Music & Media Evolved

One Direction Keep Fans Screaming All Night On Tour

U.K. pop sensations hit New Jersey's IZOD Center for a sell-out show on Friday packed with hits and rocking covers.
By Sarah Brotherton

One Direction perform in East Rutherford, NJ
Photo: Uptin Saiidi/MTV News

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Maybe you've heard their songs on the radio or caught their TV performances on the "Today" show or "Saturday Night Live," but nothing quite captures the success of One Direction like the screams.

On Friday night, thousands of fans from across the Tri-State area hit the IZOD Center, filling the 19,000-capacity arena for the latest stop on the U.K. pop sensation's headlining, Stateside tour. They were there to experience a new wave of a British Invasion, and they weren't disappointed.

Even before the show started, there was an excitement and energy in the air as Directioners — young and old alike — rushed into the building wearing homemade T-shirts, carrying posters and sporting body paint declaring their love for their favorite 1D members, be it Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson or Harry Styles.

After two opening acts and a few warm-up songs, including Busta Rhymes and Run-DMC classics, One Direction finally hit the stage as the crowd jumped to its feet. Opening with " Na Na Na," the boys — dressed in the matching theme of red, white and blue, but each with their own signature touch — hit the harmonies hard. The concert followed a seasonal theme with corresponding video and costumes to match. A few songs in, Harry told the sell-out crowd, "I think this is our "biggest show" as a band!" which sent fans screaming all over again.

Veering from their chart-topping debut album, Up All Night, each 1D member took a shot at a solo cover of some of their favorite songs, including the Black Eyed Peas' "I Got a Feeling" and the Gym Class Heroes hit "Stereo Hearts." The boys then sat on stools as they serenaded fans with "Moments." Cell phone lights took the place of lighters as the audience sang every word of the ballad.

After a quick change into the next outfit (and the next season), 1D proceeded with some of their more popular hits, including "More Than This" and the album's title track, "Up All Night." The set soon moved onto the live-tweeting portion of the show, where fans tweeted questions from the audience to their favorite bandmember. Then Liam showed off some beat-boxing skills and Harry attempted to do the worm before the guys were back at it with another cover, this time the hit Kings of Leon song "Use Somebody."

To end the night, 1D gave a shout-out to their impressive backing band and closed with singles "One Thing" and, of course, their #1 hit "What Makes You Beautiful." But a perfect evening of hearty pop wouldn't be complete without an encore! So the boys returned to perform "I Want" to the delight of their devoted fans.

If you missed the 1D performance on Friday, fear not Directioners, a full list of U.S. tour dates is available on their official website.

Full Set List:
1. "Na Na Na"
2. "Stand Up"
3. "I Wish"
4. "I Got a Feeling"; "Stereo Hearts"; "Valerie"; "Torn"
5. "Moments"
6. "Gotta Be You"
7. "More Than This"
8. "Up All night"
9. "Tell Me a Lie"
10. "Everything About You"
11. "Use Somebody"
12. "One Thing"
13. "Save You Tonight"
14. "What Makes You Beautiful"
15: "I Want" (Encore)

Are you going to check out 1D on tour? Tell us in the comments!

• One Direction

Beyonce's 'Back To Business' With Memorial Day Concerts

'Yes, I had a baby, but it just made me more grounded,' singer says in behind-the-scenes video.
By James Dinh

Beyoncé
Photo: Getty Images

Time is ticking. It's only a matter of hours until Beyoncé makes her post-Blue Ivy Carter performance comeback with her string of Memorial Day weekend shows at Atlantic City's recently launched Revel entertainment center. And with anticipation high, the pop titan is giving her fans a small taste of the behind-the-scenes action it took to transition back to her stage show ways.

In the first of a two-part video montage segment that was posted on the singer's website, Queen B is seen working hard almost two months prior to the gigs on everything from choreography to show concept and vocal rehearsing.

Despite admitting a few nerves and her inclusion in the pop-star-turned-mom club, Beyoncé remained adamant about her return to the stage, "I'm enjoying being a mother, so it's like going back to my old job. It's a little strange, but it's important that you don't lose yourself and have your own passions. I'm back to work. I'm back to business."

It's the first of many candid moments in which the singer opens up and allows camera lenses to document the planning of the concerts. And by the looks of it, the chart-topper will be giving it her all. At one point, Beyoncé is seen sitting on the floor with her crew of dancers conceptualizing the event. "What I'm trying to say with the show ... yes, I had a baby, but it just made me more grounded," she says.

