Eminem & Royce da 5'9" ft. Bruno Mars - "Lighters" (Video)

"...but from now on I’m refusing to ever give up
The only thing I ever gave up is using. No more excuses..."

This song takes on a more inspirational direction that still has the serious tone in it. I love how the songs kind of contrasts from Eminem and Royce Da 5'9" (Bad Meets Evil) being in your face to Bruno Mars' melodic voice almost calming your mood down. The video's influential also.

Look At Me Now (Cover by Karmin)

I came across this while procrastinating and LMAO!! This was one hell of a cover. You wouldn't expect this band (Karmin) to give Chris Brown's single a new kind of "je ne sai quoi" flavor to it. But they did. They delivered. And homegirl has a really nice voice.. If you head over to their page, you can view other videos of them covering songs like "I Need A Doctor" by Eminem, "Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars, "What's My Name" by Drake (yes, I said Drake b/c I refuse to taint this blog with her name) or "Set Fire To The Rain" by Adele. Aside from obvious talent they have (don't lie to yourself, you know they're good), they have fun doing these covers so check them out!



BONUS: Because I REALLY liked their version.

VMA Performances

source: mtv

This year's VMA performances came with a few hits and misses. (warning: this is all just my opinion, so if you get mad just remember to agree to disagree)

• At the pre-show, Nicki Minaj performed "Your Love" and premiered a new song "Check It Out" with Will.I.Am. What can I say about Nicki Minaj? No seriously, what can I say about her? She's weird. : And I have no idea what the hell Will.I.Am was thinking painting his face black and keeping it that way the whole night. [[VERDICT: MISS]]
  

• Eminem opened up the show with his singles "Not Afraid" and "Love The Way You Lie" and surprise surprise (not really) Rihanna joined him on stage even though she claimed that she wasn't going to attend the awards show. His performance was pretty good. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. [[VERDICT: HIT until Rihanna opened her mouth]]
  

• Justin Bieber did a medley of 3 songs ("U Smile", "Baby", & "Somebody To Love"). I actually liked his performance (it's the teeny bopper in me. haha). Make fun of him all you want but he can sing, dance, and get more girls than a lot of 20+ year olds can lol. [[VERDICT: HIT]]
  

• Next up was Justin Bieber's mentor, Usher. He sang "DJ Got Us Fallin In Love" & "OMG". I like Usher, but this performance was nothing surprising. Plus his hair was very reminiscent of his "You Make Me Wanna" music video. [[VERDICT: MISS]]
  

• Florence and The Machine was my favorite performance of the night. I thought everything about it was awesome. The choreography and the way she used the stage was really creative. [[VERDICT: HIT]]
  

• Oh Taylor Swift. I'm a fan of Taylor Swift (judge me) and obviously this song was about Kanye (if you didn't get that, slap yourself), but I've seen her do this before. I was also a little bothered by her bare feet... maybe because I just hate feet, I'm not sure. [[VERDICT: MISS]]
  

• Drake's performance was cute. haha. I think I got more excited because Justin Timberlake introduced him. xD Anyway, Mary J. Blige was on point. I liked it overall. *this was my dad's favorite performance of the night. He kept praising Mary J. Blige's voice and Drake's and Swizz Beatz showmanship. By the way, Drake's outfit was finally not a miss. I'm glad he didn't wear his usual all black with white sneakers get up. [[VERDICT: HIT]]
  

• B.O.B with Bruno Mars and Hayley Williams (and later Paramore) all pretty much did a medley of "Nothin' On You", "Airplanes", and "The Only Exception". I thought B.O.B. was going to be on there throughout it all, but it seemed like Paramore had a longer set. Plus side, I love Hayley Williams' voice. I don't like Paramore, but that girl has a really nice voice. [[VERDICT: HIT/MISS; I'm still not too sure]]
  

• Linkin Park was my second favorite performance. Them performing at the Griffith Observatory was the perfect setting for their song. I don't think these guys age cuz they all looked pretty amazing. I'm just saying. ;) [[VERDICT: HIT]]
  

• Lastly, Kanye West closed the show premiering his new song "Runaway" with an appearance by Pusha T. I hate Kanye as a person, but as a musician, he's a beast. It was interesting to say the least, but I really liked his song. This was also my dad's favorite performance. In fact, my dad was already singing along to the chorus the second time around. haha [[VERDICT: HIT for the most part]]
  

Overall, this year's VMAs performances were mostly hits and will have America talk about it for a few more days. Also, it looked like that night's House Artist, Deadmau5, kept the crowd entertained so kudos to him.

Eminem - "Love The Way You Lie"

The video is seriously something intense, as Eminem would want to have it. Lost star, Dominic Monaghan, and sex symbol, Megan Fox, star in the video as a couple in an abusive relationship.

Sidenote: (Source justjared) Megan Fox donated the money she received from appearing in the music video to Soujourn House, "a shelter that provides abused women and their children a safe space to regroup, rebuild, and reestablish their self-esteem and lives." Props to Mrs. Green for doing that!