Bark + Bite

Rihanna and Chris Brown start talking in dual interviews

2009-11-07T03:59:57-05:00

It's been a long time coming but the stars of the Chrianna soap opera are finally starting to pull back the covers on that nightmarish February night in which Chris Brown brutally assaulted his then-girlfriend, pop star Rihanna.

Rihanna, being the victim, got the all-star treatment, sitting down for a nearly hour-long segment of ABC's "20/20" with Diane Sawyer. No stone was left unturned. Rihanna talked about the assault in detail, she spoke about going back to Chris and she spoke explicitly on why she had to walk away from him, even though she still felt love for Chris.

"I resented him. I resented him so much. And I always put the tough face on and try the I-can-do-anything face...try to play it off. But he knew. He knew it. He kept asking me, 'You hate me don't you? You hate me.' And I would lie and I would say, 'No.' Everything about him annoyed me. Him being around me, him talking to me, everything was annoying for me," said Rihanna in the interview

Rihanna's interview is chocked pack full of more quotes and details including on whether she has heard Chris' song he wrote about her, "Changed Man," and whether she thinks they would ever be together again.

Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of Rihanna's interview with Diane Sawyer on 20/20

Chris Brown, possibly looking to steal attention away from Rihanna's primetime interview, also put in some face time with MTV's Sway. To Sway's credit, he tried his best to give Chris a platform to finally EXPLAIN himself as a human being. Unfortunately, Chris is too inarticulate and arrogant to go beyond saying generalities like "I know what I did was wrong" and "Yeah, I'm definitely owning up to it." Actions speak louder than words, Chris. Chris even goes so far as to say the problem with people who criticize him and his behavior post-assault is that they haven't adjusted their expectations.

Sway: Have you owned up to it?

Chris: Yeah, definitely.

Sway: Is it a work in progress?

Chris: Within myself it's not a work in progress cause I've owned up to it. I've accepted the fact. Totally. I'm doing everything to make amends and everything to make life better and other people's lives better. But to certain people in the public, maybe it's not everything they anticipated or expected. So, hopefully over time their expectations can change.

People's expectations are that you would really take this whole thing a bit more seriously, Chris. And that you would be able to explain WHY you went to that deep, dark place you went to, instead of saying, "Wow. I don't know, it's like, crazy" or "Anger, it was just anger."

Watch a segment of Chris' interview with MTV below and watch the rest here.

Uh-Oh, Oh No No... Beyonce and MTV went and pissed off the Internet

2009-11-06T09:43:00-05:00

So we've been hearing for about a month now that Beyonce and Lady Gaga have collaborated together on a remix for Beyonce's craptacular "Video Phone." Details on the remixed version of the song and the accompanying music video were kept under wraps for quite some time until MTV announced last week that they were going to premiere the video November 5th at 5:30 pm online and on MTV.

Beyonce decided to add this remix to the re-release of "I Am... Sasha Fierce", which, of course, will be released on "The Date Of the Doomsday Divas" (11/23/09). Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, & Rihanna will all be releasing albums, re-releases, and greatest hits compilations alongside Beyonce on the day that might destroy the music industry. Given that the remix has not actually been released (on radio or on iTunes), fans have been ripping their hair out, breaking out into hives and wetting their pants in anticipation of the song and video.

Well, Beyonce and MTV have gone and f***ed up real bad. 5:30 pm came and went. A statement was issued saying that the video would premiere at 8 pm. 8 pm came and went. Shortly afterward, a statement was released saying that they could not premiere the video due to technical issues and that the video would premiere later in November. That's right... they were vague... they couldn't even give a date regarding when the video would premiere! That was an EPIC FAIL on your part, MTV and Beyonce! Bloggers went ape shit, fans cursed MTV and Beyonce on websites, and I don't think anyone is pleased about playing "The Waiting Game" again.

So I've got an idea, how bout since the video couldn't be premiered, why not release the single on the radio and on iTunes?? Hmm, there's a thought. I was one of the fans who was super excited, but to have to wait all over again for the video to premiere, simply to hear the song to begin with... much less watch the video, is ridiculous. Wanna know what's even more ridiculous? MTV jumping the gun and building this widget counting down to the premiere of the video:

Beyoncĩ | Lady Gaga

Oops. Get your shit together, MTV. If not you, then get it together, Beyonce. And if that's not it, then get it together, Matthew Knowles. Wait a sec, who do we blame for this mishap?? Certainly not Lady Gaga. She's probably chillin', having a drink, smoking a cigarette, and feeling up on somebody's disco stick since this doesn't fall on her whatsoever.

(This is a guest post by Bitternut Crunch!)

Top 10 Songs in the US

2009-11-06T09:12:00-05:00

1 JASON DERULO / WHATCHA SAY
- Are we cursed? We go from "Fireflies" to Jason DeRulo? Why are these non-entities getting so much love?

2 OWL CITY / FIREFLIES
- This song sounds like Fisher Price and Mattel produced it.

3 JAY-Z FEAT ALICIA KEYS / EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
- What great timing, the Yankees win the World Series and a song about New Yawk rises to the top.

