American Music Awards: Three reasons to watch, three reasons to avoid

It's hard to imagine that this is finally happening. A music awards show without Kanye West and/or Taylor Swift will go down on Sunday night, and right here in our hometown.

The American Music Awards are set for a live Sunday night broadcast -- tape-delayed for the West Coast. Set to air at 8 p.m. on ABC, expect at least 20 music performances, and the occasional fan-voted award to be handed out at the gala at downtown's Nokia Theatre. 

In a tradition started last year by Pop & Hiss, here's three reasons to tune in, and three reasons one may be better off catching up on those episodes of "The Mentalist" you have on your DVR.

Reasons to watch:

1. Rihanna. Her "Russian Roulette" stands as one of the starkest, bravest, toughest singles to be released in 2009. The fact that it came from one of the world's biggest pop stars, and sounded more fit for a horror soundtrack than a dance floor, only added to its mystique. Even if it's not the song she'll be performing Sunday, it instantly catapulted Rihanna from a singles artist to a serious force to be reckoned with. 

2. Lady Gaga. In terms of unpredictable pop stars, no one, perhaps, can top one Mr. West. But the man who should have been Gaga's touring partner is a bit MIA at the moment, and likely won't grace an awards  show again until the Grammys, if they'll have him. But in the absence of Kanye, Gaga can be counted on for some sort of spectacle, even if her award-show speeches won't be quite as off the cuff. Her recent video for "Bad Romance" was a sci-fi-inspired explosion of arresting images, and her last major TV appearance -- a performance on "Saturday Night Live" -- featured the artist completely breaking down her hits.

3. Because the Bears are on. This doesn't really apply to those of us on the West Coast, where the American Music Awards will air later than the rest of the country, but there won't be anything broadcast on the gala that comes close to the train wreck that is the 2009 Chicago Bears. Heck, you can slap Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood and 50 Cent together for a medley of Broadway hits of the '40s, and the three of them doing the foxtrot would make for more captivating television than the Chicago branch of the National Football League. 

Reasons to skip are after the jump.

Amber Rose debunks 'RIP Kanye West' Twitter topic

Would a dead man have time to haunt the world by posting pictures of supermodel Gabriela Barros online? Rapper Kanye West, of course, is not dead, although "RIP Kanye West" is still the hottest-trending topic on Twitter (Pop & Hiss advises against clicking on it, unless you're ready for a stream of baiting links to random sites).

The rumor bombarded the social-networking/micro-blogging site after a mock-up of a Fox News homepage proclaimed the rapper had died in Los Angeles. Girlfriend Amber Rose was quick to debunk it, posting to her Twitter account that "This RIPKanyeWest topic is not funny and its NOT TRUE!." She added in a follow-up tweet that the topic is "in extreme poor taste.

West to his credit failed to acknowledge the morbid hoax, although he is still not touring with Lady Gaga. He does, however, have a new hardcover picture book documenting his recent "Glow in the Dark" tour for sale.

Yet despite having long been debunked more than 10 hours ago, users continue to flood Twitter with "RIP Kanye West" tweets, transforming the hoax into spam in less than a day. Meanwhile, West's adorably fuzzy inner-demon, as directed by Spike Jonze, is most likely deceased, although the short film that depicts the killing has been stricken from West's site.

--Todd Martens

Screenshot:http://twitter.com/darealamberrose

Miley Cyrus says goodbye to Twitter with a rap; Courtney Love's account is removed

Twitter continues to lose some of its most-followed music celebs. Days after teen star Miley Cyrus removed her account, perpetual ranter Courtney Love has disappeared from the social-networking service. Love's Twitter disappeared without warning, but its removal came soon after Love's teenage daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, laid into young Ali Lohan.

Cyrus, however, isn't disappearing so quietly.

With rumors that she left Twitter at the behest of her supposed love interest Liam Hemsworth, the tween star and their friends channeled all their non-tweeting free time into a short, cheesy rap. "I stopped living for moments, and started living for people," Cyrus sings, adding, "Everything that I type and everything I do / All those lame gossip sites take it and they make it news."

