Nicki Minaj returned to the country of her birth, Trinidad and Tobago, to capture some Caribbean flavour for her music video for her latest club anthem "Pound the Alarm."

The Benny Boom-directed clip was shot in Port of Spain last month and finds the Young Money rapper/singer partying in a giant blonde mane, carinval feathers and fishnets. It ends with the star performing for thousands of fans beneath a fireworks display.

Watch the music video for "Pound the Alarm" here.

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Post-punk group Killing Joke have appealed for help in finding missing lead singer Jaz Coleman, NME reports.

The band released their 15th studio album 2012 earlier this year and are due to tour with The Cult and The Mission, but a statement posted on their Facebook page purportedly written by Coleman cast doubt on their tour plans.

In response, the band posted a note in apology and sought information for Coleman's whereabouts.

"A statement was posted on Facebook, reputedly by our singer, maligning both The Cult and The Mission and pulling us out of the shows," they wrote. "He is now AWOL and has not contacted any of his band mates. We are deeply embarrassed by this and offer our sincere apologies to all involved. We are all concerned about our missing singer's welfare.

They continued: "Killing Joke made a collective decision to play with The Cult and The Mission in September. It was agreed by all of the band that we would do these shows. Indeed, we thought that they were something to look forward to, even though they were downsized. We would still like to honour our commitment to this tour, the other bands, and all the Gatherers [Killing Joke fans] and people who have already bought tickets and made travel arrangements.

"If this proves not possible, Killing Joke will make alternative arrangements to compensate for the trouble caused," the posting concludes. "Meanwhile we are doing everything we can to make this tour happen and locate our missing singer."

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Pop star Rihanna and Toronto rapper Drake are the top-nominated artists at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards with five nods each.

Other nominees include last year's big winner Katy Perry, who picked up for noms, R&B singer Frank Oean, Beyoncé, Coldplay, M.I.A., Jay-Z and Kanye West as well as newcomers Lana Del Rey, Gotye, Fun., Aviccii, A$AP Rocky, The Wanted and Skrillex.

Rihanna received two nods for Video of Year for her hit "We Found Love" and her duet with Drake on "Take Care." Other nominees in the category are Katy Perry for "Wide Awake," Gotye for "Somebody That I Used To Know" and M.I.A. for "Bad Girls."

RiRi is also up for Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects. Drake, meanwhile, will vie for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Male Video, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

Organizers have added a Best Electronic Dance Music Video category this year to acknowledge the popularity of dance music in the United States. Avicii, Martin Solveig, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and Duck Sauce are up for the inaugural award.

The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards take place in Los Angeles on September 6. Performers include Alicia Keys and One Direction.

Check out the full list of nominees via MTV's website.

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Jonas Brother Nick Jonas and Neptunes producer Pharrell Williams are the latest musicians rumoured to be in talks to join the judging panel on American Idol.

Us Weekly reports that both men are being considered as replacements for departing judges Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Randy Jackson (who is reportedly being moved into a mentoring role).

Jonas, who just finished a stint on Broadway in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, is being courted to attract a younger demo to the show. "Nick is pretty close to signing to be the Idol judge," an insider told the gossip rag. "They flew him in to L.A. last week for final meetings."

Last week, Fox confirmed that pop diva Mariah Carey is joining the long-running singing competition as a judge. She will replace pop singer and actress Jennifer Lopez who left the show along with Tyler after two seasons.

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During a concert in Sydney, Australia last week, pop singer Lana Del Rey performed a heartfelt cover of Nirvana's classic grunge ballad "Heart-Shaped Box."

A week later, Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love reached out to the rising star via Twitter to provide some helpful background information on the inspiration behind the song's lyrics.

"You do know the song is about my Vagina right?" Love tweeted at Del Rey. "'Throw down your umbilical noose so i can climb right back,' umm... On top of which some of the lyrics about my vagina I contributed. So umm next time you sing it, think about my vagina will you?" 

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Patrick Watson today unleashed the second in a series of ‘Backyard’ mini-documentary videos in support of his latest album, Adventures in Your Own Backyard -- and we have the latest instalment, here on MSN Canada! Check it out after the jump.

