Congratulations of sorts are in order for Teen Mom trainwrecks Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley, who have proven definitively that while stars really can be like us, it's not so easy to pull...Alessandra Ambrosio Tina Fey Kristin Cavallari Lake Bell Izabella Miko
Which of your fave celebs will take home fashion gold? Tune into the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 7 at 8 p.m. EST to find out! 
Rihanna Alicia Keys Samaire Armstrong Luje Fernandez Ana Ivanovi
Reese Witherspoon Ashley Greene Kelly Monaco Lauren Bush Amanda Righetti
Izabella Miko Sophia Bush Rachel Bilson Jennie Finch Rihanna
'If time allows, there will definitely be new music,' Robert DeLeo adds of STP's future.
By Chris Harris
Stone Temple Pilots' Robert DeLeo and Scott Weiland
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images
There are a number of reasons why Stone Temple Pilots decided to reunite after nearly five years apart — some are obvious, and others, not so much.
Of course, the financial windfall of reviving the grunge stalwarts for an extensive U.S. tour was too good to pass up, and bassist Robert DeLeo readily admits as much. And then there are the fans, the ones who had been with STP since the very beginning as well as those who discovered the band only after it first split back in 2003 and who, woefully, have yet to catch the Pilots live.
On a more personal level, though, Stone Temple Pilots' resurrection was purely selfish, and very much an anticipatory (not to mention optimistic) move on the band's part: If, after the months and months of rumors and denials, there ever is a full-on Led Zeppelin reunion tour, STP wanted to be ready to offer their services as an opening act.
"Believe me, that was one of the reasons," laughed DeLeo. "We thought, 'We should get together now, in case Zeppelin does tour.' I'm serious, man. That would be one hell of a bill: STP and Led Zeppelin. I mean, we could play a doghouse, out in the middle of the ocean, and if I got to play with Zeppelin, that would be a highlight of my life."
Yes, DeLeo — and the rest of the band — had several reservations about raising STP from the dead — a feat DeLeo jokingly referred to as "Mission Impossible." For the band's members, the idea of regrouping was terrifying at first, but with time, the boys settled their differences and tried to think positive.
"For me, it was about putting down some of the things that I was used to getting bitten by," explained the bassist — who, with guitar-playing brother Dean DeLeo, has been collaborating with Peter Frampton on material for his next LP. "After you get bitten, it's hard to go back. I wanted to go into this with an open frame of mind and a positive attitude and just have fun with it. We should have fun with it, which God knows we didn't always have with our career when we were younger. If that's all I can say, and that's what I can get out of this reunion, great.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say there's a lot of unfinished business that we didn't get around to the first go," he continued. "Enough time has gone by, and it feels really good to be back. I don't really want to put too much thought into how it feels — I'm just kind of going with it and keeping a good positive attitude about it. I just needed to get over the things that we all needed to get over, and that's been working so far. If everyone shows up and does this thing, I think it's going to be really amazing."
DeLeo claims that during recent rehearsals, STP were "sounding as good as ever," and he credits sobriety as part of the reason the band's in tip-top shape.
"My brother's going on four years of sobriety," he said. "We have a lot more clarity in the band now, and I think with clarity comes appreciation. I saw that the other night, when we played [a secret gig in Los Angeles]. I saw it in my eyes, and in the eyes of the rest of the band. There's a lot more rock in this band now."
As for an STP record, DeLeo is not 100 percent sure that's going to happen. The goal for STP over the next few weeks, he said, is to reacquaint themselves with their songbook and prepare for their return to the road. Once the band is back in that mindset, the bassist said new STP material is very possible.
"I've always got stuff written, and there's always a long list of songs that are always there — it's a matter of timing," DeLeo said. "If time allows, there will definitely be new music. I think it would be silly not to release new music. I'd like to believe we still have a writing relationship, but the first step is getting reacquainted with what we know."
While STP were on hiatus, frontman Scott Weiland teamed up with Velvet Revolver, and the DeLeo brothers joined forces with Filter's Richard Patrick for Army of Anyone — who are now on hiatus after releasing a poorly received self-titled LP. Does DeLeo foresee an AOA reunion somewhere down the line?
"You never know," he said. "It's just like STP — I didn't know if I was going to return. Whether we get back together and do anything, I think we made a great record, bottom line. That's all that matters to me. If we make another one, I want to make sure it's great, and that applies to STP and anything I do. But I was pretty heartbroken over [the feeble response to AOA's album]."
