Sound Check
  • Damian Abraham of Fucked Up (Photo by Clinton Gilders/FilmMagic)

    MuchMusic made a special nod to VJ and host of "The Wedge" Damian Abraham for his band Fucked Up's music video "Queen of Hearts" during the MMVA 2012 nominations.

    See more: Marianas Trench leads 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards nominations

    "It feels really surreal and bizarre to be nominated," Abraham told Yahoo! Canada Music yesterday after the announcement. "Even though I work at the station, I honestly did not expect to be nominated and I would go so far as to say that this is one of those things that I've watched, but never thought I would be nominated for."

    Fucked Up is a hardcore punk rock band from Toronto. They won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for their album "The Chemistry of Common Life" and last December Spin magazine named their third album "David Comes to Life" as the #1 album of 2011.

    Appearing in the category of MuchLOUD's Rock Video of the Year, Fucked Up's "Queen of Hearts" is directed by Scott Cudmore and an interesting choice since Abraham is not actually present in the

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  • With an impressive pedigree behind him, Jaden Smith, son of mega-superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, has released his latest solo track, "Give It To Em'," premiering it on RyanSeacrest.com yesterday.

    Give It To Em' - Jaden Smith

    Following in the footsteps of his multi-faceted musical father and spitting raps like a pro, Jaden reminds us of a young Fresh Prince with his adorable big ears and signature squint.

    See more: Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith, framed

    Jaden's "Give It To Em'" features rhymes filled with pride like, "Young, black with accessories / And I'm doing well, never seen a penitentiary/'Cause they can't sentence the greatest MC they've ever seen — no I'm not, but if you're going to battle me, then you better be."

    The 13-year-old is primarily known for his acting roles in films like "The Karate Kid," which was produced by Will's company Overbrook Entertainment, and starring opposite his talented dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness," but he also shines in music and

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  • Jim Creegan, Tyler Stewart, Ed Robertson, and Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage) …

    As Barenaked Ladies' lead singer and guitarist Ed Robertson once said: Let's get ready for some "Rarenaked Ladies."

    The Scarborough, Ont., band has recently debuted a rarities album featuring demos and remixes, nostalgic performances and a bittersweet live cover of The Beastie Boys' 1989 track, "Shake Your Rump."

    See more: Coldplay pays tribute to Adam "MCA" Yauch

    Released just four days after the untimely death of co-founding Beastie Boys member, Adam "MCA" Yauch, BNL's cover of "Shake Your Rump" is taken from a live performance at the Santa Monica Hilton in October of 1994.

    "Adam Yauch and The Beastie Boys were a defining influence on how @Barenakedladies approached everything," the band tweeted upon hearing the news of the rapper's passing. "It's a sad day. #RIPMCA."

    In addition to the "Paul's Boutique" classic, the new BNL album, aptly titled "Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before," also features demo versions of favourites like "Old Apartment" and live renditions of "Same Thing"

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  • Tom Gabel of Against Me! (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

    In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Tom Gabel, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of Florida punk rock band Against Me!, has announced that he has "privately dealt with gender dysphoria for years" and plans on making the transition to "begin living a woman."

    See more: Tom Gabel comes out to Rolling Stone as transgendered

    As Rolling Stone reports, the 31-year-old will start the process by undergoing electrolysis treatments, taking hormones and will eventually take the name Laura Jane Grace.

    Before announcing her plans for the transition to the world, Gabel informed a few family members and friends and admits that the next phase might be a difficult one.

    "Growing up, my experience with transsexualism was nothing but shame," the singer said. Also adding, "I'm going to have embarrassing moments, and that won't be fun. But that's part of what talking to you is about — is hoping people will understand, and hoping they'll be fairly kind."

    Gabel and her wife Heather have

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  • "Let It Be" known that if you want to use a song by The Beatles, you'd better be ready to pay up!

    Are you wondering how much entertainment studio Lionsgate, which produces "Mad Men," had to pay for the right to use a song from The Beatles' song catalogue during Sunday's episode? According to those familiar with the deal, they paid close to $250,000.

    During the closing sequence of the series' newest episode entitled "Lady Lazarus," the character of advertising mastermind Don Draper pours himself a drink and cues up the 1966 Beatles track, "Tomorrow Never Knows," as he sits and sips. A creative decision that was both sonically pleasing and very expensive.

    See more: Skrillex makes surprise appearance on "Greatest Guitarists" list

    "This music is so important to the 20th century and beyond," show creator Matthew Weiner said in an interview after multiple failed attempts to include the Fab Four's tunes on the show. "How could I pretend that my characters are not actually listening to it?"

