Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift lead MTV Video Music Awards

NEW YORK, United States - Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton artist who's among the world's biggest stars, scored MTV's artist of the year award Sunday at the annual Video Music Awards.

But the performer was conspicuously absent from the show: he was busy with his own blockbuster tour, playing the second night of a sold out concert at Yankee Stadium that over the weekend drew some 100,000 fans.

Bad Bunny, wearing a satin pink suit and white sunglasses, accepted the award via video and also delivered a seismic performance of his smash "Titi Me Pregunto" from the baseball stadium in New York, where the song has soundtracked the streets for months.

"Thank you so much, New York," the 28-year-old said in Spanish to resounding applause.

"From the beginning I always believed that I could be great, that I could be one of the biggest stars in the world, without changing my culture, my language," he said. "I'm Benito Antonio Martinez from Puerto Rico -- for the whole world."

In a sure sign that pandemic-stymied touring was back in full swing, another of the year's biggest stars, Harry Styles, also couldn't make it to the VMAs -- which aired from New Jersey's Prudential Center -- due to his own show at Madison Square Garden.

The artist who dropped "Harry's House" this year also accepted his award for the year's best album via video, before heading back to his own global concert run.

SWIFT ALBUM ON THE WAY

Taylor Swift was also among the night's big winners, turning heads on the red carpet in a dress dripping with crystals before winning the night's top prize of music video of the year for her 10-minute-long film "All Too Well." 

"I'm so proud of what we made," said the 32-year-old, who has been making good on her vow to re-record her first six albums so she can control the rights to them.

"We wouldn't have been able to make this short film if it weren't for you, the fans," Swift said onstage. "Because I wouldn't be able to re-record my albums if it weren't for you. You emboldened me to do that."

She then gave fans a gift in return, announcing that her new album will come out October 21.

Shortly after the broadcast's end, the megastar revealed the new project's name.

"Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight," she wrote on social media.

Hip hop superstar Nicki Minaj reigned over the evening as the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Video Vanguard Award.

Wearing her signature pink wig, the hip-hop icon from Queens delivered a medley of her hits including "Super Bass" and her most recent single "Super Freaky Girl."

Brazil's Anitta also turned heads with a booty-popping performance before winning the award for best Latin video for "Envolver."

"I was born and raised in the ghetto of Brazil, and for whoever was born there, we would never think this was possible," she said when accepting the trophy.

JOHNNY DEPP APPEARS

Iconic stoner comedy duo Cheech and Chong awarded the Red Hot Chili Peppers with the Global Icon Award, before the California rockers performed and also paid tribute to Taylor Hawkins, the late Foo Fighters drummer.

Eminem and Snoop Dogg opened their performance sitting on a couch as Snoop smoked a giant -- albeit fake -- blunt, before the pair headed to the metaverse for a trippy, animated performance of their latest collaboration "From the D 2 the LBC."

Marshmello and Khalid performed "Numb" with neon, disorienting visuals that created a brief but heady rave effect, while South Korea's Blackpink gave their first show at a US awards night ever.

Lizzo also performed before scoring the Video For Good award -- which honors videos with social or political messages -- for her song "About Damn Time."

Wearing a cone-bra corseted dress that recalled Madonna, the superstar thanked fans for voting for her to receive the award before nodding to US politics.

"Vote to change some of these laws that are oppressing us," the star urged.

And at the awards show that's historically far better known for its antics than actual prizes, Johnny Depp -- fresh off his controversial defamation trial against his ex-partner Amber Heard -- appeared as the MTV Moonman, his head digitally superimposed on the flying astronaut.

"You know what? I needed the work," said the 59-year-old actor.

Agence France Presse

Can’t shake this: Taylor Swift to face copyright lawsuit

LOS ANGELES  – Pop superstar Taylor Swift must face a lawsuit from songwriters who claim the Grammy-winning singer copied their lyrics in her 2014 hit single “Shake It Off,” a California judge has ruled.

In a decision issued on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald rejected Swift’s bid to throw out a suit that said she took wording from 2014 song “Playas Gon’ Play” by R&B girl group 3LW.