4 JAY SEAN FEAT LIL WAYNE / DOWN
- When will someone dance down the aisle to this song on YouTube?

5 MILEY CYRUS / PARTY IN THE USA
- Let's just hope this party doesn't go worldwide. It's bad enough we have to suffer this infestation in the US, no need to make the epidemic a pandemic.

6 LADY GAGA / PAPARAZZI
- Has the NAAPP (National Association for the Advancement of Paparazzi Photographers) filed a press release condemning the defamatory nature of this song?

7 JAY-Z FEAT KANYE WEST AND RIHANNA / RUN THIS TOWN
- The new three musketeers continue to hold the top ten hostage. Must be Rihanna's goat yodel that keeps folks coming back for more.

8 BRITNEY SPEARS / 3
- The good news is we know have confirmation that Britney can count to three. The bad news is we don't know if she knows her ABCs.

9 LADY GAGA / BAD ROMANCE
- The only thing stopping this song from climbing higher...is Lady Gaga. Too much of a good thing can come back to bite you.

10 TAYLOR SWIFT / JUMP THEN FALL
- Lovely. Just in time for her SNL appearance where she'll undoubtedly take pot shots at Kanye.

Source: Billboard Hot 100

After leaving The Inc., Ashanti has a lot more time to hang out on the stoop

2009-11-05T10:28:00-05:00

Ashanti has seen better days. The singer, most known for her Notorious B.I.G-sampling hit "Foolish," recently cut ties with her label The Inc. Like Ashanti, The Inc. (formerly known as Murda Inc.) is a fragile shell of its former self. Irv Gotti, a delusional, self-obsessed svengali of sorts, has been at the reigns of the label and its former crew of all-stars, Ashanti, Ja Rule and Lloyd, since the label's inception. But the ties that bond appear to be fraying. Lloyd and Ashanti have officially split from Irv and The Inc. and reports are circulating that Ja has split too, leaving Irv Gotti with the undeniable, irresistible, awe-inspiring talent of Vanessa Carlton on his label. Marlon Wayans must be delighted.

Ashanti's last studio album, 2008's "The Declaration," had more false starts than a track meet. Single after single failed to garner much buzz, until "The Way That I Love You" managed to grab some airtime. But that mild success couldn't pull in listeners for the long haul and the album debuted at #6 with 86,000 copies sold. Following the embarrassing failure of "The Declaration," Ashanti hightailed it to off-Broadway, landing a role in "The Wiz" and that's where she's remained since.

WNBC's program "Talk Stoop" caught up with Ashanti and asked her about fame, music and celebrity.

Nothing has changed about Ashanti. Everything from that god-awful, donkey-like cackle (see the 1:00 minute mark) to her curious sense of fashion (are those ostrich feathers on that Easter dress?) remain with the singer. The host also charitably refers to Ashanti as an actress, singer, model and dancer. Does Apple Bottom Jeans count as modeling?

Ashanti does sing a small rendition of The Wizard of Oz classic, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" toward the end, and admittedly her voice has gotten a lot better. But Brandy's version blows Ashanti's out of the water, leaving the Glen Cove dove in the dust. And eating dust is pretty much what the music industry has had Ashanti doing for a while now. The music world doesn't need an Ashanti right now, and truthfully it hasn't needed her for quite some time. Her Sweet Valley High poetry and airy vocals have been put to pasture in favor of singers better songwriters, better producers and more engaging stage personalities. With Lady Gaga able to swing from sensitive pianist to thrilling pop diva in one show, who needs a one-trick pony like Ashanti?

If Ashanti really wants back in she's gonna need to find a way to fit in, and she better do it fast cause J.Lo, Kelly Rowland and Cassie are busy trying to solve that exact same problem for themselves. Or maybe now might be the time to hang it all up, play wifey to Nelly (another who also needs to seriously consider early retirement) and have some babies. Maybe pursue a career in IT, get herself a DeVry education.

What does N.E.R.D. sound like with a lady on board?

2009-11-04T15:32:23-05:00

Apparently like this. N.E.R.D. "performed" on the CW show "90210" last night (who watches that mess?!) and they debuted a snippet of the first song featuring their new female singer, Rhea, called "Radio (WTF)." With the internet acronym, Pharrell and co. are showing that they're in touch with the webz, so don't think you're all that, Trey Songz, with your "LOL :)." As for the song itself, it fits in with the rest of N.E.R.D's catalogue, but it's difficult to make a full judgment based on the clip alone.

If Pharrell wanted to add a feminine voice to N.E.R.D. he really should've looked no further than his (alleged) ex-flame Kelis. "Truth or Dare" still knocks. Besides, with Nas scheming to cut that spousal support, Kelis could've used the paycheck.

Mariah Carey talks about Chris Brown + Rihanna, relives Tommy Mottola nightmare

2009-11-04T14:51:17-05:00

Mariah Carey is sitting down with ye ol' Larry King tonight at 9 pm to dish on life, music and Nick Cannon. In a clip from the interview, Mariah gives her take on the Chrihanna drama, avoiding saying anything controversial. She instead merely alludes to the fact that it's complicated. Things get a little tense though when Larry asks Mimi if she herself has ever been through abuse. The singer pauses, sighs deeply and then turns her gaze to the side as she "vaguely" mentions a situation in which she was mentally and emotionally abused.

