Music Artists, Videos and News

On Wednesday night (March 31), hip-hop stars Wale and K’Naan will throw down together at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza in Manhattan. But the pair’s performance will also be streaming live on MTV.com. Tune in at 9:30 p.m. Eastern (6:30 p.m. Pacific) for the duo to run through all their hottest hits, like “Pretty Girls,” “Chillin’” and “Wavin’ Flag.” It will represent the first date of a two week tour that will see the pair hitting cities like Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Both K’Naan and Wale have had breakthrough years. Since the release of his hit album Troubadour last year, Somali rapper K’Naan has been collaborating with everyone from Mos Def to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett to Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine. He’ll get his biggest exposure this summer when the 2010 World Cup launches, as “Wavin’ Flag” has been chosen as the official song of the worldwide soccer tournament.

After years of being a mixtape legend, Wale dropped his debut album Attention Deficit in November of 2009. That topped off a run that saw him collaborate with Lady Gaga and serve as the frontman of the house band at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. His live presence is legendary, making this a can’t-miss trek.

Check out the preview of the concert below, and stay tuned here and to MTV.com for more details.

Click here to RSVP for the MTV.com livestream with Wale and K’Naan.

What do you hope to see on the livestream with Wale and K’Naan? Let us know in the comments!

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“Mostly through the love of music. Mostly what she learns later is all about love and forgiveness and second chances — you know, in the career I’m in I have to do that a lot. There’s no room for grudges and bitterness. She learns that later it’s all about love and the people around you. And I think it’s really beautifully done the way she has that transition and learns.”

-Teen music superstar and “The Last Song” actress Miley Cyrus, discussing the similarities between herself and Ronnie, her character in the film that opens at theaters nationwide on Wednesday (March 31). The film, which was written specifically for Cyrus by novelist and screenwriter Nicholas Sparks (”Dear John,” “The Notebook”) and directed by Julie Anne Robinson (episodes of “Weeds,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Big Love”), stars Cyrus as a music student who lives with her mother in New York but who is sent to live with her estranged father (Greg Kinnear) for the summer.

Cyrus told MTV News that Robinson’s direction made it easier to slip into the character and make Ronnie more deep and nuanced. “She did an amazing job,” Cyrus said. “She kept me always different, not always tears; she always gave me something different to do. She gave it a lot more dimension.” But the most remarkable work that Cyrus had to do on the film was learn how to play the piano. “I had to be classically trained as well,” she said. “Sitting up straight, and your wrists have to be a certain way and you have to look comfortable and look like you could be accepted into Juliard, the way that Ronnie was supposed to.”

Are you going to see “The Last Song” when it opens? Let us know in the comments!

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Every few years a song comes along that is so insanely catchy, so brain-buzzingly sharp that in addition to blanketing the pop radio waves it becomes a cultural touchstone for artists of all stripes who can’t resist giving it their own spin.

Back in 2003, it was Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” the inescapable hip-pop megasmash from Andre 3000 that was covered by everyone from Razorlight to Pennywise, from Supersuckers to the Drive-By Truckers.

A year later, Kelly Clarkson’s sugar pop breakthrough “Since U Been Gone” was so cheesy it crossed back over into being cool, with takes by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Butch Walker, screamo act A Day to Remember, F—ed Up, the Aquabats, Keri Hilson, Jenny Owens Young, the Gossip, Robyn and a sample treatment on Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals.

This year’s model is Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which continues to be a monster at radio and brings new iterations every day. The latest is the solo piano reverie by Paramore’s Hayley Williams, which joins a dark dip from 30 Seconds to Mars, this guy and Perez Hilton faves Alphabeat, who mashed it up with “Telephone” for a disco-rific dance explosion. There’s an alt country take from singer/songwriter Lissie Maurus, a rocking version from members of hard rock bands Fatality and Razorwire and, of course, the Demonstration, who brought the double kick drum and cookie monster mash to the tune.

Don’t even get us started on the next Gaga tune that is starting to gain cover traction, “Telephone,” because then we’ll have to sic Pomplamoose on you.

Who did it best? Who would you like to see cover Lady Gaga?

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We have already celebrated Eric Clapton’s birthday, but there are several other musicians also becoming one year older today. Norah Jones is one of them (she’s now 31 years old) and Tracy Chapman is another (she’s now 46). Chapman is an interesting case, as even in her prime she remained a perpetually underrated but supremely talented songwriter and performer.

The Cleveland native first made waves playing coffeehouses in Cambridge, Massachusetts while she attended Tufts University. She was signed to a record deal by one of her classmates and put out her self-titled debut in 1988. It contained the song “Fast Car,” which became a gigantic hit (peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100). The album also scored three Grammy Awards and earned her a slot performing at the tribute concert held in honor of Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday (a major event that summer).

Chapman’s career hit a lull before she broke out again with the appropriately-titled album New Beginning in 1995, which contained the hit single “Give Me One Reason” (a track that landed her in the MTV Buzz Bin). She has continued to produce albums (she last put one out in 2008) and has been on the forefront of many of the female-centric music movements of the past 20 years. Her influence is felt deeply in the work of Colbie Caillat and especially in the performances of “American Idol” contestant Crystal Bowersox, whose easy, authoritative voice and command of a groove make her a clear heir apparent. (We often argue what Bowersox’s album will sound like, and the answer is probably, “A lot like Tracy Chapman’s Telling Stories.”)

Her music has continued to evolve to embrace more rock and international elements, but her bread remains buttered on the stark folk sounds of “Fast Car,” which is still just as haunting and beautiful as it was in 썄.

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Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that’s why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

Today is a big day for Usher, as his brand new album Raymond v. Raymond hits stores today. The Atlanta singer has survived a costly public divorce, a bunch of leaks and the underwhelming performance of his last album Here I Stand to arrive at Raymond v. Raymond. Much like his protegé Justin Bieber, Usher went on “The Late Show With David Letterman” to celebrate the release of his album with a performance of a new single (in Usher’s case, it was “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)”). It was an attention-grabbing, theatrical performance, featuring a handful of lovely ladies and at least one Michael Jackson-esque crotch grab. Usher should have a good couple of weeks, as Bieber’s album is expected to top this week’s Billboard chart and Raymond v. Raymond should do quite well on next week’s chart.

Usher wasn’t the only singer visiting the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York on Monday (March 29), as recent “American Idol” castoff Paige Miles also chatted with the host. Click here for these photos as well as the entire “Spotted” archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Rihanna, Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson, Lady Gaga and Hilary Duff!

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