Lady Gaga

Grammys 2012: Experts React!

13 Feb 2012 12:56:45 EST

Adele at the 2012 Grammys
Photo: FilmMagic

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Grammys Behind The Scenes: What You Didn't See

13 Feb 2012 00:15:25 EST

MTV News had a prime spot on the red carpet and inside Staples Center — here's what you missed if you were watching on TV.
By MTV News staff

Musicians Sir Paul McCartney and Lady Gaga attend The 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo: WireImage

MTV News spent hours interviewing artists and stars on the Grammy red carpet. After everyone was inside Los Angeles' Staples Center, some of the news team made their way backstage while the rest made their way to their seats. Here are some observations that anyone watching from their couch would never have seen: Pretty Please, More Pink: Inside Staples Center, they play highlights from past shows during commercial breaks. Pink's performance of "Glitter in the Air" captivated the audience so much that when they cut back to the show, the entire crowd groaned.

Mother Monster's Security Detail: Lady Gaga moved through the arena flanked by two bodyguards in order to make it safely to her seat in time for Recording Industry President Neil Portnoy's speech. Gaga was also safer than the Beatle in the house. Sir Paul McCartney had no protection during his dual-performance night. Get Up, Stand Up: The audience inside Staples Center seemed unsure of when to stand up and sit down all night. The minute Paul McCartney appeared onstage, all that uncertainty disappeared. One Step Behind?: While Chris Brown's footwork looked quite impressive on air, our source told us the vibe inside Staples was lukewarm after his physical performance. Join the Band: Many audience members were given arm bands with a Coldplay logo on it and told to put them on during the band's performance with Rihanna. The Standing O You Missed: When Tony Bennett won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for his duet with Amy Winehouse during the pre-televised ceremony, the crowd rose to its feet. "We shouldn't be here. Our darling daughter should be here," Winehouse's father Mitch said after embracing Bennett. On the Bubble: The night's big winner, Adele, was chewing gum backstage after her triumphant performance of "Rolling in the Deep." That applause you heard on TV was no joke. The crowd inside Staples was blown away. +Jennifer Hudson Channels Whitney Houston
Nicki Minaj Resurrects Spooky Roman Zolanski
+Adele Stages Thrilling Comeback Stick with MTV News all for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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Grammys Flashback: That Happened Last Year

11 Feb 2012 12:02:26 EST

From Lady Gaga's egg to Katy Perry's wedding video, plenty of crazy went down at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards.
By John Mitchell

Lady Gaga arrives at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards
Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images

The 54th annual Grammy Awards are just a day away and everyone in the MTV Newsroom is starting to get excited. Will Beyoncé" show up? How will Adele sound in her first major live performance since undergoing surgery to repair a vocal cord hemorrhage? What color will Katy Perry"'s hair be? What will Lady Gaga" wear? We can't wait to find out. But if last year's show is any indication, it's safe to say that just about anything could happen at Los Angeles' Staples Center on Sunday night.

