Rihanna's New Album 'Talk That Talk'

Rihanna is the perfect pop star.
Her new album Talk That Talk sports everything from hard-hitting, dancefloor euphoria to slow-burning, guitar-driven power balladry. She’s everything to everyone; an essential quality for a pop star.
Of course, she also embodies the cynical, misleading nature of mainstream pop, major label creations: keep the music formulaic and familiar, while radically altering the artist’s image and appearance with each album cycle. She’s Madonna without the substance or autonomy. Janet Jackson without any sonic or thematic risks.

And yet she’s unstoppable.
This artistic vapidity makes her the kind of pop star that people who hate pop music absolutely hate.
Each of her albums is presented as some “new phase” in her career, the next step in her “musical evolution.” In actuality, Talk That Talk follows roughly the same trajectory as her previous two albums, Loud (2010) and Rated R (2009). The actual sounds have been updated slightly from her previous work (homegirl has to keep up with the times, right?). But every Rihanna album follows a fail-proof pattern; begin light-hearted, danceable and fun, and then gradually sober up into “meditative” balladry.
This “sobering up” happens midway through Talk That Talk, with standout track “We All Want Love.” It is comically jarring in the context of the album. Riri’s looking for her one and only on this anthemic-yet-tender track. Yet one song prior, she wants to “fuck you right now” and “make you my bitch” on the absurdly raunchy “Birthday Cake.”
In other words, there’s no story being told here. Talk That Talk isn’t meant to be an immersive listen. It’s a collection of singles, period.
Sounds bad, right? Well, fortunately (or…unfortunately) I’m a sucker for vapid, substance-less pop, so I absolutely loveTalk That Talk. Like Britney’s Femme Fatale, Talk That Talk is a producer’s album. Rihanna’s charisma is what keeps you listening more or less, but she has shamelessly left the “artistry” up to a great team of writers and producers. And they do a phenomenal job with Talk That Talk, giving each track its own unique vibe and appeal.
“We Found Love” is the best dance-pop song of the year, the Jay-Z-assisted title track manages to out-swag their previous collabo “Run This Town,” and the supremely naughty “Watch N’ Learn” feels both innocent and sleazy somehow (and might be about 69ing…).
All of these songs are fun, and catchy, and contemporary. And while Riri’s no Mariah, her vocals here are consistently magnetic and self-assured. All in all,Talk That Talk is probably the best pop album of the year.
So If you’re hungry for something of great social and political import, go curl up with some Marx.

Does Amber Rose Really 'Forgive' Kanye West?

Kanye West admits his flaws — well, in song at least: On his 2011 single "Runaway," the Louis Vuitton Don was apologetic about how he treated ex flame Amber Rose, owning up to his wrongs.
He took things a step further during his Watch the ThroneTour with Jay-Z, giving the audience love advice while performing the song. During the November 2 stop, 'Ye sent a special shout to ex-girlfriend Amber Rose in the model's hometown. "To the city of Philly, I want to thank y'all for making the incredible person that this song was made for," he said while performing "Runaway" in Philadelphia.
"At first, I was like, 'Wow, maybe he is sorry for just not being a good guy and not treating me the way I want to be treated and talking down to me,' amongst other things," Rose said on last week's "RapFix Live." "I instantly was like, 'I forgive him.' "
To her, it all seemed very sincere. "When I first saw it, I was like, 'Yo, I forgive him.' I let that go. I went through the crying and the heartbreak and all that stuff, and I moved on, and I'm so happy now that I actually have a gentleman, a great guy that I love so much," Rose said of current boyfriendWiz Khalifa. "Then after he called me an incredible person in my hometown, he said, 'Never find love in a strip club.' And that's when I was like, 'You know what? Take your apology and shove it up your ass, because I don't want to hear it.' "
The "Never find love in a strip club" line wasn't from the Philly concert, though it is a Yeezy lyric from the Throne's "New Day," in which West passes life lessons to his unborn son. "New Day" was actually released in August, months before the concert, and in the song, Kanye makes no mention of Amber's name, but it still rubbed the beauty the wrong way. According to Amber, who feels the lyric was a shot at her, the ex-couple didn't meet in a gentlemen's club.
"He didn't meet me in a strip club; he knows he didn't meet me in a strip club," she said. "He was just being a mean, negative person, and that's one of the main reasons why I'm not with him. He's that; I don't want that negativity in my life. Don't apologize and then say something like that. It's just rude, and it's mean, and it's not true."
Later in her "RapFix Live" interview, Rose broke down crying because of the way some of 'Ye's overzealous fans have treated her in public. "I have people throwing things at me in the street because they're fans of Kanye," Amber said before she started to cry on set. "I'm just crying because I don't deserve to be bullied like that. I'm a nice girl. I don't bother anybody. I keep my mouth shut because I don't want any trouble."

