Frankfurt gears up for Gangnam Style at MTV awards

 
FRANKFURT: The MTV Europe Music Awards will rock Frankfurt's Festhalle concert venue on Sunday, with Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna leading the nominations and all eyes on Korean dance sensation Psy.
Psy's hit "Gangnam Style", which is up for the Best Video award, has been viewed more than 670 million times and received a record-breaking 4.9 million "likes" on Facebook since being released in mid-July.
The satirical video featuring Psy's horse riding-inspired dance has sparked a wave of copycat versions from Eton schoolboys to Californian lifeguards and has even caught the attention of United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.
Psy will become the first South Korean artist to perform at the annual awards, one of the pop industry's biggest nights outside the United States, when he takes the stage on Sunday.
German model and presenter Heidi Klum, who this year filed for divorce from singer husband Seal, will host the awards and said she had been practicing her Gangnam moves in case she gets called on to dance.
"My kids are obsessed with the song, even though it's Korean and they have no idea what he's talking about," she told reporters ahead of the event.
Klum, who comes from the town of Bergisch Gladbach just two hours away from the 2012 host city, is also looking forward to some home comforts.
"I'll be eating a lot of German food," she said, adding jokingly that she would probably eat too much schnitzel and "gain a few pounds."
Despite being billed as the Europe Music Awards, the vast majority of nominees are traditionally North American, and 2012 is no exception.
Alongside Psy, acts due to take the stage at the show include country singer Taylor Swift, 14-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys, the Killers and Carly Rae Jepsen.
"OLD WAYS" STILL COUNT
In a world where careers are so often launched by social media websites like YouTube, some young artists said there was still a role for more established platforms such as MTV and mainstream television.
American indie-pop band fun., who are up for three awards, hit the big time after the song "We Are Young" was featured in an advert for Chevrolet during the U.S. Superbowl.
"I don't think that you can ever replace the impact that music videos have," the band's guitarist Jack Antonoff told Reuters when asked about the importance of MTV against social media channels.
"I think the more that social media takes over, the more importance you put upon the old ways."
MTV said this week that it had become the first company to reach one million followers on Instagram, the fast-growing photo-sharing application developer.
Heading the nominations is party-loving Rihanna, with nods in six categories, including Best Song and Best Video for "We Found Love".
Following close behind with five nominations is country star Swift, and other top nominees include Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, with four each, while Lady Gaga, who cleaned up last year with four prizes, is in the running for three awards.
Rihanna is favorite for Best Song and Best Female, according to odds offered by British bookmakers William Hill, while Gangnam Style is tipped to win Best Video.
The EMA awards were last held in Frankfurt in 2001. Last year's awards in Belfast attracted 23 million viewers on all platforms and 158 million votes worldwide.
Following are the main nominations in 2012:
BEST SONG: Carly Rae Jepsen/Call Me Maybe; Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris/We Found Love; Gotye/Somebody That I Used To Know; Pitbull feat. Chris Brown/International Love; fun. feat. Janelle Monáe/We Are Young
BEST NEW: Rita Ora; fun.; One Direction; Lana Del Rey; Carly Rae Jepsen
BEST FEMALE: Rihanna; Katy Perry; P!nk; Taylor Swift; Nicki Minaj
BEST MALE: Justin Bieber; Kanye West; Flo Rida; Pitbull; Jay-Z
BEST POP: Justin Bieber; No Doubt; Katy Perry; Taylor Swift; Rihanna
BEST LIVE: Taylor Swift; Lady Gaga; Jay-Z & Kanye West; Green Day; Muse
BEST HIP HOP: Jay-Z & Kanye West; Nas; Rick Ross; Drake; Nicki Minaj
BEST ROCK: Linkin Park; Green Day; Muse; The Killers; Coldplay
BEST ELECTRONIC: David Guetta; Swedish House Mafia; Avicii; Skrillex; Calvin Harris
BEST ALTERNATIVE: Jack White; The Black Keys; Arctic Monkeys; Florence + The Machine; Lana Del Rey
BEST VIDEO: M.I.A./Bad Girls; Lady Gaga/Marry The Night; Katy Perry/Wide Awake; Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris/We Found Love; PSY/Gangnam Style. (Reuters)

'Life of Pi' movie lifeboat for sale at $40,000

LOS ANGELES: Life of Pi" is yet to hit movie theaters, but fans can already buy the film's trusty lifeboat that becomes home to a young Indian boy shipwrecked with a tiger. U.S. online retailer Gilt Groupe said on Friday that the lifeboat, replicated from real rafts used between the 1920s and 1950s, is among props from the movie up for sale next week. The lifeboat is priced at $40,000 in the sale starting on November 19. Proceeds will go towards the Orangutan Foundation International, in recognition of one of the other animals who initially survives with title character Pi in the film. "Life of Pi" is based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, directed by Ang Lee and stars newcomer Suraj Sharma. It opens in U.S. movie theaters on November 21. Other items up for sale include movie posters signed by Lee, a collection of vibrant saris, and other props valued between $140 and more than $6,000.

New Bond film 'Skyfall' tops N. America box office

LOS ANGELES: The new James Bond movie "Skyfall" swept North American box offices this weekend, crushing second-place animated feature "Wreck-It Ralph", industry estimates showed Sunday. The 23rd episode of the spy thriller series -- and the third starring Daniel Craig in the lead role -- took in $87.8 million in its first weekend of release, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Wreck-It Ralph," the animated Disney film about a video game villain with dreams of becoming a hero, garnered $33.1 million, dropping from the top spot it held last week. "Flight", starring Denzel Washington as a troubled pilot who crash-lands a plane and becomes a national hero, only to have his alcohol and drug problems made public, was third at $15.1 million. In fourth place was "Argo," based on a true story about six Americans spirited out of Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis; the film directed by and starring Ben Affleck earned $6.7 million. Next in the rankings was "Taken 2" -- Liam Neeson's return as ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills -- which stayed in fifth place with earnings of $4 million this weekend and $131.3 million since its release. "Here Comes the Boom," a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school teacher intent on becoming a mixed martial arts fighter to raise money for his school, moved up to sixth place with $2.55 million. The number seven spot went to the genre-busting, time-traveling "Cloud Atlas," in which Tom Hanks and Halle Berry each play six different roles set across a 500-year span. It took in $2.52 million. "Pitch Perfect," a musical-comedy about a cappella singing groups, earned $2.5 million to move back into the top 10 in eighth place. In ninth place was action film "The Man with the Iron Fists," starring Russell Crowe and set in feudal China, which took in $2.5 million. Rounding out the top 10 was "Hotel Transylvania" about an overprotective vampire dad intent on guarding his adolescent daughter against a budding romance with a human boy. It earned $2.35 million. Final figures are due out Monday.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have broken up

 
LOS ANGELES: Pop star Justin Bieber and his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, a Disney actress and singer, have broken up, ending a relationship that made them one of Hollywood's most high-profile young couples, media reports said.
Bieber, 18, and Gomez, 20, disclosed their relationship in February 2011 when they appeared together at an Oscar night party after months of rumors of their dating.
E! Online late on Friday was the first to report the split, with other media outlets including US Weekly and People also saying the relationship was over. The reports cited unnamed sources close to the couple.
Representatives for Bieber and Gomez did not returns calls or emails on Saturday.
Bieber has released two No. 1 albums in just over a year - the holiday-themed "Under the Mistletoe" and his latest, "Believe." In September, he topped Billboard's "21 Under 21" list of top young musical acts. It was his second year in a row with the title.
Gomez rose to fame as a teenager in the Walt Disney Co television series "Wizards of Waverly Place" and has enjoyed success as a pop singer.