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When you look over at the long history of MTV Reality television, just about every successful show that's come on in the past three decades have produced some memorable characters. The just-debuted season 2 of The Real World Homecoming on Paramount+ is paying homage to the Los Angeles season of 1993, which gave the reality TV world Tami Roman and introduced us to longtime stalwart of The Challenge, Beth Stolarczyk. It's among the many instances where television's most buzzed-about reality shows have offered us not only endless entertainment, but also a glimpse into the future by introducing those relative unknowns who would later make their mark on pop culture.
This DCBLOG site has covered the past decade of The Challenge and a few seasons of The Real World, but we've also chronicled the entire journey of several series that have come on in our eight years on this beat. Just seeing Amanda, Devin, Nelson and Tori on Spies, Lies & Allies reminds us of where they all began their MTV journey in a similar scenario going for $1 million back then as it is now with each still in the running in Croatia. Six years ago, the first three were part of a legendary cast of one of MTV's two takes on reality dating as it can only offer in Are You The One?, where Season 3 saw the puppet-master put his team on his magic carpet with the help of some plastic red cups and a quarter en route to the money. And this month, Devin's original AYTO season joined the first two on Netflix, along with Season 4 where Tori and Jake Paul's scandalous girlfriend Julia Rose first made waves.
Two years after the Season 3 cast lived out that miracle in Hawaii came a comeback for the ages: the kids of AYTO Season 6 found themselves staring down joining Season 5 in going home broke, but in a game of momentum they got it just before midnight set in on their New Orleans mansion. Just before that moment of the improbable happening where his case lit up all the lights in the tenth & last matchup ceremony that made them $1 million richer, a man from out west was part of the only moment all that autumn 2017 where a room with lasers can turn a house of despair into a house with hopes of the impossible coming true. And who knew that four years later, that one who saw the word "Perfect Match" on the screen would be taking his act to the one event that marks the kick-off to the magical time that is the holiday season... and now, everybody knows who Tai Verdes is.
The global pandemic that's been wrecking the best laid plans we had for 2020 has certainly been hitting the production side of television. Some productions such as the All-Star 22nd season of Big Brother with a couple Challengers having just begun, the summer turned fall cycle of The Bachelorette continues filming, and others like Season 2 of Love Island U.S. will soon follow. For those of us who follow MTV Reality, then the hybrid love fest/Jersey Shore spinoff A Double Shot at Love will have to do when it comes to our usual fix of reality romance for the time being, as things are up in the air for when the next seasons of Are You The One and Ex On The Beach will go down.
If there is something of a debate going around the fandom of which of the eight seasons of AYTO is the most memorable, then it's anyone's game. Season 1 has the trendsetters and the perfect match of Amber & Ethan, Season 3 has the crossover appeal of doing many MTV series since, Season 5 having notable figures who've managed to get over losing $800,000, and last year's Season 8 who proved that you can love anyone and not be limited to just the opposite gender. But if there's one cast who have made a huge case in this question, then it's the AYTO Season 6 cast from three years ago.
Obviously, this year began on a tragic note when a beloved member of that cast Alexis Eddy passed away too soon, but a serendipity to what's otherwise been a lost year of 2020 is that there have been some good things happening for her "Sexy Season 6" alumni, and she would certainly feel so proud of them. There's been parenthood for Anthony Martin & AYTO 5's Shannon Duffy, a girl dancing on Let's Make A Deal, and engagements for lovebirds Clinton Moxam & Uche Nwosu and fitness heartthrob Michael Dean. But the two members of this cast who have had enjoyed this year are no doubt the two subjects featured here.
All the way back in 2017, we featured on here something that is as much as staple of the end of the work week as this site getting to post our MTV episode posts here. And if you are one of those who loves a good story and seems to be stuck at home on a Friday or Saturday night as we all are right now in this age of quarantine, then it's a good bet that you're glued to some true crime stories.
