Emerson Drive steers its way to three Canadian country music awards
REGINA (CP) - Pop-country band Emerson Drive steered its way to the Canadian Country Music Awards Monday night and left with a trunk full of hardware.
The smooth-sounding sextet, who got their start in Grand Prairie, Alta., took home song and video of the year awards for their hit "Moments," which they performed to kick off the show, as well as for group of the year.
"The last two and a half years, there have been so many people who have put in a ton of effort to put out the countrified CD," said lead singer Brad Mates, as he accepted the award for group of the year, which they also won in 2002 and 2003.
"First and foremost, obviously the fans that have really jumped on board this year. Thank you so much."
The ballad "Moments" hit No. 1 as a single on the Billboard country music charts south of the border earlier this year. The song peaked at No. 4 in Canada.
The group also includes guitarist Danick Dupelle, drummer Mike Melancon, David Pichette on fiddle, Patrick Bourque on bass and Dale Wallace on keyboards.
Veteran Canadian country act Brad Johner impressed fans in his home province, picking up the first award of the night for male artist of the year. Johner, who got his start with his brother Ken as The Johner Brothers, was born in Midale, Sask., about 150 kilometres southeast of Regina.
"Well, that makes for a good beginning doesn't it?," Johner said as the crowd screamed.
Johner told the crowd about how he wrote an acceptance speech when he and his brother were nominated for an award in 1992 and he has kept it in his wallet ever since. But he ended up forgetting his billfold in the dressing room back stage.
"I'm going to wing it again after all those years," Johner joked.
Alberta singer-songwriter Carolyn Dawn Johnson - a perennial winner at the annual awards show - won female artist of the year honours, but was edged out for the fan's choice award by another Alberta songstress, Terri Clark.
"I must be really tired because I'm feeling very emotional," Johnson said holding back tears.
"I love music so much," she said as someone in the crowd yelled back: "We love you!"
Clark accepted the award via video from Toronto, where she is recording her next album.
"We're just going to keep doing what we do," she said.
Mitch Merrett, Aaron Pritchett and Deric Ruttan won the songwriter of the year award for the irreverent hit "Hold My Beer," which Pritchett recorded himself.
Pritchett called the tune - which features the refrain "hold my beer, while I kiss your girlfriend" - a "killer fun song" that everyone can sing along to.
"I swear to God, I didn't think we were going to win this at all," he said. "Listen to my voice, I am so nervous ... big crowd too, it's kind of weird."
Album of the year honours were taken home by the Manitoba group Doc Walker for its self-titled release.
The Corb Lund Band won the award for roots group of the year, while Shane Yellowbird of Hobbema, Alta., took home the rising star honour. Yellowbird, whose debut album is "Life is Calling My Name," was nominated for five awards overall.
Nova Scotia's George Canyon was also nominated from five awards, but failed to take home any hardware.
Awards show host Paul Brandt, whose long-awaited new album "Risk" comes out Tuesday, was also shut out in the four categories in which he was nominated.
2007 Canadian Country Music Association award winners, announced Monday night:
Fans' choice: Terri Clark
Single of the year: Moments (Emerson Drive)
Album of the year: Doc Walker (Doc Walker)
Songwriter of the year: Mitch Merrett, Aaron Pritchett, Deric Ruttan (Hold My Beer, Aaron Pritchett)
Video of the year: Moments (Emerson Drive)
Female artist of the year: Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Male artist of the year: Brad Johner
Group of the year: Emerson Drive
Roots artist or group of the year: Corb Lund Band
Rising star: Shane Yellowbird
Emerson Drive steers its way to three Canadian country music awards
REGINA (CP) - Pop-country band Emerson Drive steered its way to the Canadian Country Music Awards Monday night and left with a trunk full of hardware.
The smooth-sounding sextet, who got their start in Grand Prairie, Alta., took home song and video of the year awards for their hit "Moments," which they performed to kick off the show, as well as for group of the year.
"The last two and a half years, there have been so many people who have put in a ton of effort to put out the countrified CD," said lead singer Brad Mates, as he accepted the award for group of the year, which they also won in 2002 and 2003.
"First and foremost, obviously the fans that have really jumped on board this year. Thank you so much."