Cyrus admits to some withdrawals, as well as missing Dane Cook's latest updates, but promises no more "fake feuds" with Demi Lovato. If the result of Cyrus leaving Twitter is more charmingly bad videos like the one above, Pop & Hiss applauds the move.

Cyrus was leaving Twitter while she was on top. According to data from BigChampagne, Cyrus had the third-most Twitter followers among musicians as of Oct. 6, with more than 2.2 million users tracking her pimple updates. Only Britney Spears and John Mayer had more.

But Cyrus and Love aren't the only high-profile musicians to disappear from the site. British singer Lily Allen, who ranks No. 9 among active Twitter musicians, hasn't updated since Sept. 28, going quiet after taking heat for her views on Internt file-sharing. Earlier this year, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor stopped updating his account, declaring on July 17 that "flesh and reality are calling." 

In May, rapper Kanye West ranted against the service, writing in his "Caps Lock" glory, "I'M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BUSY BEING CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME AND IF I'M NOT AND I'M JUST LAYING ON A BEACH I WOULDN'T TELL THE WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT TWITTER OFFERS I NEED LESS OF."

Although she wasn't nearly as blunt, it appears Cyrus would agree.

-- Todd Martens

Related: Demi versus Perez? See Twitter, where celebs rant

Lady Gaga to go it alone -- solo tour launching this November

Less than 24 hours after the sudden but not entirely unexpected cancellation of her co-headlining trek with Kanye West, pop-star-meets-fashion-oddity Lady Gaga has stated that she will stage a solo tour this winter. The singer unveiled on her Twitter account that an announcement will be coming next week.

"Still leaving on solo TOUR this nov.," the artist wrote, making creative use of her caps lock key.

Lady Gaga also appeared at an industry conference held by trade Billboard Magazine today in New York, and briefly addressed the tour. "It was a mutual decision," Gaga was quoted as saying. "Kanye's going to take some time off. But the good news is that I'm going on tour in a few weeks."

In other Lady Gaga news, a leaked single of hers, "Bad Romance" made its way online today. Music blog Idolator wrote that the song "is pretty much a calculated step back into 'Poker Face' territory," although the artist stressed on Twitter that the version online is "making my ears bleed." Lady Gaga will appear on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" this weekend.

Meanwhile, it's all quiet on the Kanye front. Fans will find zero mention of the canceled tour on the artist's blog. Instead, the blog today has posted some designer lamps. 

Lady Gaga's co-headlining tour with West, "Fame Kills," was to begin in November.

-- Todd Martens

Photo credit: Getty Images

Fame killed: Kanye West, Lady Gaga and the missed opportunity

 
While I may or may not be of a minority opinion, I’ll stand firm in my conviction: The cancellation of the Kanye West/Lady Gaga “Fame Kills” tour, quite frankly, stinks. It’s also a sad commentary on the state of modern pop music, which could have benefited from something so inspired.

At its best, pop music is thrilling, sexy and occasionally brilliant, but quite almost always controversial. When it works, it elevates beyond music to a larger pop cultural stage, and provokes more than just a conversation. Between the two of them, Lady Gaga and Kanye West have done all of the above and more. They’ve affected the cultural zeitgeist and are walking among the biggest pop stars in the world because of it.

The aptly titled "Fame Kills" tour was an intuitive juxtaposition of the new pop power structure. West’s panoramic hip-hop appeal with Gaga’s even broader reach -- one that includes the gay/lesbian community -- was sure to draw a mind-bogglingly cross-cultural crowd.

The few leaked details on the actual show made it sound like a truly ambitious undertaking, with both artists on stage at the same time:

Kanye West, Lady Gaga tour is canceled

Kanye West's duo-headlining tour with Lady Gaga has been canceled, concert promoter Live Nation announced Thursday afternoon. The "Fame Kills" trek was to have hit Anaheim on Nov. 15 and Los Angeles on Nov. 16. There was no reason given for the cancellation, and zero indication that the tour dates would be rescheduled.

A Live Nation press release offered few details. "Live Nation announced today that the Kanye West and Lady Gaga 'Fame Kills' tour has been cancelled. Refunds are available at the point of purchase.  Tickets purchased online and via phone will be refunded automatically."