The quirk factor was high at last year's Grammys, and it got started long before a single award was handed out. Lady Gaga's red carpet arrival inside of a pearlescent egg carried by four scantily clad dudes wearing prosthetics on their faces and shoulders should have been reminder enough that the unusual is the norm at the Grammys. But in case it wasn't, the show itself delivered Muppets and Katy Perry on a swing. We've rounded up five big moments from last year's show to remind you why the Grammys are the craziest awards show of the year. » Lady Gaga arrives in that freakin' egg, er, "vessel."
Never one to just casually stroll the red carpet in a pretty dress, Lady Gaga went to great lengths to make every element of her Grammy appearance part of a larger art piece that culminated in the performance of her then-new single "Born this Way." It all started on the red carpet, when she arrived already inside her "vessel," later claiming to Jay Leno that she'd been in a state of artistic incubation inside it for 72 hours. (Did you just roll your eyes? We think you just rolled your eyes!) The pop star emerged to deliver a full-voiced — if otherwise joyless — performance of the song, which at the time was drawing heavy criticism for sounding maybe a little too much like Madonna's 1989 classic "Express Yourself," and went on to score three Grammys, including Best Pop Vocal Album for The Fame Monster. » Did Christina Aguilera fall down after that showstopping Aretha Franklin tribute?
Last year's ceremony kicked off with an Aretha Franklin tribute featuring Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Martina McBride and Yolanda Adams. The ladies delivered a rousing group performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" before launching into solos of "Ain't No Way," "Until You Come Back to Me," "Think," "Respect" and "Spirit in the Dark" and closing with "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" — tearing the roof off the Staples Center. Except all anyone wanted to talk about afterward was how Christina maybe slipped a little in her towering heels. The performance came just one week after Xtina botched "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLV (luckily, Kelly Clarkson's rendition this year went smoothly), and it seemed like the "Beautiful" singer and "Voice" judge had fully redeemed herself after the debacle, delivering a fantastic vocal performance ... until she stumbled onstage, sending gossips into a tizzy that the singer may have been, we'll say, out of sorts during the performance despite much evidence to the contrary. Or maybe people just like a good near-fall? People get very excited when an entertainer loses her footing — don't they, Madonna? Anyway, while everyone tried to make Xtina's mini-tumble a bigger story than it was, the ladies earned a richly deserved standing ovation for their tribute to Franklin, who was rather ill at the time but has since recovered, lost a bunch of weight, gotten engaged and ended that engagement. (A year in Hollywood time is like five years in normal person time ... maybe that's why everyone is so afraid of getting older!) » Bieber performs big, loses Best New Artist to unknown jazz bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding.
Justin Bieber's medley performance began with an acoustic strum through "Baby" but quickly segued into a raucous take on "Never Say Never," complete with breakdancing ninja acrobats, fire breathers and a cameo rap by "Karate Kid" star Jaden Smith. Biebs' mentor Usher even joined in on the fun for a pop-and-lock-heavy dance-off to his hit "OMG." But the real story with Bieber at last year's Grammys was that he lost. To Esperanza Spalding. A critically acclaimed but otherwise unknown jazz performer. Bieber didn't take the loss so well but his fans went even crazier, expressing the profound sadness they felt and bearing witness to their idol's defeat by hacking Spalding's Wikipedia page and changing her middle name to both "Justin" and "Quesadilla." One fan wrote, "Justin Bieber deserved it go die in a hole. Who the heck are you anyway?" while another scribbled, "So the Esperanza Spalding has only 8 thousand followers on twitter and how many does Justin Bieber has?" It seems someone forgot to tell the Belieber army that the Grammys are not a popularity contest (well, they're not supposed to be, anyway) and that one's amount of Twitter followers is not taken into account when deciding the winners. Duly noted! » Katy Perry performed the ballad "Not Like the Movies" while on a swing, playing video from her wedding to Russell Brand.
If you needed further proof that a lot can change in just a single year, look no further than Katy Perry's performance at last year's ceremony. Much like she did on her California Dreams Tour, Perry performed her ballad "Not Like the Movies" while sitting on a swing as video from her elaborate October 2010 wedding to Russell Brand was projected behind her. Though one would think a sweet performance like Katy's would shut the gossip mill down for at least a little while, the couple was already back to defending their strange union less than two months later when Brand co-hosted "Live!" with Kelly Ripa. By year's end, Perry and Brand's marriage was officially no more, and it made re-watching her performance from last year for the purposes of this article, um, kind of awkward. » Cee Lo performed "Forget You" with a bunch of Muppets (and Gwyneth Paltrow).
No, no one at your Grammy party spiked your drink. Cee Lo Green, wearing a crazy red bear suit and a rainbow fan of feathers (think peacock), really did perform his Grammy-nominated smash "Forget You" backed by a bunch of singing and dancing Muppets while Oscar-winning home health guru Gwyneth Paltrow writhed atop his piano. Oddly, the whole thing worked like gangbusters and was a big old ball of fun. (And when was the last time anyone associated the word "fun" with Gwyneth Paltrow? Such is the funky power of Cee Lo.) This year's show has the potential to outdo last year's in the water-cooler department with Rihanna and Chris Brown both set to perform under the same roof for the first time since, well, you know ... in addition to plenty of interesting collabos, including a special electronic dance music performance set to feature the Foo Fighters (right?), and whatever Lady Gaga decides to get into. What are you most looking forward to at this year's Grammys? Let us know in the comments below. Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don't miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn't end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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Grammys Live Stream: What Shocking Entrances Will We See?