Fitzgerald said there were “some noticeable differences” between the songs but also “enough objective similarities” that the case should go to a jury trial.

“Although Defendants have made a strong closing argument for a jury, they have not shown that there are no genuine issues of triable fact,” the judge wrote.

A spokeswoman for Swift had no comment on Friday. In 2017, her representatives had called the songwriters’ claim of copyright infringement “ridiculous” and “nothing more than a money grab.”

In “Shake It Off,” Swift sings: “the players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”

“Playas Gon’ Play,” written by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, included the phrases “players, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate.”

Hall and Butler said the combination of playas or players with hatas or haters was unique to its use in their song. The pair are seeking unspecified damages.

Their case had been thrown out in 2018 but the pair appealed and suit was revived.

-reuters

BTS named artist of the year at 2021 American Music Awards

South Korean boy group BTS was named artist of the year at the American Music Awards show in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 21 — the top prize at the world’s largest fan-voted ceremony.

The K-pop group beat rival nominees Ariana Grande, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd.

BTS and Swift were among the early winners at the American Music Awards, in a show hosted live by rapper Cardi B.

BTS was named favorite pop group, the first of three awards it was nominated for on the awards show.

“We’re just a small boy band from Korea which just united by the love of music and all we want to do is spread good vibes,” BTS singer Kim Nam-Joon, known as RM, said.

BTS joined Coldplay on stage for a rendition of their single “My Universe” in a post-pandemic return to live performances for the K-pop group, whose single “Butter” ruled the Billboard singles charts in the United States for 10 weeks this summer.

Swift, who did not attend Sunday’s ceremony, last year won the title for a record sixth time. On Sunday, she took home the trophies for favorite female artist and best pop album for her lockdown album “evermore.”

“I’m so lucky to be in your life and to get to have you in mine,” Swift told fans in a video acceptance speech.

First-time host Cardi B pulled off a series of extravagant costume changes and confessed she was worried about messing up.

“I’m a little nervous. I’m shaking,” the “Bodak Yellow” rapper said, sporting a head-to-toe black feather headdress.

Rodrigo, 18, who burst onto the charts in January, went into Sunday’s show with a leading seven nods including artist of the year, best new artist and favorite pop song for her debut single “drivers license.”

Canadian R&B singer The Weeknd followed with six nominations, while Doja Cat, reggaeton star Bad Bunny and first-time nominee R&B singer Giveon had five each.

Doja Cat picked up three awards on Sunday, including for her “Kiss Me More” collaboration with SZA. Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion, who on Saturday pulled out of performing on the show citing personal issues, won for favorite female hip-hop artist.

Other artists due to perform later on Sunday include Jennifer Lopez, Latin star Bad Bunny, Italian Eurovision song contest winners Maneskin and country singer Carrie Underwood.

The nominees were based on Billboard music chart performance, streaming and album sales, radio play and social media engagement, and the winners were chosen entirely by fans.

-reuters

Taylor’s new song for Cats

What a privilege on the part of Taylor Swift to be able to write a song for Cats with the legendary creator of great musicals Andrew Lloyd Webber.  And vice-versa on the part of Webber to be able to collaborate with the global pop music icon Swiftie. The two have composed a new original for the motion picture adaptation of Webber’s record-breaking musical Cats, which comes to local theaters on Jan. 8.

Writing a new song for the movie version of a musical has become a common practice. This is to give the film a crack at the annual awards rites. The Best Song from a Motion Picture category is handed out to new works.

Since the songs from the soundtrack of the musical are already several years old, a new song that can also be used in the promotions is usually included. An example is You Must Love Me, also by Webber and Tim Rice, that is performed by Madonna in Evita, and which won the Academy Award.

So from now on, Memory will not be the only song that people remember from Cats. There will also be Beautiful Ghost by Webber and Swift. The song will be performed in the movie by the London Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward who plays Victoria and who, it now turns out, can also sing. Swift’s pop version will be played in the end credits and I suppose will also be released as a single from the soundtrack. She plays the kitty Bombalurina.

Now, now, I am thinking, do you think they will also release the rendition of Memory by Jennifer Hudson who stars as Grizabella? That one certainly deserves to be a single.