Thanks in part to Challenge & Road Rules OG Mark Long and him meeting veteran corespondent Keith Morrison, we got to write on the longest-running primetime show on NBC, Dateline. It began in 1992 and is still going strong heading towards thirty years on the air as far & away the network's most successful foray in the newsmagazine space and a constant in the Peacock's schedule. But there was a time where Dateline wasn't all about crime: it recovered from the mess over the rigged GM truck explosion to win awards and respect in having the standard news-mag mixture of investigations, interviews and features, and even some entertainment too.
Something that also was a staple of Dateline for several years (and as much anticipated as hearing Morrison's voice telling those bedtime crime stories) was a hybrid of a newsmagazine staple of hidden cameras being combined with a sting operation and catching those being caught in the act for suspicious online activity... one of the first shows on TV to explore this world years before Catfish did exactly that. To Catch A Predator featured confrontations with adults presumed to have had sex with a minor in online chats, and them arriving at a house ultimately to be sent off in handcuffs as the result of a police sting operation seen in American living rooms.
Premiering in November 2004, To Catch A Predator aired as a sub-series within Dateline for four years on the network, with NBC affiliates in Milwaukee and Kansas City also airing their own local versions of the franchise. It also spawned other spin-offs following in the same format in catching con men, ID thieves and even those who steal iPods. To this day, it remains the best-known work of its host, Chris Hansen, who spent over three decades with NBC on the network & local level starting in Lansing, MI then reported & anchored in Tampa and Detroit before ultimately joining Dateline, and then becoming a staple of the talk show circuit because of his series.
Predator aside, Hansen also covered Columbine, 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing, TWA Flight 800 and the Unibomber. He also led investigations into Al-Qaeda's operations, Indian child slave labor, Chinese counterfeit prescription drug sales, and lack of airport security leading to the FAA revising their policies. But what inspired Hansen into journalism was the disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, and he gained his early stripes reporting on Detroit's Chambers Brothers drug ring for local TV there. And since he left NBC, Hansen has continued to follow online predators while also looking at true crime through various TV shows and his new YouTube channel Have A Seat.
So you're thinking... "How could this corespondent who left us jaw-dropped at online predators being caught on TV somehow be shoehorned onto DCBLOG?" As all of us are being quarantined right now, Mr. Hansen had the chance to plug the newest extended play album of Are You The One? Season 6 alum, Ethan "Emoney" Cohen. This amazing scoop in music promo led Season 8'er Kari Snow to say on Instagram, "Nobody can ever top this." Check it out below, and check out Emoney's new album on streaming which he's dedicated in memory of his late AYTO castmate, Alexis Eddy.
Six years ago this month, MTV entered the modern romantic dating television genre with Are You The One?, a show which mixed the channel's signature formula for reality success with love, money and romance -- something it has done now for eight seasons. Last year, the series opened its arms to the LGBT community with Come One, Come All, and it was just last week that the sexually-fluid season that recieved much attention from both the gay & lesbian community and the mainstream media was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the reality TV category. And the show's success have seen some of its 160+ alumni cross over to the U.S. version of global franchise Ex On The Beach and its long-standing competition series, The Challenge, among other MTV shows.
When AYTO debuted in 2014, it was the same year that two of MTV's most beloved personalities were taken from us much too soon. In a span of only thirteen days that autumn, Challenge legend Diem Brown lost her battle with ovarian cancer, then on Thanksgiving fellow competitor and Real World Back to New Orleans alum Ryan Knight was found dead -- both coming before their last season together on Battle of the Exes 2. The outpouring of sorrow from fellow alumni and the fandom that month was overwhelming and spoke to the power of TV that allowed fans who followed them to that last season in South America to join in the grief of a month none of us have ever forgotten... it's almost as if we lost someone we actually knew, even it was only through TV and social media.