10 Feb 2012 17:32:15 EST

How will Lady Gaga arrive this year? Join Sway and James Montgomery on the red carpet, starting 5 p.m. Sunday on MTV.com.
By Gil Kaufman

Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammys
Photo: Getty Images

What's the point of getting all dolled up for the Grammy Awards if no one notices your outfit? Since not everyone can earn a nomination or score a performance slot, sometimes you have to make your own news by crashing the red carpet with an eye-popping outfit that is sure to get tongues wagging. It's anyone's guess what this year's attendees will be wearing on Sunday night at the 54th annual awards show, but MTV News will be camped out on the carpet for a full three hours before the festivities kick off and we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for all the outrageous looks and fashions. Click for photos of our most-shocking Grammy red carpet moments! In the meantime, we thought it was worth a look back at some of the legendary entrances from Grammys past:

Lady Gaga egg: Sure, Justin Bieber toted his pet snake to last year's show, but it was, of course, Lady Gaga who turned the most heads by getting carried down the carpet in a giant, see-through egg that she incubated in before emerging later in the night for her performance of "Born This Way." Britney gets bodied: Britney Spears has long prided herself on wearing what she wants, when she wants. But someone should have pulled her aside in 2010 before she exited the car in an oddball Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit overlaid with a lace dress that turned heads for all the wrong reasons. M.I.A.'s pregnancy chic: With her middle finger firmly tucked into place, the rapper/singer made her way into the 2009 show while nine-months pregnant in a cartoony, ruffled blue maternity dress and matching sneakers. Coldplay play dress up: It was kind of cool when Coldplay stuck with their bold Sgt. Pepper's-style suits for the whole Viva La Vida tour. But when they wore them to the 2009 show, it just felt ... silly. OK Go ... back to the drawing board: Viral icons OK Go are experts at drawing attention to their music with trippy, how-did-they-do-that videos. They drew mostly sniggers, though, when they donned matching brocade curtain-looking red-and-gold suits to the 2007 show. Their smartest move may have been to cover their faces with red cloth. R. Kelly, man of mystery: Kels has made a career out of being inscrutable , but his bold sartorial choice at the 2004 Grammys was, well, weird. From the neck down he wore an elegant three-button black suit and tie, but the matching Robin mask? Who knows? Alicia Keys gets funky: Nobody really knows what Keys was thinking in 2002 when she walked the carpet wearing embroidered jeans, sandals, a white tank and a sheer green sari-like shift with a built in, bedazzled headdress. Toni Braxton lets it all hang out: Sometimes it's what you don't wear that gets attention. In 2001, singer Braxton sported a barely-there white "dress" that hardly covered her assets with strips of material that dangled in the front and back. Jennifer Lopez's plunging neckline: Way before she was an "American Idol" judge, Lopez sent hearts racing in 2000 with her instantly infamous plunging neckline Versace gown. Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don't miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn't end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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Lady Gaga's Path To Album Of The Year Race

10 Feb 2012 14:45:14 EST

MTV News looks back on Mother Monster's huge year and her genre-busting, Grammy-nominated album.
By Gil Kaufman, with additional reporting by Kara Warner and Vanessa White Wolf

Lady Gaga performs at Jingle Ball
Photo: Stephen Lovekin/ Getty Images

Some artists, like Adele, release albums that are pure Grammy catnip thanks to instant-classic sounds that resonate with the Recording Academy's way-back contingent. Then there's Lady Gaga.

She's been a bridesmaid twice for Album of the Year at the Grammys, losing out on her first two releases. But with her third bid on Sunday, for Born This Way, Gaga appears to have made the kind of career-defining, big-idea album that Grammy voters could not deny. It had all the things the Academy loves in an Album of the Year nominee: ambition, deeply personal tracks that provide a glimpse at the artist's psyche, bold musical explorations, strong sales and chance to prove that they're hip enough to get what the kids are listening to. (Or, in some cases, a new album by Steely Dan.) And, indeed, BTW did have it all, from the jackhammer electronica of "Marry the Night" to the tango-lite grooves of "Americano," the techno attack of "Heavy Metal Lover," hints of biography in "Hair," the lighter-raising ballads in "Yoü and I" and "The Edge of Glory" and, of course, the title track, which served as both a dance-floor phenomenon and an empowerment anthem for the ages. The album, one of the most anticipated of 2011, not only crashed the charts with stellar sales figures of more than one million in its first week, but it also managed to once again bend the will of the music-buying public to meet her quirky, unpredictable muse. Gaga promised her fans that she was pouring everything she had into the disc and when it arrived, complete with a series of trippy, provocative videos that also pushed the envelope, they couldn't have asked for any more from their Mother Monster. Frequent musical collaborator producer Fernando Garibay said the recognition from the Recording Academy was a nice cherry-topper to a year of hard, hard work. "We worked on this album for so long and it was like our baby so it was more about if the fans would love it; that was the most important thing.," he told MTV News. "But of course, nominations, yeah, that's cool."

