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By Stephanie Fonticiella

Get ready for summer — Miami Beach International Fashion Week has given us a glimpse into the season's hottest trends.

This year's showcase, sponsored by Copa Airlines, featured culturally infused clothing, swimwear, jewelry and accessories by designers from all over Latin America, including Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. These runway fashions featured bright colors, artesian patterns, and a wide array of fabrics.

Argentine designer Mariela Allaix featured bold colors and a mixture of delicate fabrics in her designs, inspired by Argentina’s typical country clothing, but with an added dimension of urban elegance.

Designer Claudia Bertolero credits the Paso horses from her native Peru for the inspiration behind her new line, which features leather accessories in each originally designed piece. 

Brazilian designer Zella Machado brought a flirty style to her swimsuits, accented with contrasting colors and girly bows.

And, as the one-piece swimsuit makes a comeback, fellow Brazilian designer Katiuska Encarnacion added a modern take to the classic style for Sambarela Swimwear.

What do you think of the designs featured at Miami Beach Fashion Week this year? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Claudia Bertolero, Katiuska Encarnacion, Mariela Allaix, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Miami Beach Fashion Week, Miami Beach International Fashion Week, Zella Machado

By Simone Hilliard

After fierce arguments with Atlantic records for creative control of his album, numerous delays and fan protests, Lupe Fiasco's third studio album Lasers finally hit stores Tuesday, March 8. But don't get too excited, even Fiasco's not endorsing this album 100 percent.

Chicago's upstart emcee told Complex Mag:

“One thing I try to stress about this project is, I love and hate this album. I listen to it and I’ll like some of the songs. But when I think about what it took to actually get the record together and everything that I went through on this record — which is something I can’t separate — I hate this album."

According to Lupe, numerous songs on his 12-track lp were forced upon him by label execs. In fact, Fiasco's first single "The Show Goes On,"  which has reached certified gold status since its December release, is one of these tracks.

“I had to do ‘Show Goes On,’ that was like the big chip on the table. I had to do it and it had to be the first single if the record was going to come out. And then there’s ‘Never Forget You’ [featuring John Legend] — which is another record I had nothing to do with — which became another bargaining chip, like, ‘Yo, after ‘Show Goes On’ there’s going to be this other record that you had nothing to do with.’ And I know John Legend, he’s a cool dude. But it was just a record he had sitting around and Exec A or Exec B heard it, and they were like, ‘Oh yeah! We’re going to put this on Lupe.’ And it wasn’t like, ‘Hey Lupe, do you like this song?’ it was like, ‘You got to do this record.’"

It's been four years since Fiasco released his sophomore effort Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, and three years since the original release date of his highly anticipated third studio album. While label wars over creative control are customary in the music industry, do you think Lupe's vocal disappointment over his own lp means he should have continued waging the good fight? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Lasers, Lupe Fiasco

By Simone Hilliard

Charlie Sheen's been making the interview rounds this week, delivering a comical collection of quotables on CNN, NBC and ABC as his battle with CBS looms over the temporary cancellation of his hit show Two and a Half Men.

While sites like livethesheendream.com have rushed to capture Sheen's invaluable one-liners before the end of his media rounds, Charlie did fans one better when he joined Twitter on Tuesday.  @CharlieSheen gained a million followers in just 25 hours, setting a new Guinness World Record for the "fastest time to reach one million followers."

The CBS star's first tweet included a twitpic with one of his goddesses, and read,

"Winning..! Choose your Vice... #winning #chooseyourvice."

Charlie soon added a dig at executive producer/co-creator of Two and a Half Men Chuck Lorre, as well as CNN host Nancy Grace:

"Just got invited to do the Nancy Grace show... I'd rather go on a long road trip with Chuck Lorre in a '75 Pacer...."

And he continued with more musings, including a few tweets and retweets to celeb friends:

"Questions..? I'm here for my people..! Bring it!! #Tigerblood"

"@iamdiddy Get dressed my man... sending the driver..!"