Who Will Ricky Gervais Chide At Golden Globes?

One of the many joys in watching live awards shows is the anything-can-happen factor. We can predict winners and losers and attendees and such, but we really never know for sure who will say what and when, or whether there will be any technical difficulties, wardrobe malfunctions or other unexpected excitement.
With regard to the Golden Globes — which typically seem to allow room for more surprises than say the Oscars or the Grammys — the most unpredictable and interesting factor going into the show this year is host Ricky Gervais. Who will he poke fun at this year? Our hope: everyone. We love our celebrities and all the movies and television shows they make, but so much of the Hollywood machine is so exaggerated and ridiculous, it's great to watch someone who is as intelligent as he is funny take the industry to task for its most-outlandish offenses.

Gervais has said that just like last year, he will be pulling no punches tonight.
"[Am I] nervous? No. What's the worst that can happen?" he told reporters at a Television Critics Association press event for his HBO show "Life's Too Short." "I end my career once a week if you read the press. I do things that could end my career now. That's my extreme sport. If you get fun with it, which I do and I demand, and you get your own way and are happy with what you've done, then nothing can happen to you. You're bulletproof. Everything I say, I can justify it, I can stand by it, as I do every joke I did last year, then I don't care. I don't care if you're offended."
This is exactly what we want to hear from Gervais. He doesn't single out anyone maliciously; he does it all in the name of entertainment.
"I'm going to do a monologue about what happened during the year, and then introduce six or seven people as I did last year. I've got nothing against any of those people in the room," he said. "I've worked with many of them. I like many of them. I admire them. They're just gags. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings or give them a bad night or undermine the moral fabric of America. I'm a comedian."
Given what we know about Gervais and those we expect to be present at the Globes, here are a few things we think he might address:
Movies: A controversial statement of some kind about "The Help," something cheeky about "The Artist" having no color or sound, poking fun at the heavy hitters in the Best Actor category, the old guard (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio) vs. the young upstarts and their multiple films nominated (Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender). We hope he loved "Bridesmaids" as much as we did and gives it extra attention.
TV: The new "Two and a Half Men," Charlie Sheen's new career, Steve Carell leaving "The Office," the nudity and sex featured in HBO shows, the oddities of "American Horror Story," lack of enthusiasm for "Glee." We have no idea what shows Gervais might love; maybe "30 Rock" and "Breaking Bad"? Here's hoping we find out via his quips.
Other pop-culture topics: Kim Kardashian's marriage is long over, but Gervais likely has a fresh take; the royal wedding; British things vs. American things; the presidential election; Beyoncé and Jay-Z's new baby, Blue Ivy.

Christina Aguilera Covers Up On Marie Claire Cover

Christina Aguilera was once known for stripping down and showing off her assets. But as she grew up, she went for a more old Hollywood glam look, all the while baring her ample cleavage and curves. On her February 2012 Marie Claire cover, Xtina covers up and she still stuns! That’s called natural beauty.
Wearing a white jacket with navy piping, which picks up the soft ocean shade of her baby blues, it’s a subdued, sweet version of the singer. Her platinum blond hair is teased in waves and blown back off her face, while her lips look extra kissable in a soft pink hue. She’s not vamping it up a la Marilyn Monroe with crimson lips and the verdict is in: We likey! Aguilera remains glammed out, just in softer tones.
The spread photos find Aguilera dressed in nautical hues and that shot of her in the navy bustier and blazer? In one word: heartstopping!
The cover tag hints about what’s going on inside the magazine and in Xtina’s mind. It reads: “I love my body. .. My boyfriend loooves my body.”
That’s all that matters, girl.
It’s 2012 and that means new year, new Xtina, new season of ‘The Voice‘ and new album on the horizon. She addresses her not-so-hot 2011 – save for ‘The Voice’ — which was marred by her divorce, a public drunkenness arrest, a flop album (‘Bionic’) and a flop film (‘Burlesque’), all of which were topped off by ardent criticism about her weight.
“That was a rough year,” Aguilera said about trying to make manufactured pop on ‘Bionic,’ that didn’t rely on her best trait, which is her gorgeous voice. “Between my divorce and the other things I went through, a lot happened. It’s hard for anyone to go through that in public. But when you’re a celebrity and under a microscope, it’s 58 million times harder. I grew an even thicker skin after that hard year.”

