Thursday, April 26, 2012
World?s 10 rudest countries for travelers
by CNNGo staff
Travel search site Skyscanner recently released a list of the world?s rudest nations for visitors, naming the countries whose smiley and friendly natives are apparently confined to their promotional videos.
The result, which lists 34 countries, is based on Skyscanner?s online poll, which received more than 1,200 responses from Europe, North America and Australia.
France, the champion of impolitenessLa Belle France was declared the champion of impoliteness, garnering nearly 20 percent of the total votes.
French people are known for ?their abrupt and curt nature,? especially while facing foreign tourists, Edinburgh-based Skyscanner told International Business Times.
Russia took second place with 16.6 percent of the votes, followed by the United Kingdom (10.4 percent), Germany (9.93 percent) and a puzzingly labeled ?Others? (miscellaneous countries).
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Can 'NSYNC, Backstreet Boys Make Battle Of The Boy Bands Comeback?
Westlife and 5ive could upset two of the biggest boy bands of all time in the first round. Vote now!
By Christina Garibaldi
N'SYNC
Photo: Getty Images
We are still in the first round of voting in MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands, and already we are seeing some big surprises. Backstreet Boys are finding themselves behind Irish boy band Westlife, 'NSYNC are trailing former boy band 5ive and New Kids on the Block are neck-and-neck with British boy band Take That.
It seems like fans are rallying behind their favorites and battling it out to make sure they move on to the next round.
"I don't see how BSB and 'NSYNC are losing?!?!" MTV News reader Britney commented. Another fan, nickestlife, wrote, "Please VOTE WESTLIFE!!!! Don't let them LOSE!!!"
But the question on a lot of minds is: Why aren't the boy bands that dominated the U.S. pop charts not easily moving on to the next round?
"Remember that in America, while Westlife and Take That and 5ive were all a blip on the radar in the U.S., in the U.K. Take That and Westlife are enormous," Keith Caulfield, associate director of charts/retail at Billboard told MTV News. "Westlife, for example, has had 14 #1 singles on the U.K. singles chart, the second most among groups only behind the Beatles, so they're kind of big."
According to Melissa Maerz, senior writer for Entertainment Weekly, the fact that these older boy bands are British may work in their favor, especially with the emergence of One Direction and the Wanted.
"I think probably what's happening is a combination of things. I think the fact that One Direction is in the news for having the biggest debut of a British band of all time, including the Beatles, has really made everyone pay attention to them and everyone is talking about One Direction," Maerz said. "And because they and the Wanted are coming at the same time, people are starting to pay attention to British boy bands, and the kids who are just discovering One Direction and the Wanted probably have parents who can say to them, 'Oh, this is kind of the same thing that happened when Westlife and Take That came to our shores."
But no matter what their chart performance may be, or where they come from, their advancement in the next round depends on only one thing: the fans.
"It frankly just comes down to: Are there passionate fans that are going to bother to spend the time on voting?" Caulfied said. "I think, generally speaking, when you have two acts going against one another, whoever has the most motivated, contemporary, engaged fanbase on the Web will win."
Voting is under way in round one of MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands and closes at noon ET on Thursday, April 26. Winners are determined by fan ballots, so if your favorite band made the cut, keep voting. Tune in to AMTV and MTV Hits daily for boy-band video takeovers. And don't forget to spread the word on Twitter using the hashtag #BBB and like us on Facebook for updates!
Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Battle of the Boy Bands interactive bracket!
Usher And Diplo Found 'Chemistry' On 'Climax'
In-demand producer/DJ also talks to MTV News about upcoming projects with No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, more.