Rumors of the tour's demise hit the gossip sites last night. Representatives for West and Lady Gaga did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives from Live Nation had no further information.

The tour seemed ill-fated from the start. Pop & Hiss first reported that the tour might be doomed on Sept. 15, as reps for the artists refused to discuss the trek and dates were swiped from the Ticketmaster system. Pre-sales initially announced for Sept.16 were removed from Ticketmaster without any explanation, and prior to the tour going on sale, West had announced on national television that he planned to disappear from the public spotlight.

Yet an R-rated teaser was ultimately released for the tour on West's site; the trek was to have begun Nov. 10 in Phoenix. It was to have been a high-profile pairing of two of the nation's biggest pop stars.

Live review: Kanye West, Queen Latifah highlight 'Common & Friends' benefit show

“I’ve been to a lot of charity events, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Old-school rapper Heavy D surveyed the sold-out Hollywood Palladium crowd gathered for the second annual “Common & Friends,” a star-studded affair that featured appearances from a seemingly endless cavalcade of A-list hip-hop stars to benefit Common's Common Ground charity.

The audience had already seen a series of highlights. De La Soul opened the show with a quick, high-energy set, punctuated by a surprise appearance from masked rapper MF Doom, who ferociously ripped through his verse from “Rock Co.Kane Flow.”

Black Thought and Amir “Questlove” Thompson represented for the Roots, and Ludacris ignited concertgoers with a crowd-pleasing set that culminated with “I Do It for Hip-Hop.” The latter allowed him to introduce Nas, who appears on the recorded version (video here).

After a simmering take on “One Mic,” Nas looked on in appreciation as the night’s host, Common, proceeded to spit most of Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind” verbatim.

The crowd was also treated to an impromptu Black Star reunion, with Mos Def and Talib Kweli hitting the stage together. The two galvanized the audience with solo hits “Umi Says” and “Get By,”  respectively.

But it was Heavy D who offered up one of the most surprising highlights of the show. Among the many unbilled performers of the evening, even those too young to remember Heavy D's late '80s/early '90s hits such as “We Got Our Own Thang” and “Now That We Found Love,” responded to his showmanship and the enduring qualities of the songs.

Word had been circulating throughout the day that one Kanye West would also be among the surprise performers, a fact that Common teased the audience with briefly.

“He’s still going through some things, trying to deal with everything that’s happened because of a choice he made, so he couldn't make it tonight” Common said, obviously referencing West’s meme-generating mike grab from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs. “But he still wanted me to send his love to everyone.”

Kanye West needs his own "Sorry, Blame It on Me" single

For a bit of context on how a pop-rapper behaving terribly can recover in the public eye, think back to the halcyon days of 2007. Akon, the singer/producer, was fresh off an incident in a Trinidad 18-and-up club where he engaged in a lascivious bit on onstage grinding with a female fan who, it turns out, was 16 at the time. Trinidad police launched an investigation (that they soon dropped), but Verizon pulled a reported $3 million worth of sponsorship money from his tour with Gwen Stefani in response. In the court of public opinion, "Konvict Music" proved an apt name for his business ventures.

Now, Akon could have chosen to go the R. Kelly route and simply ignore all this while making even more sexually overblown (and brilliant) records. But he didn't. He went full-bore meta and released one of the strangest singles of the year, "Sorry, Blame It on Me," a monument to passive-aggressive R&B wimpsterism. On the track, he self-flagellates in great detail about both his absentee relationships and the Trinidad incident while -- sort of justifiably -- ducking much of that aforementioned blame:

"I'm sorry for Club Zen getting shut down / I hope they manage better next time around / how was I to know she was underage?...Verizon backed out disgracing my name / I'm just a singer trying to entertain / Because I love my fans I'll take that blame."

It was so weird, so contrary to all standard PR-agent instincts to decline comment on anything like this, that "Sorry" left upset fans with nothing to complain about that Akon hadn't already said first in the song. And wouldn't you know, people stopped talking about Akon as creepy-dance-floor-guy and let him get back to producing and writing in peace. Of course, he then promptly bodyslammed a kid at a radio festival and started this all over, but that's another story.

