'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' Trailer Premieres

First sneak peek at Tom Cruise's fourth 'Mission' teases death-defying stunts.
By Kara Warner

Paula Patton and Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

If there is one thing we can count on from Tom Cruise in a "Mission: Impossible" movie, it is mind-blowing action and stunt sequences. From his first foray into the spy-tastic world of Ethan Hunt to his fourth, the upcoming "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," Cruise has been one-upping himself in the stunt category. And judging from the first official trailer, which was released Tuesday evening (June 28), his work on the fourth "Mission," directed by "The Incredibles" helmer Brad Bird, is no exception.

The trailer opens with the ominous words of Tom Wilkinson, whose character name we have yet to learn, essentially laying out the nuts and bolts of the plot.

"An hour ago, a bomb blew up the Kremlin," he says, as footage of the Kremlin blowing up appear onscreen. "The president has initiated Ghost Protocol, the entire IMF has been disavowed," he explains of Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) spy organization. "Now, I've been ordered to take you to Washington where they will hang the Kremlin bombing on you and your team, unless you were to escape after assaulting Brandt and me," says Wilkinson, shown seated in a car with Brandt (played by Jeremy Renner) and Hunt. "But if any of your team is caught, they'll be branded as terrorists."

"So what happens now?" Hunt asks.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it," Wilkinson begins, recalling the series' famous line before being cut off so he won't spoil the plot entirely (although, if were to guess, the mission is probably to prove his team's innocence in the Kremlin bombing). His words are followed by a series of quick cuts that showcase and introduce the various castmembers, potential villains, etc. Renner as Brandt, Paula Patton, a serious-looking Josh Holloway, Cruise as Hunt in a series of wardrobe changes ranging from dapper formal wear to more rugged leather.

Then we see snippets of those famous Cruise-brand action sequences: car chases, underwater escapes, machine-gun fire, hand-to-hand combat, lots of running, more fighting and martial arts, more running, and plenty of spy-associated breaking and entering, which all leads up to a potential character reveal about Brandt.

"Who are you really, Brandt?" Hunt asks, in a scene where the two characters apparently come to blows.

"We all have our secrets," Brandt responds. "Don't we, Ethan?"

Cue the famous bars of Lalo Schrifin's "Theme From Mission: Impossible," which plays over Hunt looking out over Dubai, standing on the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. This is followed by a quick cut to a previous scene wherein tech master Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) shows Hunt how to use a pair of fancy gadget gloves, which we soon see help him scale the Burj.

"You're not going to make it!" Brandt yells to Hunt, who is climbing and jumping up and around the side of the building.

"You're not helping," Hunt says, before the final shot, which shows the superspy repelling away from the Burj with a rope, which he loses midair and looks to plummet to the ground. Fade to black and the film's official titling.

Cruise's wife, Katie Holmes, told MTV News recently that she was privy to a sneak peek of the film and that it's "amazing." "The movie is going to be very cool and intense and the best 'Mission' yet."

First-time live-action director Bird echoed Holmes' sentiments, adding that Cruise did a lot of the craziest and most dangerous stunts himself.

"It's big and it is crazy," he said. "I think the craziest thing is that [the stunts] are real they're not digital. That's Tom Cruise on the tallest building in the world, he's doing all that stuff," Bird said of Cruise's death-defying stunts. "People won't believe it, but we shot it in IMAX so it's there for everyone to see."

Check out everything we've got on "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Q-Tip's Documentary Comments Confuse Michael Rapaport

'It was confusing to me,' director tells 'RapFix Live' in response to the MC encouraging rappers to tell their own stories.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Kara Warner

Michael Rappaport
Photo: MTV News

Despite all of the controversy surrounding "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest," ATCQ's Q-Tip has encouraged fans to see the documentary, which opens July 8 in select cities.

The Queens MC has bucked at how the group was portrayed in the film, and during a visit to "RapFix Live" this past March, Tip encouraged other rap artists to tell their own stories.

The doc's director, Michael Rapaport, who has weathered criticism from Tip in the past, appeared on "RapFix Live" Wednesday (June 29) and admitted that he was confused by the rapper's comments on the live stream.

"We crack the mold, we break the rules. We define this culture that we in right now, this Western culture, the sh-- that's moving around the world, whether it be Tribe to Lil Wayne, Drake to Kanye, I don't care," Q-Tip said to Sway back in March. "This hip-hop sh-- is our sh--, and when we start moving in, control your stories, man. Tell your stories — that's what I learned from this."

"I don't understand what [Q-Tip] was talkin' about with 'telling their own stories,' " Rapaport told MTV News. "I don't know if it was like, 'Hip-hop artists should direct movies about hip-hop artists,' or maybe he was saying, 'I should direct a documentary about myself,' which has never been done before."

Rapaport argued that a filmmaker doesn't need to be a hip-hop artist to effectively document the culture on film and used "Goodfellas" and "Casino" director Martin Scorsese to illustrate his point. "Martin Scorsese does movies about gangsters, and if you've ever been around Martin Scorsese, he's the furthest thing from a gangster, so I don't understand the thing about 'tell the stories yourself,' " Rapaport said, sounding perplexed.

"I don't know if he meant, 'We're from hip-hop, it should be a hip-hop director' or — I don't know who would go under the auspices of being a hip-hop director. Or if it was a racial thing like, 'We're black and shouldn't have a white director.' It was confusing to me."

The filmmaker did acknowledge that despite the back and forth between him and the rapper, he did appreciate Q-Tip asking fans to support the movie. Whether the two can reconcile is up in the air. According to Rapaport, the last time he heard from Tip was through email and it seems that the message was less than encouraging. "I haven't talked to Q-Tip," he said. "Last time I heard from Q-Tip he sent me an email and he said, 'All you gotta do is stay white and be privileged.' "

What do you think of Michael Rapaport's response to Q-Tip on "RapFix Live"? Sound off in the comments.

