Screen Shots

Air Force Covers Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep'

Sheila Marikar — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:06:28 -0400

The U.S. Air Force’s cover of Adele’s “Rolling In the Deep” is going viral.

As of this afternoon, the YouTube video of the band Sidewinder, which was posted on Aug. 8, had more than 220,000 views. In it, lead female vocalist, staff Sgt. Angie Johnson, of the 571st Air Force Band, 131st Bomb Wing, Air National Guard, does a pitch perfect impression of English singer-songwriter Adele’s hit single. She is supported by a cast of seven other band members: Three strum guitars, one thumps on a drum set, and another plays a bright blue string instrument. The group sports simple band attire: Army green t-shirts and camouflage fatigue pants.

AreYouSurprised, the soldier who posted the video, wrote, “Just taking a break, and enjoying some underpaid talent,” under his latest YouTube post. Apparently, he’s surprised at how the cover’s taken off. The Middle East stationed soldier who describes himself as a “military member in the closet,” tweeted on Aug. 9, “Holy crap...my latest video is getting blown up like crazy.”

Sgt. Johnson was similarly surprised when TV celeb, Carson Daly, contacted her via Twitter. Daly tweeted: “Staff Sgt. Angie Johnson from the band Sidewinder, the 571st Air Force Band, 131st Bomb Wing, Air National Guard! I need to reach you!”

Sgt. Johson replied: “@carsonjdaly Totally can't believe I'm tweeting with you right now. Jaw.On.Floor.” And later, “@carsonjdaly I'm in the Middle East with Sidewinder now! Internet is spotty. I just found out about all of this a couple of hours ago!!!”

Sgt. Johnson has since tweeted to NBC’s The Voice and Mark Burnett. She also expressed her gratitude to the soldier responsible for her growing fame. She tweeted, “Mr. Are You Surprised Soldier who posted the video of Sidewinder on YouTube, you are crazy rad man!!! Thanks for the love like whoa.”

-- Reshma Kirpalani

Pop-Up Video Returns to VH1: The ‘90s Are Back!

Sheila Marikar — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:06:00 -0400

First MTV announced the return of alternative music staple "120 Minutes," and now VH1 is undergoing its own ‘90s flashback with the return of “Pop-Up Video.”

After a 10-year hiatus, the network will produce 60 new episodes of the beloved music trivia show, which airs music videos peppered with wry info bubbles and commentary that pop in and out of the video -- like how long the shoot for REM’s “Losing My Religion” lasted (9 hours!) and what was Billy Idol’s nickname on the set for “Cradle of Love” (Stumpy!).

The new “Pop-Up” will be faithful to the original concept, but will include rap and hip-hop, which were originally off limits to the network because of MTV’s “ownership” of the genres. The resurrected show will also take advantage of new trends that have emerged since its premiere in 1996.

“Our audience has a particular nostalgia for “Pop Up Videos,” but they’re also seeking more information on multiple platforms,” Jeff Olde, VH1’s executive vice president of original programming and production, told The Hollywood Reporter. “They’re [using social networking] to create their own pop-ups in a way. So we can hit the nostalgia beat but also have it feel like it’s relevant and current.”

Rumors of the return of “Pop-Up” have percolated since last month, when ABC's “Good Morning America” crew did their own “Pop-Up Video.”

-- Ryan Creed, ABC News.

LIVE BLOG: Oprah Winfrey's Last Show

Sheila Marikar — Wed, 25 May 2011 09:31:30 -0400

10:58 a.m ET: That's a wrap. Some of Winfrey's final words: "I thank you all for your support and your trust in me. I thank you all for sharing this yellow brick road of blessings. ... I thank you for being as much of a sweet inspiration to me as I tried to be for you. I won't say goodbye, I'll just say until we meet again. To God be the glory."

She walked through the audience before heading backstage, where her teary-eyed staff offered hugs and kisses. "We did it!" she hollered, once with her staff and once with her dog Sadie, who she held in her arms as the screen faded to black.

10:54 a.m. ET: Winfrey said she offered a "prayer of gratitude" every day coming down from the Harpo makeup room into the studio.

10:51 a.m. ET: Winfrey choked up thinking about how she was born into a world where it was thought she couldn't be anything but a maid or a teacher in a segregated school. "You and this show have been the great love of my life," she said, tears in her eyes.

