Listen to Live Rock Internet Radio, Alternative Radio, College Radio, and Indie Radio

Jay-Z Brings Brooklyn 'Glory' To Carnegie Hall

Jay performs his song to daughter Blue Ivy Carter and a host of other hits at the famed venue, with help from Alicia Keys and Nas.
By Rob Markman

Jay-Z performs at Carnegie Hall
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

NEW YORK — From Marcy to Madison Square and now from Crooklyn to Carnegie. Jay-Z has come a long way since releasing his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, and the magnitude of his travels wasn't lost on the God MC when he performed at Carnegie Hall on Monday evening (February 6).

The swanky crowd filled the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall for the first of two benefit concerts, which joined Jay's Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation with the United Way of NYC to raise money for gifted high school students who aren't financially positioned to attend college. The premium-priced charity tickets brought out the likes of Liza Minnelli and New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia.

With a full orchestra that included ?uestlove and Young Guru playing DJ, Hov took the stage at 8:45 p.m. ET after a dramatic string build. Emerging from the stage's side door in a white tux jacket toting a gold bottle of Ace of Spades champagne, Jigga began his evening shouting, "Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Hov," the iconic opening line from 2003's "Public Service Announcement."

Those who thought Jigga would conform to the stuffy artistic standard typically associated with the famed concert hall were mistaken. Jay strutted across the stage drinking from his gold bottle promising the crowd, "It's just tea."

On this night, Hov pledged to eradicate the divide that separates musical genres, only differentiating between good and bad music. "All those lines that divide us, we gonna step on 'em," he announced to the electric crowd.

As he's done most of his career, Jay continued to stomp out the misconceptions that rap can't be considered highbrow art as he tore through radio hits and street favorites like "U Don't Know" and "Where I'm From." Jay did balance things out when he invited Alicia Keys onstage for "Empire State of Mind" but got extra-gritty on the very next song, making way for Nas to perform his own "N.Y. State of Mind" from the Queensbridge MC's 1994 classic Illmatic. There was a perfect juxtaposition throughout. The biggest musical clash came when Jay performed the "Annie"-sampling "Hard Knock Life." Jigga rapped the song's verses, while the wealthy crowd song the downtrodden chorus. By the time Hova rolled into the set's next song "Izzo," a marijuana smell filled the air. That must be a first for Carnegie.

Ever the master of ceremonies, the Brooklyn rap juggernaut slowed things down properly easing into "Girls, Girls, Girls," then "Song Cry" and then "Glory," the song he released days after the birth of his and Beyoncé's first daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. "One hand in the air for Blue," he screamed before delivering his heartfelt daddy raps.

"I didn't think I was gonna make it through that one, that was tough," Jay said at the close of the number.

The veteran MC launched into the set-closing "Encore," but fans know by now that despite his exit at the end of the Kanye West-produced track, he would be back for more. During Jay's overtime session, he re-emerged onto the stage with a Yankee snapback, diamond chain and black tee. Ever the showman, Jay climbed into the balcony and performed an array of hits from his early catalog like "So Ghetto," "Ain't No N---a" and "Can't Knock the Hustle."

By the night's close, Jay-Z had kicked in another door. He wasn't the first rapper to play Carnegie Hall, but lord help the MC who has to come after him.

Share your thoughts on Jay-Z's first Carnegie Hall show in the comments!

Related Photos

Jay-Z Performs At Carnegie Hall

'The Voice' Season 2 Continues With Angie Johnson, Jamar Rogers

Judges Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green kick off second episode with a Prince medley.
By John Mitchell

Cee Lo Green on "The Voice"
Photo: NBC

The blind auditions continued on Monday night's (February 6) two-hour episode of "The Voice," with each judge picking up two more contestants to fill out the 12-person teams they'll take to the battle phase later in the season.

The episode opened with a flashy medley of Prince hits "1999," "Little Red Corvette" and "Kiss" performed by judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, before the crew got right to business with the auditions.

Team Christina
Aguilera picked up two acts, including the evening's first performers: platonic duo the Line. The pair's rendition of Tom Petty's "American Girl" got all four judges' attention, but despite much protest from Shelton, they picked Aguilera. Shelton later told the camera he thought they were "fooled by flash and boobs."

She also scored an interesting choice in chanteuse Lindsay Pavao, who got Shelton and Cee Lo to swivel their chairs too. In one of the more unique performances of the night, Pavao transformed a Trey Songz tune into a ballad that Green compared to Fiona Apple. It was that uniqueness that won Christina over, and Pavao chose to join the "Beautiful" singer's team.

