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rap 101

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britney/brittany

um, yeah.

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"i'm smarter than the average bear!"

warner brothers released the trailer for yogi bear, their latest live action/animation mix today. there are hopes yogi bear can be the next alvin and the chipmunks, with franchise possibilities. dan akroyd voices the titular character, while singer-turned-actor justin timberlake (who's getting major oscar buzz for his role in the social network, the facebook biopic out friday) voices sidekick boo-boo bear. ben stiller's wife and the 90's marsha brady christine taylor voices yogi's love interest, cindy bear. all three actors donned motion-capture suits so that their animated counterparts would resemble them on-screen. tom cavanaugh round out the cast as the live action rachel and ranger smith, respectively. the film hits theaters december 17th.

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live, from new york...it's amy poehler!

amy poehler made her triumphant return to saturday night live this weekend to open the show's 36th season. the former cast member brought life back to the show that's been feeling a little limp since the 2008 high of election comedy. check out some highlights from amy's episode below, featuring cameos from tina fey, maya rudolph, justin timberlake, jimmy fallon, katy perry and rachel dratch.

to watch the full episode online, click here.

get you glee on a day early

here are the full version songs from tomorrow night's britney spears tribute ep of glee. it sounds like the episode will be mostly fantasy-based, with the kids of new directions getting anesthesia highs from uncle jesse...er, i mean john stamos as emma's (jayma mays') dentist/new boyfriend. heather morris, who plays dim-bulb cheerio brittany is the focus of the episode, aptly titled "britney/brittany." check her singing chops out (these are her first solos) on "slave 4 u" and "me against the music." the episode airs tomorrow on fox at 8/7c and features a cameo by miss spears herself.

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the sesame shore

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you again

you again won't win any oscars. or probably even the box office. but it can entertain you for two hours. kristen bell is quickly becoming the queen of stupid-fun rom-com's. the film follows bell as marni, a geek turned chic 8 years out of high school. when marni returns home for her brother's wedding, she soon learns his fiance (odette yustman) is none other than j.j., her high school nemesis. the movie follows marni's trials and tribulations as she attempts to split up the marriage. this is all paralleled by marni's mom (jamie lee curtis) dealing with high school nemesis, j.j'.s aunt ramona (sigourney weaver). the worst part of the film was the underutilization of the supporting cast. kristin chenoweth and betty white barely get any screen time, and when they do it's just for sight gags and quick laughs. another rivalry between white and cloris leachman is barely explored and could have added to you again. marni's lack of friends, in high school and in her adult life, is another hole the film needed to fill. overall, if you want to laugh and see some of hollywood's best comedic actresses at work, check out you again. but don't expect too much.

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the hills, take 2?

lauren conrad is poised to make her tv comeback. the former laguna beach and the hills star returns to her the network that made her, mtv, for a new reality show. the new series will follow lc in her real, real life. as in the life that slowly moved off-screen on the hills. it will be a fashion-focused show, following the creation of lc's new line (both for kohl's and boutiques). lc says her love life will remain off camera (she's dates actor kyle howard), but she also won't be in fake relationships. the show should premiere later this year.

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britney/brittany

next tuesday. 8/7c. fox.

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watch this. now.

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meet carly lind

i don't know much about this up coming pop singer/songwriter, but i know i like her. the berklee college of music student is a dash of ke$ha, a splash of rihanna and one part katy perry meets britney spears. she posts acoustic covers of top 40 songs on youtube and is starting to release original music. lind recently made it into the top 3 in the "search for the next fantana" contest - she lost to another girl but, according to her twitter, she'll be in some fanta commercials on mtv. this girl could be the next big thing. check out two of her original songs above and a dance preview of her upcoming music video for her original song "hot mess" below.

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selena swift?

taylor swift's reigning bff, selena gomez, covered swifty's hit "you belong with me" at a recent concert. and someone caught it on tape. she can actually sing and just about as good as taylor. check out the performance above.

and in glee news...

the hit fox comedy premieres its second season tomorrow night at 8/7 central. at least two new characters will be introduced in the premiere and even more are coming. rumor has it gwyneth palrow is set to take on a guest arch sometime in november (sweeps stunt anyone?). she'll play a substitute glee-advisor when mr. schu takes ill. the glee club-ers will fall for her and, supposedly, so will mr. schu. gwyneth shows off her singing chops in the upcoming drama country strong, in which she plays a troubled country music star trying to get her career back on track. check out the trailer below.