"My man! RT @FloydMayweather Everyone needs to follow @charliesheen right now. #tigerblood"

While Charlie's rants have entertained audiences everywhere, the carefree actor has gotten himself into even more trouble as of late. Sheen's twin boys were taken from his home Tuesday night after estranged wife Brooke Mueller filed a restraining order against him stating that Sheen threatened her life. The soon-to-be exes are scheduled to appear in court later this week.

Tags Charlie Sheen, twitter, Two And A Half Men

By Simone  Hilliard

No stranger to controversy, Kanye West is making headlines again after talking about gold-digging groupies and abortion on Twitter last Wednesday.

"An abortion can cost a ballin' ni**a up to 50gs maybe a 100. Gold diggin' b****** be getting pregnant on purpose. #STRAPUP my ni**as!"

West later cleared up any confusion with the 2.5 million followers who thought the previous tweet may have had something to do with him.

"It ain't happen to me but I know people," he tweeted.

Earlier in the week, Yeezy posted a pic of he and his "beat protege" Justin Bieber, who also recently weighed in on the abortion issue. Unlike Ye, who didn't question the legality of this hot-button issue or clarify his stance, The Biebs expressed his pro-life sentiment in an interview with Rolling Stone.

"I really don't believe in abortion," Bieber told RS. "It's like killing a baby."

Do you think pop music stars should weigh in on such controversial issues as abortion, or are their statements careless? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags abortion, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, twitter

By Uky Mendieta

As Oscar night approaches, the toughest category to predict may be the Academy Award for Best Actress. Natalie Portman is the clear favorite with her disturbing portrayal of Nina, a ballet dancer obsessed with the lead role in "Swan Lake," in the film Black Swan. Although Portman's friendship with co-star Mila Kunis (Natalie got Mila the part) added an element of depth to the characters, Natalie deserves to win if only for her incredible display of emotion and physical prowess.

But Portman has some stiff competition in this category.

Annette Bening is the other Oscar favorite, and for good reasons. The Kids Are All Right is an intelligent and funny film that delves into the heart of modern America and dares to go places most films don't. Bening plays a lesbian doctor who is married to another woman (Julianne Moore). The couple has two children — each partner gave birth to one child using artificial insemination from the same anonymous donor — but begins to have marital and problems when the children seek out their biological father, played by Mark Ruffalo.

Michele Williams seems to have a knack for characters that are at the same time troubled and sexy. In Blue Valentine, Williams plays a young woman who married a man for love, even though he wasn't the father of the child she was expecting.

Nicole Kidman plays Becca, a mother dealing with the loss of her son, who was killed by a car, in The Rabbit Hole. The story is more uplifting than one would expect. As she endures this heart-wrenching experience, Becca finds peace in what seems to be a twisted relationship with Jason, the young artist who drove the car that killed her son.

In Winter's Bone, nominee, Jennifer Lawrence, gave a powerful performance as Ree Dolly, the daughter of a petty drug dealer in the Ozarks, between Southern Missouri and Central Arkansas, an area plagued with meth trafficking. Because her father used her house as collateral to guarantee his $10,000 dollar bail, Ree Dolly has no other choice but to sweep the land, questioning junkies and dealers in order to save her family.

Natalie Portman certainly deserves the award, but Hollywood may decide to pay old debts and give it to Annette Bening. My heart goes with Jennifer Lawrence, who could turn out to be the surprise pick of the year. Let's keep an eye on her.

Who's your pick for best actress? Tell us in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Nominees for Best Actress, Academy Awards, Annette Bening, Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Oscars

By Uky Mendieta

Even in years when there is an unusual number of good films, nominating ten films for best picture may be a bit much. One one hand, the five extra slots allow for the nomination of films that may not have otherwise been nominated, such as Inception. On the other hand, Toy Story 3 does not belong there — and I am a huge Pixar fan. When you have to fill 10 slots, you can get desperate.

