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By Larry Yepez Jr.

After several months of hiatus, Colombian rock star Juanes has described his "rebirth" following a short break in his career where he had time to focus on himself, his family and his music.

The musician, who's sold more than 15 million albums and won 17 Latin Grammys, said that after this time out spent with his family he felt like a new man.

In an interview with Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, he said,

"Now I am myself and that is a rebirth. I don't know if it's because of my age, my life, my children...but at this moment I feel a strong connection with God, with myself and with my music."

Juanes decided last May to terminate his professional relationship with his longtime manager and friend Fernan Martinez, amidst rumors of disappointing  sales of his record P.A.R.C.E..

The singer said,

"I took the decision because I didn't feel comfortable. I needed to be at home with my children, I needed to stop. I was a long way from the center of who I am. It was a moment of important reflection for strengthening my inner world, [to] return with the desire and love that I always had for music."

Juanes said his hiatus was like a detox where everything came out, the good and the bad alike. It was the closing of one era and the beginning of another.

Juanes recently signed for new management with Rebeca Leon, VP of Latin Talent for AEG/Golden Voice. Juanes will now be handled by Leon jointly with Randy Phillips as part of AEG's management arm.

He's currently rehearsing for an MTV Unplugged album to be recorded in Miami Beach, Florida, in February.

Would you like to sing with Juanes? Enter the Tr3s "Unplug with Juanes" Competition for a chance to sing with Juanes himself in front of a live audience.

Tags AEG/Golden Voice, By Larry Yepez Jr., El Tiempo, Fernán Martínez, Juanes, Latin Grammys, MTV, Randy Phillips, Rebeca Leon

By Michael Lopez

These days it looks like Sofia isn't the only Vergara entertaining audiences on the small screen. Her famous namesake Sandra will soon be making a splash on home TVs too, with the release of Fright Night on DVD and her new MTV pilot, Dumb Girls. Vergara spoke to us exclusively about what goodies her fans can expect.

"Everything has been so amazing," she said. "I love making these movies and shows."

Sandra got to flex her horror chops in this year's Fright Night reboot. Her role as the wisecracking magician's assistant Ginger received quite a bit of praise. And it also happened to be her big screen debut.

"Fright Night was actually my first feature," she said. "What was so great about it was that it was funny and scary at the same time. Plus, it was so much fun to make!"

And Fright fans may get to see a bit more of Ginger on the DVD. Set to come out this Tuesday, it's got a ton of extras, including deleted scenes, documentaries, and a "Terrifying Trivia" section.

"There was so much extra stuff we shot for Fright Night," Vergara explained. "I'm actually not sure if I'm in the DVD deleted scenes, but I sure hope so!"

Another big project Sandra's got on the agenda is MTV's Dumb Girls. Created by the team behind the hit show Awkward, it follows several colorful young ladies making their way in the big city.

"I just finished shooting Dumb Girls and it was a ton of fun," Vergara told us. "It's kind of like a young version of Sex And The City. I play the spicy Latina friend. My character definitely gives the show some edge."

Of course, with Sandra's proven comedy skills, we had to ask about a Sofia collaboration…or perhaps a guest shot on Modern Family?

"I'm hoping to collaborate with Sofia soon," she said. "Right now there's nothing in the works, but hopefully in the near future there will be a collaboration."

In the meantime if you want to sink your teeth into Sandra, check out the new Fright Night DVD, arriving December 13!

Are you looking forward to Sandra’s new MTV show? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Dumb Girls, Exclusive Entrevistas, Fright Night, Movies & CineMás, MTV, Sandra Vergara, sofia vergara, Television, Tr3s Exclusives

Tags By Larry Yepez Jr., Chisme, Give Me All Your Love, Guy Oseary, M.I.A., Madonna, MTV, Nicki Minaj, popnews

By Michael Lopez

You may think you have fast iPhone fingers, but can you pump out 360 key strokes per minute? 16-year-old Austin Wierschke can and he's got a trophy from LG to prove it!

Every year, LG holds the official U.S. Texting Championships in New York City. 14-year-old Brianna Hendrickson had been the reigning champ, but this past week her crown was stolen by Wierschke. Austin wailed through the typing challenges, sending out complicated messages in just seconds. He was even able to key in texts while blindfolded.