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Rival Sons: BeatCrave Fav

Apparently, the unspoken creed of Rival Sons is that if it isn’t loud and in your face, then it isn’t worth your time. We’d like to agree. The Los Angeles-based band has built quite a following on said ‘belief system’, if we can call it that, because at the very least it is something they [...]

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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Says 'Transformers' Will Be First 3-D Movie She's Seen

'I have never seen a movie in 3-D,' 'Dark of the Moon' actress reveals to MTV News.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Photo: Paramount

In case you need more reason to go see "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" this week, in addition to crazy amped-up action and a new lovely leading lady, the third robot-tastic installment is in 3-D. And it wasn't converted in postproduction, like a few of the recent 3-D films out there. Director Michael Bay insisted that his first foray into the three-dimensional medium be as authentic and technologically advanced as possible.

Lately there has definitely been a bit of 3-D fatigue in the air. When MTV News caught up with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley at the film's worldwide premiere in Moscow recently, we asked for her thoughts on the 3-D element of "Dark of the Moon."

"I will be the judge of that after I see this film, because I have never seen a movie in 3-D," she revealed. "When Michael told me it was going to be in 3-D, I said, 'Right, I'm going to wait,' and now we're here, we're at the premiere stage and I'm going to wait until [I'm in] London and see it with my family."

So when Whiteley finally watches the 3-D version of the film with her family and friends, will she be watching herself on the big screen or watching her family's reactions?

"I'm going to be watching them watching me," she said with a laugh.

Bay has made a big deal of the fact that he initially had a lot of reservations about 3-D, explaining that his buddy director James Cameron finally convinced him to go for it with this film.

"[James Cameron], at the last minute, goes, 'Mike, come on,' " Bay recalled, imitating the "Avatar" director's enthusiasm with a slightly deep and gravelly inflection in his voice. "This is like my idol. He goes, 'Mike, come on, we've done everything.' I'm thinking, 'I haven't done everything.' "

Cameron pushed him to try out this "new toy," and despite all the headaches that were added to the filmmaking process with shooting in 3-D, he's glad he did it.

"3-D, it's pretty great when you see these robots interact in the space," Bay said.

Check out everything we've got on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' Trailer Premieres

First sneak peek at Tom Cruise's fourth 'Mission' teases death-defying stunts.
By Kara Warner

Paula Patton and Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

If there is one thing we can count on from Tom Cruise in a "Mission: Impossible" movie, it is mind-blowing action and stunt sequences. From his first foray into the spy-tastic world of Ethan Hunt to his fourth, the upcoming "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," Cruise has been one-upping himself in the stunt category. And judging from the first official trailer, which was released Tuesday evening (June 28), his work on the fourth "Mission," directed by "The Incredibles" helmer Brad Bird, is no exception.

The trailer opens with the ominous words of Tom Wilkinson, whose character name we have yet to learn, essentially laying out the nuts and bolts of the plot.

"An hour ago, a bomb blew up the Kremlin," he says, as footage of the Kremlin blowing up appear onscreen. "The president has initiated Ghost Protocol, the entire IMF has been disavowed," he explains of Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) spy organization. "Now, I've been ordered to take you to Washington where they will hang the Kremlin bombing on you and your team, unless you were to escape after assaulting Brandt and me," says Wilkinson, shown seated in a car with Brandt (played by Jeremy Renner) and Hunt. "But if any of your team is caught, they'll be branded as terrorists."

"So what happens now?" Hunt asks.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it," Wilkinson begins, recalling the series' famous line before being cut off so he won't spoil the plot entirely (although, if were to guess, the mission is probably to prove his team's innocence in the Kremlin bombing). His words are followed by a series of quick cuts that showcase and introduce the various castmembers, potential villains, etc. Renner as Brandt, Paula Patton, a serious-looking Josh Holloway, Cruise as Hunt in a series of wardrobe changes ranging from dapper formal wear to more rugged leather.

Then we see snippets of those famous Cruise-brand action sequences: car chases, underwater escapes, machine-gun fire, hand-to-hand combat, lots of running, more fighting and martial arts, more running, and plenty of spy-associated breaking and entering, which all leads up to a potential character reveal about Brandt.

"Who are you really, Brandt?" Hunt asks, in a scene where the two characters apparently come to blows.

"We all have our secrets," Brandt responds. "Don't we, Ethan?"

Cue the famous bars of Lalo Schrifin's "Theme From Mission: Impossible," which plays over Hunt looking out over Dubai, standing on the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. This is followed by a quick cut to a previous scene wherein tech master Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) shows Hunt how to use a pair of fancy gadget gloves, which we soon see help him scale the Burj.

"You're not going to make it!" Brandt yells to Hunt, who is climbing and jumping up and around the side of the building.

"You're not helping," Hunt says, before the final shot, which shows the superspy repelling away from the Burj with a rope, which he loses midair and looks to plummet to the ground. Fade to black and the film's official titling.

Cruise's wife, Katie Holmes, told MTV News recently that she was privy to a sneak peek of the film and that it's "amazing." "The movie is going to be very cool and intense and the best 'Mission' yet."

First-time live-action director Bird echoed Holmes' sentiments, adding that Cruise did a lot of the craziest and most dangerous stunts himself.

"It's big and it is crazy," he said. "I think the craziest thing is that [the stunts] are real they're not digital. That's Tom Cruise on the tallest building in the world, he's doing all that stuff," Bird said of Cruise's death-defying stunts. "People won't believe it, but we shot it in IMAX so it's there for everyone to see."

Check out everything we've got on "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Premiere Marks 'Graduation Day'

'I wish I could have worn one of those funny hats, dude,' Shia LaBeouf jokes to MTV News at NYC debut.
By Josh Wigler

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Shia LaBeouf attend the "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" premiere in New York City
Photo: Getty Images

Mark your calendars, boys and girls: June 28, 2011, is officially "Transformers" Day in New York City, as announced at Tuesday night's red-carpet premiere of "Dark of the Moon," the third (and potentially final) installment in Michael Bay's robot-smashing, record-obliterating blockbuster trilogy.

