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.”

Madonna Releases Colorful MDNA Cover Art

Madonna released the cover art or her next studio album, MDNA. She dropped the art on her Facebook page.

Madonna recently described MDNA as “high-energy,” and this particular visual certainly fits that vibe.

Madonna releases “Give Me All Your Luvin”, the first single off the album, on Friday, along with the video. She’s set to take the stage at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

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.

Madonna Talks New Album Title and Working With Gaga

Madonna revealed the title of her 12th studio album: “M.D.N.A.”

In an interview with Graham Norton, Madonna talked about the album release, saying, “it’s soon — it depends how quickly people hack in to my server and leak it. Can people wait? It’s terrible.”

“M.N.D.A.” will be Madonna’s first studio release on Interscope, since leaving Warner Bros. Records and entering into an all-encompassing deal with Live Nation. Her final Warner Bros. studio set, “Hard Candy,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 740,000 copies stateside, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

According to Glamour, another reported topic of conversation between Madonna and Graham Norton in the interview was Lady Gaga, who is surely used to the Madonna comparisons by now. “When I first saw her [Gaga] I was really impressed by her and she was cool. She did remind me of me back in the day,” Madonna said. “I do think she is very talented.”

Rihanna Finds Milestone with “We Found Love”

Rihanna’s single “We Found Love” stayed on top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on Thursday for the 8th straight week, making it the singer’s longest-running No. 1 single of her career.

The singer’s single overtook Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” which stayed at No. 1 for seven weeks earlier this year, and beat her previous top-selling singles, 2007′s “Umbrella” and 2010′s “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Eminem.

“We Found Love” is the lead single from Rihanna’s sixth studio album “Talk That Talk,” and the singer will wrap her last concert on her “Loud” tour in London on Thursday.

Justin Bieber Releases New Song, “Be Alright”

Justin Bieber is treating his fans to some new music right in time for the holiday season. On Wednesday night, the pop superstar debuted a new track called “Be Alright” to a jam-packed crowd during his Toronto-based TV concert special, “Justin Bieber: Home for the Holidays,” which airs Thursday night (December 22) on MuchMusic and CTV.

“You might hear this on my next album, you might not, but it’s a song I’m working on. I still haven’t really finished it,” Bieber told the screaming crowd, before unveiling the acoustic tune. “Basically, the concept is: Even though when times get hard with your girlfriend or boyfriend, when times get hard, you gotta just let them know that in the end, everything’s gonna be alright.”

Sitting beside his guitarist, the young singer soothed the audience with the new slow jam. “Across the ocean, across the sea/ Starting to forget the way you look at me now/ Over the ocean and across the sky/ Starting to forget the way you look in my eyes,” he sang.

After the holiday special, the teen singer took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the memorable evening, writing, “Tonight was special. No rules. Music, family, friends, fans, charity, and music. Thank you. #HomeForTheHolidays.”

“Be Alright” is just a taste of what may come from the singer’s next album release.

Katy Perry Ties Billboard Record

Katy Perry joins Janet Jackson and George Michael to tie for the record for having six top-five hits from a single album on the Hot 100 chart in Billboard history.

Thanks to Katy’s latest Teenage Dream single, “The One That Got Away,” jumping five spots from #9 to #4, she tied the two pop stars.

It’s been a while since anyone matched George and Janet. Michael did it in the mid-’80s with his album Faith, which included hits like the title track, “I Want Your Sex” and “Father Figure.” Jackson followed him several years later with Rhythm Nation 1814, which launched hits like “Love Will Never Do (Without You),” “Escapade” and “Black Cat.”

This is hardly Perry’s first Billboard record. She previously tied with Michael Jackson and his Bad album when she notched five #1 singles from her 2010 album. Those five chart-toppers are “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Firework” and “E.T.” And now, she’s set her latest record with “The One That Got Away.”

“This song shows a very different side of me that I haven’t shown with my past singles on this record,” Perry has previously said about the Teenage Dream midtempo track. “I think that everyone can relate to this song. I wrote this song about when you promise someone forever, but you end up not being able to follow through. It’s a bittersweet story — hopefully, the listener learns from hearing it and never has to say they had ‘The One’ get away.”

Adele on Top of Rolling Stone’s Album and Single List

Rolling Stone magazine named Adele’s album “21″ and single “Rolling In The Deep” the best of 2011.

Adele recently received six Grammy nominations and was chosen by Rolling Stone editors for her multi-platinum selling sophomore album, which was officially the U.K’s best selling album of the 21st century and 2011′s best-selling album in the United States.

” ’21′ was this year’s most stunning pop success, transmuting the young Brit’s personal sorrow — the collapse of an 18-month relationship — into a 13-million-selling smash that leapt across borders and oceans and united everyone from teeny-boppers to baby boomers to hip-hop-heads,” said Rolling Stone editors.

Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch The Throne,” came second on the album list, followed by Paul Simon’s “So Beautiful or So What” at No. 3, Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues” at No. 4 and Radiohead’s eighth studio album “The King of Limbs” rounding out the top five.

Adele’s song “Rolling In The Deep,” was named the best single of 2011 by the magazine, as editors described it as the “breakup scorcher to beat all breakup scorchers.”

Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as in Paris” clocked in at No. 2, while Britney Spears’ “‘Til The World Ends” made No. 3 on the list, Foo Fighters’ “These Days” at No. 4 and Paul Simon’s “Rewrite” at No. 5.

The full list will be available on newsstands and online on December 9.

Rihanna Expects New Album to “Change Music”

Rihanna had great success with Grammy-nominated Loud, and is looking to change music with her sixth full-length album, Talk That Talk.

Def Jam’s VP of A&R, Bu Thiam, talked about how the next album with Rihanna needs to do no less than “change music.”

“My job as an A&R is to always bring her different records that are hit records but doesn’t sound like anything she’s done in the past,” Thiam said. “Her whole thing is, ‘How can we be different? How can we change music? How can we go from having a great album like Loud and still come with a better album and keep pushing and keep hitting the bar?’ The good thing about Rihanna,” he said, “is that she doesn’t want to be in the same realm as anybody else. She wants to be in a zone where when you think of Rihanna, you think of new, you think of different.”

“Different” meant bringing well-known DJ Calvin Harris into the creative process. Producer Harris collaborated with the singer on her tracks, “Where Have You Been” and “We Found Love,” giving Rihanna the 11th #1 single of her career.

The growing popularity of DJ culture in pop music helped get Harris involved with the album, but the Rihanna’s desire to create a new sound was ultimately what made it happen. “It’s a different sound and that’s what she wanted to go with,” Thiam said. “She wanted to change music. I have to salute her for taking a chance ’cause most artists wouldn’t have done that.”

Swift Discusses New “Different” Album and Working with Minaj

After another big year from Taylor Swift, the country pop crooner discusses her new upcoming album, saying that her new songs are not about “moving on” and this fourth release will be a much different feel than her other three albums.

When asked what experiences stirred such an emotional album, Swift said, “I can’t tell you, because it’s a secret. It will be unveiled when it all comes out, because they all seem to have a theme to them, the records that we’ve put out so far, and this one is no different. It’s very different in what it’s about, but it’s no different in the fact that it has its own name.”

In speaking of Nicki Minaj, who she had a chance to perform with, Swift said, “I love her. One of my favorite moments of the tour was when she came out at the Staples Center and sang ‘Super Bass’ with me, which was, like, the coolest thing. It was like a dream come true, so it’s amazing to get to run into her and see her around, and I’m just such a fan.” When asked if Swift would ever collaborate with Minaj, she answered, “I mean, we’re not working on anything right now. But I would love to at some point. That would be amazing.”

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