By Zachary Swickey
<P><b>MADISON, Wisconsin</b> — It was just four years ago that <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/diplo/artist.jhtml">Diplo</a> put his production prowess on full display with M.I.A.'s mega-hit <a href="http://www.mtv.com/videos/mia/195024/paper-planes.jhtml">"Paper Planes."</a> Since then, the DJ/producer has become a go-to producer for major acts like Usher, whose latest single, R&B jam "Climax," features work from the Philadelphia native. </P><P> </P><P>On Tuesday, MTV News hit up the first stop on the campus-themed <a href="http://newsroom.mtv.com/2012/03/28/diplo-chiddy-bang-axe-one-night-only-tour">AXE One Night Only Tour</a> in Wisconsin, and we caught up with the headlining DJ to talk about his upcoming projects. </P><P> </P><P>"We got really luck on that one," he said of the track from Usher's upcoming album. "We just had great chemistry. I was super-nervous working with him the first two days. ... The way we did it, it was just a super-open format. He was down to do whatever we were excited about. </P><P> </P><P>"I love Usher," Diplo gushed. "I'm an Usher fan. I love him for records like 'Confessions Pt. II' and 'Burn,' those are some of the first R&B records from my generation that are still lasting forever. And we did some uptempo stuff too. I don't know what'll make the album, but I think there are definitely three songs that'll make it." </P><P> </P><P>Diplo is currently involved with a number of projects and luckily he was willing to dish. After working last summer with <a href="/news/articles/1670849/no-doubt-album-release.jhtml">No Doubt on their upcoming record</a>, the producer revealed he had good news to share. </P><P> </P><P>"We just finished. I was actually in Jamaica last month and I went in and did some extra stuff on that record," he told us. "I'm super-excited. It's probably going to be a single for their album. They've been [tweeting] about the song, so they're excited about it. I think it's going to be a 'No Doubt featuring Major Lazer' record, because we were producers, and there's another artist on it, too, that we recorded in Jamaica. </P><P> </P><P>"But you'll have to wait," Diplo warned, "I don't know how far off that record is, but every song I've heard is a bona-fide hit. ' </P><P> </P><P>The superstar DJ also recently took to his Facebook page and casually mentioned that he's already started production on 18 tracks for a record with <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/snoop_dogg/artist.jhtml">Snoop Dogg</a>. </P><P> </P><P>"Snoop Dogg is an icon, man; he's bigger than the music," Diplo said. "What we're doing is a reggae record. It's like Snoop Dogg and Major Lazer together. It's all reggae and he's singing and he's doing a f---ing awesome job and I never knew it, but he had his heart in every song. ... We're going to get back into the production of it next month, and I'm really proud of that record. It's the first record I've ever executive-produced and his crew is amazing. </P><P></p>
Related ArtistsAdele Notches Best Sales Year Since Usher's Confessions
In 2011, 21 moved more than 5.6 million copies in the U.S.
By Gil Kaufman
<P>The music industry has been stuck in a rut for nearly a decade. But every once in a while, it still manages to produce one of those unstoppable hit albums that give everyone that good old feeling. </P><P> </P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Rolling in the Deep" id="vid:604336" width="240" height="211"></div><p> </P><P> </P><P>This year's model is <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/adele/artist.jhtml">Adele</a>'s <I>21</I>, which not only sold more copies than any other album in the U.S. in 2011 (more than 5.6 million to date), but which has also moved the most units of any artist since 2004. According to a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/27/us-adele-idUSTRE7BQ10V20111227" target="_blank"><I>Reuters</I> report</a>, those gaudy figures (which top 15 million worldwide) make the British songbird the first artist to cross the 5 million mark in one year since Usher did it with his fourth studio album, <I>Confessions</I>, which sold 7.9 million units more than seven years ago. </P><P> </P><P>And to think she did it by releasing just two mega singles, <a href="/news/articles/1675976/adele-rolling-in-the-deep-best-song-2011.jhtml">"Rolling in the Deep"</a> and "Someone Like You," and barely touring North America due to <a href="/news/articles/1674453/adele-throat-surgery-recovery.jhtml">recurring vocal issues.</a>
 </P><P> </P><P>There have been other big hits along the way to Adele's mark, including Eminem selling more than 3.4 million copies of his comeback <I>Recovery</I> album last year and Taylor Swift taking the honors in 2009 with <I>Fearless</I>, which sold 3.2 million copies. But none have come as close to Usher's mark in the interim. </P><P> </P><P>There doesn't seem to be any chance Adele will be surpassed by the end of the year: The closest contenders are Lady Gaga's <I>Born This Way</I> (2.08 million) and Michael Bublé's <I>Christmas</I> (2.4 million). The other good news is that overall music sales are expected to be up slightly (3 percent) by the end of this year, marking the first time that's happened since 2004.</p>
Related ArtistsMaria Sharapova Mariah Carey Marika Dominczyk Marisa Coughlan
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