On one hand, it was an event packed with more excitement and enthusiasm than a downtown Chicago brawl between Optimus Prime and his Decepticon rivals. On the other, it was bittersweet.

"It feels like graduation day, you know?" Shia LaBeouf told MTV News about his feelings on the night of the premiere. "I never went to college. I spent all of my college years on the set. This is my graduation. I wish I could have worn one of those funny hats, dude."

But even LaBeouf was able to make light of the situation. Asked what he'd wear underneath his graduation gown, he laughed: "Nothing. A unitard. A leopard unitard and a graduation hat."

For Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the Victoria's Secret model making her acting debut and replacing former leading lady Megan Fox in the process, this was the crowning achievement of an already-breathtaking experience.

"It's blowing my mind to be here right now," she said of the premiere, which took place in a packed stretch of New York's famous Times Square. "I'll never, ever forget the last couple of weeks. It's been a dream come true. You see all of your hard work paying off. Look at all of these amazing people that [came out to] support this movie. It's really humbling."

Humbling (and probably overwhelming) isn't a surprising reaction, considering the presence of hundreds upon hundreds of "Transformers" fans holding signs like "I <3 Bumblebee" and "Shia, It's My Birthday!" in the crowd. For actor Ken Jeong, who's making a big leap from his "Hangover" comedy roots into the significantly more action-oriented "Transformers" universe, his experience wasn't just humbling, but mind-blowing.

"It's out-of-body," he said. "I can't really even process it right now. I make my living doing comedies — lately nude scenes in R-rated comedies — so for me to have a part in this movie in any capacity is truly one of the greatest moments of my career."

For months, those involved with "Dark of the Moon" have proudly declared their third "Transformers" film as the very best in the series. And on the night of the premiere, the stars maintained that sentiment.

"We worked really hard to deliver a full experience, and I think Michael pulled it off," producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said. "The third act in this movie is the best third act of the series. It did two things: One, the scale is off the charts. But the human beings also have a purpose to them that we were never able to accomplish before. I think that emotional identity with the characters and the way we didn't have that before [is great]."

Tyrese Gibson, returning to the series for a third time as special-ops soldier Epps, had to tip his hat to Bay as well. "Michael Bay, if you're looking at this interview, you're not the emotional type at all, but I'm proud of you, sir," the "Fast Five" star said. "You really, really delivered on this, man. Believe it or not, Michael on this one was very in tune with the fans. He was on the Internet, reading all of the comments and everything that went down with 'Transformers 2.' Compliments to the chef, man. He really, really delivered."

For Bay — who, like Shia, says that this is his last go with the Autobots — the night was something of a send-off as well. But it was just the final night in a long leg of goodbyes, as the "Transformers" crew has traveled to Germany and Russia and now back to the good old US of A to bid adieu to the "Moon."

"We've been traveling the globe, but this is what we came for," Bay said. "This is really fun. Yes, you do get tired, all right, but this is awesome. This is a moment in life you can't [miss]. It's fun."

But even if this might be the last time Bay and LaBeouf get together for a grand "Transformers" event such as this, there's at least one person — the new kid on the block, as it were — who's ready to keep going.

"I'd love to do another film!" Huntington-Whiteley enthused. "Making this movie, we had such fun. It's the hardest I've ever worked and probably ever will work. It's hot, it's dirty, it's sweaty, it's exhilarating. I've been around the best comedians and the best actors in the business. The best director and the best crew. They all became my family, and I thank them very much for supporting me."

Check out everything we've got on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Ke$ha Touched By Fan's Tattoo

Singer tells MTV News about gay fan inspired by her song 'Animal.'
By Gil Kaufman

Ke$ha
Photo: MTV News

Ke$ha knows all about the perks of being a headliner. On her Get $leazy Tour, the singer gets to call all the shots, blast her fans in the face with tons of glitter and handpick which dudes she wants to party and share the stage with.

But it's not all backstage shenanigans and groupie love. When MTV News sat down with the "Blow" singer in New York earlier this week before her gig at Roseland Ballroom, Ke$ha said that amid the nightly onstage parties there have also been some poignant moments on her first headlining outing.

"Best moment? There are so many. Every night's amazing. I have kids outside right now chanting my name and it's awesome," she said of the first leg of the tour. "There was one night a fan came onstage, I invited him onstage, and he had a tattoo of the dollar sign. I was like, 'Oh, that's awesome! Badass. You're part of the cult, man.' "

And then, she said, he began to cry and explained that he was able to come out of the closet to his friends and family thanks to her song "Animal."

"And I'm standing onstage about to sing a song about growing back a pair of testicles ["Grow a Pear"] and I had tears rolling down my face and chills all over my body," she said. "Because that's really the reason I do music, to inspire people to be themselves."

Ke$ha has been a vocal supporter of the "It Gets Better" video project, which aims to help gay, bisexual and transgender youth find hope in the face of teasing and bullying.

The "Get $leazy" juggernaut continues on Saturday night with a show at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania.

Are you planning to see Ke$ha on her Get $leazy Tour? Tell us in the comments.

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'Cars 2': The Reviews Are In!

Critics enjoy the visual ride but not much else about Pixar's latest.
By Eric Ditzian

Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) in "Cars 2"
Photo: Disney

Animated films, much like the big-screen work of Adam Sandler, are so often review-proof. "Hop" didn't give a hoot that critics eviscerated the Easter Bunny tale, opening to $37.5 million domestically on its way to a $176.8 million worldwide total. And hey, "Grown Ups" and "Just Go With It" were two of the most savagely critiqued comedies in recent memory, yet each one deposited a couple hundred million dollars in Sandler's already astonishing box-office pot of gold.