One week ago this Thursday, those fortunate enough to have had a chance to look for love on Are You The One suddenly came to grips with something that their cousins in The Challenge community went through with Diem and Knight, with a previous generation with The Real World when Pedro Zamora died after his valiant battle with AIDS, and what happened to a fellow West Virginian that cut short 2013's breakout series Buckwild. For the very first time, this dysfunctional but tight community of those who've been on AYTO over its eight seasons had to deal with a member of their alumni passing away this soon... and it offered a sad postscript to one of its most popular casts: Season 6 from fall 2017.
From when news of it spread from her home of West Virginia to now, the past seven days have afforded ample time for family, friends and castmates to offer their remembrances of a lady who was taken away from us so soon... one who was one of AYTO's most vibrant and joyous personalities who always made everyone laugh and smile whenever she walked into any room. But Alexis Eddy was more than just that one who had a zest for life: she had a startling backstory involving something that's now become commonplace in mainstream media of true crime, and one who had become open in sharing her personal battles with drugs and addiction and the always tough task of staying sober.
Just as it was during that most surreal month of November 2014, it's always a tough thing for us at DCBLOG to represent the fandom who watches these shows as a voice of reason to say farewell in what is always a most difficult and poignant to compose, both logistically and on an emotional level as one who has followed Are You The One from day 1 and has become good friends with a lot of its alumni - including Alexis herself a few times. But here, we hope to paint as good a brief portrait of her life and the magical time she was on our screens, as we offer this one final and lasting tribute to this energetic & memorable lady of one that friends, family and her castmates knew simply as Lexi.
For the past few years, MTV has taken advantage of its YouTube/MTV channel to provide sneak peeks and additional content surrounding all of its franchise shows to help drive up TV viewership, and last month they went a step further and gave all of them their own channels. And concurrent with the linear channel's increased ratings and exposure, the MTV Studios unit has also spiked up production of short-form and regular series that can only be seen on the net's biggest video site.
Last year, MTV went into the vaults and offered an update of its '90s afternoon hit Singled Out, which saw two members of last year's Are You The One? cast - Kwasi and Daniel - look for another chance at love... this time with singles being dwindled down from 50 to 1 and a date to the winner, just as when Carmen Electra, Chris Hardwick and Jenny McCarthy hosted the show 25 years ago. And the buzz surrounding YouTube power couple Jake Paul and Tana Mongeau can be attributed to her reality show No Filter: Tana Takes 21, which followed her all the way to their wedding night.
Amidst the mania surrounding Jake & Tana, and during MTV's summer of love of AYTO and Ex On The Beach, there was another romantic reality show... but this time, it's different from handing out roses, going into the Truth Booth or even dreading a trip to the Shack of Secrets. This series is called Lip Locked, and the title simply says what the show is all about: people kissing each other... and like Singled Out, Justina Valentine from Wild 'N Out is the show's host.
The objective of Lip Locked is bringing couples together for the ultimate test of trust: can they successfully identify their partner from just the kiss of him or her, of their partner or someone else? During this short-form series, couples ranging from newlyweds to longtime friends and gay couples have had the chance over this summer to test how much they know each other just by one of the five senses of touch. One member of the couple joins two others to be the three kiss'ees, and the other half has to do this blindfolded... and it's only after the kisses are all done that the person chooses who he or she kissed and to see if they are correct. And yes, this is a hard task for everyone going onto here.
For the lead-up to this story, we have to rewind back to Are You The One? Season 6 - which was introduced to everyone two years ago this weekend. While the love triangle of Nurys, Malcolm & Diandra, and the romance of Geles & Anthony was dominating the buzz that fall - and then brought them to Ex On The Beach, another key romance in New Orleans was that of South Carolinan Alivia Hunter and New Jersey model Kareem Fathalla. They were together for much of the time in the AYTO house and continued after they left the Big Easy until broke up after over a year together.
For here, Kareem has been hired as one of the two guys picked as decoys to the couple who joins Justina in this episode of Lip Locked: Jeffrey and Rose have been dating for three years, and he says that she is a good kisser... and she can tell who she's kissing just by another of our senses of smell... and that could be an advantage for her going in. Jeff's goal is to try and stay calm while Rose is kissing all three men... below, see if she can pass this test... And we may not be done with more AYTO crossovers into MTV YouTube series... we'll let you in on yet another appearance for "Mr. Chocolate" later during this cuffing season.
