Beyonce's Shout-Out Floors Snuggie-Clad 'Countdown' Video Mastermind

Seeing praise for his 'Snuggie Version' tribute on B's website was 'the best moment of my life,' 16-year-old superfan tells MTV News.
By Cory Midgarden

<P>When Ton Do-Nguyen uploaded his shot-for-shot recreation of Beyoncé's "Countdown" video to the Web, he didn't expect it to be seen by anyone other than his friends and family. But with more than 500,000 views on YouTube and the stamp of approval from the Queen B herself, the junior class president from Pennsylvania has quickly learned the power of the Internet.</P><P>"I'm going on her website, and I just start screaming," Ton said about reading a post in which Beyoncé praises his "Snuggie Version," calling it "brilliant."</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Ton Do-Nguyen Made His Beyonce Parody For 'Fun'" id="vid:816890" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>"That was literally the best moment of my life &#8212; hands down," the 16-year-old told MTV News. "I was scared she would get mad. ... When she posted it on her wall and everything, it was so positive."</P><P>It's not just the superstar singing Ton's praises either: Everyone from Perez Hilton to "Glee" star Harry Shum Jr. are bowing down to the Snuggie-clad tribute, with the same question on everybody's mind: How the heck did he do it?</P><P>"For each specific part, I would just look on YouTube and try and get it down to a T in front of my mirror and go off and film it," Ton explained. "It's so tiring, and do you know what it's like to be in a Snuggie in the middle of July?"</P><P>And while the sleeved blanket was originally used merely as a fashion statement to set the two clips apart, Ton revealed that the body-length fleece ended up serving useful in the production as well: "I used my Snuggie as a blue screen and wore a blue shirt and then I just did my thing."</P><P><i>What do you think of Ton Do-Nguyen's recreation of "Countdown"? Tell us in the comments below!</i></P>

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Lady Gaga's ARTPOP: A History Of Album Title Oddities

From unpronounceable symbols to parentheses, Gaga's ALL-CAPS album title joins the ranks of the all-time weirdest.
By James Montgomery

<P>Over the weekend, Lady Gaga struck a blow against copy editors everywhere when she announced that the title of her new album, ARTPOP, must <i>always</i> be written in ALL CAPS, because "it's all in the details."</P><P>And while we're not trying to downplay said details, we'd be like to point out that Gaga isn't exactly the <i>first</i> artist to demand orthographical satisfaction. Shoot, she's not even the first to go ALL CAPS: Earlier this year, Linkin Park did the same thing with their LIVING THINGS album, only they one-upped Gaga by also requesting that all <i>songs</i> on the album also be written in all caps, bravely eschewing the lowercase for reasons apparent only to them.</P><P>In fact, the history of popular music is packed with affronts to punctuation &#8212; from early pioneers like the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and James Brown's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine" to more recent torchbearers like Panic! at the Disco and Godspeed You! Black Emperor &#8212; though rarely have artists had the audacity to extend that mistreatment to the album title itself.</P><P>Of course, there are those who have bravely dared to throw logic (and roughly 300 years of letter-case tradition) out the window when it came time to name their new albums. So in honor of Gaga's <i>ARTPOP</i> demands, here's a look back at some of the greatest &#8212; and by that, we mean most nonsensical &#8212; album titles in history.</P><P><b>Led Zeppelin's <i>IV</i></b>: At the peak of their powers &#8212; both artistically and, it would seem, <i>mystically</i> &#8212; Zeppelin decided they didn't need to title their fourth album. Instead, they printed four hand-drawn symbols (each representing a band member) on its inner sleeve. The move has subsequently enthralled generations of bong-glazed dorm inhabitants and only added to the album's mystique. In the 40 years since it was released, the record has come to be known as <i>IV,</i> <i>Runes,</i> <i>Zoso</i> (after Jimmy Page's symbol) and "the one with 'Stairway to Heaven' on it."</P><P><b>Prince's <i>Love Symbol</i> album</b>: Released in the lead-up to the Purple One's "symbol" phase &#8212; when he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable hieroglyph that incorporated the symbols for both male and female &#8212; it understandably infuriated his label, Warner Bros., which was precisely what Prince intended. (Note to labels: Do not release greatest-hits packages without Prince's approval.) After the album didn't sell (he blamed this on Warner), Prince would eventually begin appearing in public with the phrase "Slave" written on his face. Shocking, to be sure, but at least you could <i>pronounce</i> it.</P><P><b>Ministry's <i>Psalm 69</i></b>: Its actual title is a collection of Greek symbols (that translate to "head") and the number "69" in Greek numerals. Not only that, but Ministry named their 1992 album in honor of occultist Aleister Crowley's "The Book of Lies," which was first published as "Which is also Falsely Called BREAKS. The Wanderings or Falsifications of the One Thought of Frater Perduarbo, which Thought is itself Untrue. Liber CCCXXXIII [Book 333]." And <i>that</i> would have been a ridiculous name for an album.</P><P><b>Sigur Ros' <i>( )</i></b>: The Icelandic art-rockers really outdid themselves on their third album, and we're not just talking about the decision to sing all the songs in a made-up language called "Hopelandic." Technically, <i>( )</i> has no actual title. Rather, the brackets are meant to represent its two halves or give the listener the opportunity to determine the title themselves. Oh, and officially, all of the tracks on the album are untitled too. Your move, Gaga.</P><P><b>Coldplay's <i>X&Y</i></b>: Sure, it's got a traditional title. But ever the <i>artistes,</i> Coldplay decided to print the name of their 2005 album in the Baudot code, an early forerunner of the Morse code that relied on a series of 1's and 0's to convey messages. Needless to say, the logic behind the decision was about as difficult to crack as the code itself.</P><P><b>M.I.A. <i>/\/\ /\ Y /\</i></b>: Yes, we know that technically, M.I.A.'s 2010 album is called Maya (she named it after herself, following in the tradition of her first two albums, which were named in honor of her mother and father), but let the record state that when she officially unveiled the title, she did so in tricky typographical fashion. No wonder Diplo hated it so much.</P><P><b>Liars' <i>WIXIW</i></b>: It's pronounced "Wish You," FYI. And for a band like Liars, who have spent their career giving albums titles like <i>They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top</i> and <i>They Were Wrong, So We Drowned,</i> we'd like to think it's actually an improvement.</P><P><i>Sound off on the latest album title trend in the comments, and FEEL FREE TO DO IT IN ALL-CAPS!</i></P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Lady Gaga Has The Title And Concept For Her Next Album" id="vid:717202" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P>