So does it really matter that critics have flagged "Cars 2," Pixar's latest offering and its first sequel outside the "Toy Story" franchise, for a dizzying array of cinematic violations? Nope. The CGI flick is poised to race away with around $65 million this weekend. Kids, and the parents who hold their hands on the way to the theater, will be leading the charge. And they won't care at all that reviewers have harrumphed at the convoluted storytelling, because they'll be too busy gawking at what even critics admit are top-notch visuals.

But if you're old enough to read this, perhaps you might care. And thus we present a deep dive into the "Cars 2" reviews:

The Story
"Who decided to make Larry the Cable Guy the star? I don't know, but his Mater, the dopey, good-hearted tow truck from the first 'Cars,' is the focus of the sequel, which is sort of like basing a fourth 'Toy Story' on Slinky Dog. The star of 'Witless Protection,' among other delights, can only carry a film so far. This time out, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is goaded, with Mater's help, into entering the World Grand Prix to face the cocky Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro). ... Mater somehow gets himself involved in international espionage. Someone is trying to sabotage the Grand Prix, and spies Finn McMissle (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) are trying to figure out who and why. Mistaking Mater for a fellow spy — the idiot act is flawless, Finn tells him — Mater is soon wearing disguises and working undercover, haplessly bumbling his way to success." — Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

The Storytelling
" 'Cars 2' plays out like two scripts that have been stapled together. Scenes from one script alternate with scenes from the other, and there are separate batches of characters in the U.S., Italy and England, most of whom don't have much to do (every movie could use more of Bonnie Hunt, who voices Lightning's girlfriend, but that's especially true of this movie). The testing of the Mater/Lightning friendship has charm and gives 'Cars 2' what heart it has, but the film spends most of its time on the spy plot, which is not terribly involving." — Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Visuals
"Every frame is rendered so beautifully you wish you could pause it: the uncanny wetness of the ocean waves as Finn performs a daring oil-rig maneuver; the glowing lights of nighttime Paris; the sparkling sunshine on Corsica streets as cars zoom through; the gentle gray mists of London. (Note, though, that the 3-D effects are very subtle; my guess is that you wouldn't miss a thing by seeing this movie in 2-D.)" — Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times

The Missteps
"The tone and emphasis of 'Cars 2' veers off course from the start. Too many guns, for one thing. The whole thing is too weapons-dependent to be charming. There's plenty to watch here, and preteens who found the first 'Cars' a bit pokey won't have the same reaction to this frenetic, globe-trotting follow-up. But I got little pleasure from seeing these cars (plus boats, and a plane) thrown into the spy thriller genre. It's an intriguing story risk at best, a protracted stunt at worst. The greatest Pixar films have sampled, free-form, an unpredictable variety of moods and styles. Here the mash-ups refuse to jell, and even Michael Giacchino's score sounds like someone less talented than Michael Giacchino composed it." — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The Final Word
" 'Cars 2' is probably the slightest of Pixar's films — it sort of plays like an espionage-driven episode of the '60s 'Speed Racer' cartoon, only with the Mach 5 doing all the talking in a universe eerily devoid of humans. But if it's going to be diet Pixar, at least it's action-packed diet Pixar — with overwhelming, detail-choked production design that occasionally had my jaw lowering like a forklift." — Michael Russell, Oregonian

Check out everything we've got on "Cars 2."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Jill Scott Scores First #1 on Billboard 200

Bon Iver debuts at #2, followed by Adele at #3 and 'Weird Al' Yankovic at #9.
By Gil Kaufman

Jill Scott's <i>The Light of the Sun</i>
Photo: Blues Babe Records

R&B singer Jill Scott will notch her first #1 album next week when her fourth effort, Light of the Sun, crashes the top of the Billboard 200 chart thanks to sales of 135,000 copies, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

That was more than enough to hold off the charge from another chart-topping newbie, sensitive Wisconsin folkie Bon Iver (a.k.a. Justin Vernon), whose self-titled second collection of pastoral Auto-Tuned hymns hits #2 after selling 104,000 copies.

The pair leads a parade of new faces, which include country singer Justin Moore at #5 with Outlaws Like Me (65,000), Pitbull, whose Planet Pit lands at #7 (55,000), and perennial chart-crashing joke man "Weird Al" Yankovic, who yuks his way to #9 with Alpocalypse (44,000).

The rest of the top 10: Adele, 21 (#3, 101,000); Jackie Evancho, Dream With Me (#4, 77,000); Bad Meets Evil, Hell: The Sequel (#6, 63,000); Lady Gaga, Born This Way (#8, 49,000); and Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party (#10, 40,000).

Speaking of parties, all-night disco rockers LMFAO wiggle in just outside the top 10 with their second effort, Sorry for Party Rocking, which hits #12 (27,000), while soul singer Ledisi takes a 10-spot tumble in week two with Pieces of Me, which falls to #18 (20,000). Without a smash hit like "Fireflies," fans seemed to flee Owl City's latest, All Things Bright and Beautiful, which plummets 26 spots in week two to #32, as sales drop 73 percent to 13,000.

Pop punk veterans Simple Plan rolled into the #52 slot with Get Your Heart On! (9,000).

Over on the iTunes charts, it's a different story, as Bon Iver rules the album tally, followed by Adele, Scott, the Eminem and Royce Da 5'9" collabo Bad Meets Evil, Pitbull, Moore, Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More, LMFAO, Matt Nathanson's Modern Love and a Frank Sinatra greatest hits collection.

Katy Perry was the queen of the iTunes singles chart thanks to "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," which beat out Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" collaboration with Christina Aguilera on "The Voice," then LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," Pitbull's "Give Me Everything," Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass," Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory," Hot Chelle Rae's "Tonight Tonight," Lil Wayne's "How to Love" and Blake Shelton's "Honey Bee."

Expect more shake-ups at the top next week when Beyoncé's 4 charts, along with new ones from Selena Gomez, former "American Idol" winner David Cook, Big Sean, Curren$y and, yes, the reunited Limp Bizkit.

