Katy Perry Rants Against Photo 'Stalkers'

While in Australia for her Prismatic Tour, Perry has been trailed endlessly by the paparazzi-some of whom has been so invasive, she decided to post headshot of them to her 60.4 million followers.

Perry tweeted three photos with the deservedly all-caps caption, "THESE ARE A FEW OF THE STALKERS." Perry also went one step further, tweeting a condemning letter she wrote to the Australian press.

"Australian PRESS: you should be ashamed of your paparazzi & tabloid culture," she writes. "Your paparazzi have no respect, no integrity, no character. NO HUMANITY." She added that she was "stalked by many grown men" at the beach. Read more here.

Bono and Robin Thicke Lose Influence?

But, we digress, as GQ has named Bono and Robin Thicke among the year's least influential people (via Billboard). Thicke makes some sense, as his latest album underperformed considerably and he is currently being sued for co-opting his most famous song from Marvin Gaye.

Bono, on the other hand, is a little more of a head-scratcher, with the magazine saying about the notorious Songs of Innocence release: "The worst part was the way both Apple and U2 treated this, like it was some kind of noble gift to The People; in fact this was a $100 million marketing campaign. Yes, $100 million to turn U2's socially conscious dad-rock into a piece of direct mail." here.

Demi Lovato Explains Lost Friendship With Miley Cyrus

"Um�yeah� that, um� we're, we're like, we're acquaintances," Lovato told AMP. "It's life, and people change, and, you know, I don't have anything in common with her anymore, and I wish her all the best."

The pop singers were formerly close friends, rising up together through the ranks after getting their starts with Disney, Cyrus on the show Hannah Montana as its titular star and Lovato on Sonny with a Chance and on the TV film series Camp Rock. Read more here.

Katy Perry Confirms Super Bowl Half Time Show In New Commercial

In the clip, which aired during the American Music Awards Sunday night (Nov. 23), Perry's getting hyped for the upcoming performance taking place in Glendale, Arizona on Feb. 1, 2015.

At her Super Bowl Halftime testing facility, Perry's going through all her crazy ideas, we're talking a glitter covered stadium. Bonus, the glitter is edible.

She also pitches other wacky ideas, like incorporating fire-breathing sharks and a pegasus she got online, which unfortunately turns out to just be a unicorn.

Watch the commercial here.

Nick Offerman Stars In The Decemberists New Video

Frontman Colin Meloy (Colon Meloy?) tries to keep a turtleneck-wearing Offerman on track, but he just can't stop looking at a beautiful girl and rubbing his guest the wrong way with questions like, "Are we meant to be insulted by your lyrics?"

That smug laugh after certainly doesn't win him any points with his guest. But the band does eventually get to playing and we find out Meloy can wear a pair of white overalls better than any other indie rocker out today.

Watch the video here.

Jake Owen Release What We Ain't Got Video

Owen is shown alone sitting on a stool at the video's start, with others in the video soon shown looking serious and sad at the camera before the struggles in their lives are shown on screen.

Travis Meadows, who co-wrote the song with Travis Jerome Goff, is also featured in the video. "It's really hard sometimes to create a visual depiction of something that's so well written as a song, and I've never made a video for a serious song before," Owen told Entertainment Tonight. "It was a lot harder to work on than others. The people in the video are real characters and once you listen to the lyrics and the video together, you'll see it's very real."

Earlier this year, Owen told Radio.com that the song is a big step for him. "It's a deep song that deals on a lot of levels with everyone looking at their own life," he said. "We all work so hard day to day, and we want more and more and more. This is a world of wanting more. It's a song about looking at where you are and appreciating what you have, 'cause once it's gone we all want what we don't have."

Read more and watch the video here.

Eminem Releases Guts Over Fear Video

Our hero is a waiter by day and a local boxer by night. We see him filing for welfare and arguing with his pregnant girlfriend and fighting with his landlord. He has a drinking problem, and his life seems caught in an endless loop of struggle.

He hits rock bottom when an accident at work costs him his job. He ends up back in the ring, taking out his frustration on his opponents. Typical of the emotional milieu of Eminem's particular brand of blue-collar sentimentality, he successfully channels his anger into success in the ring-the video ends with him on TV, heading into a new boxing match. Essentially, it's 8 Mile. Watch the video here.

New Politics Release Live Cover of Beastie Boys Classic

So, it's not surprising that bands have taken to covering "Sabotage." Switchfoot did such at their recent Life Is Beautiful festival set (as their opening song), and New Politics have also been unleashing the massive jam in their live shows of late. The latter of these acts have now released a music video commemorating the live cover, with New Politics offering up their "Sabotage" as a preview for their current world tour.

It's worth noting that frontman David Boyd does a pretty solid Ad-Rock impression, and that the band does the honorable thing by paying tribute to the iconic New York rap trio mid-song. Check out the clip here.

