‘Down’ singer is more than halfway done with the project, set to include Lil Wayne, Pitbull and more.
By Akshay Bhansali, with reporting by Tim Kash

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Jay Sean


Photo: Nuzhat Naoreen/ MTV News

Sorry, Jay Sean fans. If you were expecting a new song to follow his first two Stateside singles “Down” and “Do You Remember,” you’ll be disappointed. While many a message board (and Sean himself, at one point) touted the ballad “War” as his third single, the pop/R&B singer has, in fact, moved on — not on to another gem from his U.S. debut, All or Nothing, but a brand-spankin’-new album.

“We are basically straight on to the next one,” Sean told MTV News when we caught up with him at the New York studio of the Orange Factory, the production outfit behind the majority of All. “I was already halfway through the album by the time ‘Do You Remember’ was hitting radio. We listened to it, and we were like, ‘You know what? I want to hit them with something fresh right now, not something that is off [this] album. Let’s go now, while we are ahead of the game, while we are ahead of the curve.’ ”

Last September, Jay Sean became the most successful male U.K. urban artist in U.S. chart history, with “Down” topping the Billboard Hot 100. The singer is now well on his way to releasing a new album.

“I’d say we are three-quarters done,” Sean said. “The majority of the album is [produced] by the Orange Factory, the same people who did ‘Down’ and ‘Do You Remember.’ I think this album is a little more grown and sexy. Not saying that I’ve grown older and sexier, but for me, this album is a natural progression. And that’s where I wanted to go and where it felt right.

After dropping two singles, boasting the likes of Lil Wayne, Sean Paul and Lil Jon, the artist from Hounslow, England, already has a few more exciting partnerships in the can for this next project — and another he’s hoping will come to fruition. And Sean recently made his own guest feature on Mary J. Blige’s emotional “Each Tear.”

“She’s actually gonna be on my album as well,” Sean said of Blige. “You’re gonna see Pitbull on the album. Wayne, of course. We are gonna get some of the Young Money characters involved. But really, I’d love to work with Rihanna. So I’m gonna see if I can come up with the right song for that.”

Who would you like to see featured on Jay Sean’s next album? Tell us in the comments!

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‘It just comes with the territory,’ singer says.
By Jocelyn Vena

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Christina Aguilera


Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

Christina Aguilera plans to stop by “American Idol” in May to give fans a taste of her upcoming album Bionic, but some who have heard the first single “Not Myself Tonight” have compared the new Aguilera sound to Lady Gaga.

“It just comes with the territory. That, in particular, is not even worth wasting the breath to comment on,” she told the Bert Show on Q100 in Atlanta Tuesday morning (April 20). “I’ve been around for over a decade and I think my work speaks for myself. [When I was younger] I would have engaged, been a little upset [about the comparisons]. There’s a bigger picture out there. I’ve got my son, my family, my work.”

In another interview with Atlanta’s Star 94 FM on Tuesday she added, “No rip-offs, we’re all inspired by different things. I was inspired … by artists that came before me. … You know what I love about the new breed of newcomers is that they’re risk takers. They’re doing things that aren’t so safe. … I always had the guts and passion to do things like that. … I’m happy to see that people have come full-circle and are now accepting it and are into it and these girls have the guts to do it.”

It’s not the first time people have compared the two blond pop stars. In 2008, Aguilera addressed the comparisons, revealing that she didn’t even know who Lady Gaga. “You know, that’s funny that you mention that. This person [Lady Gaga] was just brought to my attention not too long ago,” she told the L.A. Times in November 2008. “I’m not quite sure who this person is, to be honest. I don’t know if it is a man or a woman. I just wasn’t sure. I really don’t spend any time on the Internet, so I guess I live a little under a rock in that respect.”

What do you think of the comparisons between Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga? Let us know in the comments below!

