Adam Lambert's 'Whole Lotta Love': The Story Behind The Cover

Glam rocker tackled the legendary 1970 Led Zeppelin song for 'American Idol' rock night.
By Gil Kaufman

<P>Imagine a freight train speeding toward you at midnight. Or a rockslide barreling down a hill as you try to outrace it. That's the feeling of the ominous, chugging Jimmy Page riff that kicks off <MTVNLINK type="url" id="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/led_zeppelin/artist.jhtml">Led Zeppelin</MTVNLINK>'s 1970 Stonehenge of rock, "Whole Lotta Love." And that's before singer Robert Plant leans into one of the nastiest, ecstatic rock screams this side of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."</P><P>That's the song Adam Lambert chose to sing on "American Idol" rock night Tuesday (May 5), and, needless to say, it was a challenge that the eyeliner-loving Los Angeles stage veteran was more than up for, hitting a series of high notes and rock screams that would have made Plant proud. It was a risky maneuver that paid off for Lambert, who chose a tune that came in at #75 on <I>Rolling Stone</i> magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004.</P><P></p><div style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;"> </div><p></P><P>The legendary British rock act recorded the tribute to Chicago blues icon Willie Dixon during their second U.S. tour after working it out in their live show, including it on their 1969 classic album <I>Led Zeppelin II.</i> Like many of the songs Zeppelin performed early in their career, "Love" was a blues standard turned on its head with a heavy dose of crunching psychedelic guitar and thundering drums, courtesy of late drummer John Bonham. The song was based on a 1962 tune by another blues forefather, Muddy Waters, called "You Need Love," which was penned by Dixon.</P><P>For Zeppelin's version, Plant customized the lyrics by adding some lyrical quotes from a few other songs Dixon wrote for Howlin' Wolf, "Back Door Man" and "Shake For Me," nailing the tricky vocal in a single take. It was also inspired by 1966's "You Need Loving" from the British rock group the Small Faces, for whom Zeppelin had great affection, but they also did not credit Dixon for his part in writing the original lyrics. The song became Zeppelin's first U.S. single and their only U.S. top 10 hit. Though their manager would not let them release singles in the U.K. because he thought it cannibalized album sales, the song was finally released as the band's only British single in 1997.</P><P>Dixon sued Zeppelin over the song in 1985, claiming it borrowed too heavily from his "You Need Love," and Zeppelin reached an agreement with him, with Dixon using the money he received to set up a program that provided musical instruments for schools. A cornerstone of heavy rock, the tune -- which was the theme song for the long-running British countdown show "Top of the Pops" in the 1970s and '80s -- has been covered by dozens of artists over the years, from Tina Turner and Ben Harper to Prince, Slash, Leona Lewis, Train's Pat Monahan, the London Symphony Orchestra and Jane's Addiction.</P><P><b>Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.</b></p>

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'Glee' Star Chris Colfer Teases Michael Jackson Tribute Episode

'I sing part of 'Black [or] White.' I'm the 'white' in 'Black [or] White,' ' actor reveals on the Golden Globes red carpet.
By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

<P>Fox's song-and-dance series "Glee" is no stranger to a star-studded cameo or two, with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, John Stamos and Kristin Chenoweth all walking the halls of McKinley High during the past two and a half seasons. And as the show returns from a month-long hiatus, Gleeks aren't the only ones anticipating a few more famous faces. As star Chris Colfer told MTV News on the Golden Globes red carpet, there's plenty to look forward to when New Directions warble again January 17.</P><P>"Well, the Michael Jackson episode ...," Colfer answered when asked about his most-anticipated upcoming episodes. "We have a Spanish episode coming up with Ricky Martin. We have a Valentine's Day episode coming up, so that's going to be fun."</P><P><CENTER></CENTER></P><P>Martin is slated to play "the hottest Spanish teacher ever in the history of Ohio," according to TVLine. The actor/singer recently tweeted a joyful picture from his first day on set.</P><P>As to how the King of Pop's prolific songbook will manifest itself in the January 31 tribute episode, Colfer explained, "Well, I sing part of 'Black [or] White.' I'm the 'White' in 'Black [or] White,' and I sing 'Ben,' that famous song he wrote for the rat."</P><P>The rodent in question is the pet of a young boy named Danny in the 1972 film "Ben." Jackson sang a version of the theme song that appeared in the movie's closing credits and was later included on his 1972 album also named <em>Ben</em>. The track "Black or White" was the first single off of Jackson's 1991 album <em>Dangerous</em>.</P><P><big><b>Stick with MTV News all night for the 2012 Golden Globes winners, and don't miss all the fashion from the Golden Globes red carpet!</b></big></p>

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How 'Avengers' Assembled A Truly Incredible Hulk

Joss Whedon 'knew exactly the [kind of] Hulk he wanted to bring to the big screen,' VFX supervisor Jeff White tells MTV News.
By Josh Wigler


Mark Ruffalo as The Incredible Hulk in "The Avengers"
Photo: Marvel

Hate to break it to you, Dr. Banner, but $200 million and counting doesn't lie: They really, really like you when you're angry.