Imagine this: being someone who's had the opportunity to meet some of the most well-known people of the moment in sports and entertainment, and all of this before you get to make your debut on national television. Meeting just the one person you worship the most out of anyone else would someone's life so great -- I can attest to that when I met Linkin Park and the late Chester Bennington more than a decade ago. But, how about meeting multiple famous figures of the moment from entertainment, sports or just plain-old pop culture?
If you're one of the millions of people who live in America's two largest metropolitan areas -- New York City and Los Angeles, then you know that the more than half of the television production that airs on national networks are shot and filmed in these areas. They range from network newscasts and late night talk shows to the reunions and after shows for MTV reality series which we covered before on here, and the major big awards shows that gives this pop culture aficionado reason to tune in.
DCBLOG's ExtraTime frequently showcases those times when the people of the MTV reality TV world get a chance to meet many of the biggest figures in pop culture: Chet of Real World Brooklyn meeting Ryan Seacrest, Zac Efron and the one who is our President; Challenger Kailah meeting Kevin Hart, Pauly & Ronnie from Jersey Shore, Floyd Mayweather and her idol Halsey (before "Closer" and G-Eazy); and Michael of Are You The One? Season 6 meeting Fergie and Neil Patrick Harris... and so is another guy from last fall's lovefest.
Before being cast for the first AYTO season to take place in the U.S. mainland, Dave Shad had already made a name for himself going to some of the biggest pop culture events to take place down in the Southland. When not studying on the campus of USC before he went onto the show, he applied to various websites that offer opportunities to regular fans to serve as "seat fillers" at various awards shows. This experience is usually free or for a small fee, and offers those who go to the shows a better live experience, just as it is for those watching it on television.
Members of seat-filler clubs are given free tickets to members if there are unsold seats at sports events, concerts, movie premieres and the like. The most prestigious "seat filler" jobs goes to those who go to the Oscars or other major awards shindigs, where while the winners or presenters are going through the task of going onstage to accept their award, going into the press room to talk to the media backstage and pose for the paparazzi, or for longer stints if they are performing.
It's because of his experiences being a seat filler and being a normal fan at awards shows that, you might say, that he's become in a way, "The Famous Dave Shad." And along with the occasional meeting outside these events in bars and in the streets around the entertainment capital of the planet, below are snapshots of him getting to meet some notable figures in the sports and entertainment worlds, spanning basketball, UFC, music and even an event that took place just two nights ago. And one of them is someone who MTV fans may be familiar with from the past year.
If you watch the Trifecta regularly, chances are there is a Halloween costume hidden somewhere inside the houses of The Challenge, Are You The One? and Real World, and often other MTV reality shows too. Johnny Bananas makes it a point to bring a banana costume to The Challenge house, something Tyler from Season 5 wore before he was cast for last season and them crossing paths after he lost $800,000 for the group. And who can forget Real World Ex-Plosion where Cory and Jenny wearing animal costumes and hooking up in the confessional wearing that furry outfits?
If you watched last week's AYTO, you may have spotted an specie on the loose who escaped from the nearly New Orleans Zoo with intentions on scaring the 11 single girls inside their humble abode. Well, that happens to be Keith, and just before he was unleashed to go on an attack on the girls in the AYTO house, he posted a video Instagram of him being dressed up as a monkey.
His Instagram is under private and we can't embed that video for you below, but if you do check it out you'll see him ride a hovercraft with his dog, decide to slam one home, perform a trick on a skateboard and catch a couple deep passes from 40 yards out... all of which in slow-mo. Perhaps, after we saw Bananas and Tyler wear a banana costume, now we get a monkey rolling around and perhaps they may all gather around in a Challenge house soon enough...