Team Adam
After being denied by two different singers, the Maroon 5 frontman picked up his first team member of the night in 50-year-old Kim Yarbrough — who revealed during an interview segment that one of her many past odd jobs was working security for the Dave Matthews Band. Her soulful rendition of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good" had all the judges dancing in their seats, but Adam won her over after asking for her name. When she said "Kim," he corrected, "No, your name is Chaka Khan, baby." Which is probably what any aspiring diva wants to hear after an audition.

Levine also added the night's final contestant, 23-year-old Angel Taylor, to his team. The Los Angeles native grew up in an abusive household and turned to music to get through the tough times. Her performance of Adele's "Someone Like You" packed an emotional punch.

Team Cee Lo
The night's two most compelling stories came from Jamar Rogers and Angie Johnson, both of whom opted for team Cee Lo. Rogers is a 29-year-old former drug addict from New York who was also featured on "American Idol" during season eight alongside his best friend and eventual finalist Danny Gokey. During his addiction, he contracted HIV. Now that he is clean and sober, Rogers volunteers for food-delivery services for the disabled in the Bronx. He also idolizes Cee Lo, so it's good that the "Forget You" Grammy winner turned his chair around for Rogers' performance of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."

Cee Lo also picked up Staff Sergeant Angie Johnson, who was discovered and pushed to audition for "The Voice" after her fellow soldiers uploaded a video to YouTube of Johnson singing Adele on a military base while deployed in the Middle East. The video eventually tallied over a million views, which gave Johnson the confidence to hit the stage with a gutsy rendition of Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker." "I love a girl with guts and confidence," Cee Lo told the singer.

Team Blake
Blake's first choice of the night fit firmly in his country wheelhouse: North Dakota native Gwen Sebastian, a musician who agreed with her drummer husband to hold off on having kids so she could take a go at being a performer. After her performance of "Stay," Shelton remarked, "You are a great country vocalist ... and I'm a country guy. I'm your man."

A more surprising choice for the country superstar came late in the show, when he promised he'd do everything he could for Jermaine Paul, a backup singer who has toured the world with Alicia Keys. Keys even sent Paul a video message wishing him good luck. He made a surprising song choice in Avril Lavigne's "Complicated," which also earned props from Cee Lo, who told Paul he could "hear the swag" in his voice. And even though it looked like Paul was favoring Cee Lo, he opted to move out of his R&B comfort zone and into Shelton's country/rock genre.

Four singers got the ax during the show when no judges swiveled around to offer a spot on their team. The judges went back and forth over country crooner Neil Middleton and pop singer Dez Durmon and ultimately regretted their decisions to pass on the singers. Durmon in particular had the judges all worked up, and when they turned around to see a handsome Yale football player standing in front of them, they practically slapped themselves across the head. "And it's a good-looking guy," Shelton sighed.

Such is the point of "The Voice," though. Durmon would have been a sure thing if the judges had gotten a look at him beforehand, but it's all about the pipes — at least for now — on NBC's reality hit, which kicked off its season to some pretty great post-Super Bowl ratings.

Who was your favorite singer on the latest "Voice" episode? Let us know in the comments!

'That was the longest minute and a half of my life,' singer says of performing the national anthem.
By Jocelyn Vena

Kelly Clarkson performs at Super Bowl 46
Photo: Ezra Shaw/ Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson kicked off the Super Bowl on Sunday night with an emotional, stirring rendition of the national anthem. Donning a black dress and heels, Clarkson gave a performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" that had everyone buzzing on Monday morning (February 6).

"I have probably sang the National Anthem a thousand times and have never been nervous, but I definitely was last night at the Super Bowl!" she told MTV News in a statement on Monday afternoon. "That was the longest minute and a half of my life ha!"

The performance wasn't just about Clarkson's big voice (though it mostly was), but also about the marching band and choir of children who were center-stage with the onetime "American Idol," who performed just moments before the New England Patriots and the New York Giants faced off in Indianapolis.

"I was very excited as well because of the drum line and the Indianapolis kids choir that were performing with me," she continued. "They made the performance stand out a lot more and those kids sounded so ethereal and beautiful! It was a huge honor to get to sing the anthem and I'd be proud to do it again!"

Clarkson wasn't the only A-lister to take the stage during the big game. Madonna performed during halftime, and much like Clarkson, she brought her own drum line to the stage, as well as LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, Cee Lo Green and M.I.A. But, unlike Madonna, Clarkson's performance included a lot less pomp and circumstance, and one less middle finger (which came courtesy of M.I.A.).

What did you think of Kelly Clarkson's rendition of the national anthem? Leave your comments on our Facebook page!

