2011 MTV Video Music Awards Nominations are in!!! Guess who got SNUBBED!?

It's about that time again!  The 2011 MTV VMA's are just around the corner, and the nominees have been unveiled!  Pop sensation, Katy Perry is  leading the way with an impressive  9 nominations, Adele follows with 7 and Kanye West snagged  6 nominations.  Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj were not left out in the cold, the ladies each garnered 3 nominations.  In what appears to some as a snub, Rihanna's name, however, is missing from the list when it comes to the big awards like 'Video of the year' and 'Best Pop Video'.(She did get some collaboration nods.)  Some seem to think that MTV is 'punishing' RiRi for her recent video controversies involving the lawsuit over the idea for 'S&M' and the hotly controversial 'Man Down' visual.

MTV has been known to blacklist certain artists.  Remember how they treated Janet Jackson after the Super Bowl 'thing'.  Again, this is purely speculation.

Moving on, here are some of the nominees:

Video Of The Year:
Adele – Rolling In The Deep
Bestie Boys – Make Some Noise
Bruno Mars – Grenade
Katy Perry – Firework
Tyler, The Creator – Yonkers

Best Pop Video:
Adele – Rolling In The Deep
Britney Spears – Till The World Ends
Bruno Mars – Grenade
Katy Perry – Last Friday Night
Pitbull f/ Ne-Yo, Nayer, and Afrojack – Give Me Everything

Best Female Video:
Adele – Rolling In The Deep
Beyonce – Run The World (Girls)
Katy Perry – Firework
Lady Gaga – Born This Way
Nicki Minaj – Super Bass

Best Rock Video:
Cage The Elephant – Shake Me Down
Foo Fighters – Walk
Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks
Mumford & Sons – The Cave
The Black Keys – Howlin’ For You

Best Hip-Hop Artist:
Chris Brown – Look At Me Now
Kanye West f/ Rihanna and Kid Cudi – All Of The Lights
Lil Wayne – 6 Foot 7 Foot
Lupe Fiasco – The Show Goes on
Nicki Minaj – Super Bass

Best New Artist:
Big Sean
Foster The People
Kreashaywn
Tyler The Creator
Wiz Khalifa

Best Male Video:
Bruno Mars – Grenade
Cee-Lo – Fuck You
Eminem – Love The Way You Lie
Justin Bieber – You Smile
Kanye West – All Of The Lights

*For a complete list of the categories and nominees visit mtv.com

Happy 4th of July!!! THE GAMUTT CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY w/ Kelis & Katy Perry!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY from THE GAMUTT!! On this day we celebrate!

Independence day is commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the U.S. commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

Here on THE GAMUTT we are going to celebrate with Kelis, & Katy Perry.  What better way to celebrate than with good music! Let's take a stab at it!

Kelis-'4th of July'


Katy Perry-'Firework'


Have a SEXY 4th Of July!!!!!!

Katy Perry channels the 80's for new video!

Katy Perry goes all the way back to the 8o's for her new visual, 'Last Friday Night'.  We also meet Perry's new alter-ego Kathy Beth Terry. 

Tags: Katy Perry, Music, More Music Videos

If Kathy Beth Terry's parents look familiar, it's because Katy Perry enlisted the help of '80s icons Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson to play her parents Kirk and Tiffany Terry in "Last Friday Night,".

Week of the Woman: 'Portrait' of Tenacity-Ester Dean

Some may know her, but most may not.  But if the name doesn't ring a bell right out the gate, you definitely know her work.  Ester Dean.  Ester Dean is a singer/songwriter behind such hits as 'Firework', by Katy Perry, 'SuperBass' by Nicki Minaj, 'S&M' by Rihanna, and her own hit single 'Drop it Low' which featured Chris Brown.  But up until 2009, Dean was relatively unknown in the music business.  But all that would soon change, and change for the better.

Ester Dean's vision changed when she experienced what she describes as her "oh, wow" moment. Dean saw the inspirational 2006 documentary "The Secret," which its creator Rhonda Byrne later turned into a best-selling book. The personal empowerment message of the film -- "everything is possible, nothing is impossible" -- resonated strongly with Dean.




