'Gone Too Soon' will include video and audio recordings of the King of Pop, as well as interviews with his manager and others.
By Gil Kaufman

Michael Jackson
Photo: Dave Benett/ Getty Images

Michael Jackson biographer Ian Halperin, who last year released a chronicle of the King of Pop's gradual late-period decline entitled, "Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson," is prepping an accompanying documentary, due out this summer.

According to Variety, Halperin is finishing work on an 88-minute documentary entitled "Gone Too Soon" that makes use of the more than 300 hours of footage he shot inside the pop icon's camp. The film is slated to be unveiled at next month's MIPTV conference in Cannes, France, and is set for a theater run in Canada and France on June 25, the one-year anniversary of Jackson's death. There is no word yet on a U.S. release.

"Unmasked" is based on five years of investigative reporting by Halperin, who told MTV News last year that he started out with the intention of finding proof that the repeated allegations of child molestation lodged against the eccentric pop singer were true, but ended up believing that Jackson was a victim of his own success and predatory opportunists. Jackson was acquitted of child molestation and other charges in 2005 and settled with an alleged victim in 1993.

Film footage reportedly includes video and audio recordings of the reclusive Jackson, as well as interviews with the singer's manager, chef, spiritual adviser, hairstylist, trainer, protective agent and attorney. None of the other members of Jackson's family are involved in the movie, though Halperin said they are aware of it.

Though it depicts some of the more controversial chapters in Jackson's life, Halperin described it as "a balanced tribute to the King of Pop ... This is the film Michael and his fans deserve."

Halperin is credited with breaking the news in December 2008 that Jackson was in ill health and predicting that the singer would be dead within six months. The performance documentary "Michael Jackson's This Is It," which featured footage of Jackson's final rehearsals for a planned comeback series of concerts in London, was released last fall and shattered box-office records for a music film.

• Michael Jackson

Influential rock musician was scheduled to play at SXSW this week.
By Gil Kaufman

Alex Chilton
Photo: Frank Mullen/ Wireimage

Cult rock icon Alex Chilton, leader of the influential 1970s power-pop band Big Star, died on Wednesday in a New Orleans hospital at age 59.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Chilton, who was also a member of the 1960s pop-soul group the Box Tops ("The Letter"), had been complaining about feeling unwell earlier in the day and was taken by paramedics to an emergency room, where doctors could not revive him after he suffered a suspected heart attack.

"I'm crushed. We're all just crushed," said John Fry, a longtime friend of Chilton's and owner of Memphis' Ardent Studios, the legendary recording studio whose label, Ardent Records, released the first two Big Star albums. "This sudden death experience is never something that you're prepared for. And yet it occurs."

Chilton's death came just days before Big Star was scheduled to play a showcase at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

Born on December 28, 1950, in Memphis, Chilton was a musical prodigy, joining the Box Tops at age 16 in 1966. That same year, the band had a #1 hit with the grooving pop soul song "The Letter."

It was a rare commercial high point for an artist whose chiming guitar-playing and lush, layered arrangements would influence a generation of rock bands, including R.E.M., Wilco, the Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, Primal Scream and the Posies, whose Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow were instrumental in reforming Big Star in 1993. R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck famously said, "We've sort of flirted with greatness, but we've yet to make a record as good as Revolver or Highway 61 Revisited or Exile on Main Street or Big Star's Third."

Chilton first formed Big Star in 1971 after the dissolution of the Box Tops, recruiting childhood friend Chris Bell to play guitar along with bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens. Their debut album, 1972's #1 Record, was released on Ardent, but failed to reach a wide audience due to distribution problems. But like the Velvet Underground, the influence of Big Star's early work grew legendary over time, with the lush harmonies and British Invasion-style arrangements drawing raves in the decades since.

One of the songs from that first album, the jangly "In the Street," later became the theme song to the Ashton Kutcher sitcom "That '70s Show," re-recorded by fellow power-pop legends Cheap Trick. Bell left the group in 1973, and the remaining trio returned to the studio in 1974 to track their second effort, Radio City, which suffered from similar distribution problems and faded quickly as well. A distraught Chilton tried to keep the band going by cutting a third album, Third/Sister Lovers, which featured only Stephens and was considered so uncommercial, due to its dark themes and layering of synthesizers and strings, that it wasn't officially released until four years later.