10:50 a.m. ET: Winfrey wants you to email her: oprah@oprah.com. She said any emails you get from her will be directly from her.

10:49 a.m. ET: One of Winfrey's special guests in the audience is Mrs. Duncan, her fourth grade teacher who first came on the show in 1988.

10:48 a.m. ET: Winfrey said she's relied on her fans more than they probably know: "You all have been a safe harbor for me."

10:45 a.m. ET: One of Winfrey's proudest moments was when 200 male sexual abuse victims in her studio audience stood to "lift the veil of shame" around men being sexually abused.

10:44 a.m. ET: On regrets: Winfrey said she had "none really" but felt she could have brought more attention to the "sexual seduction, molestation and rape of children."

10:40 a.m. ET: Winfrey said the secret to her success is "my team and Jesus." "The only time I've ever made mistakes is when I didn't listen," she said. "God is love, and God is life."

10:39 a.m. ET: Winfrey just did a little shimmy to signify her birth. Her parents were under the tree in Mississippi "and voila! Out pops me!"

10:37 a.m. ET: Winfrey said while the Harpo "team stays, Harpo stays, the buidling stays," (to work on her cable station OWN) her drive to work today felt fundamentally different. She's been telling her staff, "We get to land this plane today. Wheels are down, you can see the runway."

10:32 a.m. ET: Winfrey tip No. 374: validate the people you love. "I've spoken to a lot of arrogant, mean-spirited bullies on this stage," she said. "I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common -- they all wanted validation. ... They want to know, do you hear me? Do you see me? Does what I say mean anything to you?"

10:28 a.m. ET: Time for the fun stuff! Winfrey showed clips of her swinging from a rope, riding into her studio on an elephant, and hanging from a harness. One thing her producers always wanted her to do that she wouldn't: jump out of an airplane.

10:25 a.m. ET: Winfrey paid tribute to how her show made it OK for people to talk about family and personal problems, showing clips from past guests admitting abuse, alcoholism and more. "Little by little, we started to erase the shame," she said.

10:20 a.m. ET: Winfrey just referenced Newton's third law of motion. She's not kidding about this classroom thing.

10:18 a.m. ET: The early days of "Oprah" were a far cry from today's inspirational, star-studded hours. Winfrey showed brief clips from the "he said, she said" fights that used to break out among her disenfranchised guests. "The beginning of reality TV folks," she told her audience today. "Glad we grew out of that."

10:15 a.m. ET: The music coming in and out of the commercial breaks hammers it home. So go the lyrics: "25 years have come and gone and the story's still unfolding."

10:10 a.m. ET: Indeed, the show is almost preachy. Winfrey told her fans that aside from making money to survive, "you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world." "You have the power to change somebody's life," she went on. "Everybody has a calling."

10:07 a.m. ET: As expected, no one's walking away with multi-million dollar gifts. "You will not be getting a car," Winfrey told her audience. "This is my love letter to you." Before that, she mused, "It is no coincidence that I always wanted to be a teacher. I ended up with the greatest classroom in the world. And this, my friends, will be our last class for this stage."

10:04 a.m. ET: Winfrey reminscined about how she started her TV career with "just a Jheri curl and a bad fur coat." She recalled doing her first shows without a live audience and how crucial it was to get people in her studio: "From day one, Chicago, you took me in."

10:02 a.m. ET: "This journey that you and I have shared together" -- this show is all about Winfrey's connection with her fans.

10:00 a.m. ET: Winfrey walked on to the set of her last show to a standing ovation. Clad in a salmon pink dress with ruffles streaming down the front, she beamed. She began, "There are no words to match this moment."

9:25 a.m. ET: After 25 years, it all comes down to this: the final edition of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Who will be there? Will she give everyone a car? Maybe a million dollars?

Reportedly, it won't be that kind of sensation -- "Access Hollywood" reports that the special guest of the hour will be Oprah Winfrey herself, sharing her life lessons as a personal "love letter" to her fans.

ABCNews.com will be live blogging all the action starting at 10 a.m. ET. Check back to find out what happens on the last "Oprah."

-- Sheila Marikar

Bobby Brown: My Daughter Doesn’t Do Drugs

Sheila Marikar — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:40:14 -0500

For Bobby Brown, a picture doesn’t always speak a thousand words.

