The Morning Mix: ‘Glee’ Gal Owes Her Career To Beyoncé

Becky Bain | April 14, 2010 5:34 am

Did you hear?

:: Glee‘s Heather Morris discusses playing the airheaded cheerleader Brittany with New York mag. Turns out, she ended up being cast on the show after being brought in to teach Chris Colfer the “Single Ladies” dance, as she had been touring with Beyoncé for nearly two years. Somebody owes Bey a very large thank-you bouquet! [Vulture]

:: These unphotoshopped Britney Spears photos reveal that Britney is slightly less perfect looking than her photos imply. [Jezebel]

:: Jay Leno’s sidekick and long-time bandleader Kevin Eubanks is retiring from The Tonight Show. We’d love to see Jay get a hip band on his show à la Jimmy Fallon with The Roots, but it’ll probably be the only musician left who isn’t Team CoCo—Heidi Montag. [EW Music Mix]

:: Rufus Wainwright says he can tell that 50 Cent is gay because of that “cute little voice of his.” This is one rap battle we’re going to stay out of. [A.V. Club]

:: Nas owes ex-wife Kelis almost $300,000 in missed child and spousal support payments and lawyer fees. Nas’ next album better be a hit, because the man is going to need some serious cashflow. [E! Online]

After the jump: our Coachella countdown continues with the Gorillaz. Music On TV Today: :: Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) – Corinne Bailey Rae (repeat) :: Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) – Alan Jackson :: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) – Gloriana :: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) – Green Day, Kaki King :: Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC) – Gossip :: Lopez Tonight (TBS) – Monica :: Live with Regis and Kelly (ABC) – Hilary Duff

musicnote

VIDEO REWIND OF THE DAY: Since Idolator is headed to Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this Friday, we’re doing a countdown of all the big acts set to perform in the desert this weekend. We’ve already flashed back with De La Soul and MGMT at the beginning of their careers; now let’s get animated with the Gorillaz, who are headlining Sunday night.

The band is known for their animated videos, ever since they arrived on the MTV scene with the video for “Clint Eastwood,” the band’s first single (a reference to the movie star’s film The Good, The Bad and the Ugly). It starts off simply enough with basic animation almost straight out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon from the 70s. Then the art and plot get a bit more dramatic when evil zombie gorillas take over, and all hell breaks loose. (Look out at 2:40 for the gorillas mimicking Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance.)

Eventually the band’s videos would mature as they gained popularity (and a bigger budget)—their vid for “Feel Good Inc.” is almost like a wonderous graphic novel come to life, and the live action/CGI-heavy “Stylo” makes Murdoc and the rest of the Gorillaz seem to actually exist in the real world. But even without the fancy technology, this experimental group knows what’s really important—great music.