MTV Base Backstage at the EMA’s is back, and I know what your thinking! How can we possibly top last years efforts in Munich? Well seeing as this year’s awards were hosted by the European Capital of culture, yes, Liverpool! We felt necessary to take down two cultured gentleman to cause havoc in the city that birthed The Beatles.

Reggie Yates and Rickie Haywood-Williams managed to squeeze in a lot of sight-seeing into three days, notably taking part in boot-leg pub-quiz at John Lennon and the gangs regular haunt ‘The Cavern’ in Liverpool’s city centre, playing football outside Anfield with some familiar faces, chasing Katy Perry’s scantily clad dancers around backstage (and initiating a pillow fight, which they lost!) and of course gate-crashing Trevor Nelson’s now famous EMA after-party …what you weren’t there? You really should have been!

And don’t even get us started on Reg’s exclusive interview with Kanye West, the genius revealed a lot about the new album, future plans and the struggles that he is going through right now. So while Reg was backstage interviewing one of his idols, Rickie was lucky enough to be interviewing Grace ‘You have a nice back Rickie’ Jones, if you like to see Rickie looking very uncomfortable that is must watch TV! We enlisited the help of 'The Gossip Gangstar' Perez Hilton, and Perez didn't waste any time in dishing out bitchy comments, not only to our presenters but saying Estelle needs to get her teeth fixed, and calling Kanye insecure. Then Perez challenged the boys to a rap battle in which he wiped the floor with Reggie, REALLY HE DID! You should have come prepared Reg! But let's be real even Jigga would have trouble battling Perez. Or maybe not, would be interesting to see, maybe Base can hook that up?

We also felt appropriate to ask ALL the stars at this years awards, who they felt out of Reggie and Rickie is a better leader, who has Barack Obama type tendancies, and the big question ...who would you trust with your girl??

I don't actually know who won the vote, I think we called it a draw, because you can trust neither of them with your girl...

So much happened and we tried to squeeze it all into the hour show, which premieres on MTV Base at 5pm Tonight! Tune in!

ALSO CATCH IT:

Tuesday 11th November @ midday

Wednesday 12th November @ 9am

Friday 14th November @ 6pm

Sunday 16th November@ 5pm

Sat 22nd November @ midnight

Sun 23rd November @ 10am

Tue 25th November @ 9am

Thur 27th November @ 9am

If you have never heard of "Family Guy" - what flipping planet do you live on?!?!

Myself and the MTV crew recently rolled down to a rather interesting launch for Series 7 of the utterly fabulous cartoon - "Family Guy" in London Town.

How could I resist an invite that teased me with "Quagmire" burgers and an epic ‘burger-off’ ( to you and me - that's a burger eating competition) !!?!?

Upon arrival, I was met by a scantily - clad (in sexy y-fronts), human, Peter Griffin - yes you read correctly!! see the picture below if you don't believe me!

The human Peter Griffin proceeded to serve drinks and burgers all night and even relived the iNFAMOUS chicken fight - live - just for our eyes!

I felt like I was partying amongst the elite!

All I can say is that I went home with an exceedingly full belly and moistened throat due to all the freeness available on the night - lovely jubbly!

For all you "Family Guy" fanatics - make sure you go cop the dvd on 10th Novemeber....

Alesha Dixon is back with her new album The Alesha Show on November 24th, but you can get a taste of things to come right now by getting a FREE download of a brand new, exclusive track produced by Soulshock and Karlin.

The track - called Colours Of The Rainbow – doesn’t feature on the album and isn’t available to buy anywhere else, so make sure you get yours now!

Click here to get your FREE download! 

www.aleshadixon.co.uk

Get more FREE MTV downloads here!

We’re looking for people to join our research panel and give us their views on the music videos we’re playing...

Find out how YOU can get involved here here

Wow peeps I’m back from a eye opener of a trip, so for all that get upset easily do read on cos is going to upset you big time!