In comparison to her intimate four-night affair at New York's Roseland Ballroom in August 2011, the Revel shows are expected to be much more of a grand spectacle, with high-tech LED, intense choreography and video backdrops.

Positivity goes a long way, as her choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. co-signs the singer's intent to create a stellar event. "I think this show has the potential to be one of the greatest shows we've done. People, re-sit and listen to Beyoncé, we will have a brilliant show at Revel," he said.

Will you be seeing Beyoncé in concert this Memorial Day weekend? Tell us in the comments!

• Beyoncé

Lady Gaga Won't Tone Down Indonesian Concert Despite Protests

Gaga's manager says if show goes on, it will be played 'as it is,' despite threats of violence from Islamic groups in Jakarta.
By James Montgomery

Lady Gaga
Photo: Stephen Lovekin/ Getty Images

Lady Gaga's June 3 concert in Jakarta, Indonesia, has already drawn protests — and threats of violence — from Islamic groups within the nation, who say her risqué Born This Way Ball promotes promiscuity and homosexuality. But according to Gaga's manager, she has no plans to tone down her act.

While speaking at the annual Music Matters conference in Singapore on Thursday, Troy Carter addressed the ongoing controversy over the June 3 concert, saying that Gaga would not bow to pressure and perform a censored version of the show.

"We play the show as it is, it's a very specific show to a very specific audience," Carter said, according to Singapore's Straits Times newspaper. "Truth be told, she's not up there nude, she's not doing anything provocative for the sake of being provocative."

Early reports had Gaga canceling the show at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium after Indonesia's national police denied her a permit, citing concerns over threats from Islamic hard-liners and the nature of Gaga's performance. Gaga herself addressed the issue earlier this week via Twitter, explaining, "The Jakarta situation is 2-fold: Indonesian authorities demand I censor the show & religious extremists separately are threatening violence. ... If the show goes on as scheduled, I will perform the BTWB alone."

Indonesian police demand that before a permit can be issued, promoters for the show must ensure Gaga is "dressed appropriately and does not violate the cultural norms in this country," according to the Agence France-Presse news service. And several of the country's top Islamic groups, including the National Ulema Council and the more militant Islamic Defenders Front, have protested her performance, calling it "blasphemous" and threatening to "create havoc" if the concert goes ahead as planned.

During his Music Matters speech, Carter said that he was still in negotiations with the Indonesian police in the hopes of obtaining a permit for the show. He added that at this time he does not know whether the concert will take place as scheduled.

• Lady Gaga

Robert Pattinson's 'Cosmopolis': The Cannes Reviews Are In!

Critics are split on whether the 'Twilight' actor was the right casting choice.
By Fallon Prinzivalli

Robert Pattinson at Cannes Film Fest
Photo: AFP

After supporting his girlfriend Kristen Stewart as she debuted "On the Road," Robert Pattinson hit the Cannes Film Festival on Friday (May 25) to premiere his film "Cosmopolis." Directed by David Cronenberg, the film follows Eric Packer (Pattinson) in the not-too-distant future as he's chauffeured through Manhattan on his way to get a haircut. His entire world is falling apart — his marriage is failing, his financial status is slipping and even his very life is being threatened.

As reviews of the film pour in, it's apparent that critics agree the film has its odd moments, but they're split on whether Pattinson is the perfect choice for the lead role. Here's what the critics had to say about "Cosmopolis."

The Story
" 'Cosmopolis,' an adaptation of Don DeLillo's typically provocative novel of the same name, is the first feature film since 1999's 'eXistenZ' that filmmaker David Cronenberg has directed and scripted. This in part explains why 'Cosmopolis' is such a triumph: it's both an exceptional adaptation and a remarkable work unto itself.

Cronenberg makes slight but salient changes to DeLillo's source narrative. These changes, which are best described by one character as 'slight variation[s],' prove that Cronenberg's given serious consideration to what should and shouldn't be represented in his adaptation of the author's ruminative, conversation-driven narrative. For example, in Cronenberg's film, Eric Packer (a surprisingly adequate Robert Pattinson), an ambivalent and self-destructive power broker, does not get to have sex with his wife like he's wanted to do throughout DeLillo's book. Other changes, like the fact that Packer is investing and studying the steady rise in the Chinese yuan in the film and not the Japanese yen, as in the book, are equally striking. These differences noticeably enrich DeLillo's original story, making Cronenberg's 'Cosmopolis' that much more rewarding in its own dizzying way." — Simon Abrams, Indiewire

