Dear Furby Living,
This is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. Furbies on their own were creepy enough as it is with their large eyes watching you and their creepy little voices talking when no one has even said anything. They’re also just one step away from becoming gremlins, just add water.
So why in the world would you think it was a good idea to turn furbies into celebrities?
Furby as Taylor Swift? Creepy.
Furby as Nicki Minaj? She looks like she’s going to kill me.
Furby as Azealia Banks? This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Read more…
“Started From The Bottom” – Drake
Have you ever wondered how Drake started his career? From the bottom, of course…or so he tells us in his brand new single “Started From The Bottom.” I don’t know about you, but I was definitely itching for some new Drake and he was kind enough to surprise us with a new single and message to his fans. The new track departs a little from his usual smooth crooning with a hard beat and strong rapping but damn, is it good.
“Doobie” – M.I.A.
Do you remember what you were doing back in 2007? Well, M.I.A. was busy recording this banging track with producer Danja. Danja went on to create hits with Britney Spears and Pink, and he and M.I.A.’s track lay forgotten until now. Since it was recorded five years ago, the track sounds like it would have fit right in with M.I.A.’s second album Kala. Either way, I’m glad it finally surfaced!
Metric – Youth Without Youth
I’ve been a Metric fan since I was 14 so I’ve been waiting anxiously these past three years for some new Metric music and FINALLY “Youth Without Youth” is here to cure my Metric withdrawal! The first single off their upcoming album Synthetica is a great guitar driven track. It’s faster and louder than most of Metric’s other music and it’s nice to hear lead singer Emily Haines using her voice to its full potential. I could see this being a serious song to jam out to during one of their upcoming concerts. You can pick up Synthetica on June 12.
Santigold – Proud Mary
I had the good fortune of seeing Santigold at Coachella and this woman has some serious talent. In her cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s famous “Proud Mary,” Santi White adds her own flavour to the jam. Instead of a straight up cover of the song, she adds some synth, African beats, and belts the song in her own robotic style. I’m loving this new take on a classic track.
Foster the People – Houdini Read more…
Community’s Joel McHale gets drunk with the ladies of The Today Show and trash-talks them, MIA feuds with Anderson Cooper on Twitter and a kid watches bubbles for the first time.
MIA accused Anderson Cooper of calling her a terrorist via Twitter last night because she claims he’s just one of the journalists to criticize her stance on Sri. Lanka. The rapper was bothered after a documentary aired called Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: “War Crimes Unpunished,” about Sri Lanka’s secret war with the Tamil Tigers.
MIA’s father Arul Pragasam is a known Tamil activist and his daughter has always spoken about the government officials engaging in genocide. Anderson Cooper responded to her hit saying he hardly knows who she is, so how could he criticize her? Ouch!
The real trouble here is that MIA took offence because Cooper linked an article that had false information about her…. so it went from Cooper calling her a terrorist to a CNN blog linking a troubled article:
They eventually settled their differences like adults and MIA urged him to watch the doc. Either way, I guess it’s good to have some discussion on Twitter that ISN’T about Chris Brown’s new girlfriend (ahem).
In our very first episode of The World Wide World, Paul Murphy takes to the streets to investigate the controversy following Super Bowl XLVI.
We’re not exactly sure where he found his sources for this story, but he clearly missed Madonna’s half time performance. Shockingly, most of the people Paul spoke to had no idea what the fuss was about either.
How do the citizens of Toronto feel about M.I.A.’s actions? Were they too explicit for mainstream media?
Watch the first installment of our new weekly series The World Wide World below:
Every Super Bowl we practically look for something to scandalize us, and this year M.I.A.’s finger flip is the new wardrobe malfunction. As if M.I.A. didn’t make her message clear enough while rapping the verse “I don’t give a sh**” she literally gave America the middle finger during last night’s halftime performance with Madonna. Many are calling it premeditated because she looked directly at the camera. Gasp!
Inevitably the move raised profound questions: Why does M.I.A. hate us? Does she actually want us to F-off or was this a publicity stunt? Was this her opportunity to make an obscure political statement?
Or — and I know this might sound crazy — maybe she was just swept up in the moment, as they say. Whatever the reason, many online commentators are questioning if she’ll ever be allowed to appear on live TV again.
Statements are being issued all over the place. In one corner, the NFL issued an apology for the “completely inappropriate gesture,” while NBC took a more diplomatic route, apologizing that their delay system failed to catch the spontaneous brush off — so not taking much responsibility at all.
