Bark + Bite

Drake does SNL, rocks out with Nicki Minaj

Drake is actually a multihyphenate, in case you people forgot. And no, we're not talking about his being a singer-rapper. Remember, he's also an actor! All that time spent on Degrassi wasn't for naught. He's done some pretty solid comedy bits, like the Twitter parody song he cooked up with Jimmy Kimmel last year. So it seems like he'd be perfectly poised to smash on SNL, right?

Well, unfortunately, the Drakester wasn't given much material worth fussing over. Nicki got better bits when she did SNL last year. The most "ha ha" moment of Drake's appearances on the show was when he appeared as a teen werewolf and spit a song about bag snatchin'. He even did a one-legged air hump during the sketch, which is a record for him as far as choreography goes.

The performances were also just so-so. Live performing has never been Drake's strong suit and he didn't wow too much on SNL despite his promises that his set would be "incredible." By that, we can only imagine he's talking about the wall of video behind him which was used to display big words during "Headlines." Uh, woo hoo?

Drake called on his sometime-love interest and YMCMB partner-in-crime, Nicki Minaj, for his new joint "Make Me Proud." The friendly chemistry between these two and their big names make any collaboration between them an event, and the record actually sounded pretty good live. The only drawback was an abuse of backing track vocals. Nicki struggled to be heard above them and Drake used them as crutch for the chorus, which he often does on the "singing" parts he should be doing live.

Watch videos from Drake's appearance on SNL below

Another Glee cast member gets a record deal, and it's not Lea Michele

Another Glee star is stepping out of the choir room and into the studio to record a solo album this summer! And to the surprise of many, it’s neither the leading lady with the gold-star voice, Lea Michele, or the boisterous soul sistah Amber Riley. It's every Gleek's favorite mean girl, Naya Rivera, who plays Santana Lopez.

Her breakout performances as the neck-rolling, closeted lesbian with the sharp tongue and equally sharp vocals have helped keep Glee lovers entertained all season, and after the show’s live concert tour wraps up at the end of the summer, Rivera will begin working on her solo album according to representatives at Columbia Records, with whom she signed a contract earlier this week.

The verdict is still out on exactly what sound to expect from the often raspy, sometimes jazzy and surprisingly powerfully voiced singer who joins the ranks of two of her castmates, Matthew Morrison and Mark Salling, as Gleeks with record deals. On the show she has been able to hold her own singing the likes of Brandy/Monica, ABBA, Amy Winehouse, Madonna and had us all roaring with laughter performing the ultimate Glee original song, “Trouty Mouth.”

Let's hope Rivera channels a combination of her Amy Winehouse and Fleetwood Mac performances to deliver emotionally charged songs with a little spice (and minus the crack, of course).

Lady Gaga stuns with SNL performances

Gaga, gaga, gaga. It's all anyone will be talking about for quite a while as the promotional train for Born This Way rolls on. Of course, SNL is an enormous platform for any pop star and given her fantastic performance the last time she was on SNL, she had a lot to live up to.

But no worries, Gaga brought her A-game to the table for an acoustic performance of "Edge of Glory," which gave way to a sledge hammering performance of her second single "Judas." For her second performance of the night, Lady Gaga trotted out the "vessel" once again for a performance of her chart-topping self-love anthem, "Born This Way."

Her voice was powerful, clear and gripping in both performances, and she seems to be mastering the "Judas" the choreography the more she performs it, though that breakdown still looks a little schizophrenic.

Watch Lady Gaga's SNL performances below

Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake make SNL sketch comedy gold

Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga had both musical and onscreen chemistry in the dynamic and side-splitting season finale of SNL. Gaga was the show's musical guest, but she made appearances in three different SNL sketches, the best of which was the digital short, in which Gaga teamed up with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg for a revival of their "Motherlover" characters.

The dirty duo maintained their focus on the bedroom, only this time the two commented on how threeways allowed them to do homoerotic stuff without it being gay because there's a girl in the middle. So basically, Gaga played a beard for Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg. It probably wasn't the first time for her anyway. Bonus goodness: Gaga looked sexy in all the '90s gear and she looked the part of a government hooker in that skanky leopard number.

In her other two appearances, Gaga joins Justin Timberlake as a wine seller and plays a wacky game show with Justin that pokes fun at his old NSYNC bandmate Chris Kirkpatrick.

Watch Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake bump and grind and more below

Made for TV music: Can it stand on its own?

Musicals have fantastic scores - they have to, the music is what tells the story. But for that very same reason, their soundtracks often can't stand on their own. That's because songs from musicals are not meant to be taken out of context and put on the radio.

Now, in the era of Glee, producers have realized that the combination of music and storytelling works magic. This has left us with a plethora of musical competitions as well as TV shows incorporating music into the story.

Yet there is a stigma against made-for-TV music. Glee may have been able to overcome this by using already famous songs and recreating them, but you're hard pressed to find anyone over the age of 12 (and that's probably being generous) blasting the Hannah Montana soundtrack.

Aubrey O'Day gets a second shot with reality show

Photo: Wireimage

Aubrey O'Day, formerly of Diddy's successful made-by-TV girl group Danity Kane, is going back to her roots: Reality TV. The former Bad Boy artist is back at square one after Diddy mercilessly sent the girls packing back in 2008 due to bickering and trust issues. After a few years as nothing more than a D-list tabloid tart, willing to do pretty much anything for a buck, including posing for Playboy and performing in a topless Vegas show.

A trailer has been released for Aubrey's upcoming reality show, All About Aubrey, slated for a premiere on March 7th on the Oxygen network. In the clip, we see Aubrey struggling to shed her tabloid image, including the pounds of make-up, weave and excess that drove Diddy insane when she was in Danity Kane. Thankfully, Johnny Wright, who was involved with Danity Kane in its earlier days, is along for the ride, providing Aubrey some truth serum and much-needed guidance.

Watch the trailer for Aubrey's brand spankin' new reality show below

Tinie Tempah makes his American television debut with "Pass Out" on Jimmy Kimmel

Tinie Tempah is a big deal in the UK, but he's just getting his feet wet over here in the States. Sporting his signature thick, black-rimmed glasses, Tinie tried to make the audience "Pass Out" with him on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The song was invigorated with a fresh sense of urgency thanks to the smashing live arrangement put together by Tinie's band.

Watch Tinie Tempah as he breaks in his performance shoes on U.S. soil below

Nicki Minaj is the Bride of Blackenstein

Although the final version of the "Monster" video featuring Nicki Minaj has yet to see the light of day, Nicki did get to play a monster in a sketch on Saturday Night Live last night.

The Young Money mistress played the Bride of Blackenstein in a sketch that took the horror tale of Frankenstein and flipped it as a 1970s era Blaxploitation film, complete with Nicki Minaj as a Foxy Brownesque Bride of Blackenstein.

Watch Nicki Minaj get to acting in the SNL skit below