Gossip

It’s interesting that the premiere of Taylor Swift’s “Mine” video comes less than three weeks after the grand unveiling of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” clip. For all their differences, they are essentially about the same thing: the fantasies of young, thoroughly modern women.

Of course, those fantasies are about as different as the women presenting them. Perry’s “Teenage Dream” is very much about the immediacy of pleasure, of fun and sexy romps on the beach and uninhibited road-trip adventures. Swift’s version is quite the opposite: Hers is a dream buoyed by the satisfaction of the long-term, of a doting husband and towheaded children and white picket fences. They are two wildly dissimilar sides of the same coin: Perry wants to be free; Taylor wants a husband. And the one you tend to identify with probably says a lot about you.

To be clear, these certainly aren’t the only two avenues available to women (not by a long shot), but if you want to get professorial about things, “Teenage Dream” and “Mine” offer up a rather interesting dissection of feminism in the 21st century. This is not to suggest that Perry or Swift are paragons of the movement, but they are two of the hugest pop(ish) stars on the planet, adored and idolized by millions. And certainly, a portion of those millions are young girls. So, really, there’s probably something at stake here.

To that end, while I don’t want to wade too heavily into the field of gender politics (these are, after all, just a pair of pop videos), it’s interesting — if not sort of disappointing — that neither Perry nor Swift are seen running Fortune 500 companies or piloting Black Hawk helicopters in their videos. Those, it would seem, are Teenage Dreams of a different sort.

Of course, neither option is necessarily bad. Perry is empowered because she is totally unchained, free to pursue whatever (or whomever) she desires. Swift goes the opposite route in the “Mine” video, investing fully in the idea of love and family and the future. There may be bumps along the way — as she sings, there are bills to pay and late-night shouting matches, and suddenly, the big house doesn’t seem all that attainable — but she’s committed. She’s in it for the long haul. It’s not a particularly sexy dream, but it’s certainly an admirable on, especially in these times.

With “Mine,” Swift has basically set herself up as the anti-Perry. And in doing so, she’s created a rather interesting counter-proposal to KP’s teenage dreams. No one is saying either is wrong, it’s just interesting to see two of the biggest female stars with such wildly differing takes on feminism and the future. They are, in essence, presenting two possible paths. A girl’s gotta have options, after all.

Usher’s personal life — or public speculation about what has happened behind closed doors — has often figured prominently in the singer’s work. Fans ate up the 2004 Confessions LP, which dropped amid rumors that Usher had stepped out on ex-girlfriend Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. Similarly, the singer had endured whispers about his reportedly rocky marriage to stylist Tameka Foster before his latest album, Raymond v. Raymond, debuted at #1 this year.

On the heels of the release of Versus, an extension of Raymond, the R&B crooner opened up about why he wasn’t able to make it work with Foster.

“We’re two different people and we have two different goals,” Usher told People. “It just was never going to work out 100 percent.”

Just like he did with his monster album Confessions, the ATL singer turned the heartbreak into hits. “My music is about where I am at the time,” Usher explained. “In Raymond v. Raymond, I was going through a lot of things, and it came out in my music. My marriage fell apart and I was suddenly a single father.”

Continuing his tradition of mining his personal life for inspiration, Usher said that Versus is “about being a dating father.”

Earlier this year, the buzz surrounding his relationship with Foster ramped up when Usher’s track “Papers,” a song about ending a marriage by signing off on divorce documents, hit airwaves. However, Usher told reporters in March that while the track wasn’t inspired by a real-life situation, it unfortunately became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“When the song was recorded, I wasn’t divorced,” Usher said. “It was some reality in the contrast of trying to make it all work, having to balance a career and having a normal life. Coming in at six in the morning and arguing was a reality when you have those type of relationships. I felt that in a way, the story did touch on certain things at the time. I didn’t know how realistic it would become. I didn’t know I would become divorced. I did know it spoke on the contrast between trying to balance this world of being married and having this responsibility that’s like a marriage at the same time. The song spoke to that place. Unfortunately, it did become a reality.”

Paris Hilton is known for her jet-set lifestyle but things tend to go south when the heiress decides to travel by car. On Friday, Hilton was arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine after police pulled over the SUV she was riding in. The socialite’s beau was apparently behind the wheel but Hilton was taken into custody after the illegal substance fell out of her purse.

The Vegas bust is not the first time Hilton has run into trouble with drugs while driving. Here’s a timeline of her substance-related issues behind the wheel:

»Hilton was arrested on September 7, 2006 in Los Angeles for suspicion of drunk driving. The socialite’s blood alcohol level was .08 percent, the minimum for a DUI charge in California.