Carrie Underwood Explains Meaning Behind Little Toy Guns

While little is known about the new track, The Country Vibe reports that the song is about the effect that parents fighting can have on their children. "There's these characters in the song and there's a little girl and she hears her parents fighting, as unfortunately a lot of kids do," Underwood explained. "So it's basically her saying, in her words, 'I wish their words weren't real. I wish they were like little toy guns and they didn't hurt you.'"

Underwood said that the song was inspired from seeing this happen to people around her and while the song is "rockin'" it does have a positive message.

"I've seen it first hand from different people in my life and seen how the tumultuous parental relationship between each other can affect a child," she continued. "So that's kind of what it's about, but it's a really tempo-driven song as well, so it's kind of a bit of a juxtaposition as far as the story content and the music." Read more here.

Ariana Grande Releases Christmas Song

On "Santa Tell Me," Grande sings over a few jingle bells that she has been avoiding mistletoe until she gets a second opinion on her new man. "I don't want no broken heart / This year I got to be smart," she tells Kris Kringle.

Grande has been teasing her new Christmas song, but finally released it on iTunes Sunday. Grande will help get us in the Christmas spirit when she hits the stage alongside Tim McGraw and others for A Very Grammy Christmas airing Dec. 5 on CBS. Listen to the new song here.

Mark Ronson Releases Funky New Song With Mystikal

For their second, set, Ronson and Mars were joined by a surprise guest no one expected: legendary New Orleans rapper Mystikal, who features on another new Mark Ronson song, "Feel Right."

Now, following its live debut, a full studio version of the track is available. "You gone mess around and make me knock your fruit juice loose, your banana, your watermelon, your pomegranate too," raps Mystikal, sounding as energized and unhinged as ever.

Ronson's funky, freewheeling production is a far cry from the southern-fried crunk over which Mystikal made his name, with its buttery horn section and uptempo percussion.

That doesn't stop Mystikal from letting his imagination roam free, rapping about "crapping out fire" and warning a lady not to pull a certain part of his anatomy "out of its socket."

Listen to the new song here.

Willie Nelson Releases Who'll Buy My Memories Video

A video for the song, which premiered today (Nov. 24) on his Vevo page, features the Nelson siblings performing an unhurried version of it in a homey, living room-style setting.

Nelson has recorded the song before, most notably as the title track of the (superb) solo acoustic collection The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? Profits of which went to pay off a massive IRS debt he had at the time. It's a quiet, reflective song that speaks of a life "sprinkled with the blues" in the wake of a broken love affair.

Where Nelson's 1992 solo rendition felt lonely and edged with cold, the new version imbues the song with hints of warmth, emphasized in part by bringing Bobbie Nelson's piano into the mix.

Additional songs on December Day include Django Reinhart's "Nuages" and a couple of Irving Berlin songs ("Alexander's Ragtime Band" and "Always") as well as several vintage Nelson compositions, among them "I Let My Mind Wander," "My Own Peculiar Way," "Sad Songs and Waltzes" and "December Day". Read more and watch the video here.

Lil Wayne and Christina Milian Start A Fire With New Song

The pair make like a modern Bonnie and Clyde-or Rihanna and Eminem, with their blazing imagery-on the us-against-the-world slow-building love track. Milan and Wayne both handle the hook: "Let's start a fire, watch the entire / World as it opens up in flames / And they just don't get it."

According to the singer-turned-actress-and-TV-personality, she and Wayne actually teamed up on the song a while ago while she was filming her E! reality show Christina Milian Turned Up.

"His manager Cortez heard the song and was like, 'Wayne needs this on his album' and literally when we were filming the episode while we were in the studio; that's how that whole thing happened," she told E!.

Check out the song here.

Sting Taking Lead Role In Broadway Show The Last Ship

According to Sting's official website, the former Police-man will take the lead role of Jackie White (previously played by Jimmy Nail) on Dec. 9 for four weeks through Jan. 10. After his four weeks with the show, Nail will return to take the lead.

The New York Times reports that the $15 million production has been losing $75,000 a week since opening. The Times also notes that sales for the Green Day musical American Idiot exploded when the band's frontman Billie Joe Armstrong joined the cast (which he did for three different stretches), but would drop immediately after he left.

Read more here.

Ty Herndon, Andy Griggs and Jamie O'Neal Teaming For Tour

"We all blend together about like Tupac, Bill Monroe and Joan Rivers but somehow it works on stage," Griggs explained in a press release. "Go figure! But when we're not singing our hearts out together it's the most awkward, misplaced, dysfunctional, hilarious carnival that has ever been displayed."

Meanwhile, O'Neal said she expects the trio's tour partnership to be entertaining for themselves and audiences. "I'm so excited to be a part of this," she said in a release.

"Ty and Andy are two of the best male vocalists from any genre. They're so funny, good looking, and just a couple of goofy smart a**es! I just couldn't resist. Ty is the most well put together, smoothest control freak I've ever met. Andy is a cute, lovable redneck with the softest heart. I only know when we sang together for the first time something very special happened and here we are, taking the next obvious step." Read more here.

