Did Lady Gaga Spark EDM Explosion?1675841

'I was just one of a few artists at a certain sort of time in radio where more dance music was being played on top 40,' she tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias

Lady Gaga
Photo: MTV News

Lady Gaga burst on the scene in 2008 declaring that the world should "Just Dance." From there, everyone kind of did. A few years back, the pop star was one of the few singers infusing mainstream pop records with electronic dance music influences. In the years since her breakthrough, Gaga's use of the musical form has certainly gotten darker and more in-depth, especially on 2011's Born This Way.

These days, she's hardly in the minority. EDM is all over pop and urban radio. Performers like Rihanna, Usher, Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj are working with some of the top EDM producers and DJs in the game, some of whom MTV has recognized as the Best EDM Artists of 2011, churning out chart-topping, genre-busting tunes. When MTV News caught up with the Mother Monster earlier this month in L.A., she weighed in on 2011's EDM/pop explosion, noting that she was hardly the main factor in the recent blast of crossover hits. "I think that radio has had the biggest influence on the rise of electronic dance music," she said. "I was just one of a few artists at a certain sort of time in radio where more dance music was being played on top 40, but I'm not the person to thank for that. The people to thank for that are at KIIS-FM and at the other stations around the country who gave dance music a chance." Not only is radio taking note, but also the whole music industry. Just last month, EDM star Skrillex was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy, the first DJ recognized in that category ever. Gaga thinks there's still room for growth. "I think we have some more work to do, especially with the different academies that honor music," she said. "I think that dance music should also be credited as pop music where it's due and vice versa, the way that country and pop is, the way that R&B and pop are. So we still have a ways to go, but it's moving in a wonderfully fast and interesting direction." Do you think Gaga influenced the popularity of EDM? Let us know in the comments!

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Usher's Next Album 'Soulful, Catchy,' Taio Cruz Teases1675448

'He always wants there to be the soul in there,' Cruz tells MTV News about his 'Without You' collaborator.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias

Usher
Photo: Todd Williamson/ WireImage

Usher is hard at work on his next album. Set to work with fellow hitmaker Taio Cruz, the two already cooked up some magic with their David Guetta anthem "Without You," and it seems they are hoping to recapture that spirit for Usher's follow-up to 2010's Raymond v. Raymond.

"I saw Usher a few times, but I spoke to him at length at David [Guetta]'s house when we were in Ibiza [Spain]," he told MTV News in L.A. after his Jingle Ball set. "He has very specific ideas of where he wants to go musically and sound-wise." Given that Usher has never shied away from exposing a bit of himself in his music, while also keeping the party going, Cruz wants to make sure they can connect the mind, body and soul for this next release. "He always wants there to be the soul in there," he explained. "I'm kind of, not the opposite, but I'm always like, 'Let's get straight to the point and be really clear with the message and be simple.' "So we try to match those two worlds together: being soulful and, at the same time, catchy," he added. Cruz can't yet discuss what they're working on: Besides "Without You," he said, "Everything else is secret." Usher said he was drawn to the Guetta hit because he connected to it emotionally, explaining to MTV News recently what an important part that plays in his musical philosophy. "I think the world wanted a record like that. That [song] really spoke to the journey that I've actually been on in the last three years," he said. "Traveling all around the world, music sounds different. There's many different genres, and when you see R&B and pop and house, as well as electronic, come together, that's the reality of what music is."

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Lady Gaga 'So Happy' About Oscar Recognition

Pop star's duet with Elton John, 'Hello Hello,' is on short list for Best Original Song.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

How does Lady Gaga feel about making the short list for the Best Original Song race at the Oscars? Well, she's pretty excited.

"Just heard my duet 'Hello, Hello' with Elton [John] is up for nomination at the Oscars! 'Gnomeo & Juliet' is such a beautiful film," she wrote on Twitter. "I'm so happy!!"

On Monday, it was announced that the Gaga/Elton duet is one of the 39 tracks vying for a nomination. will.i.am's "Rio" track, "Hot Wings," Mary J. Blige's "The Living Proof" from "The Help," and Zooey Deschanel's "Winnie the Pooh" track, "So Long," along with multiple tracks from "The Muppets," are also in the running. The final nominations will be announced January 24, and the awards show is slated to take place February 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

Gaga is celebrating her latest achievement in Japan, where she will spend the holidays. "Well, I'll be in Japan right up until Christmas Day," she recently told MTV News. "So I'll be eating with all my Japanese Little Monsters. I like shabu shabu [a type of Japanese hotpot]."

Since touching down, Mother Monster has been keeping her fans up-to-date on what she's been up to on Twitter. "Sipping tea in Japan with Haus. Feeling so grateful," she wrote. "We sold about 1 million albums a month worldwide since the release of BORN THIS WAY."

The busy holiday season caps off an even busier year for Lady Gaga, who happened to be MTV News' Top Newsmaker of 2011. She tirelessly released singles, videos, personas and a chart-topping album (Born This Way) and scooped up awards at seemingly every show from the Grammys to the VMAs. She was also #5 on our list of Best Artists of 2011, and her disco empowerment track "Born This Way" snagged the #5 spot on the Best Songs of 2011 list as well.

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Britney Spears' Engagement Ring: How Does It Stack Up?

From Kim and Kris' monster-size rock to Beyoncé and Jay-Z's 18-carat mega-sparkler, we dish on the diamonds.
By Jocelyn Vena

Jason Trawick and Britney Spears in Las Vegas. Inset: her Neil Lane enagement ring.
Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage

After Britney Spears confirmed her engagement to longtime beau Jason Trawick last Friday, fans wanted to know everything about the ring, a four-carat diamond designed by Neil Lane.