»On May 4, 2007 the heiress was sentenced to 45 days behind bars for violating her probation. Hilton told the judge, “I’m very sorry and from now on I’m going to pay complete attention to everything. I’m sorry and I did not do it on purpose at all.”

»On May 16, Hilton’s jail time was trimmed from 45 days to 23 for good behavior, among other reasons.

»Hilton reported to jail on June 3, hours after attending the 2007 Movie Awards. The socialite told reporters, “I’m obviously a little scared right now.”

»Hilton was ordered back to jail on June 8 after being released early to finish out her sentence under house arrest. The star reportedly screamed “It’s not right” before being escorted from the courthouse in tears.

»Hilton was released from jail on June 26. The starlet was greeted by throngs of fans and paparazzi. “This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. I have had a lot of time to reflect, and have already learned a bitter, but important lesson from this experience,” she said in a statement.

»In July 2010, the heiress was detained in South Africa for possession of marijuana. The case was later dropped after authorities learned that another person in her group, and not Hilton, was smoking.

» Hilton was arrested in Las Vegas on August 27 for possession of cocaine.

It seems like two members of the Young Money family just got a lot closer. On Friday (August 27), Nicki Minaj and Drake seemingly announced on their Twitter pages that they are married.

“U scurred? @drakkardnoir u ready to make the announcement or wha?” Minaj tweeted Friday afternoon. Drizzy responded about an hour later with, “Baby I am never scared. PROUD is more the word I would use,” before tweeting, “Please refer to @nickiminaj as Mrs. Aubrey Drake Graham and dont stare at her too long. She’s finally mine. :).”

The hip-hip diva re-tweeted Drake’s missive and added, “Yes, its true. Drake and I tied the knot.”

A rep for their label had no comment when reporters reached out Friday.

Hip-hop heads have speculated about Drake and Minaj’s relationship before, and buzz spiked when fans heard a very eyebrow-raising line on Drizzy’s “Miss Me” single.

“I love Nicki Minaj/ I told her I’d admit it/ I hope one day we get married just to say we f—ing did it/ And girl, I’m f—ing serious/ I’m with it if you with it/ ‘Cause your verses turn me on, and your pants are mighty fitted,” the Toronto MC spits.

In June, Drizzy told DJ Envy on “Sucker Free Countdown” that he had genuine feelings for Minaj. “I’ve always really, actually, really had a crush on her, always really loved her, and she’s always just looked at me as, like, her little brother,” Drake said.

However, Minaj batted away any ideas that Drake is anything more than just her sometime partner-in-rhyme.

“Drake does not have a crush on me,” Minaj assured Envy. “Drake knows how to get you guys’ attention.”

Now that Kanye West is back on his grind, the LV Don appears determined to push harder than ever to produce unique music. Case in point: Over the past five days, in addition to performing at an intimate club show on Thursday, where he covered songs by Rihanna and Billy Joel and was joined by Estelle, Yeezy hit the studio to work on a remix of “Power” with an all-star cast.

Given his new status as the Titan of Twitter, he, of course, tweeted about the progress of the sessions. “Scheduled studio visits 2day, Nikki , John Legend, Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, Pusha T, Phillip Lim,” he wrote of a remix session that roped in everyone from the newlywed producer he has called one of the greatest of all time (Beatz), to Clipse member T and piano man Legend, who tickled the ivories for ‘Ye at Thursday night’s show.

He likened the sessions to the all-star power summits of the early jazz era, writing, “remember jazz musicians used to collab and do 4 song albums or James Brown used to just keep dropping sh– back to back.” In that spirit, West added, “I might have to put out 5 albums this year … My spirit is full … My heart is open … People want new music … I can’t hold it back.”

And that wasn’t all. He uploaded a photo from the studio that featured him with Beatz and Def, as well as another pal who knows a thing or two about harnessing the power: Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. “Kobe helped me finish my #POWER remix verse … Just building on the concept of #POWE… and Mos helped me find the ‘old me’ lyrically,” he explained early Sunday morning.

After a “super late” night in the lab with Mos that lasted early into Sunday morning, West said he was feeling so inspired that he actually had to unplug himself before he laid down the longest verse in rap history. “I had to cut my POWER remix verse short to not over do it with the million bar verse like the 2nd verse of ‘See Me Now,’ ” he wrote. “There’s so many ways to break down the subject of power … me and Kobe went in on it… Perfect person to help out on that.”

In addition to teasing a possible Justin Bieber/Raekwon collabo, throwing out some random props to M.I.A., Matt & Kim, and Fiona Apple, and taking a break to go jogging (in Lanvin gear, of course), ‘Ye ended what sounded like a sleepless weekend on a creative and emotional high. “Sometimes I can’t control my excitement,” he wrote Sunday afternoon. “So happy … so creative … in the studio … ready to create … finished ‘Power’ verse … more music.”