The first full-length effort from Gaga since her rise to international stardom, Born This Way allowed the singer to exorcise some demons, comment on her newfound fame and, of course, create the kind of over-the-top tracks that would lend themselves to equally eye-popping live performance. "This album was the most personal, the amount of detail that went into this record, the amount of passion and emotion from her and the team," Garibay said. "We all followed her lead on this, on every song ... how intense every avenue of making this record was for us, protecting the record, creative, conceptually, every song was a story towards the Born This Way theme." The video for the title track took the Best Female Video and Best Video With a Message at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. In a year in which she kept turning heads with ever-more-insane red carpet walks, Gaga fittingly raised the bar further at the show, where she performed and accepted the Female Video Moonman as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone. In between those appearances, Gaga also managed to circle the globe with the Broadway-worthy Monster Ball Tour, on which she brought the new songs to life every night in a spectacle that was the visual equal of her studio experiments. Though she worked with her core team, which includes Garibay, producer RedOne and DJ White Shadow, Gaga also opened the doors to collaborations with late Bruce Springsteen saxophonist Clarence Clemons and classic rock producer Robert "Mutt" Lange and Queen guitarist Brian May, who helped give "Yoü and I" its epic, AM radio majesty. Gaga was so excited to record the album that she insisted on having a portable studio with her at all times to work on new music even as she toured the world for The Fame Monster, RedOne said. The road work paid off, as the album has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, spinning off a bevy of hits, including the title track, "Marry the Night," "Judas," "Yoü and I" and "The Edge of Glory." And though he's been there before, RedOne added that getting another nod for the biggest Grammy honor of all is new every time. "It's an amazing thing to be nominated for the biggest thing in music industry," he said. "It's always a big honor. I get happy and I never want to get used to it." Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don't miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn't end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off!

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A Guide To The Grammys 2012

10 Feb 2012 14:29:00 EST

Lady Gaga
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Lady Gaga Drops Tour Poster, Fashion Film

08 Feb 2012 10:17:55 EST

Image for Born This Way Ball revealed as Mother Monster releases Jo Calderone-featuring 'You and I' clip.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga in her "Born This Way" tour poster
Photo: Interscope

Lady Gaga is amping up her fans for the Born This Way Ball, set to kick off later this year. On Tuesday, she dropped a sketch of her gothic castle-themed stage design, and in the very early hours of Wednesday morning (February 8), she teased fans with a poster for the trek.

The black-and-white poster, which includes touches of neon purple and turquoise, features an omniscient image of Gaga, decked out in her full "BTW" horned look, looking down from the sky. Underneath, in a castle that looks an awful lot like the one from the tour sketch, Gaga, wearing a piano dress, hangs with a group of suit-wearing dudes. And, for those paying close enough attention, Zombie Boy even makes an appearance, peeking out from one of the castle windows. In her long-simmering latest "Yoü and I" fashion film, Gaga portrays her male alter ego, Jo Calderone. Jo smolders in the mini-film, smoking his way through it. Clips of Jo stripping (revealing Gaga's taped-down chest) are intercut with shots of Gaga done up in an S&M-type outfit, dancing and tossing her long blond hair. The same outfit is worn by other dancers also featured in the clip, directed by Inez and Vinoodh. Along with all these developments Little Monsters have to be excited about, this Sunday, Mother Monster is up for a number of Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Born This Way and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Yoü and I." Are you excited for Lady Gaga's upcoming tour? Tell us below! Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don't miss Sway and James Montgomery live from the Grammys red carpet this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn't end Sunday: MTV News has you covered until the Grammy hangover wears off!

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2012 Grammy Winners Revealed ... Possibly

08 Feb 2012 06:53:15 EST

We take a look at both the 'actual' and 'bizarro' Grammys (and try to pick some winners) in Bigger Than The Sound.
By James Montgomery

Adele
Photo: Getty Images

Last year, when the Arcade Fire shocked everybody (especially Dog the Bounty Hunter) by winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, it set in motion a chain of events that culminated in one rather troubling realization: Perhaps everything has changed.