Big Star broke up in 1975, and Chilton moved back to New York to work as a solo artist, ingratiating himself with the punk scene around CBGB's before returning to Memphis in the early 1980s and recording and playing occasionally with the avant-punk band Panther Burns. He continued to tour sporadically and released solo albums throughout the 1980s. Meanwhile, the cult of Big Star continued to rise thanks to a new generation discovering such delicate gems as "Thirteen" and "You & Your Sister" and the chiming power-pop tour de force "September Gurls."

The cult of Chilton included a legendary homage from Minneapolis punks the Replacements, who recorded the driving song "Alex Chilton" for their fifth studio album, Pleased to Meet Me in 1987. The combination of that song's popularity as well as copious praise from R.E.M. and other contemporary acts helped prod Chilton back into the spotlight in the late 1980s after a period of inactivity until Big Star finally reunited in 1993, with guitarist Auer and bassist Stringfellow joining Chilton and Stephens.

The new lineup recorded In Space in 2005 and had played occasional dates together since then. A four-CD box set of Big Star songs, Keep an Eye on the Sky, was released in September by Rhino Records. One of Big Star's songs, "I'm in Love With a Girl," was featured on the soundtrack to the 2009 film "Adventureland."

It's likely that a tribute to Chilton will take place this weekend in Austin as many of his acolytes gather for SXSW. 

• Big Star

There were few surprises this week, but the top 12's parents were cute!
By Jim Cantiello

Lacey Brown performs on Wednesday's "American Idol"
Photo: FOX

"American Idol" in 60 Seconds has fast become an MTV News institution, but it goes by so fast that it's not always easy to catch every golden nugget. So, here we present to you Jim Cantiello's bite-size recap of this week's "Idol" high jinks.

It was Rolling Stones week on "American Idol," and the newly elected top 12 didn't completely embarrass themselves. Golf clap!

It was also a week where the judges happily overlooked mangled lyrics (Didi Benami's "Play With Fire"), off-key notes (Siobhan Magnus' "Paint It Black") and questionable hygiene (Crystal Bowersox wrapped a dreadlock around one of Lilly Scott's patented peacock feathers).

When the contestants weren't warbling Stones tunes, viewers got to meet their families in clips that consisted of weepy dads with facial hair (nice to see you again, Papa Garcia; nice to meet you, Papa Bowersox; your accent is adorable, Daddy Dewyze), and a blatant disregard for birth control. (Hi, Urban and Magnus clans!)

The moms were fun times too. Casey James' mother had amazing eyeliner and enough custom-made "Casey" clothing to last a lifetime. Aaron Kelly's adopted mom is so nice, they named her twice (Kelly Kelly!). And Didi's matriarch/housesitter (Mommy Benami!) is too nervous to watch her daughter choke on live television, so she doesn't watch the performance episodes. Cute!

Singing-wise, everyone was pretty passable. Big Mike sounded great but he also danced (which caused Ryan Seacrest to awkwardly "oh, no you didn't" in Simon's zillionaire face after the Brit called the boogying "desperate"). Lacey squawked, Casey grinned, Katie was boring, Paige sounded better with laryngitis, Lee Dewyze continued his transformation into Dave Matthews, and Aaron debuted a new look which was two parts self-tanner and 75 parts hair gel.

The closest thing to a catastrophe was Tim Urban's reggae reimagining of "Under My Thumb," but the resident cute boy was out-terribled by early front-runner Andrew Garcia, who screamed through "Gimme Shelter" like he was having a 'Nam flashback.

On Wednesday night's results show, David Cook carefully performed "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Australian guitarist Orianthi attempted to sing in a wind tunnel, and Ke$ha $tumbled around on$tage in a Native American headre$$ while 3Oh!3 acted like they were waiting for her to pass out so they could take advantage of her.

When it was time for results, there were few surprises. Tim, Lacey and Paige all solemnly walked to the middle of the stage, but it was Lacey who suffered the loss. She got to pick which song she wanted to perform one last time ("The Story") but no matter how hard she concentrated, it still wasn't good enough to warrant the judges using their precious "save" on her. But look at the bright side, Lacey! You now get to join Lindsey Cardinale, Brandon Rogers and Vanessa Olivarez in the "12er" club. Membership perks include ... nobody other than "Idol" reporters remembering your name.

What did you think of this week's shenanigans? Did I leave anything out of my recap you were dying for me to dish about? Leave a comment below, and for even more "Idol" goodness, follow me @jambajim.