Love and Theft Show Different Side With New Song

"It shows a different side of us and paves the way for what our new album is going to be like," he told PEOPLE. "In some ways, we've played it safe in the past, and I think we're over that now. I don't mind that songs like 'Whiskey On My Breath' may be a little controversial, because they're honest, and I think that they'll make people think about how they feel about life."

Bandmate Eric Gunderson said the album will show how the two have grown up and matured in the business. "But there are plenty of songs on this album that are just good, fun songs, and that's still a side of us too," Gunderson added.

Check out the song here.

Rick Ross Releases If They Knew Video With K. Michelle

Tellingly, one recurring scene occurs against a backdrop of spinning washing machines, an indication of their dirty laundry. The Timbaland-produced song matches the stark clip-its tumultuous melodic peaks complement the video's dramatic shadows and extravagant costumes. Ross wears a luxurious fur, while K. Michelle dons a gold lame bathing suit.

In the video's climax, Ross's girlfriend finds out and confronts him. He brushes her off, cigar in hand. French Montana and A$AP Ferg also make brief cameos. Watch the video here.

Bryan Adams, Willie Nelson and Cyndi Lauper For Grammy Concert

Aloe Blacc, Robin Thicke and Melissa Etheridge will also perform at the 17th annual concert, this year titled Lean on Me: A Celebration of Music and Philanthropy.

The evening of music will be held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 5. It'll be helmed by Darrell Brown, a board member of the GRAMMY Foundation and prolific songwriter, particularly in the genre of country.

Read more here.

Shady Records Release Shady Classics Mixtape

Shady Classics, the teased 66-song mixtape that helps to celebrate the label's 15th anniversary, was uploaded over the weekend and is available to download or simply stream online.

The massive mixtape features tons of tracks from Shady recording artists, including multiple songs from Eminem, 50 Cent and more. It spans the label's entire time in business, leading up all the way to songs from Shady XV, like "Guts Over Fear."

Stream the full mixtape via Hot New Hip-Hop here.

Waka Flocka Flame Stars In Throat Drops Commercial

It starts with a shot of Waka Flocka Flame sitting on a couch with smoke rising. Sure, he was just going through blunt roller resumes, but we'd like to think that Waka is really sitting by his dehumidifier trying to get his voice right.

Looking at the camera, Waka makes his pitch. "Can't live without my Pine Bros., straight up," he says. He's no Don Draper, but he's going hard for those softish throat drops.

Watch the commercial here.

Singled Out: The Glass Child

When I was 17 years old I grabbed my guitar, a suitcase and left my home in Sweden to go after my dream of building a life on music. Ever since that day I've dedicated every single day pursuing this mission. I've spent periods unable to pay rent, crashing at floors. I've had rejections, learned how to say goodbye and walk away, and I know what it feels like to lie awake on the bare ground, wondering why the hell I don't just admit my failure, surrender, pack it up.

I'm fascinated by the concept of a quest. Of being on a mission towards something that is bigger than yourself, deeper than simply having a purpose or passion for something. People have been dedicating weeks, months, years or lives to different kinds of quests for as long back as you can go, and I've found myself studying these people, their core values and why they embarked on their personal journeys in the first place. These quests show themselves in all kinds of forms; not speaking for a year, letting go of technology, raise a certain amount of money for a good cause. 30 days of meditating in the mountains, travellers in the Himalayas, or; a young girl on a mission to find her WHY, build a life on the only thing the could grow to love, and find her people in the process.

Being on a quest, having a mission for your very existence, gives you an unstoppable will and motivation to simply keep going when everything else screams no. It gives you courage, that is stronger than that fear you will learn to live with.

HEROES is a song that came to be my own symphony for this quest I feel I'm on. I found myself drifted off, a bit lost, having moved from England to Berlin a year ago, and I felt sort of gone. I didn't understand the language and no one knew where I was or what I was doing. I spent the first months just crashing at different hostels or airports, not really knowing where to go or what to do there. Leaving home at a very young age and living like a vagabond for so long, I've learned to build my home in other things than in material belongings or a static place. I've learned to find my sense of home and comfort in my music. So, scared as I was, I kept writing, singing, reading, creating.

Usually I write my songs on an acoustic guitar or a piano, but this certain night when I wrote HEROES, these sounds felt too empty. Too small. Too naked. I started the song with the beat and kick drum that goes throughout the verses, and the songs actually started with the mantra-like Mid8. I programmed the beat and as in hypnosis just kept singing these lines over and over again, recording it on the spot and kept layering it with harmonies. "As long as I am moving I'm right on the path I made."

I rarely think about anyone else when I write my songs, but I've been so lucky to somehow find a fanbase of people that I feel personally connected too. I feel such an incredible support from them, and sometimes even like I owe them to not give up, and that lingered in my head: "Together we will walk like a tribe in the night".

I kept building the verses and the chorus from this Mid8 and the production happened really naturally, like it wrote itself. And I think that's the beautiful thing about writing music; there's not "one" formula, a right way or a wrong way. Every song is different and every song has its own story.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and learn more about the album right here!

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