Last Friday saw something that had never happened before in the 80-year history of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship tournament -- better known as March Madness. For the first time since it expanded in the mid '80s to its present format of 64, and now 68, teams in the field, a team seeded #16th defeated a #1 seed in the first round proper of the biggest event in all of college sports. Of all things in American sports, this was perhaps the most improbable scenario that can happen, but after we've had a Triple Crown winner, a Cubs World Series title, a Cleveland sports title and other things the past few years, we're all fortunate to have witnessed it in the time we're alive.
The University of Maryland--Baltimore County, champions of the seldom-covered American East Conference, were tied with South #1 seed and ACC champions Virginia at 21 at halftime after a team who were 20-point favorites went up 3 earlier on and who led the NCAA in scoring defense limiting their opponents to a per-game average of roughly 53 points. But out of the locker room, the second half was a totally different game: UMBC's Jairus Lyles fought through cramps late in the affair in a 28-point night as the Retrievers outscored the Cavaliers 53-33 going home to finish off matters, 74-54 down in Charlotte, NC.
For a Virginia team who had a 31-2 record and were ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches polls, this 20-point loss was the largest defeat they had suffered all season and the first time that they had allowed 70 points -- all coming at the worst opportune time. For UMBC, they became the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and it became the biggest night in the school's 52-year history as students celebrated in the streets and brought back memories of the 2014 World Cup when they borrowed the "I Believe That We Will Win" chant that was everywhere that summer to the rite of spring for American sports fans.
Undoubtedly, UMBC's historic win over Virginia was the biggest upset in the history of an event whose beginnings date back to before World War II began when Oregon won the first national championship in 1939 well before Phil Knight and Nike came flying in to help. As we saw with another Cavaliers team who beat a powerhouse 73-9 Warriors team to win the 2016 NBA title, a Leicester City football team who were 5000-1 to win the EPL title and pulled off the trick that same season, and everything else we have seen the past two years, there has always been a love affair between sports fans and underdogs. That is certainly the case with what we call the MTV Trifecta.
Believe it or not, there is some symmetry between the feat of the Retrievers and two amazing feats of the show that fed six alumni to season 29 of The Challenge in Vendettas, and seven to the next show of huge interest here in next month's Ex On The Beach. Devin, Britni and Nelson were part of the cast of Are You The One? Season 3, when faced with potentially being the first cast to lose, Big D came up with the strategy that, with the help of a quarter and red solo cups, brought them from 2 matchup lights and a blackout to 10 lights and $750,000. And their cast also included 3-time Challenger and "Pop-Off Queen" Amanda, Cory's fellow baby mama Cheyenne, breakout star of Dirty 30 Hunter, and Tori's ex Mike -- who we then saw on Real World Bad Blood.
After Kam, Alicia and Eddie had to endure the stigma of being that AYTO cast who lost last year -- for which EOTB with fellow castmates Derrick H. & Taylor was revealed just last Wednesday, a year to the day of that heartbreak, the Season 6 cast came back from an even greater comeback than that of what went down in fall 2015. Like the Season 3 kids, they achieved little in the game through most of the season, only getting their only truth booth match late, and started their final matchup needing to get from one light to eleven in week 10 to win $1 million. They did just that in setting records in the process, and though there's been some bickering with that group who pulled out the biggest MTV underdog story in over a decade, them being able to pull off that win binds them all forever.
And that offers the bridge of this latest episode of Before They Were MTV Stars: last week, NBA megastar Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrated his 30th birthday in the kind of grand style that fits a multiple MVP, NBA champion and one of American sports' biggest figures. With the defending champions nursing injuries, an uncharacteristic losing form of late and battling a tough Rockets team for top seed in the Western Conference, the Dubs took the early part of last week off to rest up and to fete the face of the franchise who's come a long way from being drafted by a team desperate for relevance in the Association a decade ago to now become basketball royalty.