Related Photos

Super Bowl XLVI Performances: Madonna And Kelly Clarkson

Andrew Garfield Surprises 'Amazing Spider-Man' Fans

Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and director Marc Webb also pop in during 3-D premiere of new trailer.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Andrew Garfield in "The Amazing Spider-Man"
Photo: Marvel / Columbia Pictures

NEW YORK — Spider-Man fans came out in droves around the globe and in the web-slinger's hometown to get "a sneak peek into the untold story" from the upcoming film.

That's all they knew when they lined up hours early outside Manhattan's Regal Union Square. As similar events were taking place in major cities worldwide, no one in the audience knew about the surprises four of the events, in particular, held in store.

MTV News' Josh Horowitz moderated the New York event and welcomed fans as they took their seats. The theater grew quiet, and a live feed from L.A. replaced the Spider-Man insignia on the screen. The L.A. host welcomed the director of "The Amazing Spider-Man," Marc Webb, to join him on-camera. Webb threw it to Rio de Janeiro, where Emma Stone was introduced. A trip across the pond revealed the film's villain, Rhys Ifans, but it wasn't until the special guest in New York that the crowd lost their minds.

Andrew Garfield, the man behind the mask, stepped out from a side door, inciting an out-of-control roar from the theater. A man shouted "Hallelujah" from the crowd, and Garfield couldn't help but agree: "Hallelujah. You said exactly what was on my mind," he said. "It means the world to all of us that you care so much. Thank you for being here."

Back in L.A., Webb instructed the audiences around the world to put on their 3-D glasses for the new trailer for "Amazing Spider-Man," hours before the world premiere.

Each of the four special guests then answered a question about the upcoming film. Webb addressed the new story and villain. Stone described how Gwen Stacy is the polar opposite to Mary Jane Watson. Ifans explained how Dr. Connors' flaws make him more significant and how the connection to Peter's father makes the film more emotional.

Garfield answered a simple question — "Why did you want to be Spider-Man?" — in a simple and honest way: "Because I'm not an idiot," he said. "It's the thing everyone wants." He explained that the role doesn't belong to him, the character belongs to everyone. Garfield even expressed hopes that the next actor to play Peter Parker would be "half Hispanic/half African-American," like the current iteration of Spider-Man in the Ultimate run, Miles Morales.

The event concluded with an extended sizzle reel, lasting about seven minutes in all, of new 2-D footage, much of which was unfinished. Scenes included an awkward and cute scene between Peter and Gwen and a short sequence showing Peter developing his powers.

Check out everything we've got on "The Amazing Spider-Man."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

'Hunger Games' Stars 'Blown Away' By The Capitol

But Jennifer Lawrence is less excited about her singing: 'I am a horrible singer. And I'm an even worse person to be around when I'm singing.'
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Jennifer Lawrence
Photo: MTV News

For our fellow "Hunger Games" fans who obsess over Suzanne Collins' brilliant books and their upcoming film adaptations as much as we do, there are so many things to love about the story that it's difficult to pick just one or two (or five) things we're looking forward to seeing when the movie opens March 23. But two of the most intriguing elements involved in the book-to-movie translation are what the Capitol will look like and how star Jennifer Lawrence will sound singing Rue's Lullaby.

MTV News was lucky enough to get a few hints about those specific topics during our recent chat with Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, both of whom can't wait to see the Capitol in the finished film but disagree about their excitement for Lawrence's singing skills.

"[I'm excited to see] everything in the Capitol," Lawrence said. "Every time we showed up at a Capitol scene, I was so blown away. Everything was more than you could have even imagined."

"What was cool about the stuff in the Capitol, so much was practical," Hutcherson added. "The whole apartment scene was all a set they built that was super, incredibly futuristic and amazing, and to see how that is integrated with the whole green-screen world as well is going to be really, really cool."

Lawrence was not quite as enthusiastic about hearing her voice in the film, however. When we brought up the subject, she seemed to immediately get nervous about it.

"Oh God, oh God. Yeah, I did [sing]," she said when asked about recording "Rue's Lullaby." "I'm a terrible singer."

"She's not," Hutcherson said.

"No, Josh! Stop," Lawrence said to Hutcherson with sincerity. "He is messing with everyone."

"She's been called the songbird of her generation," Hutcherson jumped in with a smile, referencing a Will Ferrell line in "Step Brothers."

"My voice is a combination of Fergie and Jesus," Lawrence played along. "No, I am a horrible singer. And I'm an even worse person to be around when I'm singing. I'm a terrible singer. I hated it."

Lawrence said the recording process with famed producer T-Bone Burnett was particularly excruciating.