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Rihanna Replaces Cee Lo Green With J. Cole As 'Official' Tour Opener

'@CeeLoGreen will no longer be a part of #LOUDtour due 2 commitment with 'The Voice',' singer tweeted.
By Jocelyn Vena

J. Cole
Photo: Jason Merritt/ Getty Images

Rihanna has found a new man to be her official tour opener. After Cee Lo Green had to drop out of the Rihanna's Loud tour due to other commitments, Ri announced that she's upgrading J. Cole to the role of "official" tour opener.

Rihanna announced via Twitter that rapper J. Cole, who was already on the road with the singer, will fill Green's shoes as her main warm-up act on the tour, which began this month. "#GOODNEWS @JColeNC is our new official opener!" she wrote on Tuesday night. "@CeeLoGreen will no longer be a part of #LOUDtour due 2 commitment with 'The Voice' #Cantmissit."

Jay-Z protégé Cole, who is releasing his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, on September 27, just wrapped up the video for first single "Work Out" with director Jake Davis on Tuesday.

Green had to leave when his schedule became too crammed with other commitments, including his judging gig on the hit NBC talent competition "The Voice," which is also presenting a tour this summer.

"He always puts 100 percent into his work and with the requirements and time commitment to 'The Voice,' on top of heading back into the recording studio and an upcoming book, he feels that he wouldn't give his fans the show that they deserve," Green's spokesperson said, according to The New York Times.

Rihanna's Loud tour travels the U.S. through July 24 before heading to Europe in August. It's set to wrap up in late December.

There was a similar switch-up for Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour in 2010, when Nicki Minaj pulled out at the last minute and was quickly replaced with Travie McCoy. Ke$ha also opened on that tour.

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Justin Bieber Passes Michael Jackson's Box-Office Record

'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never' has outgrossed MJ's 'This Is It' in U.S.
By Gil Kaufman

Justin Bieber in "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Michael Jackson may have dubbed himself the King of Pop, but the late icon didn't hold the box-office crown for long. Less than a year after the posthumous MJ documentary "This Is It" became the most successful concert-themed film in U.S. history, Justin Bieber is poised to snatch the mantle.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" has earned $72.2 million in domestic box office so far, passing Jackson's $72.1 million haul. And while Bieber has racked up those impressive numbers in just six weeks, he's got a long way to go before he laps the global receipts for the MJ doc.

"This Is It" has grossed $189.1 million overseas for a global total of $261.2 million. Music films don't typically play well overseas, and THR noted that "Never Say Never" has grossed a more modest $10.8 million overseas so far, with Paramount executives predicting that it could top out around $20 million internationally.

The impressive U.S. numbers were likely goosed by the re-release of the film recently with 40 additional minutes of bonus footage from director Jon M. Chu. Bieber still has a little way to go to climb the list of the top-grossing documentaries of all time. "Never Say Never" is currently stalled out at the #3 position, around $5 million behind "March of the Penguins," according to Box Office Mojo, and well short of the all-time record held by Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which has taken in $119.1 million to date.

Bieber set off a classic MJ-style fan frenzy a few weeks ago when he visited Liverpool, England, for his world tour. And just a week later, he posed with his new wax figure at London's Madame Tussauds, checking off another item on the list of milestones to an MJ-like career.

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Michael Jackson Doctor Conrad Murray's Trial To Be Televised

Judge rules that camera will be allowed in the courtroom for manslaughter case.
By Gil Kaufman

Conrad Murray
Photo: AFP/ Getty Images

For what promises to be one of the most bizarre and riveting legal proceedings in years, a Los Angeles judge ruled on Monday that a television camera will be allowed in the courtroom when Michael Jackson's doctor goes on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

Reuters reported that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, approved the presence of a camera in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray as long as it does not interfere with the proceedings in the closely watched case.

The judge asked for the "absolute least-intrusive placement" of a TV camera in the courtroom, but blocked cameras from documenting jury selection.

Pastor also announced that he would bump up the opening date of the trail by four days to March 24, at which point jury selection will begin. Murray, who faces up to four years in prison if convicted, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the trial is expected to last around six weeks.

Cardiologist Murray was hired to be Jackson's personal physician in the run-up to the King of Pop's planned 50-date comeback series of shows at London's O2 arena in the summer of 2009. The doctor told police that he provided Jackson, 50, with sedatives and the surgical anesthetic propofol in order to combat the singer's chronic insomnia. He said he did so on the morning of June 25, 2009, when Jackson died of what a coroner deemed acute propofol poisoning.

TMZ reported on Tuesday (February 8) that Murray's lawyers plan to argue that Jackson was already in weak health before he died and that it's unfair to blame propofol for his passing. Unnamed sources close to the case told the gossip site that at the time of his death, Jackson's body was already failing him in part because concert promoter AEG Live had "driven [him] over the edge" with a rigorous rehearsal schedule for the shows.

Murray's lawyers reportedly plan to call witnesses to say that Jackson was not showing up for rehearsals and when he did he showed "clear signs" of frail health. They also reportedly plan to argue that it was Jackson who administered the final, fatal dose of propofol to himself while Murray was out of the room.

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The other day I was listening to “In The Morning” by J. Cole featuring Drake, and I thought that the song didn’t belong in today’s music. It was old school, like Nate Dogg-type of old school. Indeed, music, or to be more specific, hop hop, is always changing (for better or worse). Today there’s a [...]

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Justin Bieber Vintage Video: His First Meeting With Usher

Justin Timberlake also wanted to sign Bieber, 'Never Say Never' star said in 2009.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber
Photo: Brian Phares/MTV News

Just as the world was learning who Justin Bieber was, MTV News caught up with the shaggy-haired singer in September 2009. He was gearing up to release his debut album, My World, and plotting his pop-world domination. In the year and a half since that interview, Bieber has done the nearly impossible, launching himself into the pop mega-sphere.