And, in keeping with his status as the new pied piper poet of Twitter, ‘Ye — who will appear at this year’s VMAs on September 12 — wrapped the creative marathon with an early morning tweet on Monday that summed up his new philosophy: “I’m just tryna keep it symmetrical.” Right.

The search for Lisbeth Salander is over.

Rooney Mara (”A Nightmare on Elm Street”) has been cast as the motorcycle-driving computer hacker in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” David Fincher’s upcoming adaptation of the best-selling Swedish crime thriller, according to a Sony press release.

Mara nabbed the highly sought-after role following an exhaustive search said to include names like Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Ellen Page and Mia Wasikowska. Late last month, Mara, who stars in Fincher’s “Social Network,” was reportedly contending with four other actresses for the part. Now, Salander officially belongs to Mara.

She’ll be joined by Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, the disgraced journalist who is hired to investigate a decades-old missing-persons case and convinces Salander to assist the search. Based on the first of Salander Larsson’s three “Millennium” novels, the film will reportedly co-star Robin Wright as Erika Berger (Blomkvist’s business partner and occasional lover) and Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger (the brother of the missing woman), though the Sony press release did not mention either of these names.

The film is set to begin shooting in September in Sweden, with an eye on a December 21, 2011, release date. Fincher told reporters last month that he planned to set the film in Sweden, rather than Americanize the story line. “What, are you going to put it in Seattle?” he laughed.

According to Deadline New York, Mara’s deal includes an option for Larsson’s two sequels, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.” Contrary to earlier rumors, Fincher told us he will not film either of the sequels in conjunction with the first film.

“No, there’s no plans for that right now,” he said. “You got to make one that people want to see a sequel to before you can make a sequel.”

It’s official now: Young Goldie and Awesome Jones are down together. Former Murder Inc. singer Lloyd announced last year he was leaving his original label home and, several weeks ago, he finalized a new deal at Interscope. On Monday (August 16) it was announced that he inked a deal to release his next LP, The King of Hearts, via a joint deal with the Zone 4 imprint belonging to producer Polow Da Don a.k.a. Awesome Jones.

“I’m the King of Hearts, you know,” Lloyd said recently when we visited the New Jersey set of Lloyd Banks’ “Any Girl” video. “And at the album release, we gonna be drinking Ace of Spades,” he laughed.

“Me and Polow Da Don have been working hard,” he added. “I got a lot of surprises. I think that a lot of people haven’t heard me sound like this, haven’t heard me sing like this. It’s gonna be a new look, it’s gonna be like I’m back for the first time. It should be anticipated. The album is gonna be my best work to date, King of Hearts.”

The R&B heartthrob just released the single “Lay It Down,” and the tumble-in-the-sheets single is just the first hint of what’s to come from the Po and Lloyd collaboration.

Lloyd’s last LP was 2008’s Lessons in Love, which spawned the hit “Girls Around the World” featuring Lil Wayne. Of course, Lloyd, a.k.a. Young Goldie, was also heard on the Young Money blockbuster “Bedrock.” Lloyd and his connection to Cash Money/ Young Money is so strong that the singer nearly became an official Young Money member, but wanted to bolt entirely from Universal, where his last two albums were released through The Inc. and which serves as the distribution home for Young Money projects.

Instead, he’ll be over at the house that Jimmy Iovine built working with a fellow ATL music staple, producer/songwriter Polow.

“He’s dedicated,” Lloyd co-signed of the hitmaker. “The greatest thing about Polow is there’s no amount of time that’s unnecessary when it comes to making something the best, whether it takes two days or two months for one track. I’ve seen Polow sit with one song for six days and perfect it. You can hear the difference in the quality against someone else’s music. It sounds completely different.

“Working with Polow, he brings the best out of me,” Lloyd continued. “He pushes me to be a better artist. And I really feel like I found a home, I found a good home at Interscope. They believe in me as a star. I’m really looking forward to the future.”

Lloyd’s first album, Southside, was released in 2004, and he hit another milestone when his 2007 sophomore LP, Street Love, debuted at #2 on the Billboard albums chart. Now, he’s ready to take a fresh direction for his fourth effort. Polow will be handling most of the album’s production, which Lloyd says is a much-welcome change of pace.

“I don’t wanna bounce around too much. When an artist bounces around, you lose the consistency and the continuity in the sound,” he said. “For me, working with Polow has been all that and more. He’s given me a lot of different sounds, but at the same time, it’s a complete thought, so it’s not like we’re recording the same songs over and over again. Having that one creative partner in a producer is something I’ve never really had and I’m enjoying a lot not having to bounce around … just me and Po for the most part.”

