MTV Brings Back Carson Daly, Adds Fall Out Boy to “TRL” Finale

MTV announced yesterday that 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy and the Backstreet Boys will all perform on the two-hour TRL finale, airing on November 16th. But perhaps the biggest news regarding the finale is who will host it: Carson Daly, the veejay who became a star while guiding the afternoon countdown show from 1998 to 2003, will return to helm the show’s final episode alongside current host Damien Fahey. Former hosts like La La Vasquez, Dave Holmes, Jesse Camp and Hilarie Burton will also be on hand to say goodbye to the program. As previously announced, Beyoncé will also perform on the episode, with TRL favorites like Diddy, Mariah Carey, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst making in-studio appearances. Total Finale Live will also have its own red carpet event leading up to the special show.

Whitlock Slams Palin, Criticizes Obama

This year’s election is shaping up to be a contest that saw an influx of new voters getting into the political process. One of those new voters is the often controversial columnist Jason Whitlock.

In a recent blog on the Huffington Post, Whitlock says he owes his political interest to John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin—but that does not necessarily spell good news for the GOP.

“She is the perfect manifestation of tinkle-down economics and tinkle-down intellectualism,” Whitlock says of the Republican vice presidential candidate. “Strapped with good looks, backed by a four-year degree earned at four different, below-middle-of-the-pack universities, and emboldened by a belief that America owes her far more than she's prepared to pay for, Palin desperately wants to piss down on the rest of us from the White House.

“She connects because she's like most of America. She's determined to live beyond her means. She represents exactly what landed us in financial crisis. She's a maxed-out, main-street politician being exploited by the political friends of Wall Street willing to extend her credit over the objections of her bankrupt qualifications.”

While Whitlock says he believes McCain is trying to “throw the election” with his pick of Palin, he also reveals his disappointment with Democratic candidate Barack Obama and his handling of the Jeremiah Wright controversy.

“When presidential politics provoked Barack Obama to disavow the minister who filled in the holes created by Obama's irresponsible biological father, it confirmed in my mind that Obama's message of political change wouldn't stretch nearly far enough to meet my standard of courage and honesty.

“It sickens me that we are forced to pretend Obama doesn't have the ability to associate with and even love people with extreme, illogical views, denounce those beliefs in words and deed and remain a rational, fair-minded person. For decades, black people have supported and respected elected white officials who were raised by unrepentant racists, and we are expected to take those white politicians at their word that their parents' views don't interfere with their motivation to be fair.

“Hmm. But now I'm supposed to believe that a half black man who owes his entire existence to his white mama and grandparents is a threat to America because his old black minister can't get over the racism he tasted first-hand.”

Enrique Iglesias Greatest Hits

Enrique’s worldwide album sales currently total over 41 million, making him not only one of the biggest-selling Spanish artists of all time but an international superstar in his own right.

Now, a year after his last UK album release – the platinum Insomniac – Enrique is back with his first Greatest Hits. The album, out on November 3rd, is accompanied by two brand new tracks.

New single 'Away’ is released on December 1st and sees Enrique join forces with songwriter extraordinaire Sean Garrett, the mastermind behind a host of tracks by Usher, Fergie, Ludacris and Pussycat Dolls to name but a few. The other new song on the album, 'Taking Back My Love’, is a collaboration with the multi-talented, Grammy Award-winning songstress Ciara.

Get your fix of the chart-topping heartthrob when Enrique serenades the stars of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday 25th October.