I’m still thinking. This time into the future.  Do you think they will put it in a new song in the soundtrack of the upcoming Steven Spielberg production of West Side Story? I honestly hope not. That will be almost a sacrilege.  Besides composer Leonard Bernstein is no longer around. Although come to think of it, the musical’s lyricist who is now America’s greatest living composer Stephen Sondheim, still is. Maybe, if he can be convinced...

Anyway, the last months of the year are turning out to be quite a feast for memorable movie soundtracks. There is already the music of the blockbuster Joker, which includes Send In The Clowns and That’s Life by Frank Sinatra, Laughing by Guess Who, I Started A Joke by the Bee Gees and that heart-breaking Smile by both Nat “King” Cole and Jimmy Durante.

Then there is the Ariana Grande-produced soundtrack for the latest reboot of Charlie’s Angels with the new theme, Don’t Call Me Angel by the powerhouse trio of Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey plus Bad Girls by Donna Summer, Nobody by Grande and Chaka Khan, the love ballad How I Look On You by Grande and even the iconic Charlie’s Angel’s Theme remixed this time around by Black Caviar.


And then there is Last Christmas. You all know the song, a big-selling holiday perennial from Wham! from many years ago that sings like this, “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart/ the very next day you gave it away…” The hip-duo of Wham! was made up of Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael, who would go on to have a magnificent career as a solo artist. Unfortunately, Michael died suddenly on Christmas Day almost three years ago, just as actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson had begun work on the project.

Thankfully, although all concerned were jarred by Michael’s demise, they were able to resume work on the picture and it is now ready for release out here on Nov. 27. It features the Christmas classic and is, of course, titled Last Christmas.  And what do you know, the soundtrack includes other George Michael songs like Faith, Freedom ’90 and the previously unreleased This Is How (We Want To Get High).

Last Christmas is a romantic-comedy set in London during the holiday season. The lovers of the story are the lovely Emilia Clarke, who was last seen in Game of Thrones as an elf in a Christmas shop and the gorgeous Henry Golding of Crazy Rich Asians as her unlikely lover. Along for the ride are Thompson and Michelle Yeoh.

source: philstar.com

Taylor Swift’s new song sizzles on YouTube and Spotify

Less than two weeks after releasing her single “Look What You Made Me Do,” which topped the charts in several countries and went viral on YouTube and Spotify, Taylor Swift has unleashed a new song that has garnered a lot of attention as well.

Following its debut at a college football game that aired on ESPN, Swift’s new record, “…Ready for It,” has already garnered over 6.6 million views for its audio-only video at YouTube since its release on Monday.

The song now holds the top spot in Spotify’s Top 200 daily chart for the United States and has also quickly jumped to No. 3 at Spotify’s Top 200 global daily chart just one day after its debut. As of September 4, the song had over 3.5 million global streams on Spotify.

A pulsating pop-dance record that once again makes references to the 27-year-old American pop star’s personal life and string of relationships, “…Ready for It” also takes aim at the on and off romance of Hollywood legends Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor who got married twice.

As impressive as its numbers are, the initial reception for “…Ready for It” is a far cry from the record-setting numbers of “Look What You Made Do” which in a week’s time has amassed over 280 million YouTube views for its music (217 million) and lyric (63 million) videos.

“Look What You Made Me Do” is also the song that currently sits at No. 1 in Spotify’s global Top 200 where it has amassed over 4.8 million streams. The song has also topped the charts in Australia, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

In the United States, “Look What You Made Me Do” recently debuted at No. 77 in Billboard’s Hot 100 charts. Billboard also reported that the song became the fastest selling download since Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.”

“Look What You Made Me Do” is Swift’s first record following a year of making headlines for non-musical reasons including a recent high-profile groping court case that she won. The song is addressed to several unnamed detractors who have tried to bring her down.

Both “…Ready for It” and “Look What You Made Me Do” are featured tracks on Swift’s upcoming album, “Reputation,” which is scheduled for global release on November 10.

source: interaksyon.com

Taylor Swift goes blank on social media, sending fans into frenzy

Taylor Swift, one of the most popular celebrities on social media, wiped all her accounts on Friday, sending fans into a frenzy over whether the pop singer had been hacked, was preparing to launch a new album, or was about to reinvent herself.