Mariah explicitly states that the situation was further complicated because there was a marriage and business involved, which means she is once again putting Tommy Mottola on blast. Damn, Tommy, what the hell did you do to Mariah? She's been writing sob story material for damn near five albums based off your toxic marriage.

I'll be tweeting live during the interview tonight at 9 pm ET, so make sure you follow Bark + Bite on Twitter.

Lady Gaga is building an army with love and dedication

2009-11-04T09:55:00-05:00

Photo credit: MTV

Janet Jackson has her "kids," Mariah Carey has her "lambs" and Beyonce has her B-Unit. The connection that these singers have established with their fan bases has bulletproofed these singers from complete and total failure in some of their worst projects. Example: Even the "Glitter" soundtrack, Mariah's embarrassing fall from grace, managed to go platinum. Power to the lambs.

Lady Gaga, being ever the bright and attentive student of pop culture that she is, appears to have taken note of the power of owning and herding your own flock and has thus fluffed her fan base in nearly every interview she's done. This is not to say that Gaga is being disingenuous when she praises her fans' fealty, but Gaga is no fool and she knows how to build an empire.

And so in an interview with MTV, when Gaga was asked about becoming the first artist in Billboard history to have her first four singles from a debut album go #1 on the Pop Songs chart, she graciously credited all of her fame, success and fortune to her dedicated fans. Do you hear that? That's the sound of credit cards being charged for the $114.98 "The Fame Monster" box set. It's the kind of high-priced, self-indulgent merchandise that only minions would buy in order to stroke their own egos and feed that hunger for a connection with their idol.

Watch the interview of Lady Gaga with Sway from MTV below.

What exactly will Gaga call her army of devotees? Gagans? She's using the term "monsters," but surely that's only for the duration of "The Fame Monster" project.

Lady Gaga also touches on something that is irksome about many pop stars in today's market: The desire to hide behind one's work as just art for art's sake. Source: MTV News

"The misconception that the music and the work is separate from me as a human being is so misinformed and wrong. I am my work. I am every breathing moment of my life," said Lady Gaga.

In other words, no alter ego personalities, no "I didn't write the song" or "The producer made me say that." Gaga wholly owns her music and her work as reflections of her thoughts, her fears, her hopes and her emotions. Contrast this with someone like Beyonce, who onstage is fearless, aggressive and a hurricane-like force, but in interviews attempts to pass herself off as a timid, humble, homely Christian girl. Not that she can't be both, but Beyonce continues to press the distinction that she is not who she is onstage. As if to say, "Don't blame me for that." Or the case of Britney Spears, who gets all the sass points for great lines like, "It's Britney, bitch," but when asked about the trademark line in interviews responds, "the producer told me to say that."

To call this level of ownership and responsibility in a pop star refreshing would be cliche, so let's just say it's a welcome change to business as usual. Anyone else ready to apply for a visa to the Gaga Nation?

Rihanna makes a patchy comeback in 'Wait Your Turn' video

2009-11-03T15:23:50-05:00

What do you do when you're the princess of pop, riding at the top of the charts with smash single after smash single, and find yourself the apple of everyone's eye? Brand advertisers are dying to put your face on every kind of product from umbrellas to make-up and women all over the world ooh and ahh over your every fashion move, even going so far as to name a haircut after your signature style.

If you follow the book of Madonna, you re-invent. It doesn't matter if the last sound and look was incredibly successful and fans show signs of wanting more. Each project must be a re-invention. Rihanna, apparently, is a believer in re-invention.

The new image that Rihanna and team have cooked up for "Rated R" is noticeably aggressive, dark and posturing. The domestic violence incident with Chris Brown may have nudged Rihanna further in this new direction, but it was clear even after the re-release of "Good Girl Gone Bad" that Rihanna was beginning to build her anti-pop persona, donning more and more S&M attire and doing less and less choreography.

"Wait Your Turn," the second first single off the album, is supposed to be Rihanna's street anthem. The beat has a chop shop, rock tinge to it and the video is shot in grainy black and white, with tilted, shaky camera angles. The wardrobe is all neutral tones and to show just how BAD she is, Rihanna's even got on a pirate eye patch, as if to say, "Yeah, I've been to war and I've lost some battles." The blonde chickenhawk is purposely ugly and uneven, further uglying up the Caribbean beauty. She ain't no cover girl now.

In the video the "Umbrella" singer pulls b-boy stances and even grabs her crotch at one point. Clearly, the memo here is that she's not one to be messed with, but who is she trying to convince? The viewer or Chris Brown?

Watch the video for "Wait Your Turn" below.

Evolution, growth and change are all essential to longevity in the music industry. But premature "change" can come off as pretentious, just ask Ciara. Rihanna is teetering on this very thin line and this project could push away many of the fans she gained with "Good Girl Gone Bad." Or perhaps her star power will help her fans overcome their hesitation and draw in casual listeners to her new self-described Hip hop meets rock sound. Russian roulette isn't just a song for Rihanna, it's also a game she's playing with her music career. Will she win this round?