"I'd put so many limits on how I believed things should work,".  I started taking away those limitations, took myself out of the box. Now I'm ready to wow the world."
Dean, who just three years ago was living on Section 8 housing vouchers, has started to do just that. The Muskogee, Okla., native was singing on demos and writing songs in Atlanta when she was introduced to Polow Da Don. He asked her to write a hook for Young Jeezy, and ended up signing her to his Zone 4/Interscope label in 2009. She also inked a publishing deal with producer Christopher "Tricky" Stewart's RedZone Publishing.

Fast-forward to 2011. Now based in Los Angeles, Dean has co-written four of the first quarter's top 100 airplay songs: Katy Perry's "Firework" (No. 2); Rihanna's "What's My Name," featuring Drake (No. 4), and "S&M" (No. 27); and Lloyd's "Lay It Down" (No. 94). Those join a growing list of writing credits that includes T.I.'s "Remember Me," featuring Mary J. Blige; Blige's "I Am"; Rihanna's "Rude Boy"; and "Let Me Take You to Rio" for the soundtrack to the animated feature "Rio." Dean also co-wrote three tracks on the 2009 album "Graffiti" by Chris Brown, who returned the writing favor by guesting on Dean's own single that year, "Drop It Low" -- the first release under the deal she signed with Zone 4/Interscope. The track peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100.



When did you start writing and singing?


When I was in the third grade; I wouldn't pay attention in school at all. I did love English because they let you tell stories. I used to have these big-ass notebooks in which I'd write down all my thoughts. But in school, I was just the girl who sang all over the place, trying to see who wanted to make a group.

How did "S&M" come about?



I wrote it, Father forgive me, on a Sunday. The track was already there. The first thing that came to me was "Come on, come on." I'm thinking, "I don't know what in the hell this is about to be." And I remembered I'd seen something that said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones." Then came "But chains and whips excite me." And I'm like, "Oh, my God, I got to write that." I'm in the studio with the engineer and just kept looking at him, asking, "Is that OK?" And he says, "I like it." When people have a great track that speaks to me, it feels like it already has a story in it.

What's your take on the current state of R&B and hip-hop?
People need to stop putting a limit on what it is and what it isn't. It's what you put into it. However, people keep putting limitations on themselves and creating this reality that soul music is dead. That's only in their reality. It's not true. To me, Adele is R&B. Bruno Mars is R&B. It's just good songwriting and songs. That is going to last. That's what I've got to work on my damn self‹what's going to last.

Ester Dean is truly a 'portrait' of tenacity.  She proves that if you keep trying, and keep honing your craft, doors will begin to fly off the hinges for you.  When she was able to break the limits that she admitted she set on herself, she was able to fly, soar to heights she never knew she could reach.  I applaud a strong woman who has the gusto to go after she wants in a male-driven industry.  Hats off to Ester Dean.  We will continue to hear great music this woman pens and hopefully we will see her step out on her own with her project and make the world stop and stare again.


Until then, let's go back just a bit to Ester's 1st single:

'Drop it Low' feat. Chris Brown

"Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry and "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus, as sung to us by Rakesh Satyal

These videos are my gift to all of you who supported In The Flesh Reading Series for five years! The rest are on YouTube and I'll be posting them soon. Also working on an essay about why I ended the series, which I plan to post on The Nervous Breakdown, where I last wrote about bailing on the $1,000 Erica Jong essay (editors, take note: it's a new year, new and improved me and I would looooove to write for your anthology, regardless of pay). I am hoping to do an event in April or May with lots of hotness and humor so stay tuned and sign up for my mailing list at rachelkramerbussel.com for details. Do make sure to visit Rakesh's site and read his Lambda Literary Award-winning novel Blue Boy!

Also? What Rakesh said about me being a character? Meant so much to me. And is very in tune with my photocomix profile by Seth Kushner on CulturePOP...and, synchronicity, he was also a performer at the last In The Flesh!

If you were there, you also caught the awesome interplay among performers based on Samara O'Shea's letter to a certain anonymous novelist. THANK YOU to everyone who showed up and made me feel like everything was right with the world for one night. There is no roadmap when you start a reading series, at least, there wasn't for me. I was kindof flailing at first and somehow things clicked and I figured it out, or was lucky, or whatever, and I'm so glad that I met such amazing people, performers and audience. So truly, thank you for all those hosting highs I wound up with, and I hope to further all the things I learned about putting on fabulous events.


Rakesh Satyal sings "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry


Rakesh Satyal sings "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus (I requested this! My cousins introduced me to it last summer on Martha's Vineyard in a ride that is inspiring the YA novel will be writing as soon I'm done with this one)