The ballad "Moments" hit No. 1 as a single on the Billboard country music charts south of the border earlier this year. The song peaked at No. 4 in Canada.
The group also includes guitarist Danick Dupelle, drummer Mike Melancon, David Pichette on fiddle, Patrick Bourque on bass and Dale Wallace on keyboards.
Veteran Canadian country act Brad Johner impressed fans in his home province, picking up the first award of the night for male artist of the year. Johner, who got his start with his brother Ken as The Johner Brothers, was born in Midale, Sask., about 150 kilometres southeast of Regina.
"Well, that makes for a good beginning doesn't it?," Johner said as the crowd screamed.
Johner told the crowd about how he wrote an acceptance speech when he and his brother were nominated for an award in 1992 and he has kept it in his wallet ever since. But he ended up forgetting his billfold in the dressing room back stage.
"I'm going to wing it again after all those years," Johner joked.
Alberta singer-songwriter Carolyn Dawn Johnson - a perennial winner at the annual awards show - won female artist of the year honours, but was edged out for the fan's choice award by another Alberta songstress, Terri Clark.
"I must be really tired because I'm feeling very emotional," Johnson said holding back tears.
"I love music so much," she said as someone in the crowd yelled back: "We love you!"
Clark accepted the award via video from Toronto, where she is recording her next album.
"We're just going to keep doing what we do," she said.
Mitch Merrett, Aaron Pritchett and Deric Ruttan won the songwriter of the year award for the irreverent hit "Hold My Beer," which Pritchett recorded himself.
Pritchett called the tune - which features the refrain "hold my beer, while I kiss your girlfriend" - a "killer fun song" that everyone can sing along to.
"I swear to God, I didn't think we were going to win this at all," he said. "Listen to my voice, I am so nervous ... big crowd too, it's kind of weird."
Album of the year honours were taken home by the Manitoba group Doc Walker for its self-titled release.
The Corb Lund Band won the award for roots group of the year, while Shane Yellowbird of Hobbema, Alta., took home the rising star honour. Yellowbird, whose debut album is "Life is Calling My Name," was nominated for five awards overall.
Nova Scotia's George Canyon was also nominated from five awards, but failed to take home any hardware.
Awards show host Paul Brandt, whose long-awaited new album "Risk" comes out Tuesday, was also shut out in the four categories in which he was nominated.
2007 Canadian Country Music Association award winners, announced Monday night:
Fans' choice: Terri Clark
Single of the year: Moments (Emerson Drive)
Album of the year: Doc Walker (Doc Walker)
Songwriter of the year: Mitch Merrett, Aaron Pritchett, Deric Ruttan (Hold My Beer, Aaron Pritchett)
Video of the year: Moments (Emerson Drive)
Female artist of the year: Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Male artist of the year: Brad Johner
Group of the year: Emerson Drive
Roots artist or group of the year: Corb Lund Band
Rising star: Shane Yellowbird
New CD Releases, September 11th: Kanye West, 50 Cent, Kenny Chesney
Kanye West "Graduation"
Unless you've been living under a rock recently--or been avoiding all music news--you've probably heard that there's a feud going on between Kanye West and 50 Cent. The rapppers are beefing over whose new album (both of which hit stores today)--will sell better.
Those rooting for Mr. West will certainly mention his track record at the Grammy Awards. He's scored double-digit nominations and actually won six Grammy Awards, three apiece for his two solo records, 2004's "The College Dropout" and 2005's "Late Registration." He's also one of the most critically acclaimed rappers of all time.
Furthermore, the 30-year-old rapper is no slouch in the sales department, having moved more than 6 million CDs in the US.
West has plenty of help in his corner on "Graduation." Notable contributors include Daft Punk, Edwin Birdsong, T-Pain and Coldplay's Chris Martin.
* * *
50 Cent "Curtis"
The big 5-0 has a lot riding on this release. He's promised that he will retire as a solo artist if West's "Graduation" outsells "Curtis," but he later backed down a bit.
Given his past performance on the charts, "Fitty" could end up on top in this matter. His previous outings--including 2003's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and 2005's "The Massacre"--have been multi-platinum smashes that posted huge numbers in their first weeks on the shelves. All told, 50 Cent has sold more than 20 million records worldwide.