Well were do I start? At the beginning , after one of the longest flights known to man due to delays, transfers , every hour I get a text from my boss saying “Kat how are you, I hope you’re ready to knock out some great TV” , I am like ‘yep bring it on’. Then the text goes again ‘’Kat you have been invited to the Premier tonight what time do you think you will land?”. I am thinking after flying for over half a day the last thing I want to do is fall sleep at a film premier and start dibbling so I text back , ‘as I am mash up tired I will skip the premier and see you guys at breakfast’’, My boss replies ‘’ are you sure you want to miss this? Think about it -you have been invited and you can come for half an hour and then go’’.
Still real tired I finally land on an island which I was told one of the Caribbean’s best kept secrets in my mind I am thinking ‘yeah what ever it looks like a runway and lights’. I go through the airport, customs, the usual stuff and then my adventure started. I was greeted by one of the islands tourist boards reps Kayla who is waiting and ushers me through the airport with no bother so you know she was connected and looked gooooooooood as well. She whisked me away in a car and we headed to the premier I am still thinking ‘’ahggggg sleep time’’ but went anyway to see the premier .I am thinking ‘ok may be I’m going to see Batman “The Dark Knight” .We finally pull up to a huge set of gates with security gate men and Kayla says ‘ the Premier is expecting Kat’. I am thinking ‘’rah they have held the film for me! They’re expecting Kat!’’, We drive in and get to this huge house the door opens and I get taken in to find a private welcome party for MTV base. My boss and producer are sitting WITH THE Premier. Yes the penny drops. He introduces himself “hi Kat welcome, nice to meet you I'm the Premier of Turks and Caicos ,I hope you enjoy your stay here in Providence”. Shame on me! The Premier is the President of the island and I nearly blew that one out!!! Not a good look! I soon found my second wind and got into the heated swimming pool .peeps it was sick!! The bottom of the pool was a mosaic of tiles all arranged into a map of the island in Turks and Cacaos! You have not seen anything like this!. In fact you wont!. Only a select few will and that isn’t a joke, thanks boss- great hook up! After being wined and dined with champs and chicken chow mien and a quick dip in the pool it was time to leave so I got changed in the downstairs loo so as not to frighten anyone with the anaconda which was more like worm now due to the air con running through the house. No really it was the air con. Anyway I spot a remote control on the toilet wall, I press it and find it’s the remote for the toilet functions. You know I’m going to have to test this out. it was a cross between a Wii and star trek!! There were so many functions I lost count! It did everything and more, I need to get me one of them!

Anyway the next day I returned to the premiers home and asked him about what the island has to offer , what I should be looking for , what is it about the island that makes it the Caribbean’s best kept secret?. Premier Misick told me there are so many things about the island but its better I go and see them for myself . He arranged for me to on a few trips to see sample what Turks & Cacaos had to offer. One of my missions was to go on a boat to Parrot Cay where a few celebs had bought and built houses .Will Smith & Bruce Willis are a few that have houses out there and at around $40 million starting price you know why it’s such a secret. ‘If you have not got the money you don’t need to know honey’ is what one of our guides Kemmo said . After seeing where the rich and even richer lived, it was back to Providence for a helicopter ride to get my bearings and fulfil one of my life long dreams. Up I went into the air with my camera operative Susan. Yeah I know Kats trying to sound intelligent ha ha, we went up into the air and saw how beautiful the island was from the air. We observed where the islands music festival was being held because that’s mainly why I was there- to cover the festival. After flying and doing Ariel manoeuvres we landed and found the Turks and Caicos beauty pageant going on at the bottom of our road .This was mainly to show us how beautiful the people were. It was amazing to see the islands in Turks bond together and show of their contestants all riding on the front of some of the biggest 4X4 you have ever seen. Not me though, I had to be more secure, other wise MTV HR would have something to say. MTV don’t play when it comes to health and safety with their presenters, otherwise you know I would be riding on the top of one of them cars. After a long car parade with police escorts and music playing to mark the beginning of the beauty pageant we arrived at a hall to see the participants show us their talents-mental and physical! Where the winner would represent Turks in the international miss world competition. I must say speaking to the girls was a trip! it was like the Steptford wives; they look amazing but were always smiling, stiff , and every question you asked had a rehearsed answer to it. I felt a bit put off as though they were on show all the time, not at all what I’m into from a woman, so I bounced and went on my voyage to find out more about the Island, mostly to check out the food and beach.

The islands national dish is conch and lobster .you already know what lobster is but do you know what a conch is? I don’t think so. Just think when your away and you see those lovely big shells for sale? Well 9 times out of 10 it will be a conch that lived in there. I cant eat lobster but I did try the conch. They say for the guys it can help you in a certain down south department .a fisherman on the beach showed me how to prepare it and serve it. I did try to eat it but once again MTV viewers, you didn’t want in TV shot any part of me that may kick in after eating it, so I had to decline and hand it over to my producer who did start acting different, plus it had to much hot pepper marinating around it for the boy born in England -yes me!