In an interview with ABC News Now’s “What’s the Buzz” today, the infamous R&B singer denied that Bobbi Kristina, his daughter with Whitney Houston, has ever used drugs. This month, The National Enquirer published photographs that appear to show the 18-year-old snorting cocaine.

“I don’t know anything about that,” he said when asked about the photos. “My daughter, she doesn’t, she doesn’t do that.”

Bobbi Kristina defended herself on Twitter a day after the photos came out, saying she was “set up” by a money-hungry ex-boyfriend because of “a horrible relationship that went sour.” “It’s really not what it looks like,” she wrote.

Brown also revealed that “there will be a New Edition reunion sometime in the near future.” He shot to fame in the 1980s as part of the R&B band; despite the fact that he was voted out of the group in 1986, Brown said they’re eager to perform together again.

-- Sheila Marikar

Britney Spears Drops 'Till the World Ends,' Mimics Ke$ha

Sheila Marikar — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:44:36 -0500

Britney Spears is stirring up a buzz on the Internet as she prepares to release her new album on March 22.

Perez Hilton posted her latest single "Till The World Ends" on March 3. The upbeat dance track will undoubtedly have you ready to head into the weekend "dancing till the world ends."

Unsurprisingly, it is a collaboration with party music aficionado and glitter enthusiast Ke$ha, who told MTV News that "it's an honor to write for one of pop music's biggest icons."Ke$ha also spoke with SPIN magazine about the single and suggested the lyrics allude to "any female musician touring the world," and the experience of "having an amazing, magical night and you don't want to go to sleep and you want it to last until the world ends."

It looks like Spears has taken note of quite a few tactics that have rapidly propelled Ke$ha to dance party sensation status. The glitter queen also used an abundance of product placement, which Spears' latest music video "Hold It Against Me" made headlines for, in her 2010 video "We R Who We R." Coincidentally, both videos feature the dating website PlentyOfFish.com.

Spears has yet to release a video for "Till The World Ends," but the high-synth electro pop song will be released as a single on March 14. The track was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who have also worked with Ke$ha and Katy Perry.

Earlier this week, Kim Kardashian also jumped on the party jam train when she released her first single titled "Jam (Turn It Up)." Like Spears, Kardashian sings about partying all night, giving commands to a DJ to keep the music going strong.

-- Helen Zhang

THE OSCARS: Backstage Live Blog

Sheila Marikar — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 20:21:13 -0500

ABC News' Eileen Murphy reports:

"Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts had wonderful time hosting "Oscar's Red Carpet Live" at the 83rd Academy Awards.

"Everyone was so gracious and it was just terrific to be there when [the chorus from New York City elementary school] P.S. 22 got such a great reception and see these bona fide superstars getting their pre-show jitters," said Roberts, who interviewed the nominees before the big show in a J Mendel dress.

Roberts caught up with Best-Supporting Actress winner Melissa Leo backstage after the actress dropped the F-bomb during her acceptance speech. She told Robin she was mortified.

"I can't believe I did that," Leo said.

Mark Walberg thanked Robin for her early call on "The Fighter."

"He came right up to me and said, 'When the movie came out you were one of the first to say it was a winner,'" Roberts recalled.

And apparently it is. The two big acting awards of the night so far have gone to the film -- Melissa Leo and Christian Bale in the supporting actor categories.

Roberts joined Tim Gunn, Krista Smith and Maria Menounos for this year's pre-show of red-carpet arrivals. More from Robin Roberts at the Oscars tomorrow on "Good Morning America."

ABC News' Sheila Marikar reports:

8:36pm PT: "The Kings Speech" took the top prize of the night, winning best picture after scooping up awards for best actor, best director and best original screenplay. Producers thanked Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and the rest of the cast, calling them "acting royalty."

8:28pm PT: Best actor winner Colin Firth made one of the most obvious allusions to nasuea in Oscar history after accepting his award for "The King's Speech." "Now if you'll all excuse me," he said, "I have some impulses to attend to backstage." UPDATE, 9:32pm PT: He wasn't talking about nausea. It was more of "Happy Feet" sort of impulse. "Anyone who's seen 'Mamma Mia will know what I'm talking about," Firth said backstage.