I say troubling because, really, the Grammys have never been cool (and there is something like five decades of empirical evidence to back up that claim), and voters bestowing the night's top award on an indie act — instead of Eminem, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, each of whom were also nominated — was a hip, hip move. So it stood to reason that, if one of the stuffiest of award shows could get with the times, then perhaps everyone could. Perhaps the Arcade Fire's AOTY win fractured the space-time continuum itself, sort of like on "Lost," when Benjamin Linus turned that wheel and the island started skipping through time and there were actually two islands, one existing in current time and one that was stuck in the 1970s, and that old woman had a pendulum and Jack ended up detonating a hydrogen bomb with a rock or something ("Lost" definitely got confusing for a while there). What I am trying to say is that it is not entirely inconceivable that, post Arcade Fire, there now exist two Grammy Awards: the one where Led Zeppelin has zero wins (but Sheryl Crow has nine) and the one where cool bands take home the biggest awards. You know, the actual Grammys versus the bizarro Grammys. It's an insane theory, yes, and yet, it is also (sort of) backed up by this year's Grammy nominations. In actuality — given she had one of the best-selling albums of the past decade and almost single-handedly saved the industry in 2011 — Adele is not only one of the night's most-nominated artists, but she'll probably end up walking away with the most golden gramophones, too. In fantasy, Bon Iver stuns the Dog the Bounty Hunters of the world and takes home three-quarters of the "Big Four" awards. In the grand cosmic scheme of things, I suppose either is probable. Shoot, at the very least, the theory makes the Grammys a lot more interesting ... and impossible to predict. Still, I'm going to try my best. So here are my theoretical picks for the 54th Grammy Awards, where I've weighed the actual against the bizarro in a misguided attempt to predict just who will triumph in the night's biggest categories. Hey, it's better than just saying "Adele is gonna win everything." Even though she probably will. It is just a theory, after all. Album of the Year
» Adele, 21
» Foo Fighters, Wasting Light
» Lady Gaga, Born This Way
» Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
» Rihanna, Loud "Actual" Grammys: Dude, come on, Adele wins this one by a mile. "Bizarro" Grammys: The most bizarro winner would probably be Rihanna, who's not exactly celebrated as an "album artist," or maybe Bruno Mars, though, thanks to "F--- You" (much-nominated at last-year's Grammys) and his string of hits this year, he seems to be a favorite among voters. Continuum-Uniting Winner: Remember in 2009, when Taylor Swift's Fearless won AOTY and everyone got all upset? Well, it was the year's best-selling album, too, and at the time, Swift was credited with keeping a sinking industry afloat. Adele's 21 has sold nearly as many copies as Fearless ... and has done so in less than a year. So, uh, yeah, she'll win this. Record of the Year
» Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
» Bon Iver, "Holocene"
» Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
» Mumford & Sons, "The Cave"
» Katy Perry, "Firework" "Actual" Grammys: It's Adele's to lose, though she may face a tough challenge from Mumford & Sons, who not only landed nominations last year, but had 2011's best-selling rock album based mainly on the strength of "The Cave." Still, a win by them here would be an upset in every sense of the word. "Bizarro" Grammys: Got to be "Holocene," which on the surface, doesn't stand much of a chance. Still, I can't shake the feeling that Bon Iver wins something on Sunday, and so, much like I (sort of) predicted Arcade Fire's Album of the Year win last year ... Continuum-Uniting Winner: ... I'm going with the bearded dude from Wisconsin. Look, voters aren't going to give Adele everything, most likely because they don't want to deal with the backlash. There's also the Arcade Fire momentum from last year, not to mention the fact that since this award goes to not only the artist, but the producer, recording engineer and mixer, too, it tends to go to classically constructed tunes (Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," Alison Krauss' and Robert Plant's "Please Read the Letter") as opposed to songs with massive commercial appeal. So I'm taking "Holocene" for the upset. Song of the Year
» Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"
» Bon Iver, "Holocene"
» Bruno Mars, "Grenade"
» Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie, "All of the Lights"
» Mumford & Sons, "The Cave" "Actual" Grammys: Again, Adele. "Bizarro" Grammys: "Holocene," though how amazing would it be if "All of the Lights" actually won here? Would Kanye even let anyone else talk during his acceptance speech? Continuum-Uniting Winner: "Rolling in the Deep." It was 2011's biggest song, and one look at previous SOTY winners — massive hits like "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," "Rehab," "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" — well, you can see which way this one tends to go. Best New Artist
» The Band Perry
» Bon Iver
» J. Cole
» Nicki Minaj
» Skrillex "Actual" Grammys: Adele. Oh, wait, this is the only category she's not nominated in (though she did win it in 2009). OK, well, then how about the Band Perry? They're a country act, and over the past decade, when nominated, country acts tend to win BNA (Shelby Lynne in 2001, Carrie Underwood in 2007, the Zac Brown Band in 2010). Oh, and it doesn't hurt that their "If I Die Young" was a certified crossover smash, either. "Bizarro" Grammys: It actually wouldn't be all that odd if Bon Iver wins here (since, even though I picked him to take Song of the Year, there's a pretty good shot this is the "Big Four" award he wins), so, can I interest you in some Skrillex? Continuum-Uniting Winner: Barbz rejoice, I'm taking Nicki Minaj! Why? Well, after a massive year, she was ignored everywhere else in the "Big Four," so a BNA win would be a nice olive branch extended by Grammy voters. Also, no hip-hop artist (male or female) has won this award since Lauryn Hill in 1999, and how bizarro is that?!? So fittingly, Best New Artist is hers. Make your predictions for the Grammy Awards in the comments section below!