Anyway after a night of watching ladies it was time to immerse my self in pure surroundings and purify myself and there is nothing purer than water .the Premier did say the water around the island was some of the clearest and full of aquatic life and me being an enthusiastic diver, I grabbed myself an under water cameraman and went deep sea diving. The Premier once again was right, it was amazingly peaceful and quiet and stunningly beautiful. I couldn’t help think whilst I was down below the sea that I am truly blessed to be working for MTV Base. Yes I know you may think diving, beautiful ladies, helicopter and jet skis ,(oooops did I say jet skis yeah I got to go on some serious jet skis that hit 60mph without even struggling but I stuck to 15mph you know HR so I had a restricted one, ha ha sounds like I’m on a moped init sorry bikers joke) , so I’ve done all this and even partied a few times with some of the planets wealthy people and partied with a few new and old friends from the music circle, it’s a tough life but someone’s got to do it.

The music festival saw the big names of music past and present to perform and MTV Base got granted back stage interviews to the likes of LL Cool J, Lionel Richie, Anita Baker, T Pain & Billy Ocean. Ne-yo called me up and told me to meet him at his hotel and do an exclusive interview as he wanted to chill before the show so I quickly got washed and dressed had a quick glance at the questions I was going to ask him and put them In My Own Words had a final look in the Mirror and left with my base crew, and after a short drive as the island is not that big we get Closer. I am not going to lie I was getting excited to the point that I felt So Sick .ok, sorry. I’ll stop with the Ne Yo song titles now. Anyway let me tell you after a great interview from the number 1 R&B singer, songwriter, and performer that the world has seen in a long time I got to see him live and his stage show was awesome with dancers ,a nine piece band and stage charisma!. I am now a groupie! shame on me!, Anita Baker then graced the stage and reeled off a repertoire of songs and sounded as good that night as she did when she recorded the songs years ago making her a true legend .

A male artist that helped paved the way for all urban artists ,Grammy award winner, singer, songwriter, an original member of the Commodores, and one of the original Motown singers -Lionel Richie showed Turks and Caicos what music used to sound like and granted me an exclusive interview After Anita Baker I thought ‘I’m all good if I don’t speak to anyone else now’ but if I do it would be a bonus, Lionel did my interview and then went directly on stage a pro to the point that he changed his music set due to audio problem of some of the crowd not being able to hear once the band played so he stopped the show and go close and personal with the audience and had them in the palm of his hand telling them stories. Then whilst the technical problem was being solved he did some of his songs on his own just him and a grand piano that he can actually play and sound so effortless. I found my self singing his songs and having a moment of ‘’oh yes, I know this! Wow you wrote this song as well’’ and I felt another baby boom about to spring out and was Turks and Caicos ready for it?

LL COOL J was up next onstage and it was well worth it. with hits from all 12 past albums and some from his new and latest album Exit 13 I asked the man who makes girls from all around the world go crazy for him if exit 13 was his way of saying he’s hanging up the microphone and chilling?. He said its far from that. He has renewed his contract with his label and he will continue to woo the fans for many more years. This guy was one of the nicest of people I’ve met and I was so glad I got the chance to see him entertain the crowd. he raps, he’s an actor and has a clothing line yes a clothing line and of course he ripped off his top for the girls.

Someone that nearly ended up in the crowd but instead hit the deck was T Pain. After jumping onto stage he hit a slippery patch and went ass over ass and tried to style it out. I am not going to call a sheep a cloud and a cloud a sheep but T Pain was a let down for me . I left after the long gaps of ‘’are you ready for T Pain!?’’, him coming on and going again, come on! You’re just starting in the game, it was very Low on energy.

To summarize, my trip to Turks showed me another side to the Caribbean. It really is the Monte Carlo of the Caribbean and really still untouched by mass tourism. Very clean, turquoise, tranquil waters and friendly sophisticated people make the island very exclusive. The annual music festivals way of combining old classic artists with up to date new performers means that this is a great time of year to visit and experience this about to blow island. Remember where you heard it first-MTV BASE!.