The 32-year-old rapper has enlisted a powerful posse to help him try to knock out Kanye. The list of contributors includes Dr. Dre, Eminem, Timbaland, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige and Robin Thicke.
* * *
Kenny Chesney "Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates"
If, as some have predicted, Kanye West and 50 Cent split the vote--with the rap-lovin' public buying one or the other of the two releases, but not both--the real winner could be Kenny Chesney. Indeed, Chesney might turn out to be the week's top-seller regardless of what happens with West and Fitty. That's because Chesney is arguably the top name in country music, a genre that is in a whole lot better health than hip-hop.
The country crooner--who recently was nominated for four trophies at the upcoming 41st annual Country Music Association Awards--has sold more than 25 million records. And it looks like he should add to that tally handsomely with "Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates.'' The album's first single, "Don't Blink," has already set a new record for the highest-ever debut on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
* * *
Ann Wilson "Hope and Glory"
The legendary vocalist for Heart, known for such classic rock staples as "Barracuda," "Never" and "Crazy on You," is ready to drop her first-ever solo album. "Hope and Glory" features such guest stars as Elton John, Shawn Colvin, Gretchen Wilson and Wynonna. The album is a covers-set that includes the likes of Neil Young's "War of Man," Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Blue Sky."
* * *
Ani DiFranco "Canon"
The indie-folk singer/guitarist is set to release her first-ever career retrospective. The two-disc "Canon" includes such fan favorites as "Fire Door," "God's Country," "You Had Time" and "Coming Up."
* * *
More new releases:
Animal Collective, "Strawberry Jam" (Domino)
The Birthday Massacre, "Walking with Strangers" (Metropolis)
Black Francis, "Bluefinger" (Cooking Vinyl)
The Go! Team, "Proof of Youth" (Sub Pop)
Joe Henry, "Civilians" (Anti)
Iced Earth, "Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Pt. 1" (Steamhammer)
Pinback, "Autumn of the Seraphs" (Tough and Go)
Chris Potter Underground, "Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard" (Sunnyside)
Trisha Yearwood, "Greatest Hits" (MCA)
'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'
In 1981, he was one of the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” on a quest for the fabled Lost Ark of the Covenant. In 1984, he traveled into the heart of darkness where he faced unspeakable evil in the “Temple of Doom.” In 1989, he embarked on the “Last Crusade” to find the Holy Grail, and his own estranged father.
Now, in 2008, Indiana Jones will journey into the unknown and the “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” when the screen’s greatest hero returns! There’s no further need to call the long-awaited next chapter in Indy’s adventures “Indiana Jones 4” or “The Untitled Genre Project” any longer, as it’s official. Indiana Jones will return in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
The anticipated title was announced without fanfare at tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards when “Indiana Jones” co-star Shia LaBeouf teased millions of fans across the globe with the fourth film’s title in an almost non sequitur fashion.
And what a title it is! Filled with enough mystery and wonder to set any fans’ mind ablaze, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is loaded with Indy lore. Previously, the series’ titles only hinted at either the object of Indy’s quest (or the McGuffin), or the locale of his adventures. The new title has already received charges of being too verbose — can any Lucasfilm title avoid being negatively dissected in this day and Internet age? — but for our money, it’s darned exciting since you get the double whammy of location and treasure right there in the name. An Indiana Jones first!
You can also pre-order an exclusive t-shirt emblazoned with “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s” title at Lucasfilm’s official Shop StarWars.com Web site. And as always, stick with SpielbergFilms.com and the official IndianaJones.com site for spoiler-free, trusted information as we move toward May 2008.
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” opens worldwide on May 22, 2008.
Damnit, it feels good saying that!
Letterman appears on Oprah's talk show
NEW YORK - David Letterman says the birth of his son, Harry, has made a "huge difference" in his life — but the 3-year-old doesn't always get daddy's sense of humor.
"Mommy has to tell him a lot that I'm just teasing," Letterman said Monday on the season premiere of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" — an appearance that generated interest because of the two stars' much-publicized rift.
It was also a rare appearance for Letterman, host of CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," on someone else's show. Winfrey asked whether he's "interview-phobic."
"It's just that you know, when you have your own show, you have plenty of time to talk about whatever you want to talk about anyway," Letterman said.