Swift, who has 85 million Twitter followers and 102 million Instagram followers, deleted all of her Instagram photos, her posts on Tumblr, and removed her avatar from her Facebook page where all postings prior to December 2015 were missing.

The “Blank Space” singer also deleted years of Twitter posts, and her official website showed just a black screen.

“I’m scared to go to sleep thanks to Taylor Swift like what if she drops a new song,” tweeted an anxious fan called Anu using the handle @shadesoftaylor.

Taylor’s publicist did not return calls for comment, but the development follows a busy two weeks for Swift, who earlier this month ended a six month absence from the public spotlight to testify at a high-profile groping trial in Denver, Colorado.

Swift, 27, was on Monday awarded the symbolic $1 in damages that she had sought after a federal jury in Denver found that a radio DJ had grabbed her bottom while posing for a photo with her in 2013.

Her unflinching testimony describing the incident was applauded by fans and women’s rights groups for highlighting the issue of sexual assault. Swift later made a donation to the sexual violence campaign and support group Joyful Heart Foundation.

Some fans speculated on Friday that Swift, whose last album was the best-selling “1989” in 2014, may be clearing out her accounts before releasing new music.

Others wondered if she had been hacked, while some thought the country-turned-pop star might be planning an image makeover.

“I woke up literally 7 minutes ago what in the world is going on with Taylor Swift,” wrote one fan, Jordyn, on Twitter.

“Is the new era coming or she has been hacked ??,.” tweeted another confused fan, using the handle TaylorSwiftNow.

Usually ubiquitous on social media and red carpets, Swift largely dropped out of public view earlier this year after a highly publicized but short-lived 2016 summer fling with British actor Tom Hiddleston, and feuds with Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Katy Perry.

source: interaksyon.com

Taylor Swift world’s highest paid celebrity: Forbes

NEW YORK | At the tender age of 26, Taylor Swift is the world’s highest-paid celebrity, pulling in a whopping $170 million over the past year, Forbes magazine said Monday.

The pop diva’s take from June 2015 to June 2016 is the highest total of her young career, the magazine said, more than doubling her previous record of $80 million last year.

She out-earned other famous musicians including Adele ($80.5 million), Madonna ($76.5 million), Rihanna ($75 million) and Bruce Springsteen ($60.5 million).

The “Shake It Off” singer also outpaced rival Katy Perry who was last year’s top-earning musician at $135 million, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list of 100 highest-paid celebrities.

Perry dropped to number 63 on this year’s list, earning a mere $41 million.

Swift’s huge earnings were largely thanks to her “1989 World Tour” during which she smashed the Rolling Stone’s North American record, grossing $200 million on the continent en route to a quarter of a billion worldwide, the magazine said.

Coming in at number two on the list this year was the boy band One Direction, ($110 million), followed by author James Patterson ($95 million).

Taylor’s former beau, musician Calvin Harris, also made the cut coming in at number 21 ($63 million).

“The world’s 100 highest-paid celebrities pulled in $5.1 billion pretax over the past 12 months, more than the GDP of Belize, Gambia and Bhutan combined,” Forbes said.

Magazine editor Zack O’Malley Greenberg said live entertainment continues to be a major cash draw.

“From soccer games in Spain to concerts in China, fans are willing to shell out to see big names – and this is driving the celebrity economy to ever greater heights,” he said in a statement.

On the Hollywood front, Jennifer Lawrence was the industry’s highest-paid actress for the second consecutive year, earning $46 million, a slight drop from the $52 million “The Hunger Games” star banked the year before.

Actor Dwayne Johnson wrestled the highest-paid actor spot from “Iron Man’s” Robert Downey Jr., earning $64.5 million, largely thanks to the billion-dollar “Fast and Furious” franchise and the surprising success of 2015′s “San Andreas” movie.