Related Photos Related ArtistsAlicia Keys Samaire Armstrong Luje Fernandez Ana Ivanovi Julie Berry
Jessica Pare Mary Elizabeth Winstead Paige Butcher Jill Arrington Sofe Vergara
Charlie Amter
Emilie de Ravin Majandra Delfino Amy Cobb Emmanuelle Vaugier Minka Kelly
Sofia M. Fernandez
Deanna Russo Cinthia Moura Tricia Vessey Autumn Reeser Lorri Bagley
Katharine McPhee Noureen DeWulf Heidi Klum Shiri Appleby Michelle Malkin
Borys Kit
Amanda Peet Teri Hatcher Halle Berry Ali Campoverdi Zooey Deschanel
Always one of the more well-attended pre-parties, a full slate of celebrities made their way over to the popular Madeo restaurant in Los Angeles, California on Saturday night (February 26).
Dressed in their fanciest garb, Tinseltown beauties such as Emma Stone, Camilla Belle and Emma Roberts all arrived for the Oscar dinner with Charles Finch hosted by Chanel.
Also turning up for the annual Academy Awards fete was Drew Barrymore, who turned up arm-in-arm with her new beau, Will Kopelman.
Putting her stalker fears aside, Sharon Stone graced the Chanel & Finch bash with her presence with the guest list also including January Jones, Isabel Lucas, Ginnifer Goodwin, Marisa Tomei, Claire Danes, Naomi Watts and Uma Thurman.
Jessica Cauffiel Audrina Patridge Michelle Behennah Stacy Keibler Sarah Mutch
Looking remarkably fresh-faced and lucid, Lindsay Lohan was seen at Kari Feinstein's Academy Awards Style Lounge at Montage Beverly Hills yesterday.
Bad news: She may not be attending these types of events for awhile, as chances are she'll go to jail after accepting a plea bargain for grand theft.
Good news: The stuff at this particular event was free, meaning there won't be a "misunderstanding" when she makes a break with armloads of it ...
Lindsay Lohan: So pretty. So felonious.
Jessica Pare Mary Elizabeth Winstead Paige Butcher Jill Arrington Sofe Vergara
Spending the afternoon on the red carpet, Anna Kendrick was among the stars on-hand for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday (February 26).
The "Twilight" actress happily took to the Santa Monica venue as she readied to watch on to find out the big winners at the annual beachfront event.
And while she's not among the nominees this year, Miss Kendrick was a runner-up at the Spirit Awards last year as a Best Supporting Actress contender for her role in "Up In the Air".
Meanwhile, the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards will air at 10:00 ET on IFC with Joel McHale handling the hosting duties.
Karen Carreno Piper Perabo Hayden Panettiere Willa Ford Jessica Cauffiel
In case you've forgotten, James Franco will not only be cohosting the Oscars this Sunday in an epic way, but he may also just walk away with a little golden boy of his own. OK, maybe...Laura Harring Jennifer Morrison Anna Kournikova Foxy Brown Jessica White
Making for a family-friendly weekend gathering, the stars were out in full force for a Pre-Oscar party in Beverly Hills, CA on Saturday afternoon (February 26).
Held at the Coldwater Canyon Park, David and Victoria Beckham made a grand arrival as they led the way while sons Cruz and Romeo followed along.
The Academy Awards fete also drew out pregnant actress Jessica Alba and her adorable daughter Honor Marie, as well as celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe.
With happy couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi smiling for paparazzi, the guest list was rounded out by hotel heiress Nicky Hilton and her longtime beau, David Katzenberg.
Thora Birch Kristen Bell Xenia Seeberg Donna Feldman Ashley Tisdale
But is it here to stay? Our music-industry experts weigh in.
By Akshay Bhansali
Ke$ha
Photo: Andreas Rentz/ Getty Images
In 2010, pop princesses, R&B icons and chart-dominating newcomers all danced to the same beat. Not only did dance music go pop, but pop music caught the club-music bug.
Between Katy Perry's "Firework," Ke$ha's "We R Who We R," Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)," Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It," Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "OMG" and countless other singles, established artists definitely looked to dance beats for surefire hits. And two of this year's biggest success stories in music were Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz; could there be a soul left in this country who hasn't heard "Dynamite" or "In My Head"?
The love went both ways, with dance music's biggest stars finding mainstream success this year. Dance-music maestro deadmau5 took up house-artist duties at this year's VMAs, and Swedish House Mafia and Usher teamed up for a medley of their gems at the American Music Awards.
So how did this happen? We caught up with some music-industry experts to get their takes.