As "Marvel's The Avengers" approaches its second weekend in theaters with an eye toward furthering its historic box-office total, the fans tuning in for repeat viewings are likely coming back for the same reason: the green monstrosity known as the Hulk. Despite two previous movies with few to no fans to speak of, Hulk has emerged as the breakout star of the Marvel Studios superhero team-up, begging the question: How did director Joss Whedon and his team crack the code? What did they do to finally give fans a big-screen Jade Giant worth rooting for?

Having worked overtime on creating a more than worthwhile Hulk, "Avengers" visual effects mastermind Jeff White has plenty of thoughts on what made the character work this time around — chief among those reasons, the vision of Whedon himself.

"It was important to deliver on the performance that Joss was looking for," White told MTV News about why Hulk works in "Avengers." "He knew exactly the Hulk he wanted to bring to the big screen. All of the great moments Hulk has in the film was Joss really guiding us there."

Key to Whedon's vision was Mark Ruffalo, the Oscar-nominated actor who took on the role previously occupied by Edward Norton in "The Incredible Hulk." Unlike Norton, who only played Hulk's human counterpart, Ruffalo provided the motion-capture for "the other guy," allowing viewers to connect with the human side of the gamma-irradiated creature in a deeper way than ever before.

"That was a great design decision that Joss made early on: He wanted to see Mark Ruffalo in the design, and that was great for us, because that meant we could work with Mark," said White, who described the actor as "incredibly generous" throughout the Hulk creation process.

"We spent a lot of time capturing Mark's skin and his hair and every pore detail that he has," White elaborated on how Ruffalo provided the foundation for the Hulk. "We actually did a life-cast of him as part of capturing all of that. So starting every shot from something real — and because Mark did a performance for every shot — we could then capture that performance and apply it to our Mark Ruffalo digital double, and make sure we were getting the right performance to translate onto the Hulk. That's where an amazing amount of animation has to come in, in order to get that same performance from Mark onto the Hulk."

But another reason why the green monster worked so well this time around, ironically enough, was because he was less green and less monstrous.

"There were good design decisions made in terms of, he's desaturated color-wise, which helps him fit in with the Avengers much better. He's not super muscly all the time, either. Joss wanted us to go for a bit more of a wrestler aesthetic instead of just being super cut," White explained. "What's great about that is that when he does jump around and start smashing everything, we really have somewhere to go in terms of flexing the muscles and popping the veins."

In the end, Hulk flourished in "Avengers" for the same reason the movie worked so well on the whole: a combination of fantastic visual effects, strong performances, and clear creative vision from Whedon and Marvel Studios.

"It's not just one thing you can point to, but a series of very good decisions in terms of Joss and Marvel's approach to the Hulk this time," said White. "For one, I think Joss really knows the kind of action that people want to see the Hulk do. That shot of him slamming Loki was in there right from the beginning. It's phenomenal. People love it. That scene was there right from the very beginning. I think that was the key. And casting with Mark Ruffalo, and how much he worked with us in terms of the performance of the character and all of the textural details."

"With 'Avengers,' there were so many things to get right," he continued. "But everything we put into it, we knew the film would be judged by the success of the Hulk, so we're really happy that people are excited about it."

What do you think of the Hulk? Sound off in the comments section below!

Check out everything we've got on "Marvel's The Avengers."

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

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'Avengers' Smashes Box-Office Records: Experts Weigh In

'We are really in uncharted territory now with an opening like this,' one box-office expert tells MTV News.
By Fallon Prinzivalli


Scarlett Johansson in "The Avengers"
Photo: Disney/ Marvel

It's safe to say that everyone expected Marvel's "The Avengers" to smash the box office when it opened in U.S. theaters this weekend, but no one could foresee just how many records it would break.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the Joss Whedon-directed film grossed more than $207 million domestically this weekend, blasting away the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" record of $169 million. The film now also holds the #1 spot for highest Saturday gross of all time with a whopping $69.7 million made in a single day.