Many athletes also made the list, including Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ($88 million), tennis man Roger Federer ($68 million), and German race car driver Sebastian Vettel ($41 million)

source: interaksyon.com

Taylor Swift files counterclaim in groping lawsuit

DENVER — Taylor Swift filed a counterclaim Wednesday against a former Denver radio host who sued her after he said he lost his job because of false accusations that he inappropriately touched her during a photo session.

David Mueller sued Swift in U.S. District Court in Denver in September, saying he was falsely accused by a member of her security team of grabbing the singer's buttocks backstage at the Pepsi Center on June 2, 2013. Mueller, who denied any inappropriate contact, said he was fired two days later from his job at KYGO radio.

According to Swift's counter argument, Mueller claims that one of his superiors at the radio station committed the alleged assault. But Swift, 25, accuses Mueller solely.

"Mueller's newfound claim that he is the 'wrong guy' and, therefore, his termination from KYGO was unjustified, is specious," Swift's attorneys wrote in the counterclaim. "Ms. Swift knows exactly who committed the assault — it was Mueller."

Attorneys for Swift say in court filings that the singer was "surprised, upset, offended, and alarmed" when Mueller groped her during the pre-concert meet-and-greet. They added that Mueller did not merely brush his hand against Swift while posing for a photograph, but lifted up her skirt.

An attempt to reach Mueller's attorney for comment Wednesday night was unsuccessful.

Swift's publicist, who also could not be reached for comment Wednesday night, released a statement shortly after Mueller sued the singer, saying the radio host's employer was given evidence after the incident and made its own decision to fire him.

Swift, who is asking for a jury trial, says any money she might receive involving the lawsuit will be donated to charitable organizations "dedicated to protecting women from similar acts of sexual assault and personal disregard."

source: philstar.com

Taylor Swift leads winners but Miley Cyrus rules at MTV VMA show

LOS ANGELES | It was all about the shock factor on Sunday as the MTV Video Music Awards became the unofficial Miley Cyrus show, with the scantily clad singer cursing her way through her hosting duties.

“I’ve literally done everything on the VMA stage and none of it showed I was qualified to host, but here we are,” Cyrus, dressed in a plunging, sparkly rainbow jumpsuit, quipped as she opened the show.

Cyrus, 22, changed outfits numerous times throughout the show, each time coming out with less on, and starred in comedy sketches showing her cursing and smoking marijuana with actors such as Andy Samberg, musicians such as rapper Tyga, and her father, country musician Billy Ray Cyrus.

Viacom Inc-owned MTV’s annual VMAs, which draws the network’s youth audience coveted by advertisers, awards its Moonman statuettes to the year’s top achievements in music videos, but has become better known for delivering irreverent and unexpected moments.

Minaj opened the show singing “The Night Is Still Young,” dressed in an flamboyant red outfit with a feathered headdress, before being joined by Swift for her hit “Bad Blood,” one of the top nominated videos of the night.

The two came together to perform after a Twitter altercation last month when Minaj said the MTV VMA nominations only rewarded videos by “slim girls,” sparking a reaction from Swift. But the two showed no signs of “bad blood” on Sunday and ended their performance with a hug.

Minaj did call out Cyrus for criticizing her in a recent New York Times interview, to which Cyrus insinuated that the interview had been manipulated and congratulated the rapper.

Swift led the early winners on Sunday as “Blank Space” won best female video and best pop video, while Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson’s summer hit “Uptown Funk!” was named best male video and Minaj’s raunchy “Anaconda” won best hip hop video.

Ahead of the show, Fall Out Boy won best rock video for “Uma Thurman,” and the fan-voted song of the summer award went to Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer’s “She’s Kinda Hot,” which garnered more than 52 million votes.

source: interaksyon.com

Taylor Swift lets Aussie seniors ‘shake it off’

SYDNEY | Pop star Taylor Swift has leapt to the aid of a Sydney theater company suffering an “artistic emergency” by giving the cast of 70-somethings permission to dance to her chart-topper “Shake it Off”.

Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre took to Twitter with the hashtag “greygrey4taytay” to appeal to the American singer for permission to use the song in a play due to open Wednesday night.

“I’m facing an artistic emergency I hope you can help with,” theater director Anne-Louise Sarks tweeted to the singer on Tuesday morning.