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easy a makes the grade

back when the trailer for easy a came out, i knew i wanted to see it. so, i did. easy a follows olive (emma stone) as she navigates the world of the high school rumor mill after her chastity is called into question. the ensemble cast, which includes amanda bynes, patricia clarkson, stanley tucci, thomas hayden church, lisa kudrow, aly michalka and penn badglet amongst other, are all great comedians. the writing is sharp and on point, with plenty of pop culture references to make anyone happy. it's very sarcastic and very witty. it's mean girls meets john hughes; the film even makes flat out references to the brat pack days. definitely check easy a out as soon as possible. i will definitely be seeing it again so i can start memorizing lines to repeat. yep, it's that good.

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check back...

review of easy a up tomorrow

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glee-k peak

here's your first listen of glee's second season premiere! gaga's "telephone," travie mccoy's "billionaire," beyonce's "listen," and "what i did for love" are all covered. "telephone" and "listen" feature guest star charice, mckinley high's foreign exchange student, sunshine. the second season premieres tuesday on fox.

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my jam

and she's only 9.

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the countdown is on

it's less than a week until glee's second season premieres on fox next tuesday. fox released the first single from the new season, a cover of jay-z and alicia key's "empire state of mind," and it is everything you've been missing from your life and more. after months without new glee music, this is exactly what we needed. artie (kevin hale), puck (mark salling), rachel (lea michele) and mercedes (amber riley) are the voices heavily featured on the track. check it out above and try to keep yourself sane until next tuesday rolls around.

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watch this

that is all.

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the vmas!

mtv's big night - and the only night they really turn their focus to music - the video music awards went down with just a few hitches last night. the show was preceded by a "very special episode" of jersey shore and a pre-show that was really just a long-form commercial for thursdays' episode of jersey shore. after every interview or performance they cut to a clip of snooki taking off her earrings and threatening to hurt angelina. anyway, nicki minaj was the first act to perform when she took the stage during the pre-show.
the sound was almost off (it's been fixed in the version mtv posted). will.i.am was in some bizarre blackface make-up. overall, it could have been so much better. nicki marked the beginning of the night's trend: lip-syncing. the majority of the artists who performed either lip-synced...or should have lip-synced.

eminem opened the show with a mash-up of "not afraid" and "love the way you lie," with a surprise appearance by rihanna, who was supposedly stuck filming her film debut, battleship. it was a good performance but it could have been bigger. i feel like mtv was playing it safe with the performances this year. it felt more like we were watching a concert performance instead of an award show.

chelsea handler's opening sketch and monologue set the right tone for the night and helped introduce the comedian to those who didn't know who she was.

chelsea then made her stage debut dressed as a bootleg lady gaga. it was the easy thing to do, but i also think it was the right thing to do. the dove flying out of her koslopus? not the right thing. but you win some, you lose some.

now to all the night's other performances...

i'll start with my favorite of the night, florence + the machine doing "dog days are over." it was a song that most people probably don't know, or only recognize from commercials, but it was the only song that was done specifically for the award show and couldn't have been done in concert.

justin bieber took the stage with a "u smile/baby/somebody to love" mash-up. i'd say he was the audience favorite.

the bieb's mentor usher took the stage later and, well, you can watch it here. mtv won't let me embed it, which is fine because it could have been so much more.

the best performance idea, and worst executed, of the night was the b.o.b./bruno mars/hailey williams/paramore mash-up. it could have been so much better had the stage been used. they were just standing around singing. that's fine for a concert, but this needs to be theatrical for tv.

and then there was taylor swift. oh, taylor swift. for as talented an artist she it, the girl is not a strong live performer. she's always a little all over the place and never sounds like her records. taylor performed "innocent," a song she wrote about the kanye west incident from last year. had they not played the clip from last year's show, no one would have known what the song was about. it sounds like all her other ballads (see: "fifteen"). taylor really needs to take some time away and reevaluate what kind of music she wants to make. she's no longer a teenager and, therefore, probably shouldn't be singing about being one. step back and make like carrie underwood - an edgier country-rock-pop sound could really work for swifty.

the only other highlight of the night was kanye's closing performance. he sang "runaway," which also seemed to be a nod to last year's incident. it's a little crass and i'm not the biggest fan of the song, but the performance is worth watching.

if you want to see drake's or another performance from the night, click here.

ok, now for the winners. the two names you need to know: lady gaga and eminem.

