I met the lovely Ricky and Nick from Kaiser Chiefs last week where they exclusively told me about their new album which will be called Off With Their Heads and will be released October 13.

The lads arrived, both heads intact, wearing matching pale blue shirts – something they said was unintentional... right I believe ya's! Nick was also sporting a very fetching tache.
The usually energetic Ricky appeared mellow and wore shades in the dark hotel room as any true rockstar should ( Nick didn't have shades but as I mentioned before he had some pretty amazing facial hair which makes up for the lack of shades). The guys relaxed into the London Hotel sofa and effortlessly chatted about the first single Never Miss a Beat from the new album which will be out October 6.

The record was co-produced by man of the moment Mark Ronson and features vocals from Lily Allen. Ricky said "We didn't hire Mark Ronson for him to make us sound like a Version- we hired him for £45 a day!"

Lily had previously recorded a version of Kaiser Chiefs Oh My God and the guys said it was great working with her. Ricky even mentioned that he had a surprise in the studio's vocal booth after she left when he found she had left a note saying 'Lilly Allen wos here'. Nice.

Just interviewed Calum Best who's new show on MTV sees him go without sex for 50 days... will he succeed? Prob not. Although he was actually nicer in person than I imagined., but then again I wasn't expecting much:) Ah seriously, he was pretty cool.

L:)

Ok two weeks ago, I got to cover MTV Movie Awards in LA. The best moment was meeting and interviewing Coldplay. Viva La Vida Rocks! I'm such a fan. I sat and watched them rehearse in awe - so bloody good! And they are so down to earth and appreciate every thing they have achieved! We like them. Pussycat Dolls were lovely too... not forgetting HOT! Mr Tim Cash gave me some MTV New advice - He is the godfather of MTV News, Paris Hilton ignored me - guess I won't be sending her a birthday card. Some people I interviewed who we are lovin and deserve some Laura respect ... Jon Voight - a Legend!, Chris Brown, Ellen Page, Jon Favreau, Jonah Hill, JC Chasez, Brody, Frankie and Audrina (although not that muh to say) from the Hills... The day after awards met up with one of my old university pals who happened to be drivin around LA with his mate so I hopped in the back of an old smelly volvo crammed with sleeping bags and jam ( don't ask!) and explored the hills of LA. We also met Hollywood Joe who owns motorville - bit of a tyre puncture - Hollywood Joe rocks!

L:)

Strolled down to Koko in Camden to interview Charlotte and Billy from The Subways. Really great band. Billy has so much energy and they put on an amazing show. It's hard to believe it all nearly ended so early when Billy got a throat problem and almost lost his singing voice. Thank god he's all good now! Also met young group and winners of "Get Seen Get Heard" The Volt. They fought of stiff competition and now they get to support The Subways in an awesome venue. Billy was a judge in competition and Ross from The Futureheads was their mentor - How cool! Watch this space.

L:)

Yesterday, my second day of the job, I was very lucky to meet and interview the lovely Chase Crawford from Gossip Girl. Not only is he a big rooooooiiiiide, he's also a really really nice guy – and funny too! He even impressed me with his singing skills... although he says he has no ambition to copy his co-star Ed Westwick by heading down that route. I found out he's a big indie fan like myself and includes The Kooks, Stereophonics in his list of favourite bands - nice one.

However, he remained tight lipped when I tried to get some answers about 'gossip' we've seen in the papers about him. As well, as new series of Gossip Girl, Chace has a film "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" coming out at Halloween and I have a feeling we'll be seeing A LOT more from him. Watch this space, this guy is going to be huge!!

L:)

Hello, Caitlin the News Intern here :)

Myself and Blanco went down to Leicester Square to film the red carpet for the premiere of 'What Happens In Vegas' last night. I must say I was particularly excited at the prospect of meeting the sheer hotness that is Ashton Kutcher and Blanco was excited to see Danielle Lloyd and Rebecca Loos (he has interesting taste).

First off, we chatted to Rob Cordorry who plays Ashton's side-kick in the film. He seemed like a funny guy and revealed he once went for a wee in a pair of his wife's new boots after a heavy night out…bet she was pleased.