She was referring to the play “Seventeen” about 17-year-olds on their last night of high school but played by actors in their 70s.

In the production’s show-stopper scene, the cast dance to “Shake it Off” — and they had learned all the word to the song — yet at the last minute they had been denied permission to use it, reportedly by the song’s publishers.

“Is there anything at all you can do?!!” Sarks pleaded.

The response was quick with the singer giving the green light via Twitter: “Permission granted. Good luck with your opening night.”

Swift is a global superstar with more than 61.5 million followers on Twitter but her work was largely unknown to the cast of “Seventeen” until they began rehearsing the play, which was written specifically for them.

“These actors weren’t, until these rehearsals, familiar with Taylor Swift — or much pop music — so we introduced them to this track, they learned all the words — it was kind of a big process,” Sarks told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“So it was quite a big deal to get denied those rights at the last minute.”

She later said on Twitter that Taylor’s support for artists was “a thing to behold”.

source: interaksyon.com

With big album on sale, Taylor Swift pulls music from Spotify

LOS ANGELES | Singer Taylor Swift, whose new album is likely to have the biggest opening week of sales in a dozen years, on Monday pulled her entire catalog from online music streaming service Spotify.

Singers and bands, including Beyonce and Coldplay, in the past have delayed releasing albums to Spotify to give retailers an exclusive window to sell their albums, but Swift has taken the unusual action of pulling all of her music from the service.

The action may discourage Swift’s fans who use the service and overshadow the singer’s announcement on Monday of a world tour that is set to begin in May in Louisiana.

Swift and her record label, Big Machine, requested last week that the singer’s music be taken down, Spotify spokesman Graham James said.

Swift wrote in an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal in July, “Piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically … Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for. It’s my opinion that music should not be free …”

The Swedish-British company made a public plea to Swift, saying in a blog post, “We hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone.”

The company said Swift’s music was on 19 million playlists. The streaming service has more than 40 million users.

Swift’s new album, “1989,” was released on Oct. 27 and it is expected to top 1 million in U.S. sales when figures are released on Wednesday, trade magazine Billboard said.

Big Machine declined to comment on why it asked for Swift’s albums to be pulled from Spotify, a free service that also offers subscription fees to users who want to eliminate advertising.

“1989″ was not available to stream on Spotify but its lead single, No. 1 hit “Shake It Off,” had been.

Streaming music has attracted interest among technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc as album sales and downloads decline.

The withholding of new music, known as “windowing,” is meant to encourage customers to buy albums and download songs rather than stream them online, which is less profitable.

Artists and record companies have at times been at odds with Spotify over money. The company says that about 70 percent of its revenue goes to record labels and publishers, which then have their own separate agreements with artists.

Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta has been vocal in the past over his dislike about how Spotify and other free streaming services compensate record labels.

source: interaksyon.com

Taylor Swift arrives in Manila for concert, leaving midnight

MANILA, Philippines – Grammy-winning singer-composer Taylor Swift arrived Friday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on a private chartered CL60 Challenger jet (flight VJ317) from Singapore for a seven-hour trip that includes a concert.

Swift is to perform tonight (Friday) at the Mall of Asia Arena for her RED Tour concert series and will leave again for Singapore at midnight on the same private jet parked at the general aviation area of the airport.

Her arrival was marked by extra-tight security; and private security personnel hired by the organizers prevented local media from approaching and taking a clear photo of the celebrity singer’s arrival at the tarmac.

source: interaksyon.com

Taylor Swift and One Direction's Harry Styles: Are They Dating?

Taylor Swift appears to be taking her love life in a new direction.

The "Never Ever Getting Back Together" singer is seemingly taking her lyrics to heart as she moves on from recent ex, Conor Kennedy, and enjoys the company of One Direction hottie Harry Styles.

"I had to literally do a double-take," an onlooker tells PEOPLE of finding Styles, 18, with Swift, 22, on the set of The X Factor Thursday morning.

Styles was on hand to watch Swift rehearse the debut of "State of Grace," which she performed later that night on the Fox reality show.