"You definitely saw tempos go up this year," Jon Caramanica of The New York Times told MTV News. "And I think what you had are a lot of producers who are really familiar with nightclub stuff. They are familiar with Europe. Things are happening on a more global scale now."
"I think everything from Europe, and sometimes even Asia, it comes to America, and we just adopt things a little bit slower," said Jared Eng of JustJared.com. "I think it was just a change. People like different types of music at different times. And dance was of this moment."
Noah Callahan of Complex magazine added: "I think 2010 saw the merging of the pop and dance genres. Pop artists realized that there were best practices that could be borrowed from dance music. And, ultimately, [all] pop music that has been made in the past 20 years had ended up being remixed for the club by dance artists. I think they basically just cut out the middleman and went straight there."
Dance music being introduced into the hip-hop and R&B realms was particularly notable this year.
"I think David Guetta kind of at the end of last year and the beginning of this year spearheaded it," said freelance writer Julianne Escobedo Shepherd. "He produced a lot of tracks. I think as trends go, people revile 'unst-unst.' But it's just coming back around. Big-room techno was a way for people to get decadent in a year that no one could get decadent."
"You have someone like will.i.am, who's like, 'Well, I spent all this time in Ibiza, and this is what they are doing,' and he wants to find a way to bring that into his music," Caramanica said of the Black Eyed Peas mastermind. "R&B especially became dance music. And especially with your Jason Derülos, Taio Cruzes. Guys like that would have literally been blocked at the border two years ago. That would not have made it through customs. And now all of a sudden they have #1 songs. I think will.i.am had a lot to do with that last year."
Elliott Wilson of RapRadar.com added: "It's actually even affected hip-hop. I was talking to Q-Tip, and his next record, I feel like that's gonna kind of go in that vein. I know that was also Jay-Z's thought process with Blueprint 3 at first, that he wanted to make a little bit more of a world music [vibe], a little more dancey. I think the kids today want to go to the clubs. They wanna have a good time. They wanna dance. So I think the artists of today are trying to kind of feed that audience."
"I think it's caught on this year because the people who've done it have been successful," offered Clover Hope of Vibe magazine. "Like 'OMG,' with usher, he didn't have success until he made a dance record. He had 'There Goes My Baby' and these really, like, adult-contemporary records that didn't really catch on. And then once you see that everybody is doing it and that people are liking it, they are like, 'OK, let me just try this out.' It's like Auto-Tune. Like, 'Let me see what I sound like on a record by David Guetta.' They end up liking it and doing more of it."
So does the club-music trend have staying power. According to our tastemakers, not so much.
"I do think it's a blip," Caramanica said. "I don't think that's gonna be something that lasts in America. I think this is gonna be a moment we'll all look back on and go, 'Wasn't that weird when Jason Derülo and Taio Cruz had #1 records?"
"At some point, these R&B artists will get kind of sick of it and be like, 'Let me go back to my soul background,' " Hope said. "When you actually have to say something, dance doesn't really lend itself to substance. And I think that R&B artists, they really want to talk about love and in a deep way, and to do that, you need to do, like, a soul or a traditional R&B record. I want to say that it's kind of a fad."
"I think music is very cyclical," Eng offered. "So I think dance music might be here for a little bit, but I'm sure it will phase out at some point."
Wilson called dance music "the sound of today. I think that people want more aggressive, faster beats, and I think that that probably has legs until at least next summer."
What do you think? Is dance music here to stay? Let us know in the comments!
Related Videos Related ArtistsErica Leerhsen Maggie Grace Kate Hudson Shannyn Sossamon Dania Ramirez
Donna Feldman Ashley Tisdale Claudette Ortiz Jessica Pare Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Kim Kardashian AnnaLynne McCord Monica Bellucci Jessica Simpson Michelle Trachtenberg
Can't wait for Oscars? Neither can the Fashion Police crew, especially Joan Rivers, who says it's her favorite awards show because, "none of the Glee kids are going to be invited."...Alice Dodd Christina Milian Malin Akerman Jaime King Marisa Tomei
Can't wait for Oscars? Neither can the Fashion Police crew, especially Joan Rivers, who says it's her favorite awards show because, "none of the Glee kids are going to be invited."...Natassia Malthe Karen Carreno Piper Perabo Hayden Panettiere Willa Ford
Borys Kit
Jennifer Love Hewitt Natasha Bedingfield Bali Rodriguez Summer Glau Ali Larter
Jennifer Love Hewitt Natasha Bedingfield Bali Rodriguez Summer Glau Ali Larter
Tessie Santiago Talisa Soto Jennifer Sky Megan Ewing Veronika Vaekov