Then came the moment I had been waiting for and the lovely Ashton made an appearance. And I start to feel a little bit nervous and like i might forget my questions! 

Hands down the best looking man I have EVER seen in real life.

I managed to maintain a certain level of composure and asked him whether he had ever done anything on a big night out he'd regretted the next day (this is basically the premise of the film) He revealed that he had indeed many times (which means we have a lot in common already…)

Unfortunately the next interviewer asked him a question about Demi and he proceeded to gush about his love for her for what felt like forever. Oh well.

Other spectacles of the evening included Danielle Lloyd showing up looking like she'd been seriously tangoed. She then proceeded to parade herself in front of an uninterested press line for about 15 minutes. Rebecca Loos lowered the bar even further (shockingly) when she literally ran back down the red carpet to sign an autograph when she heard someone shout her name from the crowd. Ouch.

Natalie Imbruglia was one of the famous faces that did turn up but she didn't talk to any press…so I'm guessing she actually wanted to see the film…which is unusual to say the least.

I also bumped into a friend of mine, the lovely James Corden, who won 2 Baftas on Sunday for his absolutely genius show Gavin and Stacey. He was clearly still on a high from the win and was being his usual cheeky self. Never forgetting my duties to news I took the opportunity to ask for an MTV exclusive on his rumoured romance with Lily Allen, but alas, it would seem there's nothing to tell…which is a shame as judging from his appearance on her chat show recently they have some serious chemistry going on!

Check out the news story here (including my accidental cameo!)

http://www.mtv.co.uk/overdrive/news/id/102605/what_happens_in_vegas_premiere

It's been a busy week so far here in news team with The Fratellis, One Night Only, Shaggy and Will.i.am all popping in for chats. And finally the sun is shining so good times all round :)

Keep It News…

Yo,

So it's finally arrived......... PICK ME MTV begins tonight!!

Episode 1 - 8pm, MTV ONE, followed by the next four episodes each night until Friday.

Repeated on TMF next week.  Tell your friends, tune in, tell us what you think.... Do you like our choice of celebrity judges?  Were the tasks too hard?  Did we pick the right person?

Find out who gets the job and the chance to work with us every single day. 

Mystery Jets have returned this week with their appropriately titled new album ’Twenty One’. The youngsters all turned 21 whilst the album was being made and the theme of youth, young love and infidelity dominates the new LP.

It seems that the Jets sound has grown from the excellent if somewhat scatty sounding debut Making Dens and have made a much simpler record, based less around complicated riffs and drumbeats and concentrating more on producing a clean record based around catchy pop songs. This is not to say Making Dens did not have its fair share of hooky melodies and songs to sing along to, but 21 sees the band taking more influences from popular music of the last 20 years as well as world music and progressive rock, referenced much more heavily in the artists’ freshman effort.

Indeed 21 provides a home for the track ’Two Doors Down’ a direct imitation of classic power pop bands of the 80’s like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet and based around a love for the girl next door. Similarly ’MJ’ takes cues from Quincy Jone’s production of King of Pop Michaels Jackson’s albums and hints at the darker side of the superstar’s life.

The fact that house guru Erol Alkin’s produced the new album led many to believe that the Mystery jets would return with an electro or dance album, yet only the first track ’Hide Away’ with its dirty baseline and effect laced guitar riffs, hints at this. ’Young Love’, sets the real tone for the album with Laura Marling’s drifting vocal providing a beautiful and distinctive sounding harmony, giving this fantastic pop song, with its repeating lyrics and guitar lines, a real lift. The record still portrays the band’s clever use of instruments and retains their individual sound, yet Alkins production has cut much of the strange ambient soundscapes that could be found on Making Dens.

’Umbrellerhead’, which was recorded on a piano with objects twined between the strings, is perhaps the only song which harks back to the boy’s previous more complex writing method when they were still finding their musical feet.

The Jets have really stepped up with this sophomore effort and refined their sound, proving their maturity as artists and their coming of age as men. The Jets have made two fantastic records with a sound which pay respect to their influences yet show their innovative approach to music. How many twenty one year olds can say that?


Written by MATT YOUNGMAN