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Members of R.E.M., Meat Puppets, She & Him join the rest of Big Star to remember the late Chilton.
By James Montgomery

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Alex Chilton


Photo: Frank Mullen/ Wireimage

AUSTIN, Texas — It was unseasonably cold deep in the heart of Texas on Saturday night, as winds howled and low-hanging clouds swallowed up the moon. It was the kind of weather that seems to lend itself to mourning.

But inside venerable Austin blues bar Antone’s, mourning wasn’t on the menu (there were, however, tacos). Instead, friends, colleagues and disciples of the late Alex Chilton, who died earlier this week of an apparent heart attack, had gathered to pay tribute to the man and his music. And while there were a few tears shed, this was a night very much dedicated to celebration.

Originally scheduled as a South by Southwest closing concert by Chilton’s influential power-pop band Big Star, the Antone’s gig instead became a memorial show. Original Star drummer Jody Stephens and newer members Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer (who joined the band when it reformed in 1993) served as a house band as a host of top-flight talent sat in to perform Chilton’s songs and celebrate his life. Canceling the show was never an option.

Before things got under way, Stephens addressed the crowd, telling them he was “stunned and shocked” by Chilton’s passing, and thanked the Austin musical community for its outpouring of support in the days following his death. He said his heart went out to Chilton’s wife, Laura, and a letter she had written for the evening was read. In the note, Laura Chilton remembered her husband as a “spontaneous, honest and generous man … who usually befriended the underdogs.”

The letter brought tears to those onstage and in the audience, but as soon as Stephens was joined by Stringfellow and Auer, the sadness stopped. The trio welcomed Meat Puppet Curt Kirkwood to the stage to play guitar and sing on a stomping pair of Big Star classics — “Don’t Lie to Me” and “In the Street.”

Up next was guitarist/producer Chris Stamey, who played with Chilton early in his career and went on to form jangle-pop outfit the dBs. The quartet launched into “I Am the Cosmos” (written by late Big Star member Chris Bell), highlighted by a weeping Stamey guitar solo, and “When My Baby’s Beside Me.”

She & Him’s M.Ward appeared next (Auer introduced him as “a guy who used to take karate lessons with Alex”) to do a somber, acoustic version of “Big Black Car.” Then original Star bassist Andy Hummel — who left the band shortly before the release of their 1974 album, Radio City — picked up a guitar, and as die-hard fans cheered wildly, the foursome took on “Way Out West.”

R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills sang lead on an effervescent “Jesus Christ.” John Doe from X did the same on “I’m in Love With a Girl,” and 27-year-old Norwegian singer Sondre Lerche turned in perhaps the night’s finest performance, a bell-clear and big-voiced turn on the classic “The Ballad of el Goodo,” which left the crowd shouting their approval.

Evan Dando performed a brief acoustic tribute. Surly singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet blasted through “Thank You Friends,” and then, finally, the tribute entered the homestretch. Auer thanked Chilton’s friends for performing, and the crowd for their support, then announced, “We’ve exhausted our supply of songs, except for this last one.”

And then, with Mills, Hummel, singer Susan Cowsill, and the Watson Twins joining them onstage, the band began playing the wistful, wonderful “September Gurls,” all joining forces on the chorus and letting the guitars ring loudly. The crowd called out for more, but that was it. Stephens, Auer and Stringfellow embraced, bowed and disappeared offstage. Seconds later, as the crowd clapped and a spotlight shone on a lone microphone stand, Stephens reappeared and addressed the crowd once more, thanking them for the wonderful memories and their unyielding support for the band as they struggle with the loss of their friend.

“You’ve wrapped your arms around us,” Stephens said, choking up a bit. “We appreciate it.”

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The only thing wilder than Nip/Tuck‘s storylines are the FX drama’s kinky — and graphic — sex scenes. But Kelly Carlson, who played the ex-porn star wife of Christian (Julian McMahon), says even the most outrageous scenes were “just a regular day at work.” Get the scoop on which scenes were the craziest for the actress, and why she wasn’t impressed with the way Kimber was killed off. She also told us how she kept herself separate from her wild character.

Roma Maffia on Nip/Tuck‘s final episodes: “Anything can happen”

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