I don’t know how to put into words how my job is interesting, but I have given you a break down on my short time in Turks. for some this will get you mad ,for others I hope it inspires you to make your dreams happen .so until next time, keep your eyes and ears open to MTV Base and see for your self why they call Turks and Caicos the Caribbean’s best kept secret!. I’m out. k@

Kats trip to Turks and Caicos will premier in THE LICK on MTV BASE on Sunday September 21st at 5pm and be on repeat throughout September.

When Kanye announced on his blog last month that he was scheduled to perform at this years MTV VMA awards I wasn't to surprised, the man had a huge year in 2008, so I guessed he was going to play some crowd pleasing tracks from the last album to close the VMA's. But when I heard rumours this week of a new Kanye album later this year, well I was shocked, Yeezy premiered his new single 'Love Lockdown' last night, and well ...it has already grown on me.

Can he do no wrong??

Luke aka. Ginger Kid

Are you ready for the biggest outdoor party of the year on the streets of West London!

Notting Hill Carnival is just around the corner and this year MTV BASE have teamed up with the UK’s number one urban music radio station CHOICEFM –to bring you the only float YOU need to be following on carnival Monday.-the MTV BASE/CHOICEFM moving party!

The MTV Base-ChoiceFM float will be where the party is all day on Monday 25th August and there won’t be anywhere you’ll want to be!

Our road show goes into full swing with a host of celebrity performers lined up to wow the crowd with performances by Machel Montano, Shaggy, Busy Signal , jasmine Sullivan, Lloyd, and many many more to be announced!

Join us to dance away the summer and grab the free goodies we will be throwing out during the day!

Choice FM will be adding their spirit to the moving party with DJ appearances by Woody, Live Linq and DJ Abrantee.

Add to that the PoisonUK power house of Jugglers, Gladiators, Markee and DJ Spice and you know its gonna be one heck of a show on the road.

Don't worry its carnival and Soca is still king, but with two stage floats you're gonna get every street rhythm under the sun.

The whole show will be hosted by MTV BASE-CHOICEFM talent and filmed for transmission later in the month on MTV BASE.

Yes yes people!

It's been awhile since Team Base posted a blog, but we have good reason for our long absence - we have been filming a very special programme for YOUR eyes only in the birthplace of reggae music & batty riders - JAMAICA!

The hour long special - ACE & VIS: Coming to Jamaica will hit MTV BASE on 23rd August - just in time for Carnival Weekend.

This is the first feature-long MTV BASE debut for "The Troublemakers of Radio" that call themselves ACE & VIS - if you're not familiar with them - here's the foolishness they are known to get upto in the past...

If that whets your appetite - then "Ace & Vis: Coming to Jamaica" is guaranteed to make you dribble from places you didn't know existed!

The boys caught up with Jamaica's finest dancehall talent on their arrivals - Beenie Man ( in Shaggy's legendary "Big Yard" studios), D'Angel - Beenie Man's ex - wifey ( who had some ummm "interesting" toes) , Elephant Man who taught them how to do the "Gully Creep" dance, Ninjaman, the Gully God that is Mavado ...the list goes on & on!

A couple of U.S acts headlined this year's spectacular live festival, Reggae Sumfest.

Lil Wayne passed through with his "daddy" Baby, Keyshia Cole serenaded us & T-Pain was there to shake a leg. Akon showed up with his latest signings to Konvict music, Kardinal Offishal & Tammy Chin.

Not only did we get some exclusives with these superstars, but Ace & Vis also toured the island all in aid of finding Ace a wifey - "Coming To Jamaica" style ( Eddie Murphy smashed it in "Coming to America" years ago - so here is MTV BASE's ode to a quality film!!)

So stay tuned for more pics and the 1 hour show hitting your screens on 23rd August.

since Jigga's mighty performance at Glasto on Saturday - the MTV BASE team have been debating whether his performance was truly as sick as the critics said or just average for all us hip hop heads.

Yes he silenced the critics (in particluar Noel Gallagher - love the way Jay Z pronounces his name as "NO- EL" - LOL) with a 2 finger salute in the form of his very own rendition of Wonderwall - but was that enough to say this was truly Jigga at his best???

hmmmm.....

what do you guys think?

I think I have seen Jay Z put in a better performance than what I saw on Saturday - e.g. his stonking appearance at the Prince's Trust with Beyonce years ago....

but yes - he did rep fully for our hip hop culture - that cannot be denied!

whether it was his best performace to date is another thing...?