Jay-Z Takes Off Studio Time For Blue Ivy Time

'I just wanna enjoy those moments for a bit and I'm sure that feeling of music will come back to me,' Jay-Z tells MTV News of his daughter.
By Rob Markman

<P><b>PHILADELPHIA</b> &#8212; These days, Jay-Z would rather rock the cradle than rock the mic. After the birth of he and Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy, Hov figured that he'd be so inspired by fatherhood that he'd be locked in the studio pouring his heart out. But fate has more immediate plans for the God MC, at least for the time being.</P><P>"I thought that I would after my daughter was born. I thought I would be more inspired with all the new feelings and everything that I'd have to write about, but it really happened the other way," Big Poppa Hov told MTV News told in Philadelphia following a press conference where he announced his two-day Made in America music festival. "I just really wanna hang out with her. I just wanna enjoy those moments for a bit and I'm sure that feeling of music will come back to me."</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Jay-Z More Into Blue Ivy Than Music, At The Moment" id="vid:768866" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>Jigga fans shouldn't worry though, when he does return to the booth, Jay will have a ton to rap about. Just days after baby Blue was born, Hov released "Glory," a track dedicated to his daughter. Not only did he rhyme of his innermost feelings, Jay also featured a sampling of Blue Ivy's first cries on the Pharrell Williams-produced track.</P><P>"A younger, smarter, faster me/ Saw a pinch of Hov, a whole glass of B," the one-time hustler rapped about his first born.</P><P>Long-time Jay fans shouldn't be too surprised by the rapper's intimate soul-bearing, he's been doing it since his 1996 debut album <I>Reasonable Doubt.</i></P><P>"My music has always been like that, if you listen to 'Glory' and you listen to 'Regrets,' which was on my first album, side by side, it's exploring the same sort of emotions," he insists. "It's just one deals with my mom, one deals with my daughter."</P><P>On "Regrets," a younger, much darker Jay addressed the ills of his former street life, but he framed his feelings within the confines of his mother's teachings. "You used to hold me, told me that I was the best/ Anything in this world I want, I could possess/ All that made me want is all that I could get/ In order to survive gotta learn to live with regrets," he spit on the song's heartfelt hook.</P><P>"My music has always been filled with those sort of emotions," he reasoned.</P><P><center></center></p>

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Lady Gaga's New Album Will Be 'Insane'

'Look out for the unexpected when it comes to her,' Gaga's co-manager says of the follow-up to Born This Way.
By James Montgomery

<P>If there's one positive that Lady Gaga fans can take from her decision to cancel a June 3 concert in Indonesia, perhaps it's this: at least she'll have more time to work on her album.</P><P>Yes, though she's currently in the midst of a two-year world tour, Gaga is already hard at work on the follow-up to 2011's <i>Born This Way</i> and, according to her co-manager, she's going to push the boundaries even further this time around (which is sure to please those Indonesian Islamic groups).</P><P>"There's a lot of work to come, [I'm] very excited about it," Vincent Herbert revealed in a new interview with website That Grape Juice. "[It's] just [an] insane, great record. She's on tour right now, but it's just going to be a great record. Look out for the unexpected when it comes to her. We're doing it on the road right now, so it's a little hard, but it's going to be great."</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><P>Herbert wouldn't reveal specifics &#8212; tentative release date, title, who she's been working with, etc. &#8212; about the new album, but the news that she's recording on the road is actually in keeping with the way she began work on <I>Born This Way,</i> when standout tracks like "Marry The Night" took shape with producer Fernando Garibay during her long-running Monster Ball Tour.</P><P>"I just kind of got on the American leg of the tour ... and she goes, 'I want to write another song that can define where I'm at with this album and my life,' " Garibay told MTV News last year. "I go back to the studio bus; I'm just working on parts ... and then, two hours later, she comes offstage and she goes, 'Do you have something to play me?' And I go, 'I do, actually.'</P><P>"So I played her the instrumental for 'Marry the Night,' and she goes, 'Open up a mic,' " Garibay continued. "She starts laying down the whole song, like, off the cuff ... right off the stage, using the energy of that crowd and going into the studio, it was amazing. I can't compare it to anything."</P><P><i>What do you hope the </i>Born This Way<i> follow-up will sound like? Tell us in the comments section!</i></P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Lady Gaga's Musical Roots" id="vid:657640" width="415" height="255"></div><p></p>

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HGTV, LA and Dining Room Tables

I've been watching a lot of HGTV since coming to LA. My favorite shows are House Hunters and House Hunters International. There's also another show I like to watch called For Rent, but only because it makes me angry.

When it comes to apartments/homes, I think living in New York for the past eleven years has made me bitter because there was this whiny broad on For Rent a few nights ago who was looking at a huge place—A HUGE PLACE—and was like, "There's no place for a dining room table..."

B*TCH, YOU'RE LUCKY TO GET A KITCHEN IN NEW YORK.

I hated her.

Now there's some stupid lady on House Hunters who wants a townhouse with a fireplace that she can turn on with a light switch. IT HAS TO BE A LIGHT SWITCH because she doesn't want to bend down and flip a switch on the floor.

WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE?

Anyway, I know my LA update is WAY overdue (and truth be told I wrote a long one last week but for some reason it didn't save so I lost the whole thing and I was so angry that I just said, "Ah, f*ck it," and closed the computer instead of rewriting) but to give you a quick update, I AM SO HAPPY HERE. I MEAN, I'M REALLY, REALLY HAPPY. And I think living here and watching HGTV—both of these things combined—has made me realize that New York was just beating me down. I mean, the fireplace lady—yes, she's an idiot. But there's nothing wrong with wanting a dining room table. Why did I get so mad at that lady?

Since being here, at least once a day I ask myself why I have lived in New York for so long. (It's like I had Stockholm Syndrome or something.) CALIFORNIA IS AWESOME. It's like the promised land. It's sunny all the time and there are birds and flowers everywhere. I have space out here. I have a sofa on the patio out here. I HAVE A SOFA OUTSIDE. I haven't seen one rat since I've been here. But hummingbirds? THEY ZIP BY MY HEAD EVERY DAY. I am so happy.

I'm supposed to go back to New York in November, but truth be told, I'm not sure I will.

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'X Factor' Judges Discuss 'Bizarre' Performances, Infighting

Britney Spears admits the other judges 'ganged up' on her when they disagreed with her critique of a contestant.
By John Mitchell

<P>"The X Factor" judges Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid and Louis Walsh, the British "X Factor" panelist who has been sitting in for Simon Cowell while he recovers from bronchitis, are in Kansas City, Missouri, as auditions for the second season of the reality singing competition continue. The group gave their first interview since Spears and Lovato were announced as judges at the Fox upfronts.</P><P>The judges discussed the "bizarre" performances they've seen, how they get along, whether Spears' and Lovato's careers as performers make them more sympathetic or critical of the contestants, and the one time everyone ganged up on Britney.</P><P>"I feel like we've had a little bit of bizarre performances overall," Spears said of the Kansas City performances. "There have been some good ones, but for the most part, there's been some that were pretty bad!"</P><P><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMzk*NTY5MzE5MjMmcHQ9MTMzOTQ1NjkzNTI*MiZwPSZkPSZnPTImbz1jMGY3ZmFmYjY*OTU*MTQzYTBjYWM1Zjdh/NjVlM2ZhMiZvZj*w.gif" /></P><P>Reid admitted that he and Spears "get along good," but that much like Cowell, Walsh has been the quippy thorn in Reid's side.</P><P>Luckily for Walsh, though, he does get along with the two women judges. "Britney likes me and Demi likes me," he said.</P><P>Asked which judge the rest of the team tends to agree with the most, Reid said that Spears has the best eye for contestants that have that special something. "We tend to agree with Britney more than others. Honestly, I'm being funny, but she has amazing taste."</P><P>"You ganged up on me one time though," Spears quickly countered, half-jokingly. "You three guys did. One time, [and] it wasn't nice!"</P><P>"One time out of 75 auditions, that's not bad," Reid replied.</P><P>As for what makes Spears happiest when judging, she said, "It's the best feeling when someone comes onstage and just makes us want to stand up and gives us energy."</P><P>Having made their names as entertainers, both Spears and Lovato admitted that their careers have helped them relate to the contestants because they've "been in their shoes." But it's a double-edged sword because it has made both judges more sympathetic to the show's contestants, particularly when they have to deliver bad news.</P><P>"It's something I've definitely had to learn. At first, I really didn't even want to do it," Lovato said of having to criticize contestants. "It's easier to say, when you're having meetings with people, 'Oh yeah, it will totally come easy,' or something. But when I got in the seat and had to give negative criticism to somebody ... it sucks. But they're asking for your advice, and by stepping on that stage, they also know that you could not like their performance. They're taking a chance, and I'm going to take a chance by telling them something that I believe."</P><P>The interview comes on the heels of news that all four judges walked off the set after a disastrous audition in which a contestant &#8212; who reportedly wasn't a particularly talented singer &#8212; sang with his back to the panel. "It was really awkward," a source told People.com. "They didn't want to waste their time."</P><P>People also reported that Spears is proving to be a tougher judge than many expected. A source told the magazine, "She's got a really good instinct, and when she loves something, she looks like she wants to dance on the desk. When she doesn't like someone, she is incredibly tough."</P><P>For her part, the pop star insists her firm stance is in the best interest of the contestants. "It's all tough love ... I promise!" Spears tweeted along with a link to the <i>People</i> article.</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>

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Lindsay Lohan: Kimono Cutie on “Liz & Dick”

She’s been going all out for her big comeback role in “Liz and Dick” and Lindsay Lohan posted a photo of herself in a skimpy red kimono on the set.

The “Mean Girls” actress got into the Japanese vibe of the scene and added the caption, “Konichiwa!” as she posed in a black bob wig.

Prior to the red getup, LiLo had also been seen running around in a towel and robe after filming a poolside sex scene with her costar Grant Bowler.

Lindsay’s gig playing Elizabeth Taylor marks her first lead role since “Labor Pains” back in 2009, which was universally panned.

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