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'Stepping outside your zone can jeopardize your brand,' Drizzy says of Sade's no-collabo policy.
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Matt Elias

Drake
Photo: MTV News

Drake said he wasn't upset when he heard that Sade — an artist he had wanted to collaborate with on his upcoming Thank Me Later debut — said she's not into guest-starring on anyone's project.

"I don't think they have contacted me," Sade, 51, told Canada's National Post last month. "I've never collaborated because I've always avoided working outside my safety zone — I can be exactly who I am and can fail or succeed within the moment. I feel safe working like I do. I wouldn't want to work in a situation where I am expected to deliver, because I think I wouldn't deliver."

Drake said he might not get with her this time, but maybe on a future album.

"That's great. Her brand is always protected. That's why," Drake said of her comments on the set of his "Over" video last week in California. "Other people's visuals, other people's songs, stepping outside your zone can jeopardize your brand. It can bring you down as opposed to bring you up. I personally feel we could have done something amazing. But I don't think she really knows who I am, really, my genre of music. I put it out there. It was more of a hopeful thing. It was a very early stage where I was at when I said that I was hoping. One day. Maybe after this album comes out.

"I'm very influenced by her," he added. "She does something that I do. She doesn't do too much with harmonies, and she keeps her vocals very clean. Single vocals. Haunting melodies. I'm influenced by her a lot. One day."

Would you like to hear a collaboration between Drake and Sade? Who else do you think Sade should hook up with? Let us know in the comments!

• MTV News Extended Play: Drake

• Drake

'He rapped a cappella over the phone, and we matched up the beat to it in the studio,' DJ Holiday tells Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid

Gucci Mane's <i>BurrrPrint 2HD</i> mixtape
Photo: Brick Squad/Warner Bros.

The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive

On Tuesday, we slid you the exclusive gem that Gucci Mane is putting out a mixtape album on April 13. While Gucci is in jail now for a probation violation, we have his main accomplice in all this, DJ Holiday, to let us in on the odds and ends.

"It's the warm-up before Writing's on the Wall 2," Holiday said of The BurrrPrint 2HD. "I talk to him every other day. His spirit is up. He's 1,000. He called me to get an update of what's going on in the city. My tapes is crazy. Waka is the hottest thing out here. Nicki is on fire. He was like, 'You think they miss our tapes?' I was like, 'Hell yeah.' He said, 'Let's do something. [But] you know I can't move like I want to.' I said, 'Let's knock it out on some over-the-phone sh--.'

"They gonna really f--- with the mixtape, because he's really rapping on the tape from the phone," Holiday continued. "We matched up a beat with Drumma Boy, and [Gucci] rapped on it. But he rapped a cappella over the phone, and we matched up the beat to it in the studio. It's f---ing bananas. I thought it was creative. You know how Shyne was locked up and you'd get a freestyle from the phone? I said, 'Let's take it another step.' We recorded him rapping on the phone in the mic ... and went from there. Then we matched it with the beat Drumma Boy made. It came out crazy, and it sounds good too."

"New Gucci Mane mixtape is going to be crazy!!!" Drumma Boy said. "Gucci kept tellin' me how much of an impact he wanted to make with this mixtape, and with him being incarcerated, we had to be very creative in how we got this done. One of my favorite records and most difficult records that I've ever produced was BurrrPrint 2 off the mixtape. He called me one day I was in the studio making beats, and he told me he had written some new verses and wanted me to hear them. So I stopped doing what I was doing to listen. After five seconds of listening, I was like, 'Stop. I'mma record you while you rap through the phone.' I recorded his verses but later realized that there was no consistent tempo. This means I had to chop up each word for word to punch into tempo, which took me about five to six hours. After I had lined up his verses, I then began to add music around the verses, structure the build, and then create a hook that matched the intensity of his verses. Overall, I spent a good two days producing that record, and it's a great feeling to see people's reactions after them finding out I produced the record of Gucci Mane through the phone."

The other records on BP2HD are unreleased records Gucci had in the stash.

"Anybody who knows Gucci, they know his work ethic in that studio is ridiculous," Holiday said. "I got 10 songs in one damn day. All brand-new records, bruh. Maybe one record you might know. Everything else is brand-new. One song is with Ludacris called 'Atlanta Is a Zoo.' It's a club banger. One song is crazy with Jim Jones. He's got another one with Rick Ross and Yo Gotti. Heavy features on there. It's a mixtape album. The label [Asylum] is going all out with it."

Shawty Redd and Fat Boi are among those who contributed tracks. Drumma Boy handled most of the production.