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Britney Spears Demo Leaked By 'X Factor' Castoff

Don Philip, a former Spears backup singer, also takes a dig at Spears on Facebook after his unsuccessful audition.
By John Mitchell

<P>Britney Spears is busy traveling the U.S. in search of singers who have "The X Factor," but one rejected contestant (and former Spears backup singer) isn't handling his dismissal from the show all that well, releasing a previously unheard Spears demo and hitting out at the singer on Facebook.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Britney Spears Explains Why She Wanted To Be A Part Of 'X Factor'" id="vid:769620" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>Singer Don Philip released the track, originally titled "Pleasure You," on Wednesday on his SoundCloud. The singer &#8212; who duetted with Spears on the ballad "I Will Still Love You" off her debut album, <i>... Baby One More Time</i> &#8212; also appears on "Pleasure You." Digital Spy reports that the dance track is believed to be from a 2010 studio session for Spears' most recent album, the well-received <i>Femme Fatale.</i></P><P>Philip recently had an emotional reunion with Spears while auditioning for "X Factor" in San Francisco. The pop star reportedly recognized her former collaborator immediately and became emotional when Philip began crying onstage after what he has himself since admitted was a weak audition. She remained professional, however, and sided with her fellow judges in removing Philip from the competition.</P><P>He later took to his Facebook to explain why his audition went so poorly, and he also took a shot at Spears in the process. "Back to real life ... all my demons released ... I totally crocked when the pressure was on ... at least I didn't shave my head," he wrote. "My vocal [cords] tightened up like a snake around a mouse."</P><P>It is unclear whether Philip's vocal originally appeared on the "Pleasure You" demo or whether it was added later without Spears' knowledge.</P><P>The pop star has reportedly settled into her role as judge on "The X Factor" quite nicely. Talking to a paparazzi cameraman in Los Angeles in June, Simon Cowell said of Spears, "She's been amazing. She's really taking time to learn how to do this. She's got her confidence up. Once people give her a chance, I think people are really going to get her. It will be a big surprise. She's a tough judge."</P><P>"The X Factor" returns to Fox on September 12.</P>

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