The full tracklisting for Enrique Iglesias’s 'Greatest Hits’ is as follows:

1) Bailamos 11) Don't Turn Off the Lights
2) Hero 12) Love to See You Cry
3) Be With You 13) Maybe
4) Rhythm Divine 14) Addicted
5) Do You Know 15) Somebody’s Me
6) Tired of Being Sorry 16) Can You Hear Me
7) Escape 17) Don’t Turn Off The Lights
8) Push 18) Maybe (bonus track)
9) Could I Have This Kiss 19) Away
10) Not in Love feat. Kelis 20) Taking Back My Love

T.I.'s Paper Trail Loses Billboard #1 To Country Star Kenny Chesney's Latest

fter spending two weeks as Billboard's best-seller, rapper T.I.'s Paper Trail has been usurped by one of country's most beloved singers, Kenny Chesney. Despite generating solid, third-week sales of nearly 131,600, T.I.'s new LP just couldn't fend off Chesney's Lucky Old Sun, which enters the chart on top with more than 176,400 copies scanned.

Chesney's was among 20 new releases impacting next week's albums sales chart, and one of four to enter the chart in the top 10, according to the latest sales data from Nielsen SoundScan. Following T.I. at #3 is folk artist Ray LaMontagne's Gossip in the Grain, which debuts with 60,500 sold, while rockers Keane return at #7, having sold 43,500 copies of their latest, Perfect Symmetry. Bowing at #9, with 34,700 scans, is Lucinda Williams' Little Honey.

The remainder of the top 10 is filled out by the usual suspects. Dropping two spots to #4 next week is Metallica's Death Magnetic, with 50,600 scans, followed by Jennifer Hudson's self-titled debut at #5, with 45,800 sold. Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus climbs one spot to #6, selling another 45,200 units. Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman holds at #8, with sales clocked at 40,400, and holding for a second week at #10, with 31,500 sold, is James Taylor's Covers.

Ingrid Michaelson's Be OK opens at #35 on next week's chart, scanning 15,000 copies its first week on store shelves, while Massachusetts metalcore outfit Unearth's March debuts at #45, with 10,900 sold. Copeland's You Are My Sunshine bows at #48, with 10,300 scans. Haste the Day's Dreamer enters at #68, with 7,700 sold. Santana's Multi-Dimensional Warrior checks in at #82, after selling almost 6,700 units, and Between the Buried and Me's Colors: Live follows at #100, with 5,400 sold.

Joe's Greatest Hits sold more than 4,700 copies, which earns it the #125 spot on next week's Top 200. Meanwhile, metallers Gojira's Way of All Flesh enters at #138, with 4,200 scans. Nikka Costa returns at #157, with her latest, Pebble to a Pearl, scanning 3,600 copies. And finally, "Pushing Daisies" star Kristin Chenoweth's A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas enters at #187, with 3,100 sold.

A Scott Walker gig, sans Scott Walker

When Drifting and Tilting - The Songs of Scott Walker is presented at London's Barbican next month, Scott Walker is not going to sing. The acclaimed experimental singer-songwriter is alive, he lives in England, and his band is going to play the three gigs. But Walker himself will sit the concerts out.

Instead the likes of Damon Albarn and Jarvis Cocker will take the mic.

Broadly speaking, it sounds like an amazing show. Walker's spectral, skeletal songs presented by a huge cast of musicians, dancers and singers, with a 42-piece string orchestra and a specially designed theatre-set. The only thing that's missing is Walker himself. And yet the strange singer is resolute.

Walker has only very rarely performed live and according to a Barbican statement, never listens to his songs again after "the moment of creation". So chances are he won't even be sitting in the cheap seats.

In addition to Albarn and Cocker, the recently announced line-up includes the Virgin Prunes' Gavin Friday, as well as singers Dot Allison, Michael Henry and Nigel Richards. More special guests are to be announced - a good guess might be the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner, who repeatedly cited Walker as an influence on his Last Shadow Puppets project.

Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens And Ashley Tisdale Reminisce About Their 'High School Musical' Education

It's all over for East High's original Wildcats.

The cast of "High School Musical" is growing up and moving on, and the movie's breakout stars — Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale — sat down with MTV News to reminisce about their time together shooting the Disney franchise's swan song.

"We all grew up together," Hudgens told MTV News. "We have an amazing time every time we get together. It's a blast."