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  • Skrillex is a surprising addition to the list (Photo by Aaron Davidson/WireImage)

    It's not easy to pin down the greatest guitarists of all time.

    When a list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" was posted by Spin Magazine last Thursday, controversy erupted due to some unlikely selections like L.A. DJ, Skrillex.

    The presence of the award winning DJ comes in lieu of guitar greats like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Jeff Beck and many others that failed to appear on the list.

    See more: Montreal's Arcade Fire lands on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"

    The inclusion of the 24-year-old, who picked up Grammy Awards this past year for Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Remixed Recording, has initiated a heated debate amongst readers about whether or not his presence is warranted.

    "As far as we know, our asymmetrically coiffed party pal has never held a guitar in his life," Spin wrote in justification of the interesting 100 slot selection. "But no contemporary musician has a more primal understanding of

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  • Cross the first installment of "The Fast and the Furious" with *NSYNC's 2002 car dancing clip, "Girlfriend," and you have Justin Bieber's newest video, "Boyfriend."


    Going viral overnight and earning over two million views in less than 12 hours, the video seems to be a smashing success and has prompted viewer comments like, "He is the king of swag, " and, "I love this song and I love Justin and I love the video."

    See more: Justin Bieber videos

    From the warm hue of sunset to the muscle cars and short shorts, Bieber's video makes you long for the teenage days of hanging out with your friends, doing doughnuts in a vacant parking lot and wooing your crush with a love song.

    This clip shows a side to the Canadian teen heartthrob that we have been promised for months through the release of various teasers, tweets and interviews, and the final product did not disappoint.

    See more: Bieber, Taylor Swift team up for new song

    Taking over a Los Angeles rooftop and whispering intently in the ear of

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  • YouTube, meet Nickelback.

    Working with Fuse TV, the Canadian band sat down and took the time to evaluate their music videos through the eyes of YouTube viewers and responded to their interesting comments.

    While watching clips from videos off their latest album "Here & Now," such as "This Means War," "Lullaby" and "When We Stand Together," the band had to answer questions such as "How the f**k can you be so epic?"

    See more: Top 5 Nickelback responses to Twitter haters

    "We work on our epic-ness," lead singer Chad Kroeger said in response to a user's comment on the "When We Stand Together" video. "We went to epic school [and] graduated with honours. Ryan [Peake] has his masters in epic-ness." To which drummer Daniel Adair added, "And, that helicopter in the video makes us look epic."

    Responding to positive comments is a new avenue for Nickelback, who began responding to their negative haters with sarcastic tweets on Twitter back in January.

    In an interview with Blink 182's Mark Hoppus,

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  • Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys in 2005. (Photo by Chris Polk/FilmMagic)

    The prodigal son returns.

    During their concert in London at the O2 Arena on April 29, the Backstreet Boys, consisting of original members Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, AJ McLean and Howie Dorough, announced that their fifth partner in crime, Kevin Richardson, would soon be re-joining the band.

    See more: Backstreet Boys videos

    "I think we should let them in on the secret that we have. Since we love you guys so much, we are going to be back this year," Carter said before Littrell added in the exciting tidbit saying, "And Kevin is coming back!"

    As the band tweeted from their official account, "Now everything is back to normal...welcome back, Kevin Richardson," the 40-year-old chimed in on the great news, writing, "Hello beau-ti-ful people. Yes, the cat is OFFICIALLY out of the bag. It's on and crackin'!"

    Back in October 2011, Richardson hinted that a reunion was on the horizon when he called into Ryan Seacrest's morning radio show, telling him, "I would never say that it would never

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  • (Photo by FOX via Getty Images)

    The MuchMusic Video Awards are set to take over downtown Toronto on Sunday, June 17, and "Teenage Dream" queen Katy Perry will be the first performer to join the always-exciting awards show.

    This will be the "Part of Me" singer's second time gracing the MMVA stage with her first being back in 2010 when she performed in her own Candy Land setting wearing her then signature sparkling hot pants and singing her hit track, "California Gurls."

    See more: TLC to reunite with Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes on reunion tour

    2010 was a very different time for Perry and a lot has changed since the release of her album, "Teenage Dream," which produced a record breaking six number one singles including "Firework," "California Gurls," "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)."

    In addition to touring the world, she also married and divorced comedian Russell Brand, made her film debut, released a few celebrity fragrances and became the third highest earning woman in music bringing in $44 million between May 2010

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Pagination

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