In the chat, Bieber recalled how he and his manager, Scooter Braun, met and eventually got big names interested in signing the teen.

"My manager found me on YouTube. He flew me out to Atlanta for the first time — I'd never actually been on a plane before. He flew me to Atlanta where i was going to the studio to meet some people," he recalled.

"And Usher happened to roll up in his Range Rover. I ran up to him, and I was like, 'Usher, I love your songs. Want me to sing you one?' The politest possible way he could say no, he did. ... I took the hint. I didn't get to sing for him: He had to run into a studio session."

But later, Usher was beckoning the teen back to the ATL. "He actually watched my videos — after my manager got to talking to him — and was like, 'I should have let this kid sing,' and flew me back to Atlanta where I got to sing for him in a proper setting. A week later, I had a meeting with Justin Timberlake, who also wanted to sign me, so they both kind of wanted me."

As the story goes, Bieber went with Usher, and the two never looked back.

"As far as Usher being my mentor, he's definitely given me words of wisdom. I hear it from everybody, but definitely to hear it from Usher is great, just to stay humble and grounded is very important," he explained.

"There's a lot of people, especially young stars, that have gone down the wrong path, and I definitely plan to stay humble and stay grounded and keep my family first, because that stuff really is important in life."

On Friday, Justin Bieber's 3-D documentary, "Never Say Never," opens. The film takes a look at how the teen star worked to hit it big. MTV News has been chatting with him along the way, from the time he first burst on the scene in 2009 until now, as he embarks on a huge 2011 that will include a tour and more new music.

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Coldplay, Led Zeppelin Album Covers Featured On New British Stamps

Album art from Pink Floyd, Blur and David Bowie also included.
By James Montgomery

Coldplay's new British stamps
Photo: Royal Mail

On Thursday (January 7), the U.K.'s Royal Mail unveiled a series of 10 new stamps, honoring the most iconic album covers of the past 40 years.

The albums featured in the new series are the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, Led Zeppelin's IV, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, The Clash's London Calling, New Order's Power, Corruption and Lies, Primal Scream's Screamadelica, Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, Blur's Parklife and — the most recent album on to make the cut — Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head.

Meant to honor "the most potent graphic images of modern times, many of which have provided a visual soundtrack to people's lives," the series is the end result of a lengthy research process by the Royal Mail, who looked through thousands of album covers by British artists before deciding on the final list. And, during a Wednesday night BBC Radio broadcast, it was revealed that the queen herself actually approved each design.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page — who helped design the cover for IV — was on hand to celebrate the release of the stamps and recalled the mysterious nature of the album's iconic imagery.

"Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him," he said. "That sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time."

Of course, any great honor is befitting of an equally great contest, so, on the same day the stamps were made available to the general public, Coldplay decided to give one of their Rush of Blood stamps away. In a message on their official site, the band held a contest to send one lucky fan "a letter using a Coldplay stamp, postmarked with today's issue date."

"We visited our local post office earlier today and bought some of the Coldplay stamps," the message read. "Very nice they are too."

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'Transformers' Stars Talk Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Vs. Megan Fox

'Rosie is going to surprise a lot of people,' 'Dark of the Moon' co-star Tyrese Gibson tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Much ado has been made about the upcoming "Transformers: Dark of the Moon." From casting to the story line to the 3-D, it seems nothing about the filmmaking process on the third installment of the franchise has gone unnoticed. Thankfully, with the film's June 29 release date quickly approaching, the castmembers have not only been out promoting the movie, but also dispelling some of the anxiety and nitpicking that has surfaced on the Interwebs.

Regarding the casting, specifically the addition of Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley after the departure of former "Transformers" "It" girl Megan Fox, the action flick's male stars expressed nothing but love and admiration for the first-time actress.

"Rosie is going to surprise a lot of people," Tyrese Gibson told MTV News recently. "I have to go on record and say that she did not replace Megan Fox. She's a brand-new character; her name is Carly in the movie," he explained. "Her name is not Mikaela, it's Carly," he reiterated, referring to Fox's character in the previous installments. "She's going to surprise a lot of people with her focus and energy that she's bringing to the franchise.

"She was very focused, very classy, very easy to work with," he continued. "I was really glad she came aboard."

Shia LaBeouf said that while Megan Fox seemed a bit overwhelmed by all of the sudden attention she received post-"Transformers," Huntington-Whiteley, with her experience as a swimsuit and underwear model, came to the set fully prepared for what would be required of her in the summer blockbuster.

"She completely owns her sexuality, which I think helps especially on a movie like this where it's a blanket summer movie and there are certain requirements of a woman in a summer movie," LaBeouf explained. "She owns her sexuality and she doesn't shy from it. I think it was a harder gap to cross, in terms of Megan going from complete obscurity to being the sexiest woman in the world in a movie. [It] is a greater leap and transition than to go from being a Victoria's Secret model to then being the hottest actress in the world," he added. "It's an easier transition because she already had that in her pocket when she came to set. She was able to be strong in her femininity as opposed to trying to shy away from it.

"[That attitude] helps everything," he continued. "Especially with Mike [Bay] where conversations are blunt and they lack tact, and you're in the middle of a firefight so it's bare essentials. "

Do you think Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was a good choice to succeed Megan Fox? Tell us in the comments!

Check out everything we've got on "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Janet Jackson Thrills Fans With Greatest Hits, Michael Tribute At Radio City

Singer covered songs ranging from classic 'Pleasure Principle' to 2008's 'Feedback' at New York show.
By Vaughn Schoonmaker

Janet Jackson (file)
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — Often imitated, never duplicated, Janet Jackson's outbursts of meticulous choreography, sassy exclamations and smoldering gazes into the audience kept them on their feet for the entire two-hour set of her greatest hits at Radio City Music Hall. Monday night marked the last of three sold-out shows at the historic venue on her monumental Number Ones: Up Close and Personal Tour.

