Blogamole › 2009

We couldn't celebrate el año nuevo without delivering our favorite headlines of the year past!

9. Octomom- Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets in January of 2009. She already had 6 hijos bringing the grand total to 14. Reality shows should be in the works...but we're pretty sure the Jon and Kate Plus Eight drama ruined it for the money making mami!

8.  TIE: Swine Flu/ Jobs?- The world went crazy when H1N1 emerged in April of 2009. The outbreak began in Mexico, and quickly spread. In recent months the vaccine has become available. Still...this was a rather unpleasant story of the year.

Tales of the Recession!- The economy sucked this year. Recent college graduates couldn't get jobs, experienced professionals lost their jobs and couldn't find jobs..

Lets just say admitting you were jobless wasn't as bad as admitting you had swine flu.

7.  Chrihannagate-Chris Brown and Rihanna were once the next Beyonce and Jay-Z, but a February altercation changed all that. After leaving a party in Los Angeles, Brown reportedly received a text message from another woman and refused to let Rihanna see his phone. An argument ensued, followed by Brown assaulting Rihanna. A TMZ photo was leaked of the extensive damage Brown did to Rihanna's face and Brown later pleaded guilty to felony assault  and was sentenced to five years probation and six months of community service. However, we like to remember them in happier times...

6. Balloon Boy- This was perhaps one of the funniest stories of 2009. On October 15, 5 year old Falcon Henee took off on an air adventure in a silver balloon his meteorologist father had designed for work. Or so we thought...after every air authority followed the balloon for up to 2 hours, it finally landed and young Falcon (the name is perfectly ironic) wasn't inside. Instead he was hiding in his attic. The following day the Henee family was on every morning show,  leading the public to believe this was a publicity stunt. It was in fact a hoax and on December 23, Falcon's dad, Richard Heene, was sentenced to 90 days jail and  mom, Mayumi Heene, to 20 days weekend jail.

5. Twitter- The social networking site was founded in 2006, but reached popularity in 2009. The 140 character messages are quick and make everyone feel like their very own self important celebrity..including MTV Tr3s! Feel free to follow us here @mtv3. The site became much more than a quick version of Facebook's status updates though; it's now a go to for quick links to news stories and recaps for pop culture's biggest events. When news of Balloon Boy emerged, the funniest updates included tweets like "Falcon, Imma let you finish, but Up was the greatest runaway balloon story of all time."

4. Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift- How could we forget Kanye West stealing Taylor Swift's moment during the 2009 VMAs. Ye believed Beyonce deserved the coveted MTV Moon Man for Best Female Video, and hopped up on stage during Swift's acceptance speech to proclaim that 'Single Ladies' was one of the best videos of all time. Kanye later apologized twice to Taylor, and also managed to coin the phrase "Imma let you finish."

3. Michael Jackson's Death- The King of Pop died on June 25th after suffering from cardiac arrest. He reportedly had been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam, and his death was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner. His death triggered an outpouring of grief from around the world with a globally live broadcast of his memorial service from Los Angeles' Staples Center that attracted an audience of up to one billion people. Director Spike Lee recently made a video for Jackson's last song, 'This Is It', which was also the name of his 2009 tour.

Michael Jackson - This Is It - Directed by Spike Lee from 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks on Vimeo.

2. President Barack Obama- This may feel like a 2008 story, but the official inauguration for President Barack Obama took place on January 20th. The first African American President is still highly favored and appointed our number one story of the year....

1. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor- The Bronx-born Latina is the first Hispanic to sit on the Supreme Court, the third female justice in U.S. history and the second-youngest member of the court. Making her NUMBER ONE on our list!

Feliz y prospero año nuevo! And remember to stay tuned to MTV Tr3s in January to catch nuestros especiales on Lo Mejor De Los 00's, y mientras tanto... 

Photos via Getty and Google Images

Tags 2009, 2009 Video Music Awards, 2009 VMAs, 2010, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Jay Z, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Kanye West, michael jackson, President Barack Obama, Rihanna, rihanna and chris brown domestic violence, Swine Flu, Taylor Swift, This Is It

As 2009 comes to a close, todos estamos pensando el lo que ha sucedido este año: Barack Obama becoming the first African-American President of the U.S., Michael Jackson's untimely death, Justice Sonia Sotomayor becoming la primera latina in the Supreme Court, swine flu, y mucho más.

Pero el fin del 2009 also marks el fin de la decada.  Can you believe los '00s are over?  In come the teens!  So to commemorate this occasion, cuentanos: who or what defines los '00s to you?

Teen Culture

Once upon a time in 2000, the airwaves were invaded by the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, 'NSync and The Backstreet Boys.  While Britney's all grown up and stealing the spotlight in other ways these days, the idolization of teen stars carried on throughout la decada.

Los 00s are also responsible for American Idol with such new young stars arising like Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, David Archuleta and most recently Adam Lambert.  And other teen music phenoms like the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez y Demi Lovato, and let's not forget Rihanna and Chris Brown, no se quedan atrás.  And really, would the whole Twilight phenomenon really exist without teen fever for RPatz, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart?  Who's your favorite teen icon from los 00s?

Latin Explosion!

Even more relevant para todos nosotros, was the "Latin Explosion" of los 00s.  Starting with the successful crossover careers of the likes of Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias y Shakira, los 00s brought Latinos to the forefront when it comes to la música popular americana.  Whether hearing Daddy Yankee in a soda commercial or Wisin y Yandel in a video game (and seeing both nominated for MTV Video Music Awards), there is no doubt that Latinos seriously broke through into mainstream pop culture during the 2000s.