Hudgens said the cast devised a clever plan to beat the heat while shooting "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" in Utah. "It's really hot in Utah, so we decided to buy a kiddie pool and put it in front of our trailers," she recalled. "We'd hang out in front of our kiddie pool and put our feet in and hang out when we weren't working."

Seeing their roles in the franchise come to an end is bittersweet for the actors, but they are ready to move on and are pleased with the way their characters grew up over the course of the three films. "I think it's been a crazy journey for all the Wildcats, and watching them turn into adults is a great way to finish it off," Efron said.

One Wildcat in particular thinks her character turned out exactly the way she would have wanted. "I really think you get to see my character Gabriella grow and turn into this strong, independent young woman," Hudgens said. "And I'm proud of the direction she took."

Hudgens and Tisdale only have one regret this time around: not enough onscreen interaction between Tisdale's Sharpay and Hudgens' Gabriella. "The only thing I wish I did have was a musical number with Sharpay. Then I would be set," Hudgens laughed.

"We don't have any interaction in the third movie," Tisdale added. "We just have one moment. That one moment should have been turned into a musical number!"

And with this round of the cast moving on, Efron has faith that the new kids will pick up where they left off just fine. "I think that we see a lot of the same energy and enthusiasm as we carried ourselves," he said.

Just Push Play

It's difficult to separate Aerosmith from their glorious/inglorious history--one that's seen more revivals than West Side Story. For better or worse, the stalwart Boston quintet carry a load of preconceptions that are impossible to shake. Thus Just Push Play begs the question: If this 12-song set was the product of a bunch of upstarts, would it cause much of a commotion? The answer: Absolutely! Working with coproducers and song collaborators Marti Frederiksen and Mark Hudson, Aerosmith have forged an album that gracefully fuses '70s hard-rock grit with contemporary gloss. The pop-infused likes of the sweeping "Jaded" and the insistent "Sunshine" best demonstrate the formula that Tyler, Perry, and company have settled on for now, while gliding strings surge over Tyler's patented screech and the no-nonsense grind of the four instrumentalists. Mailed-in lyrics and a few self-conscious nods to the times mar Just Push Play, but the pleasures to be had here overwhelm the album's deficiencies. --Steven Stolder

Seth Lakeman

Seth Lakeman- the West Country born singer songwriter credited with taking folk to a new audience with his rhythmic, urgent performances and lyrically engrossing albums- is set to take his highly touted live show on the road today for his largest headline tour to date.


Seth’s critically acclaimed third album 'Poor Man’s Heaven’ charted at number 8 in the UK on it’s release earlier this year, an unprecedented achievement for a so-called 'folk inspired’ artist.

Produced in large part by Seth’s brother and fellow band member, Sean Lakeman, 'Poor Man’s Heaven’ (out now on Relentless) represents a progression for Seth’s sound – while remaining firmly rooted in folk, it moves from a more acoustic-based feel to a fuller, rockier sound, underpinned as ever by emotive lyrics and story telling, this time with a strong coastal theme. It is also the closest representation on record of Seth’s live show yet, capturing the rhythmic, raw energy seldom seen in any other acoustic band.

DAVID COOK

David Cook's "The Time of My Life" was that rare "American Idol" victory anthem that forged past souvenir status into a bona fide career-breaking cross-format hit. The first "legit" single from his full-length debut (Nov. 18) makes it clear exactly the musical recipe Cook intends to make his signature: Collaborators are all name-brand rockers, from producer Rob Cavallo to writers Chris Cornell and Brian Howes. He certainly does his part, with the most aggressive, growling and howling vocal we've yet heard from the talented singer, offering a newfound machismo in his lower register. Melodically, there's no question that this bullet is heading right for the brain, where the only thing stickier than the chorus is Cook's appreciably sweaty performance. Like Chris Daughtry before him, here's an Idol who is bound for true rock cred, while accessing the show's popularity to equally indulge a pop base. "Light On" is right on. —Chuck Taylor