Letterman, 60, said he struggles between using "patience or discipline" with Harry, his son with girlfriend Regina Lasko. Harry was placed on the "naughty chair" this weekend after misbehaving, he said.
"He's still there," Letterman joked.
He talked about his love for his home in Montana and how he was honored to have a communications building dedicated in his name at Indiana's Ball State University, his alma mater. He also showed family photos.
The show was taped at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan instead of the customary Harpo Studios in Chicago to mark the start of the show's 22nd season.
Winfrey, 53, said her relationship with Letterman had warmed. She showed footage of her office in which two photos of Winfrey and Letterman are among photos of Winfrey with John Travolta, Stevie Wonder, Nelson Mandela and her boyfriend, Stedman Graham.
In the midst of their rift, which lasted more than a decade, Letterman started keeping an "Oprah Log" as a gag on his show. He would record whether Winfrey had called that day to invite him to be her guest.
Winfrey said she believed Letterman's staff would contact her staff if he wanted to appear.
"I wanted to be asked, Oprah. Don't you understand that?" Letterman said, then opened the notebook to read: "`Day No. 20. 11/27/01. Oprah. Noprah.' It was humiliating."
Letterman frequently joked about Winfrey, and she rejected repeated offers to appear on his program. In 2003, she told Time magazine she wouldn't appear with him because she was "completely uncomfortable" as the target of Letterman's jokes.
Their reconciliation began in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on his CBS show. It was her first guest appearance with Letterman, though she twice appeared on his NBC show before he jumped networks in 1993.
"Johnny Belinda" actress Jane Wyman dies
LOS ANGELES - Jane Wyman, an Academy Award winner for her performance as the deaf rape victim in "Johnny Belinda," star of the long-running TV series "Falcon Crest" and Ronald Reagan's first wife, died Monday morning at 93.
Wyman died at her Palm Springs home, said Richard Adney of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Cathedral City. No other details were immediately available.
Wyman's film career spanned from the 1930s, including "Gold Diggers of 1937," to 1969's "How to Commit Marriage," co-starring Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason. From 1981 to 1990 she played Angela Channing, a Napa Valley winery owner who maintained her power with a steely will on CBS' "Falcon Crest."
Her marriage in 1940 to fellow Warner Bros. contract player Reagan was celebrated in the fan magazines as one of Hollywood's ideal unions. While he was in uniform during World War II, her career ascended, signaled by her 1946 Oscar nomination for "The Yearling."
The couple divorced in 1948, the year she won the Oscar for "Johnny Belinda." Reagan reportedly cracked to a friend: "Maybe I should name Johnny Belinda as co-respondent."
After Reagan became governor of California and then president of the United States, Wyman kept a decorous silence about her ex-husband, who had married actress Nancy Davis. In a 1968 newspaper interview, Wyman explained the reason:
"It's not because I'm bitter or because I don't agree with him politically. I've always been a registered Republican. But it's bad taste to talk about ex-husbands and ex-wives, that's all. Also, I don't know a damn thing about politics."
A few days after Reagan died on June 5, 2004, Wyman broke her silence, saying: "America has lost a great president and a great, kind and gentle man."
It was 1936 when Warner Bros. signed Wyman to a long-term contract. She long remembered the first line she spoke as a chorus girl to show producer Dick Powell: "I'm Bessie Fuffnik. I swim, ride, dive, imitate wild birds and play the trombone."
Warner Bros. was notorious for typecasting its contract players, and Wyman suffered that fate. She recalled in 1968: "For 10 years I was the wisecracking lady reporter who stormed the city desk snapping, `Stop the presses! I've got a story that will break this town wide open!'"
In 1937, Wyman married a wealthy manufacturer of children's clothes, Myron Futterman, in New Orleans. The marriage was reported as her second, but an earlier marriage was never confirmed. She divorced him in November 1938, declaring she wanted children and he didn't.
The actress became entranced by Reagan, a handsome former sportscaster who was a newcomer to the Warner lot. She wangled a date with him, and romance ensued.
After returning from a personal appearance tour with columnist Louella Parsons, they were married on Jan. 26, 1940. The following year she gave birth to a daughter, Maureen. They later adopted a son, Michael. They also had a daughter who was born several months premature in June 1947 and died a day later.