Up-and-coming boy band Mindless Behavior opened the show with songs including "#1 Girl," "Future" and their debut single, "My Girl." With their Usher-esque dance moves and shouts like "Where the ladies at?" the boys brought the tween girls out of hiding, judging by the shrill screams escaping various corner of the music hall.

At 9:00 sharp, the lights went down and Janet's fans were on the edge of their seats, watching music videos for "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and "Rhythm Nation" projected on big screens across the venue. A small shadow drifted toward center stage, and when the colorful lights came up, Jackson, wrapped in a shoulder-padded catsuit, complete with slick short hair, blasted into "The Pleasure Principle," dancing as hard and intensely choreographed as she did when the song first came out in the 1980s.

With barely a spare second between songs, Janet dazzled her way through her biggest hits, including "Miss You Much," "All for You" and "Nasty," and more recent hits like 2008's "Feedback."

Videos displayed during Jackson's costume changes included vintage clips from "Diff'rent Strokes," a funny scene from "Poetic Justice" where Jackson slyly rejects the advances of Tupac Shakur's character, and a rather heavy scene, as Jackson's character in "Why Did I Get Married" destroys her husband's house with a golf club, screaming hysterically.

Considering the tough couple of years the Jackson family has faced, the dark moments in the video seemed fitting, and everyone was beside themselves with bittersweet joy when Michael Jackson's face popped up on the big screen and she performed their hit single "Scream."

Janet emerged for her encore in a tight white one-piece disco suit, and performed "Diamonds," "Make Me" and "Together Again," which appeared to be the biggest hit of the evening. As Jackson graciously bowed out, her straight face transitioned into a smirk, suggesting that despite the hard times she has experienced recently, we can expect to see this singing and dancing pop legend shine far into the future.

"Its amazing!" Janet fan Elena Mercantini gleamed afterward. "It's like she's still 20 years old!"

"She's hot, she's amazing and she's still got it after all these years" added Alison Klinger of Long Island. "Best concert I've ever been to!"

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Beyonce Set To Perform At 2011 BET Awards

Singer joins performers Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Drake and others at the live June 26 show.
By Jocelyn Vena

Beyonce
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic

Two days after her album 4 is officially released, Beyoncé is set to perform at the 2011BET Awards, which air live from Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on June 26.

The "Run the World (Girls)" singer, known for power--packed performances, hasn't announced what she'll sing yet, but as it turns out, she's also nominated for an award at the show. The singer is up against Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Keri Hilson and Marsha Ambrosius in the Best Female R&B Artist category.

According to EW.com, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Rowland and Trey Songz are also slated to perform on the awards show. And "The Voice" judge and "F--- You" singer Cee-Lo Green will make a special appearance on the show, the website reported. Previously announced performers include Jill Scott, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Drake and Chris Brown, who's up for six awards.

Other big nominees for the night include Lil Wayne with 5 nods, as well as Kanye West, Drake and Rihanna, each with four noms. There's a surprising mix of contenders in the Video of the Year category, including Willow Smith for "Whip My Hair," Marsha Ambrosius' "Far Away," B.o.B's "Airplanes," Brown's "Look at Me Now," Hilson's "Pretty Girl Rock" and West's "Runaway."

Fans will have their say that night when they'll be asked to decide on the Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award. Competing in that category are Brown ("Look at Me Now," featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes), Rihanna ("What's My Name?"), Lil Wayne ("6 Foot 7 Foot," featuring Cory Gunz), Mindless Behavior ("My Girl"), Nicki Minaj ("Moment 4 Life," featuring Drake) and Trey Songz ("Bottoms Up," featuring Nicki Minaj).

Are you excited to see Beyoncé perform at the BET Awards? Tell us in the comments!

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Penn Badgley Lands Jeff Buckley Biopic Role

'I'm going to give all I can to this project,' 'Gossip Girl' star says about role in 'Greetings From Tim Buckley.'
By Jocelyn Vena

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Photo: Eugene Gologursky/ Getty Images

The rumors are true. Penn Badgley has won the role of Jeff Buckley in a biopic about the singer's life.

The "Gossip Girl" star will play the beloved singer/songwriter in "Greetings From Tim Buckley," which is set to begin filming in New York City later this summer. The film will tell the story of the young singer as he prepares to play at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Church in 1991 during a tribute concert to his father, fellow musician Tim Buckley.

"To play a man who was singularly gifted as an artist, greatly misunderstood and mythologized as a human being ... It's something very special and sacred," Badgley said in a statement about nabbing the part. "I'm going to give all I can to this project."

Though it was originally thought that Badgley was competing with Robert Pattinson for the role, according to The Los Angeles Times, Pattinson was in the running for a completely different biopic about the singer, who drowned at the age of 30 in 1997. While the search for that movie's Buckley is still under way, the makers of "Greetings From Tim Buckley" are sure about their choice.

"We had been searching well over a year for an actor that can come close to Jeff's spirit while also having the serious musical chops required to authentically tell this story," Patrick Milling Smith of Smuggler Films, the production company behind the film, said. "Penn's audition blew us away and we knew we found our star."

The film will be directed by Dan Algrant ("People I Know," "Naked in New York"). Smith added that the film's story will show another side of the singer's life. "In its purest form, this is a father and son story, a rite of passage that is made possible by a romantic journey Jeff finds himself on," he explained. "We see Jeff accepting who he is to become and laying to rest the ghost of his father while ultimately finding his voice."

A California native, Jeff Buckley rose to fame in the '90s in New York City and recorded only one studio album, Grace, before his untimely death. During his lifetime, his moody, romantic tracks paired with his signature voice established him as on the of the go-to singer/songwriters of his generation. His trademark songs include "Last Goodbye" and a cover of the Leonard Cohan classic, "Hallelujah."