Gucci's camp is hoping BurrrPrint 2HD will tide fans over until Mr. LaFlare gets home. As soon as Gucci comes home from jail, he plans to record the sequel to his mixtape The Writing's on the Wall and later put out his album (The State vs. Radric Davis: The Appeal). DJ Holiday's next mixtape is Waka Flocka Flame's Flockaveli. Holiday's debut album will be released later this year and called either The Tape or We Working.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: Juelz Santana, XXL Freshmen 10 Shoot, Alley Boy

• Gucci Mane

'I don't know that I can stand onstage and represent Billy the way he is,' singer says.
By Jocelyn Vena

Jessica Simpson
Photo: MTV News

Jessica Simpson recently worked with Billy Corgan on her new song "Who We Are" — so is there any chance that Simpson could become a member of Corgan's band the Smashing Pumpkins in the future?

"I don't know that I would be a good addition to the Smashing Pumpkins," she joked. "You gotta be a little bit more wild and crazy."

She admitted that perhaps her image isn't a right fit for Corgan and his group. "I mean, I have some crazy moments in my life or things about me, but I don't know that I can stand onstage and represent Billy the way he is," she added. "He does that fine on his own."

Despite their differences, Simpson regards Corgan as a "dear friend" and shared that he was a great help to her when she recorded her latest track. "I asked him to help out with arranging the song," she explained. "And he had some ideas to change it up a bit musically and some really cool arrangements and some great guitar things."

Simpson said that working with Corgan really taught her a lot. "To be able to sit with Billy [is a learning experience], and I always feel comfortable with him 'cause he is a close friend of mine," she said. "And I know he had my best interest at heart and it was great to be able to collaborate with him and to have him there in the studio."

• MTV News Extended Play: Jessica Simpson

• Jessica Simpson
• The Smashing Pumpkins

Rapper says he'll keep Young Money 'afloat till he gets back.'
By Shaheem Reid

Drake
Photo: MTV News

The pledge is on wax and MP3: On his new single "Over," Drake raps, "Making sure the Young Money ship is never sinking." Even though the head of his label, Lil Wayne, is in jail, Drake insisted there's no way he'll let the camp slip from its top spot.

"I'm gonna do everything I told him I would do, what I said in the song: keep us afloat till he gets back," Drake said on the set of his "Over" video. "You won't even notice he's gone. Promise."

Last week, Wayne was sentenced to a year in jail for a 2007 gun-possession charge, but Drake knows his leader will be OK.

"Lil Wayne is a legend," Drake said. "I could never classify Wayne as victim. He's too strong to me. Wayne is who he wants to be. People don't understand. It's really not an act. Lil Wayne is a character you'll rarely run across, probably for the existence of human beings. He is that guy. He is Lil Wayne for a reason. He's a rock star, a visionary, a workaholic. He doesn't function like anybody I know. He's a rare breed.

"I don't think fame really has anything to do with his situation," Drizzy continued. "We take precautions. All of us do. To be in the public eye and to be envied and have people who hate you and never have met you or have people who love you and tattoo your face on their body and never have met you, it's an odd feeling for anybody. It's a rush [for me]. I love it. It gets weird sometimes. So it's just personal choices we all make. I never felt that threatened. I'm not sure what's going through his head at the time. But Wayne has a reason for everything, always. I trust in Wayne. I believe in Wayne. He's gonna be all right."

Will you miss Lil Wayne during his jail time? Do you think Drake will be able to hold down the Young Money fort? Let us know in the comments!

• Extended Play: Drake

• Drake
• Lil Wayne

Siobhan Magnus, Crystal Bowersox shine, while the guys do their best to keep up during Rolling Stones week.
By Eric Ditzian

Didi Benami performs on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: FOX

Epperly, Katelyn? Lambert, Alex? Scott, Lilly?!

Oh, that's right. We almost forgot. Those three promising "American Idol" students were expelled from the show last week. Let's skip attendance and jump right into Tuesday night's "Idol" report card. We have a feeling Siobhan Magnus and Crystal Bowersox will be graduating with honors, while Andrew Garcia and Paige Miles are in danger of flunking out. Let's see how they all fared with Rolling Stones week. (And don't miss Jim Cantiello's recap of their performances in the MTV Newsroom.)