"He was smiling at her while she rehearsed. When she was done he jumped up on stage, picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her off stage," the onlooker says. "The whole crew was really surprised."

The young singers were also spotted by X Factor host Mario Lopez, who says he was slapped on the back by Styles during Swift's rehearsal.

"I said, 'What are you doing here,' " Lopez said on his 104.3 MY FM radio show Friday. "And he sort of [pointed] toward Taylor."

Lopez went on to say he later saw the two "hand-in-hand."

A telling sign of the budding relationship may have been a look Styles shared with his bandmate Niall Horan a week earlier after Horan told PEOPLE his favorite song of 2012 was Swift's "Never Ever Getting Back Together."

When asked if he would ever date Swift, Horan gave a small laugh, looked at Styles and answered with a succinct, "no."

source: people.com

Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, ‘Twilight’ win big at Teen Choice Awards

LOS ANGELES – Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and “The Twilight Saga” continued their runs as teenage fan favorites, winning the top honors at Sunday’s Teen Choice Awards.

Country music star Swift, 22, picked up five awards, including choice music female artist and female country artist, as well as voice actress for her role in animated comedy “The Lorax.” The singer was also among the top winners last year at the awards show that airs on the Fox television network.

Canadian pop star Bieber, 18, received a loud welcome as he performed his song “Boyfriend” and latest single, “As Long As You Love Me”, with rapper Big Sean on a futuristic set. The singer won four awards, including choice music male artist and single by male artist for “Boyfriend.”

Teen Choice favorite film “The Twilight Saga” picked up the Ultimate Choice Award this year, ahead of the franchise’s final installment, “Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ coming out in theaters in November.

The blockbuster movie series and its actors have won 41 Teen Choice awards over the last four years, and stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner came on stage together to accept the surfboard trophies, which they then gave to the audience.

“This award especially is an extreme honor. It’s a true testament to all the support you’ve given us over the years. It’s amazing you’re still around and just as loyal and just as strong,” Lautner said to the avid “Twilight” fans in the audience, known as “Twi-hards.”

The Teen Choice Awards, voted for by teen viewers online, gives actors, musicians and other artists who are popular with kids the chance to thank their fans. The trophies are life-size surfboard and are given in numerous categories spanning film, television and music, as well as unconventional awards.

The two-hour awards show was hosted by former Disney Channel actress and current “X Factor” judge Demi Lovato and “Glee” star Kevin McHale, who also picked up awards.

Among other awards, the movie “lip-lock” Teen Choice trophy went to Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games.” Choice “Hotties” went to Miley Cyrus and “Vampire Diaries” star Ian Somerhalder.

Southern Californian pop punk band No Doubt, which will be releasing their first album in over a decade this month, performed their single “Settle Down” from the upcoming release “Push and Shove.” Rapper Flo Rida also performed his latest single “Whistle” and his hit song, “Wild Ones.”

Carly Rae Jepsen, choice breakout artist winner, sang her infectious hit single, “Call Me Maybe,” which was voted choice summer song, accompanied by a video of the night’s star-studded audience lip-syncing to the song.

Selena Gomez, who celebrated her 20th birthday on Sunday, won a surfboard for best music group and single by a group with her band The Scene.

Host Lovato, 19, who won the special “Inspire” award at last year’s Teen Choice awards after overcoming personal abuse issues, presented this year’s “Inspire” award to fellow starlet and Nickelodeon actress Miranda Cosgrove, for her work with young people and education.

source: interaksyon.com

Patrick Schwarzenegger, Taylor Lautner Film Grown Ups 2

Patrick Schwarzenegger is getting plenty of quality time with the Taylors – Swift and Lautner that is!

After hanging out with Taylor Swift in Hyannis Port, Mass., over the Fourth of July, Schwarzenegger, 18, was spotted this weekend filming the movie Grown Ups 2 north of Boston with Swift's ex, Twilight star Taylor Lautner.




The son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver reportedly plays a fraternity brother of Lautner's in Grown Ups 2, costarring Adam Sandler and Salma Hayek.

"Amazing first day on Grown Ups 2," Patrick wrote Friday on Twitter. "So happy to be part of this."

We can't wait to see him in action!

source: people.com