Robert Pattinson
"On the page and on film, Eric is a controlled and controlling figure, a man impervious to society's norms who one must feel has a mind operating well beyond the capacities of mere mortals. He's utterly humorless and without detectable compassion or accessible humanity, which makes him less than companionable as a character. Pattinson doesn't help matters by revealing nothing behind the eyes and delivering nearly all his lines with the same rhythm and intonations, plus repetitive head nods in the bargain. It's a tough character that perhaps a young Jeremy Irons could have made riveting, but Pattinson is too bland and monotonous to hold the interest." — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

"After 'Water for Elephants' it remains to be seen whether Pattinson's teen following really is willing to follow him anywhere. But 'Cosmopolis' does prove that he has the chops, and he parlays his cult persona beautifully into the spoiled, demanding Packer, a man so controlling and ruthless that only he has the power to ruin himself. Lean and spiky — with his clean white shirt he resembles a groomed Sid Vicious — Pattinson nails a difficult part almost perfectly." — Damon Wise, Empire Online

The Details
"There are other cast members who do an excellent idea of wrapping their heads around DeLillo's big ideas and Cronenberg's indirect dialogue — Juliette Binoche and Samantha Morton, Mathieu Almaric and Paul Giamatti — and the music, by Metric, supplies the right kind of spiky, sensuous unease for a man driven across town and driven to self-destruction. The film's cynicism is both majestic and well-earned; at one point, Eric notes '... nobody hates the rich ... everybody thinks they're ten seconds away from being rich.' A chilly, crisp and crystal-shard sharp satire of our money-crazed world, 'Cosmopolis' takes us on a limo ride through the collapse of modern society: We're not behind the wheel for this ride, but rest assured, in the end, we're going to have to get out and pay for it." — James Rocchi, MSN.com

The Final Word
"[R]ather than a thriller, 'Cosmopolis' plays more like a wispy film of ideas, with conversations in the limo about society, wealth and humanity dominating most of the screen time. Almost all of these feel detached and meticulously unfocused. Characters toss around ideas or questions, which their conversation partner then promptly ignores or responds to with a non-sequitur. It's often reminiscent of work by playwright/screenwriter Harold Pinter, but never quite as fun, nor nearly as humorous as it should be. ... Cronenberg has still made an odd, uncompromising and occasionally brilliant film of his own, one which is well worth seeing if only for the deft way Cronenberg finds an emotional arc in such an inhuman world. Or else to see how perfectly Pattinson's performance suits the director." — Brian Clark, Twitch

Check out everything we've got on "Cosmopolis."

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

• Cosmopolis Teaser: 5 Key Scenes
• 2012 Cannes Film Festival

Marvel Casting Round-Up: 'Thor 2,' 'Iron Man 3' Add Villains

Plus, Jon Favreau confirms that he's reprising his role as Tony Stark's driver, Happy Hogan, in 'Iron Man 3.'
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man 2"
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Although "Men in Black 3" seems poised to knock "The Avengers" out of the top spot at the box office this weekend, Marvel Studios is already well into planning its next movies.

Just last night, the studio announced casting for villains in the upcoming sequels "Thor 2" and "Iron Man 3", while Jon Favreau confirmed he would reprise his role as Tony Stark's driver, Happy Hogan.

In two separate scoops from Variety, the trade paper reported that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is in talks to play the villain in the Alan Taylor-directed "Thor" sequel, and that Ashley Hamilton, son of George, could join "Iron Man 3" as the villain Firepower. The identity of Mikkelsen's potential character has yet to be revealed.

And while he won't be returning to direct the third "Iron Man" movie, Jon Favreau will be coming back to reprise his role as Happy Hogan. The actor-turned-director tweeted a photo of his personalized chair from the set of "Iron Man 3."

Favreau had previously turned down an offer to direct his third "Iron Man" film, allowing "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" director Shane Black to take a crack at billionaire playboy and philanthropist Tony Stark. It was unclear whether Favreau would return to play Happy, who had a significantly larger role in "Iron Man 2," but recent word that Favreau would still be largely involved is now confirmed.

Rumors have already begun to circulate about the identity of Mikkelsen's character. The most popular theory involves a character called the Executioner, a rumor started by Bleeding Cool.

"Thor 2" is scheduled to go in front of cameras later this year for a fall 2013 release, while production on "Iron Man 3" is already under way for its summer 2013 bow.

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

• Iron Man Recast? Robert Downey, Jr 'Would Really Hate' That
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