• video of the year - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best new artist - justin bieber, "baby"
• best hip-hop video - eminem, "not afraid"
• best pop video - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best male video - eminem, "not afraid"
• best rock video - 30 seconds to mars, "kings and queens"
• best female video - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best collaboration - lady gaga featuring beyonce, "telephone"
• best dance video - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best art direction - florence + the machine, "dog days are over"
• best choreography - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best cinematography - jay z featuring alicia keys, "empire state of mind"
• best direction - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best editing - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best special effects - muse, "uprising"
• breakthrough video - the black keys, "tighten up"

you can watch the whole show on-demand at mtv.com.

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video music awards

tonight at 9/8c on mtv. hosted by chelse

a handler. i'll be live tweeting @bricesander. rumor has it rihanna will be making a surprise appearance, taylor swift will sing a son about kanye. and lindsay lohan will address all her recent troubles. check back tomorrow for a full recap.

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oh my oprah

what does this premiere have in store? it looks like obama might be stopping by. and some favorite things-like gifts will be given. and like oprah's hair still needs some work. the premiere of oprah's farewell season airs monday. if you'd like to leave your mark on the oprah show that was, you can head to oprah.com and "oprah-fy" yourself. yes, oprah-fy yourself. basically, it works like face-in-hole. and i chose to embarrass myself with it. here's your daily laugh time.

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keeping up with the kiddie kardashians

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snl: the new class

every couple of seasons, saturday night live removes and adds some cast members to their line of players. but, ever since tina fey and amy poehler left the show, the turn over has been a little more frequent. this season, the show is adding three guys and a girl. that's really only 2 more castmates than last season, as jenny slate and will forte left the cast this summer. so who are the new faces you'll be seeing when snl's new season premieres september 25th (with host amy poehler and musical guest katy perry)?

vanessa bayer

paul brittain (the guy with the headband)

taran killam ("the overly touchy orderly")

jay pharoah

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the good girl gone bad is back

rihanna has left the "hard" side of her music behind and is back to making songs that are bound to get stuck in your head. "only girl (in the world)" is the lead single off rihanna's fifth studio album, loud. the song premiered on the ryan seacrest radio show this morning and will probably be hitting a radio station near you this afternoon. the song has a strong club beat and features rihanna's signature barbadian vocals. the song is very much now and very much a surefire hit. hopefully this is just the beginning for a whole new set of music. rihanna's last effort, rated r, failed to get much radio play aside from "rude boy," while her previous album, good girl gone bad, made her the pop powerhouse she is today. from the sound of

"only girl," loud will be much more in the vein of good girl gone bad. check out the song for yourself above.

*note, the above video is a sped-up version of the song because the original copy i posted was taken off of youtube due to copyright grounds.

it's official

bravo has confirmed, via the net's blog, that real housewives of new jersey star and villianess danielle staub has left the building. according to bravo's post, last night's season-ending reunion, part 2, was staub's last appearance as a new jersey housewife. the show's promos kept teasing that "one housewife leaves forever," but the answer to that question was never answered on air. now we know. it's been rumored danielle will either be getting her own spin-off on the net (but what would it be about?) or will be joining the cast of real housewives of new york, after she was seen looking for apartments in the city. i don't really buy either, especially after reports surfaced that the entire cast of new york would walk if danielle joined them. but i guess we'll have to "watch what happens," right?

if you missed the second half of the atlantic city showdown, i suggest you catch one of bravo's 5,000 repeats of it - a lot went down. it involved danielle bringing extension-pulling props, awkward hugs, caroline manzo putting the largest possible distance between herself and danielle and, of course, a "surprise" appearance by none other than debbie reynold's impersonator kim g. check out some bonus footage below.

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happy labor day

remember, part 2 tonight at 9/8c.

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damn, girl

this is why the x factor can't get to america soon enough.

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go the distance with going the distance

i wasn't sure what to expect from going the distance. would it be the typical sappy sweet drew barrymore movie? or would it live up to the previews and deliver comedy gold. it definitely delivered the comedy gold and just enough sappy sweetness. the story focuses on erin (barrymore), a would-be journalist trying to make it in a faltering industry. when erin meets garret (justin long), a relationship-weary record label employee, just a few weeks before leaving her summer in new york to return to california, both their worlds are turned upside down. after a whirlwind month of love in new york, the couple face the challenge of keeping the passion and relationship alive over the next year and beyond. the film mixes romantic comedy with the tongue-in-cheek and gross-out humor of judd apatow films (even though he's not involved). christina applegate and jason sudeikis stand out in supporting roles and bring some of the film's best comedic moments. i definitely suggest checking going the distance out, especially when you still have two days to be lazy at the movies this weekend.

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back tomorrow

with review of going the distance

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i got nothin'

sorry? well, sorry i'm not sorry.

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amazing things, new beginnings*

*yes, that's a real housewives of new jersey reference.