In Reagan's autobiography "An American Life," the index shows only one mention of Wyman, and it runs for only two sentences. "That same year I made the Knute Rockne movie, I married Jane Wyman, another contract player at Warners," Reagan wrote. "Our marriage produced two wonderful children, Maureen and Michael, but it didn't work out, and in 1948 we were divorced." The final divorce decree was issued in 1949.
Their daughter Maureen died in August 2001 after a battle with cancer. At the funeral, Wyman, balancing on a cane, put a cross on the casket. Reagan, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, was not well enough to attend.
Early in their marriage, Reagan's career grew with "Knute Rockne — All American" and "King's Row" while Wyman languished as "Joan Blondell of the B's." That changed after Reagan joined the army.
Wyman escaped B-pictures by persuading Jack Warner to loan her to Paramount for "The Lost Weekend." The film won the Academy Award for 1945 and led to another loanout — to MGM for "The Yearling." De-glamourized as a backwoods wife and mother, the actress received her first Oscar nomination.
After 40 films at Warner Bros., Wyman achieved her first acting challenge with "Johnny Belinda." When Jack Warner saw a rough cut of the film, he ranted to the director, Jean Negulesco: "We invented talking pictures, and you make a picture about a deaf and dumb girl!"
He changed his attitude when "Johnny Belinda" received 12 Academy Award nominations and the Oscar for Jane Wyman.
Her acceptance speech was brief: "I accept this award very gratefully for keeping my mouth shut once. I think I'll do it again."
Reagan became increasingly active in politics as his wife's career climbed. When she divorced him, she testified: "Politics built a barrier between us. I tried to make his interests mine, but finally there was nothing to sustain our marriage."
Wyman continued making prestigious films such as "The Glass Menagerie," Alfred Hitchcock's "Stage Fright," "Here Comes the Groom" (with Bing Crosby). Two tearjerkers, "The Blue Veil" (1951) and "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), brought her Oscar nominations as best actress.
Other film credits include: "So Big," "Lucy Gallant," "All That Heaven Allows," "Miracle in the Rain," "Holiday for Lovers," "Pollyanna" and "Bon Voyage!"
Her first entry into television came with "The Jane Wyman Show," an anthology series that appeared on NBC from 1955 to 1958. She introduced the shows, half of them starring herself, half with other actors. She quit the show after three years, saying that "putting on a miniature movie once a week" was exhausting.
In 1952 Wyman married Fred Karger, a studio music director. They divorced, later remarried and divorced the second time in 1965. She remained single thereafter. While not working, she devoted much of her time to benefits and telethons for the Arthritis Foundation.
When Wyman received the script for "Falcon Crest," she was undecided about undertaking the nasty, power-mad Angela Channing, so different from the self-sacrificing characters of her movie days.
But she liked the idea that Angela "runs everything. She goes straight through everything like a Mack truck."
Riding the wave of prime-time soap operas that made "Dallas" and "Dynasty" national sensations, "Falcon Crest" lasted nine seasons. The series ended with Angela again in control of the vineyard. Her battered family raised their glasses in a toast: "The land endures."
After Reagan became president in 1981, his former wife gave few interviews and responded to questions about him with a stony look. When "Falcon Crest" ended, she withdrew from public view. She saw a few intimates and devoted much time to painting.
She summed up her long career in a 1981 newspaper interview: "I've been through four different cycles in pictures: the brassy blonde, then came the musicals, the high dramas, then the inauguration of television."
In the end, she had survived for decades in a town notorious for exploiting talent and then discarding it.
Sarah Jane Fulks was born in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1914. She grew up in a cheerless home in which her mother's time was devoted to her seriously ailing husband. After the father died, Sarah Jane accompanied her mother to Los Angeles, where the girl tried to get jobs in the studios. There was no work for the snub-nosed teenager, and she returned to St. Joseph.
She attended the University of Missouri, worked as a manicurist and switchboard operator, then sang on radio as Jane Durrell. When that career dwindled, she decided to try Hollywood again, began playing bit parts, and changed Durrell to Wyman.
MTV Awards flourish despite Britney bomb
LAS VEGAS - As in most train wrecks, it was hard to focus on just one thing as the Britney Spears disaster unfolded. There was just so much that went wrong.
