Nicki Minaj to Perform New Single at Grammys

Nicki Minaj will be performing her new song “Roman Holiday” at the Grammys next week before officially releasing her latest Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded single “Starships.”

On Monday, February 13, just a day after the Grammy telecast, Nicki’s “Starships” will premiere on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show and make its way to iTunes shortly afterward.

The 54th annual Grammy Awards are set to air Sunday, February 12, on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Kelly Clarkson Nails National Anthem at Super Bowl

America’s beloved Kelly Clarkson once again proved herself as one of the best live singers we got, nailing the national anthem at the Super Bowl this past Sunday.

Watch the video and let us know what you think!

Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die” Tops U.K. Charts

Lana Del Rey’s debut album “Born To Die” debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. charts this weekend, with sales of 117,000, more than the rest of the top five combined.

“Born To Die” hit No. 1 on the iTunes album chart in 15 countries. In the U.K., Del Rey’s 117,000 opening sales included 50,000 digitally, and she’s in the singles top 40 with two tracks from the album: the title track climbed 14-9 yesterday and her debut hit “Video Games,” which debuted at No. 9 in October, jumped back 20-17, with total sales now standing at nearly 292,000 units, according to the Official Charts Company.

Last week’s No. 1, Ed Sheeran’s “+”, fell two places, but his latest single “Drunk” climbed 29-15. Guetta’s “Nothing But The Beat” improved 16-9 and Christina Perri’s “Lovestrong” 37-15, as her hit “Jar of Hearts” rebounded 37-22.

Adam Lambert to Perform with Band Queen

American Idol star Adam Lambert reportedly told the British tabloid, Daily Star, that he will be performing with the original members guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor of the pop-cult band Queen this summer. The original singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, passed away in 1991.

“The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some f—ing great songs,” he said. “It’s to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of.”

“After the EMAs, I heard faint little slithers of a backlash from people saying: ‘You can’t replace Freddie Mercury.’ But I already knew that,” he said. “There’s no intention in my mind of replacing Freddie. That’s impossible. The way I’m choosing to view it is that it’s a great honour and one I’m in no way going to shirk … Being asked to front Queen is the best thing that can possibly happen.”

Bruce Springsteen to Perform at Grammys

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at the 2012 Grammy Awards, joining the star-studded lineup of Adele, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj.

Springsteen announced last week the release of his new album, “Wrecking Ball,” on March 6 and his first U.S. tour with the E Street Band since the death last June of saxophonist Clarence Clemons. “We Take Care of Our Own” is the first single from the album.

Also scheduled to perform are Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Glen Campbell, Coldplay, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Blake Shelton.

The Grammys will be broadcast on CBS on February 12.

Katy Perry to Perform at Grammys

Katy Perry will take the stage at the Grammy Awards on February 12. The singer was announced as the latest performer on Wednesday (February 1).

The currently blue-haired pop star is up for Record of the Year for her feel-good empowerment track, “Firework.” The Teenage Dream single is also up for Best Pop Solo Performance. This is not her first time performing on the show.

Adele has also announced her long-rumored Grammy performance on Tuesday. It marks her first performance since a November vocal surgery.

Lana Del Rey Says SNL Performance Was “Fine” and Thinks She “Looked Beautiful”

Lana Del Rey received harsh criticism over her debut SNL performance. But in the latest issue of Rolling Stone, the emerging pop star says she thinks she did a perfectly fine job on the legendary sketch show, saying,”I actually felt good about it. I thought I looked beautiful and sang fine … I know some people didn’t like it, but that’s just the way I perform, and my fans know that.”

Del Rey did admit to being nervous, though in a more general sense, saying live performance has never been her strong suit because she is “not a natural performer or exhibitionist” and that when she was younger she “hated the focus; it made me feel strange.”

Del Rey continued, “There’s backlash about everything I do. It’s nothing new,” she told the music mag. “When I walk outside, people have something to say about it. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was absolutely excellent. People don’t have anything nice to say about this project.”

Drake Will Perform at NHL All-Star Game

Drake, the hip-hop pride of Toronto, will perform at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, which will be held in Ottawa, Ontario on Sunday, January 29th. The rapper will be joined by New York singer-rapper Outasight and “The Voice” winner Javier Colon at the star-studded hockey event at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

Drake is set to perform during the second intermission, while Outasight will perform his breakout single, “Tonight is the Night,” during the player introductions. Colon and longtime Ottowa Senators anthem singer Lyndon Slewidge will handle the U.S. and Canadian national anthems, respectively.

Lana Del Rey Under Attack for SNL Performance

Last week, Lana Del Rey fired back at critics who said she wasn’t ready for her “Saturday Night Live” gig, telling MTV News, “I’m a good musician … I have been singing for a long time, and I think that ['SNL' creator] Lorne [Michaels] knows that … it’s not a fluke decision.”

Of course, following the show — and a pair of vocally shaky performances in which Del Rey seemed nervous and detached — those same critics fired back, first taking to Twitter to rip her as nothing more than hype. Actress and musician Juliette Lewis was particularly harsh, writing (in a since-deleted tweet), “Wow, watching this ‘singer’ on SNL is like watching a 12-year-old in their bedroom when they’re pretending to sing and perform #signofourtimes.”

Actress Eliza Dushku also chimed in, tweeting, “Who is this wack-a-doodle chick performing on ‘SNL’? Whaaa?”

Also jumping into the fray — albeit not intentionally — was “NBC Nightly News” anchor/ amateur music aficionado Brian Williams, who, in an email meant for Gawker Media founder Nick Denton (which was subsequently posted on Gawker.com), called Del Rey’s performance “one of the worst outings in ‘SNL’ history,” and chided Denton’s websites for not slagging it appropriately.

(A spokesperson for NBC told Gawker that the email “was sent in confidence … and absolutely never intended to be public.”)

To be fair, Del Rey did have her defenders, most notably the host of her “SNL” show, Daniel Radcliffe. Speaking to the media at the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations, the actor said that the attacks went far beyond mere criticism of Del Rey’s singing and stage presence, and added that he felt the entire thing was blown out of proportion.

“It was unfortunate that people seemed to turn on her so quickly,” Radcliffe said. “I also think people are making it about things other than the performance … if you read what people are saying about her online, it’s all about her past and her family and stuff that’s nobody else’s business. I don’t think [the performance] warranted anywhere near that reaction.”

Del Rey has yet to answer any of her “SNL” critics (unless this tweet counts), and a spokesperson for her label, Interscope, did not respond to MTV News’ request for comment on the matter.

Bruno Mars Has #1 U.K. Spot After 1 Year on Chart

Bruno Mars’ “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” celebrated a year on the U.K. album chart on January 15th by going back to where it started, at No. 1.

Mars’ album debuted at the album chart summit a year ago, falling to No. 2 in its second week, but has never dropped lower than No. 14 in its entire sales year. It now has total U.K. sales of 1.28 million copies, according to the Official Charts Company, but sold a mere 24,000 new units last week to go back to the top.

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