The best director nominations usually clue us in to what the members of the academy are looking for. With that in mind, the big contenders will likely be Black Swan, The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Fighter and True Grit. Inception and Winter's Bone could surprise us, but it's not likely. Despite solid performances, The Kids Are All Right and 127 Hours are minor works that, like Toy Story 3, may have been added to fill the extra slots.

Natalie Portman, who was nominated for best actress, and Mila Kunis turn Black Swan's dark, complex script into a sexual tour de force in which reality and hallucination coexist. Black Swan is an aesthetic proposition — from the actresses' sculpted bodies (they trained for six months) to the dazzling wardrobe to the hallucinogenic music — that gracefully dances to the climax, and reserves a twist for the final minutes. It's an example of an excellence in filmmaking in every way.

With Facebook's incredible success, it should be no surprise that The Social Network attracted such a large audience, but no one was prepared for the careful dissection of American capitalism the film delivers. The movie may not faithful to the whole story — for example, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is barely mentioned — but The Social Network is direct, witty and a real pleasure to watch.

The King's Speech is the another big contender. Director Tom Hooper honed his historical drama skills with Elizabeth I, featuring Helen Mirren, and the award-winning miniseries John Adams. So when his mother, who is Australian, brought him the script of a theater play about King George VI of Britain and his Australian speech therapist, he was enthralled. Casting Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter simply put everything in its proper place. And let's face it: If anyone looks the part of a king, it's Colin Firth.

Mark Wahlberg worked tirelessly for six years to make The Fighter. He immersed himself so much in the character of Massachusetts boxer Micky Ward, whose career was nearly destroyed by a crack addiction before he won the championship, that at a given point, the real Micky Ward (and his large Irish family) were practically living in Wahlberg's house. Until the emergence of The King's Speech, The Fighter looked like a real contender.

Although True Grit is a personal favorite, it isn't likely to win. First of all, the Cohen boys just got a couple of Oscars for a western. And second, all of the film's main actors — including The Dude — already possess Academy Awards, except for magnificent 14-year-old actress Hailee Steinfeld. Jeff Bridges plays an old alcoholic and sociopathic U.S. Marshal with a deep sense of honor and justice. How do you turn a psychopath (who killed about fifteen men) into the hero of the story? When the Cohen Brothers get together with Jeff Bridges, anything can happen. After all, these are the same people who turned cuddly John Goodman into a serial killer.

My prediction: The King's Speech is the safest bet, along with Black Swan and The Social Network. Hollywood produced an unusually high number of great films this year, so if you can, try to watch them all.

Who do you think should win the Oscar for best picture? Tell us in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Awards, Black Swan, Cohen Brothers, Jeff Bridges, Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Oscars, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit

By Simone Hilliard

Just four weeks after her three-month rehab stint for "emotional and physical issues," Demi Lovato appears to be following in the foot steps of that other Disney starlet-turned-rehabber. The Camp Rock star is reportedly dating 31-year-old Wilmer Valderrama, whose celebrity exes include Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, Avril Lavigne and, yes, Lindsay Lohan.

The pair reportedly started dating last May, after Lovato's very public split with Joe Jonas, and have resumed their "friendship" in the last few weeks. Attempting to keep a low profile, the two have been spotted at a Whole Foods in Tarzana and, more recently, at the Sherman Oaks Galleria this weekend, according to Perez Hilton.

While the two do make an undeniably cute couple, we're not sure we get the attraction. Wilmer, who is 13 years Demi's senior, can likely provide her with some much-needed guidance and stability. But what can Demi possibly offer Wilmer?

Perhaps a career revival. The That '70s Show actor hasn't been seen much since his MTV show, Yo Momma, ended its run in 2007. Valderrama also famously dated an 18-year-old Lindsay during the height of her celebrity, after the 2004 box office hit Mean Girls, and just as his 70s Show gig was slowing down. Of course, Lindsay didn't go to rehab until three years later, in 2007, but her career began to spiral on the set of Herbie: Fully Loaded, when some attributed her negative attitude and tardiness to her break-up with Wilmer.

