Music Blogs

Madonna once warbled, "Music makes the people come together." But who would have thought that those "people" would be Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake? Yes, on Thursday night at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium--several years after Madonna and Britney swapped spit onstage at the VMAs and former pop power-couple Britney and Justin stopped swapping spit altogether after a nasty public breakup--the unimaginable happened: Madonna, Justin, and Britney performed on the same stage.

Well, it wasn't quite the reunion everyone was hoping for--Britney and her ex sang separately with Madge, their performances spaced so far apart in the setlist that it's possible that they weren't even on the premises at the same time. But since this just may be the closest thing Mickey Mouse Club fans will ever get to a Spears/Timberlake duet, the spectators in the audience were thrilled nonetheless.

Britney made the first cameo, walking out with surprisingly little fanfare in a conservative white tuxedo shirt and slacks during "Human Nature." Madonna changed the song's chorus to change "We're not sorry," and Britney squeezed in a snippet of "Gimme More," before the former "Me Against The Music" duet partners embraced and Britney vanished from the stage as quickly as she'd appeared. It was a little odd--and, we pessimistically add, a little exploitative, considering that Brit's supposed mentor/friend Madonna had been totally M.I.A. during Britney's dark, doomed head-shaving, underwear-forgetting, psych-ward-visiting days. That's when Britney REALLY needed Madge's support. But we suppose this concert collaboration was an act of mutual exploitation, since Britney does have a career to revive and reinvent right now...and if there is anyone in the music biz who knows all about that, it's the mother of reinvention herself, Madonna.

FYI, Justin Timberlake later emerged from behind a backlit screen for a sizzling "4 Minutes" duet with Madge, but Britney had probably already left the building.

Of course, probably the only human being on the planet powerful and charismatic enough to upstage Madonna is Barack Obama. And the Illinois Senator made news this week too, when--perhaps you know this by now?--he was elected the 44th President of the United States (and, course, the country's first African-American President). And the music world rejoiced.

Madonna herself celebrated Obama's victory on Election Night onstage at her San Diego concert, leading thousands of fans in a high-energy singalong of "Express Yourself" and declaring, "This is an historical evening! We are lucky to be sharing it with each other!" And at her aforementioned L.A. Dodger Stadium show, she performed in front of a backdrop of the iconic Obama "HOPE" poster, crying out, "We have so much to celebrate!"

Also, the day after the election, Beyonce--who'd postponed her Japanese tour to campaign for Obama in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio with her husband Jay-Z, Diddy, and Mary J. Blige--did a press interview while wearing red, white, and blue high heels. There, she giddily told reporters: "I've never been so patriotic! I'm just beyond excited." Beyonce also volunteered her services for any upcoming Inauguration Day festivities, saying: "I'm there. I can't wait. I feel like all of us, we're ready to do whatever we have to do. Whatever they want--if they need me to volunteer, they need me to sing, I'm there, and I'm ready."  (Scarlett Johansson, you have competition...)

The aforementioned Diddy, he of 2004's ill-fated "Vote Or Die" campaign, wasn't quite so humble, but his heart too was in the right place, as he told reporters: "I felt like my vote was the vote that put [Obama] into office. It was down to one vote, and that was going to be my vote. And that may not be true, but that's how much power it felt like I had."

And speaking of being in the right place (or in this case, being in two places at once) the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am was apparently so excited about Obama's triumph that he actually levitated--right out of Chicago's Obama HQ, Star Trek-style, and into the CNN studios, where he did an interview an hologram with Anderson Cooper. will.i.am further celebrated by recording a new Obama song and video--a sequel of sorts to his viral campaign theme "Yes We Can." (He was so optimistic that Obama would win, he reportedly already had most of the song recorded and ready to go before the votes were even tallied.) Aptly titled "It's A New Day," the hologramic hip-hopper's new allstar Obama anthem premiered on The Oprah Winfrey Show the Friday after the election.

Bruce Springsteen, another very vocal Obama supporter, is apparently working on some new Barack rock as well. The Boss, whose song "The Rising" was played in heavy rotation at numerous Obama campaign stops, is planning to release a new studio album just in time for the new American boss's inauguration to the White House.

The votes were in across the pond as well, albeit in a very different way, when MTV Europe viewers elected Rick Astley as the Best Artist Ever--voting for him over more obvious nominees like Green Day and U2. So we send our congratulations to the oft-Rickrolled '80s crooner. Yes you can, Rick! Yes you can.

But it wasn't all good news this week. It never is, sadly. First, Shakir Stewart, Jay-Z's successor as VP of Def Jam Records, was found dead of an apparent suicide on Saturday. Then exotic, multi-octave 1950s chanteuse Yma Sumac passed away at age 86. Then Deftones bassist Chi Cheng was in a serious car accident that put him in a coma. And finally, what could have been a happy day for Amy Winehouse--the long-awaited release of her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who's been incarcerated for most of their troubled tabloid marriage--was marred by the fact that he pretty much went straight from prison to (yes, you guessed it) rehab, instead of coming home to their newlywed nest.

But overall, it was a pretty positive, monumental week. If Britney and Justin are willing to share the same airspace again and Barack Obama can be elected President, then anything can happen. And it probably will--next week, when we round up another yet seven days' worth of amusing, confusing, and excitement-oozing news. See you then!

THIS WEEK'S TOP 10 STORIES:

1) Barack The Vote! - Musicians rejoice as Obama is elected President.

2) Madonna Expresses Herself with Britney, Justin - She's joined onstage in L.A. by the former pop power-couple.

3) Yma Sumac Passes Away - The exotic cult crooner was 86.

4) Deftones In Despair - Their bassist is in a horrible car accident.

5) Never Gonna Give Him Up - Rick Astley is declared the Best Artist Ever at the MTV Europe Awards.

6) They Tried To Make Him Go To Rehab - And unlike his wife, Amy Winehouse's recently released jailbird husband said yes, yes, yes.

7) Death & Def - Def Jam's vice-president dies of an apparent suicide.

8) Pete Wentz Deals With Election Fallout - The Fall Out Boy boy fights for homosexual rights after several controversial anti-gay propositions are passed.

9) Swiftly Single - Taylor Swift finally confesses that she and her onetime Jonas Brother boyfriend have broken up.

10) Mos Def Attacks Photographer - He probably wishes he could be kind and rewind right about now.