Still, the people M.I.A. ought to be worried about are the concerned parents of America. Although her finger is no more scandalous than things you’d find on any prime time show, the Parents’ Television Council is calling it a cheap way to get attention. They claim the moment was a slap in the face and (cue ominous music) that “the nation — and the PTC — is watching.” Cue ominous music: dum, dum, dum.
There’s still no word on how next year’s performer plans to up MIA. Do you have any ideas? Let us know below.
When Madonna agreed to perform at the half-time show last night, she promised fans “the greatest show on earth in the middle of the greatest show on earth”.
Not that many people knew what to expect, other than a medley of her old, classic songs and a performance with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj.
She began her set with “Vogue”, as she was being carried by an army of gladiators to the stage. She sang (or rather, lip synced) “Express Yourself”, “Like a Prayer” with Cee Lo Green and “Music” with LMFAO.
When it was time to perform her newest, “Give Me All Your Luvin’”, Nicki and M.I.A. joined her on stage, dressed as some sort of Egyptian cheerleaders.
My favourite performance has to be her duet with Cee Lo, which was saved for last. A choir of a hundred people joined the two on stage and when the song finished, “WORLD PEACE” was seen lit on the stadium. Aw, shucks!
Watch the 13-minute long set below.
Damn! M.I.A. is on a roll today. Her other music video featuring Madonna and Nicki Minaj has also been released today.
M.I.A. and Nicki act as Madonna’s cheerleaders in her comeback song. All three look amazing — Madonna more so when she’s fully clothes — as they are roaming the streets, being carried off by football players.
This is a great lead up to their Superbowl performance this Sunday night.
The song itself is very corny and playful. It could easily be placed in an iPod commercial. It’s that catchy. See for yourself.
A lot of amazing videos have come out today and M.I.A.’s “Bad Girl” is no exception.
The English rapper takes “The Fast and the Furious” to Morrocco, where the video takes place.
Billboard calls it “an interesting take on culture, blending lyrics about having sex in cars with Americanized imagery of Moroccan culture”.
The track was produced by Danja, one of Timbaland’s apprentices. This song will definitely be featured on M.I.A.’s upcoming album set to be released in the summer. Expect more divine Danja-produced songs on it.
The queen of pop never rests. If she’s not touring, she’s directing movies, and if she’s not attending screenings, she’s in the studio with prestigious producers.
Hot off her Golden Globe win for Best Song, Madonna’s about to drop her latest album, “MDNA”. Notable Parisian DJ/producer Martin Solveig is behind her all the way, as is M.I.A., who performs on a few tracks herself.
Madonna’s team just released a super short video of the trio in a New York studio last November. It’s nice to see Madonna loosen up and have fun with wild child M.I.A. It’s an odd pairing but we might be in for a pleasant surprise.
While many celebrities Tweet away their condolences for the terrible loss of talented singer Amy Winehouse, M.I.A. has taking paying homage to the next level.
The singer/songwriter has announced that she has released her unfinished track, “27,” to honour the late 27-year-old. The song, which she named after the “27 Club,” references all the talented musicians who have died at age 27, such as Kimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrision, Brian Jones, and Janis Joplin.
According to Perez Hilton, many have mixed reviews as to whether the release is premature, or if it is touching and thoughtful. Regardless, we think it is a very nice thing that M.I.A. is doing and we commend her greatly.
Listen to M.I.A.’s track below.
If you haven’t seen the controversial M.I.A. video, you are missing out on a very controversial music video.
In one of the scenes, a young redheaded boy has his head blown off by law enforcement who have rounded up all the male redheads. However don’t fear as he is not really dead! The good people at TMZ have located the young man named Ian Hamrick and he is alive and well.
In the video below, the paparazzi ask the kid and his Mom why they agreed to get involved with the production, and their thoughts on the controversy.
Sri Lankan-born hip hop singer M.I.A. got angry at her label via Twitter when her violent music video for “Born Free” was deleted from YouTube just hours after its release yesterday (April 26), reports E!Online.
“F— UMG WHO WON’T SHOW IT ON YOUTUBE! FOR THE U.S.,” the singer, real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, tweeted (UMG stands for her label, Universal Music Group). Still, she quickly took back the statement when she found out that it was YouTube itself, not Universal Music, that took the video down: “OK, NOT UMG FAULT!,” she tweeted next.
Directed by Romain Gavras, the video portrays the United States as a fascist state, showing a S.W.A.T. team’s raid of a downtown Los Angeles apartment building. The cops round up redheaded men, then take them to the desert and execute them in extreme ways: one boy is shot straight-on in the head, another is blown up by a bomb.
Apparently, though, it was the level of violence, and not the political views, that got the video taken from YouTube, with a representative saying the video violated the site’s terms of use due to “gratuitous violence.”