Which brings us to Kanye West, who had a less aggressive but even more public-upsetting run-in with a young girl onstage recently. There might be something for Kanye to learn from in the tale of Akon: It's a lot harder to criticize someone if they said it all first, and loudest (Eminem's character also tried this to great effect at the end of "8 Mile"). And who better to put out a withering self-critique than Kanye West? He's practically already written one, with "Everything I Am" from "Graduation" taking on the topic of his awards-show bad behavior (and, presciently, praising Beyonce).

No more mystery: Kanye, Gaga unveil tour dates, $45 tour membership

Apologies have been accepted and talk shows received their ratings boosts. Now everyone appears ready to go back to making money.

Concert promoter Live Nation officially unveiled the tour dates for Kanye West's co-headlining trek with Lady Gaga, which will include two Los Angeles-area appearances. Dubbed the "Fame Kills" tour, the trek will hit the Honda Center in Anaheim on Nov. 15 and the Staples Center downtown on Nov. 16.

The tour dates were unveiled on the website for industry trade Pollstar earlier this week, but in the wake of West's MTV Video Music Awards appearance, which practically caused a national crisis, reps for both artists and tour promoter Live Nation refused to confirm the tour's existence.

The parties involved went so far as to strike the tour from the Ticketmaster database, removing dates that were to initially go on sale on Sept. 16. A "no comment" was offered rather than an explanation (really, fans, Live Nation loves you).

But all mysteries were put to rest this morning. Now, rather than debate West's award show antics, fans can instead discuss the merits of the presale protocols for the "Fame Kills" tour. Presale tickets for most markets, including the two Southland dates, will be available Sept. 22.

For $45, fans will have the right to then purchase tickets before the general public, including VIP passes, which will surely push three figures. Early reports had the cost of tickets ranging from $39.50 to $250. If true, the ability to gain access before the riffraff will cost more than some tickets. 

However, fans will receive a T-shirt. Kanye/Gaga completists who want to hit both L.A.-area dates should skip the fan club, however. The $45 purchase only gives you the right to buy tickets to "one show per membership year," according to the website for the "Fame Kills" tour. Hey, what do you expect for an extra $45? 

On the flip side, there is a free membership option, but Pop & Hiss has no idea why it exists. After signing up, we received this message: "Currently, free memberships offer no benefits, but we'll keep you posted if this changes."

General on-sales begin Sept. 26.

--Todd Martens

Photo, top left: Kanye West. Credit: EPA
Photo, top right: Lady Gaga. Credit: Getty Images

The disappearing Kanye West, Lady Gaga tour dates

Is Kanye West about to make good on his promise to take some time off? Could the fallout from his interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech actually persuade the artist to stay home this fall?

That all may sound a bit drastic -- and perhaps a bit unlikely -- but there appears to be a burgeoning mystery surrounding his upcoming Fame Kills tour with Lady Gaga, which was reported to go on sale this week. The full dates were first revealed on the website for industry trade Pollstar yesterday morning, but no official information from either West or Lady Gaga’s camp has followed.

This morning, however, a smattering of tour dates for the trek were listed in the Ticketmaster website. They have since been removed. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Ticketmaster currently lists no upcoming dates for West.

Thanks to the power of Google cache, one can call up one of the first listings – a Dec. 12 date in Greensboro, N.C. Internet presales for some of the dates were initially listed to go on sale Wednesday morning at 10 a.m., but now that seems unlikely as it's only hours away and no official information on the tour has been released.

West and Lady Gaga are reported to be scheduled to play the Staples Center on Nov. 16 in Los Angeles, according to the dates released on Pollstar.com. AEG Live, which owns the downtown arena, declined to comment and instead referred questions to Live Nation, which is promoting the tour.

A spokesman for Live Nation, based in Los Angeles, said he had no information regarding a West/Lady Gaga date in Los Angeles and no details on when the tour would be announced.

A spokesman for Lady Gaga says the initial run of dates circulating the Web are not confirmed, adding that the package tour has not even been announced. “Live Nation has yet to officially announce the tour and the correct routing,” says the spokesman. The tour was initially revealed by West on “The View” back in June.