When it came time to announce the winner, Hendrickson and Wierschke were literally neck-and-neck. High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale was on hand to distribute the award and a $50,000 check to the teen with the fastest fingers.

Austin explained that he was nervous at first, then a little shocked when Tisdale revealed his name.

"I'm extremely nervous," he said while waiting for the final results. "I'm getting ready to hear [Brianna's] name."

But it was Austin who got the oversized check, leaving Hendrickson with the title of second place. Don't feel too bad for Brianna though, she's already gotten a bit of MTV fame. Her story was prominently featured on the August documentary Thumbs, which delved into the world of texting.

Thumbs scored quite a bit of attention for the network, not only for its in-depth coverage of the LG Championships, but for its explorations into the habit's addictive nature. Teens and texting has gotten quite a bit of press lately, particularly because of the alarming amount of deaths related to messaging behind the wheel.

New commercials have even been popping up to help young people understand how dangerous this epidemic has become.

"People in our culture, especially young people, have never known an era that didn't include cellphones and texting," Ad Council CEO Peggy Conlon said. "One thing we are addressing is the compulsion (to text while driving)."

So the moral of the story is, fast fingers can equal big bucks…as long as you use them in the appropriate setting.

Are you “addicted” to texting? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Ashley Tisdale, Austin Wierschke, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Brianna Hendrickson, iPhone, MTV, Technology, Texting, Texting Championships, Texting While Driving, Thumbs

By Larry Yepez Jr.

Occupy Wall Street protestors hoping to be immortalized in Chris Nolan's 'Dark Knight Rises' will be disappointed when they find out that Batman will NOT be joining their cause.

Tags Batman, Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, Chris Nolan, Magnus Rex, MTV, Occupy Wall Street, The Dark Knight Rises, True Life

By Sugey Palomares

The good girl has gone bad once again. Rihanna stirred up controversy while filming a topless scene for her new video "We Found Love" video in Northern Ireland. The pop star was forced to cover up after a Christian farmer thought the video was too inappropriate for his land. The conservative farmer, Alan Graham, later commented to CNN:

"I didn't know who was coming. If the name 'Rihanna' had been mentioned, well, no disrespect, but it wouldn't have meant anything."

We are sure it means something to him now! Mrs. Graham also described the sinful acts she witnessed:

"What she was doing became more inappropriate. When she started to go topless, that's what Alan was particularly objecting to -- things were getting out of hand. There was a man as well, and the behavior was getting more inappropriate. ... It wasn't the sort of thing Alan wanted young people (those watching) to see on his land. We are Christians."

Dios mío! They obviously don't turn on the television often. Rihanna, who was born in Barbados but has Irish ancestry, apologized to the couple about flashing what God gave her.

Do you think Rihanna should have had more respect for the Irish Christians?

Tags Música, MTV, popnews, Rihanna, We Found Love

By Michael Lopez

It's hard to believe another MTV VMA  is creeping upon us. And what an incredible year it's been for music videos! There were those funky gorilla masks in Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song," wild space aliens in Katy Perry's "E.T.," and tons more! Now they're all looking to get honored with today's announcement of the 2011 VMA nominees.

Katy Perry is undoubtedly leading the pack this year. Scoring a whopping nine nominations, she's in the running for Video of the Year, Best Female Video, and Best Collaboration (just to name a few). One of our personal Perry favorites, "Last Friday Night" even made it into the Best Pop Video category.

Bruno Mars is continuing to prove his rising star status with four nominations. Both his "Grenades" and "Lazy Song" videos made it onto the VMA list. The 25-year-old crooner seemed very touched by the honor and made sure to share his gratitude with the Twitterverse.

"4 Nominations!?!?!?! THANK YOU @MTV," he wrote.

Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" is continuing to prove its staying power with a nomination for Best Collaboration. Who knows? If all goes according to plan, Pit could walk away with a  Moon Man for the track.

Other big contenders at the VMAs will be Adele, who scored seven nominations, and Nicki Minaj, who received three noms. Even Lady Gaga's controversial "Judas" video seemed to impress the MTV voters, nabbing a slot in the Best Choreography category.