Excellent

Didi Benami: Her captivating rendition of "Play With Fire" makes it two straight weeks at the top of the class for this 23-year-old old soul. It was a gutsy choice to go all slow and brooding, and it paid off. Yet her future remains cloudy: Didi just couldn't rise up to hit that final high note, and her lack of vocal power will become ever more evident when the field narrows. For now, though, we offer Benami a slew of gold stars and our assurance that she'll stick around the competition for a while longer.

Siobhan Magnus: Her take on "Paint It Black" was some sinister, "Alice in Wonderland"-infused glory. That's not to say it didn't have its fair share of problems, from those shrieky high notes to the fact that going so upbeat may not showcase her true strengths. But her vocal chops, combined with her charmingly goofy personality, have us certain Magnus is a serious contender.

Crystal Bowersox: Close your eyes during Sox's "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and you might have thought a '70s-era Bonnie Raitt was up on the stage busting out some countrified power blues. Crystal can wail. From here on out, "Idol" season nine seems to be a competition between the ladies, with the guys doing their best to keep up.

Good

Lee Dewyze: We're starting to remember why we thought he was a dark horse at the start of the live shows. There were flashes of John Mayer in his performance of "Beast of Burden." Is he still a pedestrian musical talent? Can we find a Lee Dewyze in every corner bar in every city in America? Yes and yes. Taking into account this season's overall talent, though, Dewyze really does have the potential to keep chugging along.

Paige Miles: Would it be cruel to suggest Miles acquire a permanent case of laryngitis? Because belting out "Honky Tonk Woman" despite her illness was the best she's sounded in weeks. We'd like to hear the same stuff in the future. Only problem is that she's in serious danger of going home.

Aaron Kelly: The tender "Angie" was the perfect choice for the season's youngest contestant. And it really was his best performance of the live shows thus far, which is not saying much at all. The 16-year-old still should have been sent packing last month, but there's clearly a dedicated Kelly fanbase out there — one that votes for him no matter what. Kelly will live to sing another week.

	'American Idol' Season 9 Performances

Satisfactory

Michael Lynche: No one will ever fault Big Mike for his failure to communicate a confident stage presence. He commands the stage like no other contestant, and that's no easy feat to pull off week after week. However! The promise of Tuesday's soul-powered intro to "Miss You" failed to deliver when the band kicked in. And we'll just pretend those odd little side kicks weren't actually Mike's idea of a dance routine.

Casey James: What's going on, Casey? We suggested you bring some country twang to this performance. You did bring a slide guitar-style honky tonk to "It's All Over Now," but left the gritty rock and roll the song required at your hotel room. We're certain you and your over-moussed locks will be voted through to the next round, so when you get there, please revert back to the acoustic-guitar-and-stool set-up that worked so well during your take on Bryan Adams' "Heaven."

Katie Stevens: "Wild Horses"? Why? Why?! It's never a good thing when you don't come out on the winning end of a comparison with Susan Boyle. Stevens may have thought she had no choice but to be old when performing a Rolling Stones tune, but did she have to channel a 40-something-year-old Scottish songstress? In all fairness, it was a vast improvement from the pitch-plagued performances of weeks' past, and that pop quiz from Ryan Seacrest was deeply unfair. Truth be told, people love them some SuBo and some of that affection will certainly rub off on Katie. Expect her to continue to sneak through the competition.

Tim Urban: The judges were downright angry that Urban would dare bring a reggae vibe to "Under My Thumb." Funny thing is, while we've been railing against this kid for weeks, we didn't totally hate this reworking. Sure, it was bizarre. So too was it some island-y fun. Mind you, Urban should have been booted from "Idol" long ago. But we applaud him for taking a risk and shall plop him right in the meaty part of our grading curve.

Unsatisfactory

Lacey Brown: Her stripped-down, string-backed reworking of "Ruby Tuesday" was brilliant in conception and flawed in execution. Lacey just didn't seem to have the vocal fortitude to soar over the lovely instrumentation. Following her strongest performance to date (Brandi Carlile's "The Story"), this week marked a step down for the 24-year-old Texan. Still, we're betting her taped segment — with the revelation that she comes from a family of pastors and grew up singing in church — was endearing enough to curry favor with voters. She'll be around next week. We're just not sure she deserves to be.

Andrew Garcia: It's not that we're mad, Andrew. We're just disappointed. We've been hoping he'd somehow revert to the Hollywood Week form that made us believe he was a front-runner. But hoo boy! His Sting-like version of "Gimme Shelter," with its clunky arrangement and his warbling middle register, has us ready to say goodbye. We love his story, his family, him. We've just been hurt too many times. Goodnight and good luck!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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