With such collabos hitting the video and radio airwaves como Beyoncé y Shakira,  Wisin y Yandel con 50 Cent, Pitbull and Lloyd, Akon and Dulce María, y muchos más.  On the silver screen, actors like Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Eva Mendez, John Leguizamo and even Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Alba made waves para los Latinos.  Similarly on la tele, entertainers like George Lopez, Mario Lopez, Eva Longoria Parker, Wilmer Valderrama, America Ferrera and Ana Ortiz made us all un poquito más orgullosos de ser Latinos!

Cuéntanos, what defines los 00s for you?  Stay tuned to MTV Tr3s in January to catch nuestros especiales on Lo Mejor De Los 00's, y mientras tanto...

We wish you all un feliz y prospero año nuevo!  Que disfruten!

Photos via Getty Images & Google Images

Tags 2009, 2010, Año Nuevo, America Ferrera, Barack Obama, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Daddy Yankee, Enrique Iglesias, Eva Longoria Parker, Javier Bardem, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Lo Mejor de los 00s, Mario Lopez, michael jackson, New Year's, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Salma Hayek, Selena Gomez, Shakira, Twilight, Ugly Betty, Wisin y Yandel

With Los Premios MTV 2009 exactly one week away, you know things are heating up!  Just announced today: Shakira will be shaking her hips en una presentación muy especial desde Colombia!

That's right, la Loba, whose new single "Good Stuff" was just released on PerezHilton.com today, will be joining newly announced Ashley Tisdale, Wisin y Yandel, Alejandro Sanz, Paulina Rubio, Jesse y Joy, Placebo, Nelly Furtado y más on the list of A-list performers at el evento del año!

Also announced today: Maria Gabriela de Faria y Reinaldo "Peche" Zavarce (also known as Isa y Alex from Isa TKM) will be among the presenters at Los Premios AND will be hosting the pre-show!

Other new presenters announced today include Eva Longoria Parker, The Backstreet Boys, Mexican singer/songwriter Ximena Sariñana, Victoria's Secret supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio and Colombian cantante Carlos Vives.

Make sure to clear tu calendario or set your DVRs, because you don't want to miss this red-hot show!  Los Premios MTV 2009 airs EN VIVO Thursday, October 15 at 10pm EST!

Tags 2009, Alejandro Sanz, Alessandro Ambrosio, Ashley Tisdale, backstreet boys, Carlos Vives, Eva Longoria Parker, Jesse y Joy, Los Premios MTV, maria gabriela de faria, Nelly Furtado, Paulina Rubio, Placebo, Reinaldo Zavarce, Shakira, Wisin y Yandel, Ximena Sariñana

If you thought having Russell Brand emcee the VMAs would be sufficient controversy for post-show water cooler convo, think again.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards just got more interesting after today's announcement that bad-ass singer P!nk and punk rockers Green Day would perform.  Green Day will treat the VMA crowd to a single off of their new relase 21st Century Breakdown.  P!nk will bring some much-needed "Bad Influence" to the show by performing a tune from Funhouse, most likely in dominatrix-inspired lingerie. P!nk and Green Day will be joining Muse and Taylor Swift on stage as headliners.

About reprising her 2008 VMA role, Pink told MTV News:

Last year, I got to jump out of a window at the VMAs in L.A...This year, I can't wait to blow the roof off Radio City in New York.

En otras noticias VMAs, the first round of celebrity presenters was announced, including Katy Perry (you can already hear the blogs buzzing), Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford, and Ne-Yo.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will take place September 13 at 9 pm ET.  Stay plugged into Blogamole for VMA news including nominee, performer and presenter updates.

Images via Getty Images

Tags 2009, awards show, Green Day, i kissed a girl, Katy Perry, muse, Music, Ne-Yo, p!nk, Pink, Premios, punk rock, radio city music hall, Taylor Swift, Video Music Awards, VMAs

In honor of the recent Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC), we're going "Alternative" esta semana, by offering you two free downloads by legendary South American alternative rock grupos, Los Amigos Invisibles y Aterciopelados!

Both grupos recently played at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY, as part of the LAMC festitividades.  If you missed the show, we're bringing you a small taste of it ahora.  Los Amigos Invisibles de Venezuela are a funky, acid jazz-influenced fusion banda who describe their own sonido as "Jamiroquai meets Santana."  Their nuevo album, "Commercial," is a unique blend of música bailable with traditional Latin music sounds and disco thrown in.  Groovy!  Download "Mentiras" by Los Amigos Invisibles gratis on the MTV Tr3s Downloads page ahora!

As for Aterciopelados, you might remember them from their punkier "Bolero Falaz" and "Florecita Rockera" days, pero Andrea Echeverri y compañía are all grown up now!  Their nuevo album, "Río," is a socially-conscious effort by el grupo alternativo Colombiano, that continues to blend multi-cultural sounds with puro rock.  Get a free download of their nueva canción, "Hijos De Tigre," on MTV Tr3s now!

Stay tuned for more free latin music downloads from MTV Tr3s!

Photo of Los Amigos Invisibles via Fran Beaufrand

Tags 2009, Aterciopelados, Free Download, Free Latin Music, LAMC, Los Amigos Invisibles, MTV Tr3s Downloads, Musica Latina