It’s served her well and she’s not letting anything, especially words, bring her down, to borrow a line from her most famous song ‘Beautiful.’ She continued, “I’ve been through my highs, I’ve been through my lows; I’ve been through the gamut of all things in this business. Being too thin. Being bigger. I’ve been criticized for being on both sides of the scale. It’s noise I block out automatically. I love my body. My boyfriend loooves my body. My son is healthy and happy, so that’s all that matters to me.”
Xtina has those priorities in line.
But that doesn’t mean she isn’t aware of how her body shape fluctuates. She said, “I have certain physical features that I favor over others. We all have our areas.” The singer insists she doesn’t weight herself, instead seeing how the clothes fit and feel, saying, “I happen to be very confident in my own skin. It takes time to get to that place, but it’s all about embracing yourself and your body.”

A 90-years-old Grandma Knows How To "Party Rock" With LMFAO

It looks like LMFAO appeal to all ages. After a video of an adorable three-year-old dancing to ‘Sexy and I Know It‘ surfaced this week, the Internet is abuzz with this clip of an adorable grandma shaking what her mama gave her to ‘Party Rock Anthem.’

The video was uploaded by a gentleman named Adam and features his 90-year-old grandma. From the video description, his grandmother is legally blind due to severe macular degeneration, in addition to being hard of hearing. However, the woman knows a beat when she feels it. The uploader writes, “One of the few things that makes her happy is dancing!” So. Cute.

Grandma opens the clip with her preface: “I’m going to dance to ‘Party Rock Anthem,’” she says. “Here we go!” Clad in a red velour track suit and matching lipstick, Adam’s granny looks festive as she grooves to the track next to a Christmas tree. While her moves are impressive, they’re doubly so because they’re also improvised.

“She’s never heard this song before and this was not practiced,” the uploader wrote. We’re inclined to believe him. Proof? When the song goes silent just before the first breakdown, Grandma seems to think the song was over until she hears the lyric, “Everyday I’m shufflin‘” — and she goes back to doing just that.

Watch Grandma Dance to LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem

Katy Perry And Russell Brand's Divorce

While fans of Katy Perry and Russell Brand might be surprised by the news of their divorce, those who work in the celebrity world are hardly shocked by the news. Celebrity-news experts say that from the beginning, the pair struck them as an odd couple, despite their equally charming and eccentric personalities.

"From the get-go, I thought they were a sort of odd, mismatched pair," David Caplan, a noted celebrity-news editor who has worked at publications such as People and Star, explained to MTV News. "She's so glamorous, pop and sexy, and he is diametrically not like that. He's a nice and funny guy, and from my encounters with her, I found her to be funny, have a sarcastic edge and a blast, but they weren't a match. Plus, she's more of a partier than he now, so their lifestyles were at odds."
 
See a timeline of Katy Perry and Russell Brand's relationship.

Despite what anyone may have thought or what rumors about the pair were swirling in the lead-up to the announcement, the twosome always seemed intent on denying the reports. "Katy and Russell's split is not a surprise," Caplan said. "It's one of those celeb splits where the writing was on the wall for months, so much so that they denied any marital trouble on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' several weeks ago, which is uncommon for celebs to acknowledge tabloids reports.

"But then came news this week that they had a big blowup and spent Christmas apart," he added. "Very far apart — she in Hawaii, and he in London. You don't get much farther apart! Plus, in between 'Ellen' and Christmas, there were multiple reports of them on the rocks. And unlike so many other rumblings about celeb couples on the skids, this was totally true, and they clearly decided not to keep it a secret and just put on a happy front."

However, it seems that as much as they wanted to squelch talk of a breakup, in the end, it all came crashing down. "Katy and Russell's marriage has been under pressure for some time," said Rob Shuter, columnist for HuffPost Celebrity. "I'm surprised Russell did so many interviews denying the troubles. The truth always comes out. When a married couple choose not to spend the holidays together, you know something is up, if they are celebs or just regular folks."

Perry and Brand announced their split Friday, after one year of marriage. While Brand released a statement about the separation, as of press time, Perry had yet to speak about it.