Trawick — Brit's former agent — popped the question after working with famed jeweler Lane on the design, according to People.com. The site also reported that Trawick wanted a crown-like band. In addition to the mega-sparkler at the center of the tiara-style setting, the hubby-to-be also had 90 small round diamonds added around the band. Spears debuted the ring during a trip to Las Vegas over the weekend to celebrate her fiancé's birthday.

"Jason is a romantic and when I asked him to tell me about Britney and what the ring would represent to them so I could find inspiration, his response was always the same — she is his princess!" Lane told the website. "Jason didn't want an over-the-top ring with a giant stone."

Minya Oh, the author of "Bling Bling: Hip Hop's Crown Jewels," told MTV News she was pleasantly surprised by how understated the rock is. "The ring is so damn classy! It's [four] carats, which by Hollywood standards these days is practically microscopic," Oh said. "The setting is a tiny crown but both that and the thin diamond-studded band are done so delicately, from afar the focus is still on that bright white center stone. Nothing about the ring overwhelms her hand, and nothing screams, 'Please believe my relationship is real!' " She added, "This is the kind of ring a pop icon has when they're ready for something that means more than just the ring."

This is hardly Spears' first engagement ring, however. When her ex Kevin Federline popped the question back in 2004, the former back-up dancer gave the pop princess a five-carat diamond ring.

All this talk about rocks got us thinking about some other celebrity proposals, so we decided to spotlight a few memorable engagement rings.

Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries

When it comes to size, Spears' ring from Trawick is small compared to Kim Kardashian's monster-size rock. When Kris Humphries popped the question earlier this year, he gave her a 20.5-carat Lorraine Schwartz diamond. Of course, the size of the ring didn't guarantee lasting marital bliss: the couple split after 72 days of marriage.

Beyoncé & Jay-Z

Like Humpdash, Jay-Z, who is expecting his first child with wife Beyoncé, also went the Lorraine Schwartz route. He gave his pop-star lady love an 18-carat ring back in 2007. The couple kept their wedding ceremony under wraps.

Kristin Cavallari & Jay Cutler

While it has been a bumpy engagement for former "Hills" star Kristin Cavallari and her football player fiancé Jay Cutler, the couple announced they were engaged again last month. Cutler opted to use the same 5.2-carat ring he'd given the MTV reality star back in April when he first decided to put a ring on it.

Hilary Duff & Mike Comrie

Before Mike Comrie asked mama-to-be Hilary Duff to be his blushing bride last year, he reportedly spent $1 million for the sparkler, said to be about 12 to 13 carats.

Katy Perry & Russell Brand

Russell Brand also gifted Katy Perry with a ring of about 12 to 13 carats when he proposed last year to MTV's 2011 Artist of the Year. The comedian asked the pop star to marry him while the two were in India. The couple would later re-create that magic when they also married in the country in October 2010.

Share your well-wishes for Britney and Jason in the comments!

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Scott Weiland's 'Winter Wonderland' Frame By Frame

Foster the People and others help break down the Stone Temple Pilots frontman's Christmas video.
By Matt Elias

Scott Weiland in his "Winter Wonderland" video
Photo: Atco / Softdrive Records

With Christmas just around the corner, it's safe to assume you're enveloped in holiday tunes — whether inescapably at the mall or blaring from your laptop by choice. Beyond the old standards, there's Michael Bublé's chart-topping Christmas album and even Justin Bieber's first Christmas contribution, Under the Mistletoe, but you might not be aware that Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland released his own holiday disc this year.

That's right, and while Weiland's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year dropped back in October, even some of his contemporaries were unaware of his Xmas effort. That gave us the perfect opportunity to share the album's first music video with the bands on the bill at KROQ's annual Almost Acoustic Christmas earlier this month. In true holiday spirit, the artists graciously took us through the kitschy retro-themed clip for "Winter Wonderland," frame by frame.

Initially, everyone was surprised by the video, in part due to Scott's never-before-heard classic croon, but also by his "Mad Men"-inspired, clean-cut new look.

"I like his scarf a lot," Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons said.

"He's very handsome," fellow bandmember Winston Marshall added.

While the reactions ran the gamut from "good" to "insane," there were other clues in the video, some believed, that this whole thing might be more of a wink and a nod than a serious musical venture.

"He kinda has a very weird eyebrow thing that I only noticed now for the first time," Grouplove's Ryan Rabin said.

"I can't tell if it's tongue-in-cheek or not," Mark Foster of Foster the People wondered. "You think it's tongue-in-cheek or you think he just lost his mind? 'Cause he definitely had a bout with [in]sanity for a while."

Of course, the sight of a '90s rock icon cozying up to the Yule log left some baffled, but Death Cab for Cutie had their own take on Weiland's "Wonderland."

"I mean, is he more Bing Crosby or is he more Danny Kaye?" DCFC's Chris Walla asked.

"He's got a lotta Bing, he's got a lot of ... I mean there's some Sinatra there too," DCFC bassist Nick Harmer said.

They both agreed that Weiland was fully committed to the act.

"And it's good! It's classic," Walla said.

"Thank you! I mean — yeah! Thanks for making that Scott, seriously," Harmer concluded.

What do you think of Weiland's version of "Winter Wonderland"? Tell us in the comments.

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