levine laughed. “This dude who was [keyboardist] Jesse [Carmichael]‘s stunt double was, like, really buff, and he has Jesse’s little low-top Converse and skinny jeans on. The shoes were, like, falling off his massive ankles.”

Yeah, there was a whole lot of that going on. In fact, the entire Frame by Frame is pretty amazing to watch, because if you think the stuff that made it into the “Misery” video was outrageous, you should’ve seen what happened behind the scenes. Or better yet, have the M5 gents tell you all about it. Trust us, it’s worth it.

What do you think of M5′s new video? Let us know in the comments!

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Game


Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic

The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive
For the most part, you will never get an MC to admit that he did a song with another spitter, and that spitter’s rhymes were so ferocious he had to go back to the drawing board to pen another verse. But Game doesn’t care. His pedigree as a lyricist is well-documented, so when he spoke to about a posse cut on his August 24 LP The R.E.D. Album, he had no problem giving major props to one of his co-stars.