Out-of-synch lip-synching. Lethargic movements that seemed choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home. The paunch in place of Spears' once-taut belly. At times she just stopped singing altogether, as if even she knew nothing could save her performance.
Designed to drum up excitement for her upcoming album, Spears' kickoff to the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night became another example of how far she has fallen. It would have been understandable if MTV's show had been crushed under the weight of the opening fiasco — yet somehow it rebounded, and even flourished.
The show banked heavily on its own reinvention. After poor reviews and a decline in ratings over the last few years, MTV moved the show to Vegas, shortened it from three hours to two, went to a hostless format and focused more on performances than awards.
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters hosted separate suite parties where most of the performances took place.
But the performance most people will be talking about was Spears'. And unlike her last VMAs appearance, when she locked lips with Madonna in 2003, this time it will be for all the wrong reasons.
"It definitely could have been a lot better," the hitmaking singer and producer Akon commented afterward. "She seemed nervous ... you could tell by the expression on her face. Instead of just blocking everybody out and doing her thing, you could tell she was thinking about it."
After that, though, the changes to the show worked, leading to several exciting performances and some watercooler drama. An off-camera fight between Pamela Anderson exes Kid Rock and Tommy Lee led Jamie Foxx to quip: "Stop all this white-on-white violence."
Timberlake's suite was flooded with revelers, alcohol and eight lingerie-clad stripper types on raised platforms. Before Timberlake accepted the Quadruple Threat of the Year award at his suite, the DJ summoned the partygoers to watch the monitor and go crazy if Timberlake won. He did, they did, and Timberlake said: "I want to challenge MTV to play more videos!" Then he was whisked away by bodyguards and disappeared.
Timberlake was the night's big winner, with four trophies. After accepting the award for Male Artist of the Year, he jabbed at the video issue again: "We don't want to see the Simpsons on reality television." Apparently he's not a fan of either Jessica or Ashlee's MTV shows.
Rihanna won the coveted Video of the Year award, plus Monster Single of the Year for "Umbrella." The Best Group was Fallout Boy, and Gym Class Heroes won Best New Artist.
Beyonce and Shakira won Most Earthshattering Collaboration for "Beautiful Liar." Beyonce's shimmering gold dress barely contained her top; immediately after she picked up her trophy she asked an assistant backstage to help fix her dress, apparently to prevent a wardrobe malfunction.
Other performers appeared on the show's main stage, in front of an industry-only audience seated at tables, like at the Golden Globes. Chris Brown gave one of the evening's most extravagant performances — hopping from table to table in a dance spectacle that channeled Michael Jackson, right down to a brief "Billie Jean" imitation.
Alicia Keys had the evening's most rousing performance, debuting her new song "No One" and then an inspired, choir-backed cover of George Michael's "Freedom."
While performances like Keys' and Spears' were delivered on the main stage, others came in snippets: Akon crooned a bit of his "Smack That" before an award was announced, while the cameras zoomed in on Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters mid-performance in their suites, giving viewers the sense that they had happened upon an intimate concert.
Cee-Lo delivered a rocking version of Prince's naughty classic "Darling Nikki" in the smoky Foo Fighters suite (where a beer bong was in operation as Dave Grohl danced, sang Cure songs, played air drums and posed for snapshots); Soulja Boy was showing Kanye West his "Crank That" dance in West's suite.
Though the suites appeared to be chaotic parties, the MTV-cast revelers were carefully organized, strategically placed and encouraged to imbibe for the cameras.
Choreographed or not, Timberlake and Timbaland's suite looked the most exciting — T.I., buffeted by pole dancers, delivered a rousing version of "Big Things Poppin'" while 50 Cent stopped by to perform "Ayo Technology" with Timberlake and Timbaland.
Not to be outdone, T-Pain and West danced high atop Las Vegas in a balcony suite as they celebrated "The Good Life." And Lil Wayne, doing double duty in the Fall Out Boy suite after opening the pre-show with Nicole Scherzinger, was particularly animated.
TV viewers never got full views of those shows, though MTV promised more via its Web site and other "remixed" versions of the show. That might have been the purpose: to whet appetites for repeat viewings by promising glimpses of what they missed during the traditional broadcast.
Unlike in recent years, there was plenty reason to come back for more.