Linkin Park have spent much of the past year touting the overall insanity of their upcoming A Thousand Suns album (it’s a “grandiose insanity,” in case you were wondering), and that idea certainly carries over into the first single, an aching slice of synth doomery titled “The Catalyst.” It seems that, every step of the way, the band is trying very hard to move beyond their nu-metal roots.

So it should come as no surprise, too, that the video for “Catalyst” is a far different animal.

“ Joe directed it, and Joe likes to create things visually, likes to go for something big,” LP bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell told reporters. “So the look of it is very different. There’s a lot of energy in it, and for me, that’s what makes for a good video. It adds something to the song, and that’s what makes me like this particular video even more.”

Farrell wouldn’t spill any details of the video — which will debut August 26 on VH1.com — but he did hint that it would be in keeping with the artistic theme of Suns (due September 14), which means that Linkin Park fans should gear up for a whole lot of blurry, digitally scarred WTF-ery … sort of like the cover of the album.

“For this record, I think we were able to be in front of the curve for a lot of things. We were working on art, and we’ve been working on it nonstop, because we really wanted to incorporate it in everything,” Farrell said. “And in the case of the album cover, we released it in little pieces, gradually constructing it out of nothing, and fans were seeing all kinds of stuff, they saw people’s faces and everything … none of that was intentionally there.”

So, will the secret of the Thousand Suns cover be revealed in “The Catalyst” video? Probably not. After all, the guys in Linkin Park aren’t even really sure what the image is supposed to be.

“I don’t want to say what I think it is — I don’t know — but I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. It’s a good reference for the record itself,” Farrell said. “I would go so far as to say it’s anything you want it to be.”

“The Catalyst” video premieres at midnight on August 25 (technically that’s the 26th).

Throughout his career, Kanye West has displayed the soul of an artist, from his austere “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” video to the just-released “moving portrait” for “Power.”

Back in August 2005, the rapper spoke with reporters about art and even showed Sway some of his early sketches. Among the collection was a colorful drinking glass, a slow-burning cigarette and a portrait of Emmett Till.

“I think I was always on some sarcastic, trying to get a rise out of people ,” West explained. “I tried to get something that connects more than just the glass. So this is my take on glass.”

The collection also included an anime-inspired self-portrait of the “Power” superstar and another image of a man in bed whose life had passed.

“This one was really hard to draw,” he said of the latter. “It was a good experience the teacher gave us. We had to deal with perspective.”

He admitted, however, the sketch — dated 1995 — was not very good. “Someone should have killed me for how bad it was,” he said.

West said for his videos, artwork or graphic imaging he uses drawing “as a language.”

Artist Marco Brambilla directed the “Power” clip, and the artist received ‘Ye’s translation loud and clear, both for the imagery and the rapper’s forthcoming album.

“I instantly connected to the themes on the album,” Brambilla told reporters of West’s yet-untitled next LP. “The whole idea of celebrity, the idea of power, the idea of sensuality in it, there’s sexuality in it as well, and those were all kind of themes that I’ve explored in my work before. Once I heard the album, that was what clinched it, and I felt very much in tune with the message behind the music.”

Justin Bieber currently has a lot on his plate. He’s on tour. He’s working on a book and a movie. He’s prepping the release of his next single, “U Smile.” And he just wrapped shooting his cameo on “CSI.” But that doesn’t mean he isn’t taking time to give back.

Reporters caught up with the teen star on Friday night at Usher’s New Look Foundation’s first World Leadership Awards in Atlanta. He was excited to use his celebrity to bring attention to the charity, as well as his voice to bring some tunes to the party.

“You know, I’m really excited to be here to support Usher, my mentor, and his New Look Foundation. I’m here I’m performing tonight. I’m also helping out another charity,” he shared on the red carpet. “It’s called Pencils of Promise. It’s all about giving back and helping out kids that need education. It’s really important that I’m able to help out other kids. I’m a kid myself, so it means a lot to me.”

While he tweeted his intention to release “U Smile” as a single very soon, at the event, he kept his plans rather vague. “Musically, the next thing you’re gonna hear from me is I might be putting out a single in the next couple months,” he said. “I’m always making hits.”

Bieber also recently added a new job to his résumé. He will be the latest celebrity face for Proactiv acne treatment. “I’m definitely someone who suffers from acne,” he says on the Proactiv website. “My parents got acne when they were growing up. And I’m determined to keep myself clear. If I got a face full of breakouts, I would definitely feel really self-conscious and not wanna do photo shoots, not wanna be singing.”