Could the same fate hold true for Demi? As she strives to return to a regular routine, a new relationship could hinder her progress or provoke rehab part deux for the singer. Unless, of course, their burgeoning love led to the back-up dancer beatdown that sent her to rehab in the first place. We may never know, but judging by the length of most Hollywood romances, we just hope Demi keeps herself together when it's all over.

What do you think: Is this true love or a business deal for Wilmer? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Avril Lavigne, Camp Rock, Celebrity Couples, Demi Lovato, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Joe Jonas, Mandy Moore, Mean Girls, That 70's show, Wilmer Valderrama, Yo Momma

By Simone Hilliard

Fresh off her Grammy performances with Eminem and Drake, Rihanna took the stage Sunday night to perform a selection of smash hits at the 2011 NBA All-Star halftime show.

The Caribbean beauty belted out "Umbrella," "Only Girl" and "Rude Boy" before Drake joined her for what can only be described as a sexual tension-fueled rendition of "What's My Name," and Kanye West made a surprise Staples Center appearance for "All of the Lights."

Of course, that was just the start of Rih-Rih's star-studded night. According to a People source, the singer then headed to a private Beverly Hills estate to celebrate her 23rd birthday with such special guests as Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Zac Efron, Cee Lo Green, Diddy, Ryan Phillippe, Warren G, Joel Madden and Christina Millian.

Ms. Fenty donned a peach and purple fringed cut-out dress and was treated to red velvet cupcakes decorated with the letter 'R' and the Barbadian flag.

Noticeably absent were the singer's ex, Matt Kemp, and old/new rumored flame Drake. Maybe they hosted the after-party.

What did you think of Rihanna's All-Star performance? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Cee Lo Green, Christina Millian, Diddy, drake, Eminem, Jay Z, Joel Madden, Kanye West, mary j blige, Matt Kemp, Rihanna, Ryan Phillippe, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Zac Ecfron

By Simone Hilliard

Naeem Khan and Tibi each debuted similar red-and-black maxis with plunging neck lines during 2011 New York Fashion Week.

Who designed it best? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Designer Face Off, Fashion Face-Off, Naeem Khan, Tibi

By Simone Hilliard

New York Fashion Week officially came to a close Thursday, Feb. 17, with shows from Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui, Oscar de la Renta, Isaac Mizrahi, Calvin Klein and Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B line, to name a few.

Ralph Lauren took Shanghai chic to the next level with Asian-inspired retro wear, classic tailoring and hints of red.

Francisco Costa's Calvin Klein collection was simply executed with clean lines and boxy voluminous shift dresses. Zoe Saldana, Kerry Washington and Kate Bosworth added some much-needed spice to the CK show, sitting front row with fabulous footwear.

Isaac Mizrahi wowed the crowd with his pastel-palleted "Cake" collection. The designer even sent confectionery three-tiered treats (from his friend, Cake Boss Buddy Valastro) down the runway, along with poodles dyed to match his pastel motif.

Rocker Gwen Stefani closed the event with her L.A.M.B fall/winter collection. The designer's line consisted of a few different looks broken down by style groups: "Soldier Girls" in tough military garb; "Raga Muffin," featuring bright prints and head wear; "London Town" inspired masculine English prep wear with plaids and pinstripes; and "Buffalo Beauties," featuring the season's hottest color camel in full blast with maxi dresses and sporty shorts.

Wearing a leopard print jumpsuit, Gwen was joined by her son Kingston during her finale walk to Stefani's own "What You Waiting For."

What did you think of the collections debuted at NYFW? Let us know in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Anna Sui, Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa, Gwen Stefani, Isaac Mizrahi, Kate Bosworth, Kerry Washington, L.A.M.B., Oscar De La Renta, Ralph Lauren, Zoe Saldana