"We are really in uncharted territory now with an opening like this," Phil Contrino of BoxOffice.com told MTV News.

With "Avengers" exceeding fan and critic expectations, is the film poised to break any other records? Box Office Guru editor Gitesh Pandya predicts some hefty numbers. "It also broke the speed record for hitting $200 million, doing it in a mere three days, beating a trio of past hits that did it in five days," he said. "And I project it will become the fastest film in history to smash the $1 billion global box-office mark, doing it in about 20 days or so. 'Avengers' just might end up becoming the highest-grossing non-James Cameron film ever."

Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock agrees, saying, "[It] will likely take down many of 'The Dark Knight' and 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2' [records], including best first-week gross and fastest to $300 million."

But with such huge numbers in the beginning, there's a chance the film could drastically drop in weeks to come. "I don't think it can possibly manage to drop only 55-60 percent like most summer blockbusters, but if it does then it could very well challenge the $533.3 million domestic gross of 'The Dark Knight,' " Contrino said. "I don't think it will catch 'Titanic' or 'Avatar' domestically, but I wouldn't completely rule it out either. It all depends on how much repeat business it gets."

Pandya agrees that "Avengers" will have a sizable drop in its second weekend in theaters. "We won't see 'Titanic' or 'Avatar'-type legs here, but a final domestic gross of more than $450 million seems likely."

Bock is a little more optimistic, putting the overall domestic tally at $500 million. "As reviews have been through the roof, it will definitely benefit from repeat viewings," he said. " 'The Avengers' success is now the model by which all comic book franchises will now be judged. This certainly played out like a sequel, because it was built like one. In fact, this was a super-sequel arriving with the most built-in buzz in the history of modern-day cinema."

Contrino credits the buzz to Disney's incredible campaign to market the film. "They combined traditional marketing — TV spots, trailers — with plenty of outreach on Facebook and Twitter. Marketers will be studying this for years to come."

But marketing departments won't be the only teams studying up on Disney and Marvel's success. Bock believes DC Comics should be taking some notes. "Marvel maneuvered their characters like Bobby Fischer moved chess pieces — always thinking of the next move," he said.

"This was Marvel's master plan from the beginning and it turned into a master class. If DC can eventually get all their universe straightened out, there is no reason a Justice League movie couldn't blow up the box office like Marvel's 'Avengers' did."

Pandya agrees, crediting the success in part to the directors. "Other studios should learn to trust big franchises in the hands of talented directors and to keep fans engaged throughout the process so they feel like they are part of the team," he said. "Give audiences a solid piece of entertainment and they will reward you back with huge bags of cash."

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Christopher Schwarzenegger Takes Showbiz Kid to Prom

Like most high-school seniors around the country, Patrick Schwarzenegger, (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's 18-year-old son) went to the prom recently. But unlike most students, his date was the daughter of rich and famous parents. (Almost as famous as his own!)

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Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse Top Fans' Hologram Wish-Lists

Departed artists like Whitney Houston, Queen's Freddie Mercury and John Lennon also get mentions from fans in Times Square.
By Kate Callahan

<P><b>NEW YORK</b> &#8212; After the Tupac hologram performance at Coachella made such a huge splash, the team behind the projection system floated the possibility this week of an Elvis hologram to perform with Justin Bieber. Even '90s girl group TLC is rumored to be considering a virtual version of the late Left Eye on their upcoming tour.</P><P>With all that talk, MTV News hit Times Square to ask fans which departed artists they would most like to see perform in hologram form. While some of those interviewed wanted to see other rappers like the Notorious B.I.G. or Nate Dogg, one fan thought Whitney Houston should get the honors.</P><P></P><P>"I love her, I grew up singing her [songs], just walking around the house when I was seven or eight," Shayana of Houston said.</P><P>Brits Amy Winehouse and John Lennon of the Beatles were also popular picks, and a few rock fans mentioned Queen's flamboyant frontman. "It would have to be Freddie Mercury because Queen were one of the all-time greatest bands and he was a showman," said a fan named Rob.</P><P>Blane Mader would like to see a hologram of another great showman, Michael Jackson.</P><P>"It's a really clich&#233; answer, but in my time I've never seen him and it would just be something awesome to watch," Mader said of the King of Pop.</P><P>Members of the Jackson 5 recently announced that they would love to have a virtual Michael on their upcoming Unity Tour. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? As a matter of fact, we had that idea two years ago for Michael's Cirque du Soleil show," Michael's brother Jackie Jackson told E! News.</P><P><i>Share your wish-list for future hologram performers in the comments below!</i></P><P><center></center></p>

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