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Lady Gaga Unveils Elaborate Born This Way Stage

07 Feb 2012 10:28:15 EST

Mother Monster tweets out a sketch of the stage, which takes on a gothic castle theme.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga's stage design of the "Born This Way" Ball
Photo: Lady Gaga/Twitter

Lady Gaga is going all out for her Born This Way Ball. As promised, on Tuesday (February 7), the singer revealed a sketch of what her forthcoming tour stage will look like.

"I'm so excited. The Haus has been working so hard, we can't wait for you to see it!!" she wrote in the lead-up to the reveal, before adding, "Love you Little Monsters, have the time of your life." So what should all those Little Monsters expect from the one and only Mother Monster for this trek? It looks like the Born This Way Ball will be taking place in an elaborately designed gothic castle that includes intricate details like viewing towers, cross-like carvings and a catwalk that extends right into the audience, bringing Gaga close to her many legions of dedicated fans. The look is a far cry from her Monster Ball tour, which was set in modern-day New York City, complete with a subway car, lighted marquees and, yes, a giant monster that Gaga and her dancers had to defeat in order to attend the oft-teased Monster Ball. This new tour will kick off sometime this year and continue right through 2013. Haus member and BTW producer Fernando Garibay shared with MTV News in December that the show will be reflective of the 2011 album. "This album was the most personal [because of] the amount of detail that went into this record, the amount of passion [and] emotion from her and the team," he said. "Every song was a story towards the Born This Way theme. We're excited now, putting that into the tour and expressing that on a live performance level. "You can imagine what happened on the Monster Ball, so use your imagination," he said. "That's what's going to happen, exaggerated."

What do you think of Lady Gaga's Born This Way stage? Leave your comments below.

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Lady Gaga To Reveal Born This Way Tour Stage Design

03 Feb 2012 09:49:56 EST

Mother Monster will post images of the set for her upcoming tour on Twitter.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga performing "Marry the Night" at the Grammy Nominations Concerts Live!!
Photo: John Shearer/ WireImage

Mother Monster is readying her next tour, the Born This Way Ball. Lady Gaga took to Twitter to let her fans know that on Tuesday, she will unleash images of the stage design for the tour, which is set to launch later this year. She added that she was brewing up a number of other tour-related projects and wrote, "putting the set list together!"

Over the last few weeks, Gaga has been tweeting frequently about the upcoming outing, noting that she's been in meetings with her Haus and watching old Monster Ball Tour videos that "made us cry. We love u, can't wait for the next one." Haus member and BTW producer Fernando Garibay shared with MTV News in December that the show will be reflective of the 2011 album. "This album was the most personal [because of] the amount of detail that went into this record, the amount of passion [and] emotion from her and the team," he said. "Every song was a story towards the Born This Way theme. We're excited now, putting that into the tour and expressing that on a live performance level. "You can imagine what happened on the Monster Ball, so use your imagination," he said. "That's what's going to happen, exaggerated." Until Gaga does hit the road, she revealed what she'll be doing come this Sunday. "Looking forward to seeing the Superbowl! The halftime show will be wonderful, I'm sure," she tweeted. "An excuse to drink beer+watch boys in tights. #yes." Madonna is slated to take the stage during the Super Bowl halftime show. She recently made headlines when she called Gaga's song "Born This Way" "reductive," subsequently complimenting her "rawness."

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