MTV Unplugged performances, at least during its 1989-2001 heyday, were among the most watched and influential events in music programming. If you were on Unplugged, you made it. Though its influence has waned as artists have moved away from traditional television as a whole, the show’s legacy remains firmly intact. Now a quarterly event, MTV enlisted Twenty One Pilots as the next artist to perform on MTV Unplugged. The show is unlike any other Unplugged predecessor. Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun don’t “unplug” in the traditional sense, but they stripped down their songs to create completely different versions than what’s made them radio staples in the past half-decade or so. A day before they recorded their set in front of an intimate audience at Exchange in downtown Los Angeles, we ...
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett unveiled the MTV Unplugged special for their latest album Love for Sale on Thursday night. Stream the televised concert below. The performance was recorded as Bennett continued to battle Alzheimer’s, shortly before he cancelled his remaining concerts last summer and officially retired. For Unplugged, Gaga served as MC for both audience and Bennett, transitioning from song to song and setting up her partner’s musical cues. She was playfully flirty with Bennett, asking his wife Susan’s permission before “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and during “Love for Sale,” she ad-libbed a line about working for the 95-year-old crooner “any night of the week.” If you’ve ever seen Alzehimer’s up close, you’ll recognize that what Gaga is doing is truly special. The ...
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are coming to MTV Unplugged on Dec. 16, MTV announced on Sunday (Nov. 28) — and you can watch the first promo below. The new episode, which marks the return of the MTV Unplugged franchise, was filmed earlier this year in New York. The duo performed songs from their Billboard 200 top 10 album Love for Sale, which just earned Gaga and Bennett six 2022 Grammy nominations on Tuesday, including for album of the year. The project — which topped Billboard‘s Traditional Jazz Albums and overall Jazz Albums charts after its September debut — follows their first joint project, 2014’s Cheek to Cheek. MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga will air Thursday, Dec. 16, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV in the U.S. and across its global platforms. Its premiere takes place during “Love Mu...
When CBS All Access rebrands itself as Paramount+ next month, it will come with a slew of new content for music fans. At the ViacomCBS’s TCA presentation on Wednesday, it was announced the platform will be a home to reboots of classic MTV and VH1 franchises as well as a new docu-series from Dave Grohl and his mom, Virginia Hanlon Grohl. The Grohls’ series is based on Mama Grohl’s 2017 book From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars, taking the name From Cradle to Stage. The book featured interviews with rock stars’ moms about raising their little hell-raisers, and the six-part docu-series will further explore those relationships. Each episode will center on a single famous artist and their mother, with Dave and Virginia along for the ride. Paramount+ wi...
Well, that’s one way to make an entrance. Paramount+, the latest streamer to hit the marketplace, is going back to the ’90s to relive music programming’s heyday. As part of its initial lineup, Paramount+ announced on Wednesday that it is bringing back late ’90s favorites like Behind the Music, MTV Unplugged, Yo! MTV Raps and even Beavis and Butt-Head. No, 1995 didn’t call, but it sure seems like it. Dave Grohl is also involved. Teaming up with his mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, the Foo Fighter will produce a new six-part series titled From Cradle to Stage, which also happened to be the title of his mother’s book that featured stories from other music moms and released a few years ago. The series will take a look at the relationships between mothers and t...
BTS ruled MTV (and the Internet) on Tuesday night with their Unplugged performance. But if you stepped out the room for a moment to calm yourself, you might have missed BTS’ starring performance in the commercial for the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G device. Shot in black and white, the 15-second spot features RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, with their song “Life Goes On” as the soundbed. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation: Recently, there’s been a growing divide between millennials and gen-z: side parts and skinny jeans are out. Different emojis are in. End up on the wrong end of the divide, and you’re in a tough spot. MTV Unplugged feels much more associated with the millennials, first airing in 1989 and rising to prominence in the ‘90s, ushering in many performances that have since become the stuff of legend. In 1992, Eric Clapton’s Unplugged album became the best-selling live album of all time. Mariah Carey’s episode marked a shift in her public reception and launched her cover of “I’ll Be There” to No. 1. MTV as a whole now often feels associated with a nostalgic time of TRL, flannels, and Blockbuster, but rest assured, millennials — if BTS is doing it, it’s still cool. The m...
BTS have broken so many American records that it’s hard to remember there was a time where they weren’t one of the most popular international artists in the US. Now, the K-Pop superstars are cementing their place in western history by filming a “special edition” of MTV Unplugged, where they will join the ranks of iconic musicians like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Ms. Lauryn Hill. MTV Unplugged Presents: BTS was filmed in “intimate settings” in Seoul, South Korea. For the TV special, the newly minted 2020 Band of the Year will play live renditions of songs from their latest album BE (Essential Edition) — like the smash hits “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” — as well as never-before-seen versions of their career-defining hits. MTV has promised that the worldwide music event will “build off the iconi...
Honestly, we probably should have seen this coming. Over the last few weeks, Pearl Jam have announced various releases of their legendary MTV Unplugged concert. First came news of a vinyl reissue and the first-ever CD release, followed by the unannounced appearance of the set on streaming services. Today, the final piece of the iconic puzzle has arrived, as the band has premiered the full MTV Unplugged video on their YouTube channel. Fans undoubtedly have watched bootlegs of the 1992 session countless times. Pearl Jam themselves have released bits and pieces of the seven-song set over the years. However, this marks the first time the band has ever uploaded the full 36-minute performance. As you surely know, the MTV Unplugged show saw Pearl Jam putting material from their debut album, Ten, ...
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s very first concert, something they are celebrating with a vinyl reissue and the first-ever CD release of their classic MTV Unplugged set. Both formats are out as of today, though unsurprisingly, the LP version is long sold out. But thankfully, there’s yet another way to hear the beloved album. In a surprise move, Pearl Jam’s MTV Unplugged has been released on streaming services for the very first time. You can listen to it right now via Spotify and Apple Music below. Captured on March 16th, 1992, the seven-song Unplugged session saw Pearl Jam playing acoustic versions of material from their Ten debut. Also included is the track “State of Love and Trust”, originally released on the Singles soundtrack. Over the years, these recordings have...
Miley Cyrus has tried everything once. The teen idol who sometimes seemed to flail in the public eye has matured into a 27-year-old powerhouse of confidence and style. She knows what she’s good at, and her comfort zone is as vast as an ocean. Her current era of ’80s-inspired glam has been simultaneously thrilling and easy, throwing a spotlight on her fashion sense and rock’n’roll voice. Now, for her backyard edition of MTV Unplugged, she’s put all of her talents together for one of the most exciting pop performances of the coronavirus pandemic. Cyrus has been recording “Backyard Sessions” for the last decade, but most of those were intimate and casual. This concert was arena-ready, with light-displays that helped transform the space over time. Earlier in the day, while the sun shined brigh...