"T-Bone Burnett, like, the best person to ever happen to music is, like, listening in the other room. I kept getting ready, and then the music would play, and I'd [freak out]," she recalled. "Nothing would come out of my mouth."

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

Daniel and Danger tell MTV News what they're looking forward to on the latest episode, which airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
By Christina Garibaldi

Matt "Danger" and Daniel of "Caged" teach MTV News' Christina Garibaldi fighting moves
Photo: MTV News

The stars of MTV's new docu-series "Caged" have been in the ring with some of the fiercest competitors in their league. They've been punched, kicked and even knocked unconscious.

Yet, when two of the stars from the show, Daniel and Matt (a.k.a Danger), visited New York City, we put them up against their toughest competition yet: Me.

That's right, I put Daniel and Danger up to the ultimate challenge of teaching me MMA. After much instruction, I was taught to punch, kick and work my way out of what they call a "schoolyard headlock," which is not as easy as it may look. Even though they assured me I was ready to enter the cage, I think I will leave the fighting up to them.

After our workout, we took Daniel and Danger to the heart of New York: Times Square. Just a few months ago, these two could have never dreamt of leaving their small town of Minden, Louisiana, but as they strolled through Times Square for the first time, these two were both mesmerized as they took in the sights and sounds and their newfound fame.

"It is an adjustment," Daniel said. "I'm dealing with it pretty good, though. It's just trying to get used to people acting like I'm a superstar or something."

Fans might think they know everything about Daniel, but with the fifth episode airing Monday (February 6) at 10 p.m. ET, he is ready for everyone to see a new side.

"I can't wait for the fans to see me being more open," Daniel said. "The honest side of me, because I hate if there's any chance of me being fake. I want to be honest to everybody. I don't like lying to people or being fake, that's one of the biggest things for me."

Danger, who faced his toughest opponent in last week's episode, wants fans to recognize just how much he has developed as a fighter.

"I'm just excited for everybody to see my fights. I worked really hard at this," Danger said. "I love fighting. I take it very seriously. I plan on moving forward with it in the future. I'm really excited for everyone to see my fights and see me grow as a fighter and as a person through the season."

Don't miss "Caged" every Monday at 10 p.m. ET on MTV. For continuing "Caged" coverage, be sure to check in with MTV's Remote Control blog.

Related Videos

Caged | Ep. 5 | Sneak Peek

Jay-Z At Carnegie Hall: Five Things We Want To See

We're hoping for a Beyoncé sighting and some NY-centric rap cameos for Hov's first-ever concert at the famed venue tonight.
By Rob Markman

Jay-Z
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Jay-Z has seen it all and done it all — or so we thought. Just when it looked like there was no new ground for Hov to cover, the multiplatinum rap superstar announced he would be performing a pair of shows at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.

For the first time ever, Jay will hit the Carnegie Hall stage on Monday night (February 6), followed by a second show on Tuesday, and it's all for a good cause. Proceeds from the privately sold premium-priced tickets will go to Jigga's Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and the United Way in an effort to put low-income New York City students in a position to attend college.

When Hov first announced the concert dates back in December, he told MTV News that he wasn't sure what the night would bring, but Jay-Z fans know the rap mogul often has a trick or two up his Maison Martin Margiela sleeves. Here are some things we hope to see:

"Glory" featuring B.I.C.
Two days after wife Beyoncé gave birth to the couple's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, Big Poppa Jay dropped "Glory," a dedication track to daddy's little girl. The Pharrell-produced track featured the "Streets Is Watching" rapper like we've never seen him as he rhymed about the joys of fatherhood. Hopefully, Jay will perform the track ... and maybe even roll out Baby Blue in a stroller for her first public appearance? It would be an incredible, if highly unlikely moment.

Beyoncé
"Crazy in Love," "Déjà Vu," "Upgrade U," Jay and Queen B have no shortage of hit records to perform. Granted, Beyoncé is probably on some type of musical maternity leave (and deservedly so). But it sure would be nice to see B make her first post-birth appearance onstage and hand-in-hand with hubby Hov.

"N---as in Paris" — Multiple Times
People love Paris. While out on the Watch the Throne Tour, Jay-Z and Kanye West would perform their fan-favorite "N---as in Paris" multiple times each night. On the final stop in Vancouver, the duo rocked the song a record-breaking 11 times. So how many times will he rock the song at Carnegie Hall? "We have to do a rendition of 'N---as in Paris' in Carnegie Hall; it just has to go down," Jay laughed back in December. "I ain't think about that. That'll be great."