8:17pm PT: Natalie Portman scored the best actress Oscar for her role as a tormented ballerina in "Black Swan." Her voice cracked with emotion throughout her acceptance speech. She singled out her parents for "showing her to be a good human being by example" and her fiance, Benjamin Millepied, for giving her the most important role of her life -- a soon-to-be mom.

7:44pm PT: It's been a night of Jacks and Jills of all trades. First, James Franco. Then, Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow crooned "Coming Home" from her movie, "Country Song" prior to the presentation of the Oscar for best original song. ("We Belong Together," from "Toy Story 3," won.)

7:10pm PT: Christian Bale almost missed the Oscars. Backstage, the "Fighter" co-star and best supporting actor winner revealed that he did a bit of drinking before the show, presuming things would be fine if he showed up a few minutes late. Things were not: "They wouldn't let me in. I was literally banging on the door ... Now I know in case I ever make it back here."

6:50pm PT: Aaron Sorkin, winner of the best adapted screenplay Oscar for "The Social Network," mused about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg backstage: "Mark, I think he's been an awfully good sport about all this. I don't think anyone here would want a movie made about the things that they did when they were 19-years-old."

6:38pm PT: After accepting the Oscar for best original screenplay for "The King's Speech," David Seidler mused about what the award means to him: "A fairly high ranking person called me the other day and wanted to talk ex-stutterer to ex-stutterer ... I've been flooded with the most wonderful emails and text messages from my fellow sutterers. Because, I'm still a stutterer. ... To have these people tell me their personal stories really moves me to tears."

6:25pm PT: James Franco in drag. Clearly, the Academy's uptight reputation has been undone.

6:30pm PT: Christian Bale accepting best supporting actor #Oscar for "The Fighter:" "I'm not going to drop the F-bomb like [Melissa] did."

6:22pm PT: Melissa Leo backstage, talking about her accidental expletive: "Those words, I apologize to anyone that they offend. There's a great deal of the English language that's in my vernacular."

5:58pm PT: Melissa Leo was almost speechless when she scored the first major award of the night, best supporting actress for "The Fighter." After asking presenter Kirk Douglas to pinch her to make sure the moment was real, Leo said she was "shaking in her boots" and breathed, "Yeah. I am kind of speechless." The she dropped an expletive that got bleeped by the show's producers (oops).

5:50pm PT: 94-year-old Kirk Douglas just gave Anne Hathaway her first red-faced moment of the night. Introducing the nominees for best supporting actress, he called her gorgeous and wondered aloud: "Where were you when I was making pictures?"

5:48pm PT: It seems the Oscar hosts can hardly believe where they are tonight. On stage, Anne Hathaway opened with, "Oh my gosh, you're all real. OK, this is actually happening!"

She and Franco seized the moment by poking fun at the Academy's decision to go with hosts from young Hollywood (Hathaway to Franco: "And you look very appealing to a younger demographic as well!") and calling out their relatives. Hathaway shouted out to her mom, Franco to his grandmother, who observed, "I just saw Marky Mark!"

5:35pm PT: Hosting the Oscars is a dream for many people in Hollywood. So it makes sense that Anne Hathaway and James Franco opened the 2011 Oscars with a parody of "Inception's" dream world that rocketed them into many of the movies nominated for best picture. Alec Baldwin, one of last year's hosts, joined them for part of the journey before they slipped into "sleep:" "Ambien! Don't mind if I do. Psst, Anne -- the secret to hosting the Ohssscars ..." (He nodded off after that.)

Hathaway broke out a Bah-stan accent and a sick right hook for her rendition of "The Figher;" the "True Grit" portion of the intro found her and Franco on horses next to Jeff Bridges. In the "Black Swan" bit, Hathaway bungled "The Dance of the Brown Duck" to hilarious effect.

Franco summed up the montage thusly: "I think this might be even more confusing than 'Inception.'" But it was funny, too.

5:26pm PT: It's the night every movie-lover's been waiting for: the 83rd annual Academy Awards. ABCNews.com is live-blogging the action from backstage. Refresh this page and/or scroll up to view the latest news on winners, losers, and what's happening at the Oscars.

Mila Kunis, Jennifer Lawrence Heat Up the Oscar Red Carpet

Sheila Marikar — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 19:07:58 -0500

LIVE AT THE OSCARS: For the final night of the 2011 awards show season, Hollywood's elite held nothing back. Two of the night's most buzzed about celebrities, so far: Jennifer Lawrence and Mila Kunis.