A staff writer for The New Yorker has resigned after admitting to making up quotes from Bob Dylan in his bestselling book Imagine: How Creativity Works, the New York Times reports.

The celebrated journalist had already apologized earlier this year for recycling his own material in articles, blogs and the book, which is about how neuroscience explains creative genius. On Monday (July 30), questions around is editorial integrity arose after Tablet published a story in which Lehrer admitted to fabricating quotes from the folk icon.

"Three weeks ago, I received an email from journalist Michael Moynihan asking about Bob Dylan quotes in my book Imagine, ” Lehrer said in a statement. "The quotes in question either did not exist, were unintentional misquotations, or represented improper combinations of previously existing quotes. But I told Mr. Moynihan that they were from archival interview footage provided to me by Dylan’s representatives. This was a lie spoken in a moment of panic. When Mr. Moynihan followed up, I continued to lie, and say things I should not have said."

"The lies are over now. I understand the gravity of my position," he continued. "I want to apologize to everyone I have let down, especially my editors and readers. I also owe a sincere apology to Mr. Moynihan. I will do my best to correct the record and ensure that my misquotations and mistakes are fixed. I have resigned my position as staff writer at The New Yorker."

In a statement to the Times, New Yorker editor David Remnick called the resignation "a terrifically sad situation." The book's publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has halted shipments and is pulling the e-book from online retailers.

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Madonna has responded to the uproar that ensued after an intimate club gig she performed in Paris last week ended with boos from the crowd.

On Thursday (July 26), the pop diva played a special club gig in the French capital at Olympia Hall that cost $100 per ticket. When she left the stage after 45 minutes, fans booed, pelted the stage with water bottles and screamed "salope" -- the French word for "slut."

In response, the star's publicist Liz Rosenberg said that the show, which streamed live online, was meant as a treat for fans, cost a million dollars to produce and was never intended to last as long as a regular show on her 'MDNA' arena tour.

Now, Madonna has weighed in on the backlash, blaming the kerfuffled on "a few thugs who were not my fans" in a statement posted on her website:

"Playing the Olympia was a magical moment for me and it was real treat to do this special show for my fans and be so close to them. Unfortunately at the end of the show - after I left the stage - a few thugs who were not my fans rushed the stage and started throwing plastic bottles pretending to be angry fans. The press reports have focused on this and not the joyous aspect of the evening. But nothing can take away or ruin this very special evening for me and my fans. When I looked out in the audience, everyone I saw had a smile on their face. I look forward to having this wonderful experience again."

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A Russian punk band charged with hooliganism stood trial in Moscow on Monday (July 30), BBC reports.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich -- all members of the feminist band Pussy Riot -- were arrested in February for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after staging a protest gig against Russian president Vladimir Putin outside the Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow. They face a maximum of seven years in prison if convicted.

The case has divided the public and angred officials with the Russian Orthodox Church, who accused the women of blasphemy. The band's supporters, including human rights group Amnesty International, counter that the trio are being made an example of by a government intent on quashing oppotision.

The band members were led in the court in handcuffs, locked into a cage of bullet-proof glass and answered questions about their education, citizenship and the birth dates of their children. In a statement, Tolokonnikova told the court that although the band is pleading not guilty, they are nonetheless prepared to apologize for the outrage their performance caused.

More than 100 Russian actors, directors and musicians have urged the authorities to drop the case and western musicians, including Red Hot Chili Peppers and Franz Ferdinand, have spoken out in support of Pussy Riot.

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Rescuers in Upstate New York had to retrieve a wayward Nickelback fan after he fell into a 40-foot gorge while attempting to sneak into the Canadian rock band's concert in Saratoga Springs.

According to Gawker, Kevin Baudette of Tupper Lake is recovering after tumbling into Geyser Brook Gorge last Tuesday (July 24) outside the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The fire department was called to rescue the 22-year-old with a basket and took him to Albany Medical Center Hospital where he was treated for minor cuts and bruises and released.

"Last evening an individual who appeared to be intoxicated, and who was outside the venue, apparently lost his footing and slipped down the embankment that runs along SPAC's Route 50 parking lot," the center's president, Marcia White, said in a statement.

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