Though no host has been announced for the VMA show yet, we imagine MTV will be looking to cast a very colorful character (as they have in years' past). And they better hurry, the entire event is set to go down August 28 at L.A.'s Nokia Theatre.

Who will you be rooting for at this year’s Video Music Awards? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags 2011 Video Music Awards, Adele, Award Shows, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Música, MTV, MTV NEws, MTV VMAs, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Video Music Awards, Videos

By Michael Lopez

Say it ain't so! Could Snooki, Pauly D, and JWoww be leaving the Jersey Shore for good? According to TMZ, it's a definite possibility, especially since the reality stars' salaries have become quite expensive in the past three years.

It seems MTV execs have been thinking about replacing the current Jersey Shore crew with fresh cast members when season 6 begins shooting this summer. Partially because of money issues and partially because they want to breathe new life into the franchise.

Don't worry, the infamous Italy season is still ready to roll out this August, but after that things may go back to square one. Though nothing has been substantiated yet, rumor has it that MTV is setting season 6 back at the shore and hiring a crop of cheaper unknowns to fill the fist-pumping bungalow.

Many are saying the decision would actually be a shrewd move on MTV's part. The network is still planning spinoff series for Snooki, The Situation, Pauly D and JWoww, which means they can profit off the established Shore stars, while still building buzz for the newbies.

Would you like to see a fresh Jersey Shore cast? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Chisme, Jersey Shore, JWoww, MTV, Pauly D, Snooki, Television, The Situation

By Simone Hilliard

"American Idol" the Hip Hop Edition? According to Snoop Dogg, a rap version of the popular Fox hit could be an instant success. The Long Beach emcee has been pitching his reality rapping competition to major networks as of late.

The rapper said in a statement:

"I'm looking for a deal from a network to find America's hottest 'hood artists.'"

So far, Bravo, Oxygen and their parent company NBC haven't shown interest, but MTV and E! are still considering Snoop's search to discover the next major hip-hop act.

According to industry insiders, Snoop plans on sealing the production deal by enlisting the help of his hip-hop cronies to helm the judge's panel and act as talent mentors.

"He wants to bring in an old-school legend, and he wants to get Jay-Z," an insider said.

While Jay's involvement seems unlikely, Snoop can count on his "High School" co-star Wiz Khalifa, who has apparently shown interest.

So, if not Jay-Z, then who? We're guessing Dr. Dre could be a contender to fill the legend spot, and possibly a seasoned female MC a la Missy Elliott to balance out the bunch.

Who would you choose as judges for a hip hop version of "AI?" Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags American Idol, Dr. Dre, Jay Z, Missy Elliott, MTV, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa

By Michael Lopez

It seems only fitting to have the MTV show Teen Wolf debut after the Twilight-heavy Movie Awards. Tapping perfectly into the creatures of the night vibe, the new scripted series offers similar brooding themes and a cast with plenty of eye candy (including part-Mexican Tyler Posey in the starring role).

Focusing on the life of Scott McCall (played by Posey), the show actually differs quite a bit from the classic 1980's Michael J. Fox movie. Rather than focus on lighthearted comedy, MTV's Teen Wolf is given a darker edge and Posey's fang-faced persona is a force to be reckoned with.

Though many critics had initially been apprehensive about Teen Wolf’s "uninspired" premise, the premiere got quite a few positive marks.

"Teen Wolf poses questions that seem more invaluable now than ever: What is the real value, in essence, of living high above the rest? And what do you sacrifice by doing so? Yes, boys and girls, Teen Wolf has more to say than Jersey Shore", The New York Times’ Ginia Bellafante wrote.

"Teen Wolf has a lot going for it. Posey is convincing as both a baffled adolescent and a confident wolf-boy," Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker wrote.

Of course the real question is, what did audiences think of the new series? With a lead in of over 80,000 viewers from the MTV Movie Awards, we're sure there will be plenty of tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs chiming in.

What did you think of Teen Wolf? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Hot Stuff, MTV, Teen Wolf, Television, Tyler Posey