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Eminem Takes His Own Life In 'Space Bound' Video

Em plays two versions of himself in eerie clip co-starring porn star Sasha Grey.
By Rob Markman

Eminem on the set of his "Space Bound" music video
Photo: Eric Ford / On Location News

Just when we thought Eminem had fully escaped his demons following the release of his multiplatinum 2010 album Recovery, Marshall Mathers takes his own life with a single gunshot to the head in his new "Space Bound" video, which is now available on iTunes.

The video is a gut-wrenching look into another of Eminem's tumultuous relationships, much like the one exhibited in the video for "Love the Way You Lie" — this time with deadly results.

Filmed in Los Angeles in February, the Joseph Kahn-directed clip starts with our leading man walking down a foggy road in the middle of the night. Obviously perturbed, a sullen Em marches on, hands in his pockets, until a passing car picks him up. In the driver's seat is the Detroit rapper's love interest, played by porn star Sasha Grey. Things clearly aren't all peaches and cream.

Eminem jumps in the front passenger seat, with a pensive look on his face, while another, more cynical version of Em rides in the back. The differences between the two Shadys are apparent. The front-seat version is calm, with his eyes darting back and forth between his girlfriend and the gun that sits in the glove compartment. The other Em is riled up, hurling insults at Grey, though she is unaware of his presence.

As the couple pulls up to a pit stop, Grey exits the vehicle first with a gun in her back pocket, while Em follows her. They enter a diner, Grey first and the rapper a few steps behind. Here, the director splits the screen and the two Eminems go their separate ways, one to the counter and the other to the booth where his girlfriend sits, texting on her cell phone.

Eminem grows suspicious of the texts and checks his girl's phone after she gets up to go to the bathroom. The rapper apparently finds what he has long suspected: His woman is cheating.

Throughout the video, Eminem follows Grey like a lost puppy. It's when they check into a motel room that the drama unfolds. Closing the door behind him, Eminem begins to attack his girlfriend before realizing that she wasn't even there in the first place. Left at the end of his rope, Eminem pulls out the gun, puts it to his chin and fires a single shot through his own head. Blood splatters, and Shady falls to the floor.

Simultaneously, the alternate Eminem, who is still seated at the counter, is struck by the bullet as well, falling back off of his bar stool before the clip rewinds back to the beginning of the 4:30 video, where we once again see our leading man walking down that foggy road in the middle of the night.

Did Eminem imagine the entire ordeal? Or did his cheating girlfriend metaphorically kill the hopeless romantic, leaving only a distrustful version of himself? The image is jarring; the interpretation, however, is up to you.

How did you interpret Eminem's "Space Bound" video? Tell us in the comments.

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Michael Jackson's Legacy, Two Years Later, By the Numbers

Legendary singer's impact continues to blossom in the two years since his death; MTV News breaks down the figures.
By Gil Kaufman

Michael Jackson
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Like Elvis, Bob Marley, Notorious B.I.G. and Frank Sinatra before him, Michael Jackson's influence has continued, and grown, since his untimely death on June 25, 2009.

On the second anniversary of the King of Pop's passing, MTV News took a look at the enduring appeal of MJ's music, videos and imagery, which continue to fascinate and attract fans across the globe thanks to a series of posthumous albums, a movie, video games and two upcoming Cirque du Soleil live shows.

Where Were You Two Years Ago When You Heard the News? Tell Us on Facebook

$72 million: According to Box Office Mojo, Jackson's posthumous concert film, "This Is It," has grossed more than $72 million to date domestically and $189 million in foreign markets for a worldwide take over more than $261 million. It ranks as the #2 music documentary of all-time behind Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never." The film has also generated nearly $45 million in DVD sales in the U.S.

16: In May, Jackson lodged his first #1 on the Billboard magazine Dance/ Club Play Songs chart in 16 years with the latest single from his posthumous Michael album, "Hollywood Tonight."

2: Number of posthumous albums that have been released since Michael's death in June 2009. Last year's Michael has sold just over 510,000 copies to date, while the This Is It collection has moved nearly 1 million copies to date in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

15,000: The number of videos submitted by fans since March for the crowdsourced video for "Behind the Mask." After they were edited down by a five-person team over two months, the resulting clip used submissions from more than 1,600 participants from 103 countries.

3 million: The amount of copies sold of the Ubisoft "Michael Jackson: The Experience" video game worldwide.

$57 million: The reported cost of Cirque du Soleil's traveling MJ show, "The Immortal World Tour, which is slated to kick off on October 2.

$1 billion: That gaudy figure is the reported amount the Jackson estate had generated by last June on the first anniversary of the singer's death. According to Billboard, the revenue was generated by a combination of music sales ($429 million), film/TV revenue ($392 million), music publishing ($130 million), licensing ($35 million) and a $31 million recording contract. (A spokesperson for Jackson's estate declined to provide updated figures for this story.)

$310 million: The amount of gross earnings reported by the executors of the estate in a December 2010 court filing detailing the progress made in paying off the $400 million in debt run up by the spendthrift singer during his lifetime.

16.1 million: MJ was always a big singles artist. Yes, Thriller is one of the best-selling albums of all time, but even in death, fans can't resist cherry-picking some of Michael's best songs. That explains why he's sold more than 16 million digital tracks since June 28, 2009, the first sales week following his passing, according to Nielsen SoundScan. To put that in perspective, from the time Nielsen began counting digital tracks in 2004 until the week before Jackson's death, the singer had sold just over 8.1 million digital tracks, a figure that has doubled in just the past two years.

2013: The projected launch for a second, non-touring Cirque show celebrating Jackson. The yet-untitled show is slated to open in the spring of 2013 at a new theater being built at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

$25 million to $50 million: That's how much Jackson's estate takes in on an annual basis thanks to his stake in the half-million-song Sony/ATV catalog, which includes titles by Elvis, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyoncé and Bob Dylan.

Share your memories of Michael Jackson in the comments.

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