"Winter's Bone" star and best actress nominee Lawrence wowed in a form-fitting, siren red Calvin Klein gown. While she's one of the movie industry's most talked about newcomers right now, the 20-year-old actress doesn't expect to be leaping into another film anytime soon.

"There's a big break heading my way, I'm gonna take a few weeks off, then start from there," she told E!'s Ryan Seacrest.

Kunis ignited a torrent of tweets about her cleavage in a low cut, lavender Elie Saab gown. Asked by "On the Red Carpet" if she wants to continue playing an evil ingenue, as she did in "Black Swan," Kunis quipped, "I don't want to be a one-trick pony."

-- Sheila Marikar

Surveying the Oscar Swag: Check Out What the Stars Get for Free

Sheila Marikar — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:06:00 -0500

Sure, little gold men are great, but bags of swag can be a pretty sweet consolation prize for stars who don't go home with Academy Awards. From watches worth hundreds of dollars to vitamins (!), those in the know in Hollywood scored a slew of free goods during the days leading up to the Oscars. CLICK HERE to check out the swag showered upon Oscar party and event attendees.

-- Sheila Marikar

Jesse Eisenberg, Aaron Sorkin, Joan Rivers and More Party Pre-Oscars

Sheila Marikar — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 05:56:14 -0500

The Oscars, they've yet to be handed out, but the award for most rocking pre-Academy Awards bash goes to Rolling Stone, who brought out a slew of stars to Drai's Hollywood at the W Hotel Saturday night.

Midway through the night, party host Peter Travers (Rolling Stone film critic and host of ABC News Now's "Popcorn With Peter Travers") tweeted, "RS Oscar party has Aaron Sorkin, 50 Cent, Joan Rivers & the young Hollywood casts of Glee, 90210, Pretty Little Liars in the same room. What!"

"What!" indeed. A potpourri of A-listers mixed and mingled to the sounds of The Roots into the wee hours of the morning, buzzing about who they might be fete-ing after the Oscars. Trailers of this year's Oscar-nominated movies fueled the anticipation.

Earlier in the evening, across town, "Social Network" star and best actor nominee Jesse Eisenberg played host to a more subdued crowd at LA Confidential's party. His face fills the cover of the magazine's annual awards season issue.

Who will Hollywood toast Sunday night? We'll know in a matter of hours.

-- Sheila Marikar

Independent Spirit Awards Pave the Way to Oscar Night

Sheila Marikar — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:19:46 -0500

Hollywood's biggest party of the year happens tomorrow, but that doesn't mean the town's A-list is laying low today.

Oscar nominees James Franco, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman and more stars hit the beach for the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday afternoon, which honors the best in indie film. "Black Swan" twirled away with the ceremony's top prize, best picture, while Portman and director Darren Aaronofsky picked up trophies for best actress and best director.

Best actor went to "127 Hours" star Franco, aka the man with a million jobs -- he'll helm the Oscars tomorrow night with Anne Hathaway.

"I just went through film school at NYU and finished my thesis film," he said, "so independent film means a lot to me."

Franco's also up for best actor at the Oscars. (And he just did a cameo on "General Hospital," and his exhibitation at Los Angeles' Gagosian Gallery opened last night -- does this guy ever sleep?) Emceeing the Independent Spirit Awards, "Community" star Joe McHale poked fun at the man of the hour, saying, "Someone is giving exposure to the criminally under-used James Franco."

There's more exposure to come for stars of all sorts Saturday night at the pre-Oscar parties popping up across L.A. Rally, Hollywood: just a few more red carpets before the big one.

-- Sheila Marikar

Screen Shots

Air Force Covers Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep'

Pop-Up Video Returns to VH1: The ‘90s Are Back!

LIVE BLOG: Oprah Winfrey's Last Show

Bobby Brown: My Daughter Doesn’t Do Drugs

Britney Spears Drops 'Till the World Ends,' Mimics Ke$ha

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THE OSCARS: Backstage Live Blog

Mila Kunis, Jennifer Lawrence Heat Up the Oscar Red Carpet

Surveying the Oscar Swag: Check Out What the Stars Get for Free

Jesse Eisenberg, Aaron Sorkin, Joan Rivers and More Party Pre-Oscars

Independent Spirit Awards Pave the Way to Oscar Night