M.I.A. recently told Britain’s Radio 1 that “Born Free” “was the first [song] recorded for the album” and that “at the time [of recording], a lot of things were bottled up. It was a good start.”
The singer has never been afraid to stir up controversy and has often been the victim of criticism for her views.
Even though the video can no longer be found on YouTube, it is still streaming on her official website. Her new, still-untitled album is due out in June. Here’s the tracklist, thanks to a tweet by Pitchfork:
1. “The Message”
2. “Born Free”
3. “Meds and Feds”
4. Lovealot”
5. Tequilla”
6. “It Is What It Is”
7. “XXXO”
8. “Tell Me Why”
9. “Story Told”
10. “Space”
We all know M.I.A. is talented, unique and intellectual with her lyrics, but we didn’t know she was such a hater. Dose.ca reports that she had a few words of her own on what everyone raves about today: Lady Gaga and Twilight – in her NME cover interview. And, she is also expected to drop a new album in the next few months, but that wasn’t a hot topic in comparison to her running her mouth about Gaga.
The outspoken MC brings up Lady Gaga three times in her Q&A, and not because it was a Q, or to give the fellow singer props.
Instead, the 34-year-old outlandish MC said exactly what she thought of the equally out-there Gaga.
Pop sensation M.I.A. has been added to the lineup for the upcoming Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, her first confirmed public appearance since the birth of her son last month.
Organizers say the performer, who played the festival in 2005 and again last year, will take the stage on Saturday, April 18.
She joins other late additions to the bill after Amy Winehouse was forced to cancel her appearance. Recently added performers include Devendra Banhart, The Chemical Brothers, The Orb and Etienne de Crecy.
Contrary to a report from Latina magazine, M.I.A. did not name her baby Ickitt.
The singer just posted the following message on her official blog:
“BABY NAME!
MY BABY IS NOT CALLED ICKITT, PICKIT OR LICKIT THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL THE HOLLYWOOD PRESS. HES A BABY , HE DONT NEED PRESS!
I DIDNT RELEASE THE BABY NAME BECAUSE I DIDNT THINK IT WAS NEWS!!!!
BUT I WILL BE BACK WITH SOMETHING NEWS WORTHY SOON , TILL THEN GO PICK ON APPLE, SATCHEL AND MOON UNIT.
LOTS OF LOVE STICKIT!!”
British rap artist M.I.A gave birth to a baby boy on February 12. His name has not been released to the press yet. M.I.A., 31, graced the stage of the Grammy’s Award Show on her due date, giving a spectacular performance of “Swagga Like Us” with hip-hop icons Jay-Z, TI, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. According to hollyscoop.com, her fiance Benjamin Brewer said she started having contractions right before she hit the stage so a waiting car rushed her off to the hospital after the performance.
Interviewed on the red carpet, M.I.A told reporters , “It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a boy or a girl. If it’s a girl she will be a tough girl, but I think I may have a boy because I have a pointy stomach.” When Desi Hits asked M.I.A. what she hopes to teach her child, she replied with, “I would teach my child tons of things. I want my child to see third world countries, and be humble about what she or he has, and have sound judgement.”
The rap artist is scheduled to perform at the Oscar’s in two weeks, and there is speculation over whether she will be well enough to attend. Given her boasted reputation as a ‘tough girl’ and energetic appearance at the Grammy’s, it will not surprise anyone to see her performing with vigor at the upcoming awards show.
Rapper M.I.A. may be moving to Montreal when her American visa expires in June.
Because her father was once a soldier in the Sri Lankan terrorist organization Tamil Tigers, she doesn’t expect her visa to be renewed.
“Basically at the moment I can choose between Montreal and London,” she told Baby Baby Baby magzine. “My mum’s like, ‘I want you here!’ I haven’t seen her in, like, forever, so I have to choose between my mum and Montreal.”
She said that she’s been making the most of her final U.S. concerts, and that Kanye West has offered to marry her to keep her in the country.
She was previously barred entrance to the States in 2006.
M.I.A. is reportedly getting ready to come out with her own clothing line.
According to fashion blog Trashbag Aesthetics, the MC/producer is designing bomber jackets, leggings and t-shirts that will feature bold colours and graphic prints reminiscent of her own signature style.
No name or date has been set for the collection as of yet.
M.I.A., real name Maya Arulpragasam, has already established herself as a creative force outside of her music. She’s designed album covers, acted as art director for music videos and held an exhibition of paintings in London in 2001, which was nominated for the Alternative Turner Prize.
The 29-year-old also modelled this year for Marc, the spring/summer 2008 campaign by Marc Jacobs.