Rap Guests
Jay has a ton of rap friends. From Big Daddy Kane to Kanye West, Hova's list of hip-hop collaborators is as long as his paper — maybe longer. Will he bring out the LOX for "Reservoir Dogs," Eminem for "Renegade" or Nas for "Black Republican"? You never know with Hov.

New Material
During our December interview with Jay, the God MC hinted that 2012 would bring a new solo album for him and possibly another from the Throne. It's still early in the year, but how cool would it be for Jay to debut some fresh material for the Carnegie audience? It's for charity after all!

What are you expecting when Jay-Z plays Carnegie Hall for the first time? Tell us on our Facebook page!

Related Artists

Jay-Z

The Wanted Get 'Glee' Love

British boy band's Battleground single, 'Glad You Came,' will be featured on this season of the hit Fox show.
By Jocelyn Vena

The Wanted
Photo: MTV News

The Wanted are currently taking their fist-pumping boy band antics across America, and it seems that whatever they are doing is working. The guys just confirmed that their Battleground single, "Glad You Came," will appear on "Glee" this season.

The guys made the announcement on Twitter on Monday (February 6). The song originally appeared on their 2011 album and is now getting some love Stateside. It's already hit back in their native U.K., having topped the charts there for several weeks last year.

And, all the U.S. attention is certainly a coup for the band. "The American fans are so optimistic, very intense," bandmate Max George told MTV News about all the U.S. attention. "They're just really enthusiastic. I get a massive buzz off American people. I think it's really refreshing."

While their fans back home have already scooped up Battleground, fellow Wanted singer Jay McGuiness explained that they hope their music comes before their image — though they may have plenty of tween girls screaming their names.

"I think when we first started we were just trying to create the best pop album we could because we knew that's what everyone wanted to hear," he said of their 2010 album debut. "And then the second time around you find you want to be a lot more creative, you want to put on personal things and the writing on the first album was fun and the writing on the second album was really personal.

"And that means every time we do a live gig and people are singing it back [and] it makes everything electric," he continued. "And I think nowadays boy bands can be part of that, where the music is as key as people find them attractive and we know that boy bands often had shelf lives because the image came before the music. And we're trying to be the other way around. So far it's working because we like singing and people like listening to us."

The band — which also includes Tom Parker, Siva Kaneswaran and Nathan Sykes — is here promoting Battleground. Their U.S. tour will wrap up on Wednesday in Los Angeles before they kick off an arena tour on February 15 in their native England.

Are you excited for the "Glee" cast to perform "Glad You Came"? Leave your comment below!

Related Artists

The Wanted

Clint Eastwood Scores With Patriotic Super Bowl Ad

'It's halftime, America, and our second half is about to begin,' actor/director says in emotional Chrysler spot.
By Rob Markman

Clint Eastwood
Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/ Getty Images

With the New York Giants down 10-9 to the New England Patriots at halftime of the big game on Sunday, we're pretty sure coach Tom Coughlin gave the eventual Super Bowl champions a hell of a speech. Still, last night's most memorable pep talk came from an unlikely hero, Clint Eastwood.

"It's halftime," Dirty Harry grunted in the opening moments of a dramatic Chrysler spot that aired while both teams were in the locker room and Madonna was preparing to excite the world at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The emotional ad juxtaposed the Giants and Patriots' mid-game huddle-up and contextualized it against the country's current economic woes. "It's halftime in America, too," the Oscar-winning actor/director continued. "People are out of work and they're hurting and they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback."

During a night when Hollywood rolled out blockbuster trailers for big-budget films like "The Avengers" and "Battleship" and companies like Go Daddy and H&M used sex to sell their products, Chrysler took an inspirational approach, one even more poignant than last year's Eminem "Imported From Detroit" spot.

Clint goes on to describe the people in Detroit and their resilience in the midst of a collapsed auto industry. He then turns the focus back to America as a whole, which is still trying to gain footing in a time of economic turmoil. "I've seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. Time when we didn't understand each other," the 81-year old Eastwood says. "But after those trials we all rallied around what was right and acted as one, because that's what we do."

With the drama building, Clint adds some fight to his voice in a passionate call to arms. "This country can't be knocked down with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world will hear the roar of our engines," he says in closing. "Yeah, it's halftime, America, and our second half is about to begin."

Game on!

Related Videos

Super Bowl 46: Movie Spots

Related Photos

Super Bowl XLVI Performances: Madonna And Kelly Clarkson

By: Maryland Real Estate | Baltimore Real Estate | Annapolis Real Estate
Generated by Free RSS to HTML v1.27

Free Rock Internet Radio Toolbar