And fit for a king, Steph's 30th birthday party -- which came two days before the Davidson alum actually turned the magic dirty number -- featured him and wife Ayesha Curry arriving to the party on a yacht like what we saw Alex did before that ill-fated birthday bash for Chloe on Siesta Key. That shindig was a surprise one... one they had no idea that the entire team was throwing for them, and so was Bay Area hip-hop icon and devoted NorCal sports fan E40. For the always coveted task of being the ones who would sing "Happy Birthday" to the guest of honor, it fell to Paramore to perform that track to the birthday boy. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson went on stage to dance and loved it so much, he took off his show and threw it into the crowd, while the rest of his Warriors teammates dressed up for a photo booth. And head coach Steve Kerr and lead assistant Mike Brown had reason to also get down on the dance floor and finally let loose amidst the seriousness of the playoff push.
Curry, wife Ayesha and Ethan meeting in Summer 2014 (IG @EmoneyMakesBabies)
Last December in the homestretch of his season, this site devoted an entire ExtraTime post to Ethan Cohen from AYTO Season 6, best known by his nickname, "EMoney." With a signature collection of baseball hats, he became a cult favorite in bringing his unique outlook on things to the mansion in New Orleans, and brought his brand of hip-hop to the house in the form of what became the biggest song on the hit parade in the Big Easy: the appropriately-titled "Perfect Match Song" with fellow roommate Tyler. That is only part of EMoney's musical resume that sees him being poised for big things to come, which even included a trip to hone his craft with Nick Cannon and co. on Wild 'N Out.
Ethan is Bay Area to the core, most especially to the East Bay side of the Bay Bridge as a fan of those who play in the Oakland Coliseum & Arena complex of the A's, the Raiders and the Dubs. The perks of being a college grad who had his ode to his A's get radio airplay on the team's radio flagship 95.7 The Game, as well as undertaking an internship at its regional broadcast partner NBC Sports Bay Area, gave Ethan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: hang out with someone who was about to become the biggest superstar in basketball... at least to those west of the Mississippi.
The last time the Warriors fell short of the trip to play basketball in June, it was the summer of 2014. The Dubs reached out to Steve Kerr to turn him from a TNT analyst into becoming their head coach, and the Bulls legend and 3-point specialist enabled Steph to get more freedom to shoot from behind the arc. Of course, the rest is history: MVP honors in the following season including a record season of threes, blowout victories for a title contender, and to him becoming LeBron James' equal in the post-Kobe era. And in the first of what would become three epic NBA Finals tilts, Steph had his crowning night in Cleveland as the Warriors becoming King for the first of two times in three years.
In that summer of 2014 -- and two months removed from the Warriors losing a hard-fought Game 7 of their playoff series to the LA Clippers, Ethan was invited by Steph and Ayesha to spend a day in his Sonoma home turf -- or make that, home vineyards. And as this region is known to everyone as Wine Country, they and their friends did, of course, some wine tasting. When he posted his selfie with Steph on Twitter @EmoneySunset, Ethan captioned, "Steph Curry for MVP." And upon the Warriors' 2015 triumph and his campaign to let the man who he met become MVP he added, "Yo @wardell30 and @ayeshacurry I hope y'all ain't too famous now to come back up to Sonoma for round 2. This time bring Riley and we'll go to TrainTown."
One of them has become a 2-time NBA MVP, 2-time NBA champion, a 5-time All-Star, a scoring crown and a slew of other honors too many to mention on his way to world domination, and where he is now a face of the league and of the Bay Area. The other might not have that large list of honors, but being part of a cast that pulled out a colossal comeback and win $1 million is something worth celebrating, along with a budding hip-hop career that may see him become the next big star. Things have changed for both Stephen Curry and Ethan Cohen since they met there in Wine Country -- both on that positive parallel to greatness, and perhaps there is more for them ahead.
Fairly often, this site scours the web and YouTube for videos of interest involving the hundreds who've appeared on shows of the MTV Trifecta: either clips from past shows which we featured in our Vendettas version of "Who Are These Newbies?", or most especially those from the past before these people were casted. Before They Were MTV Stars gives us that chance sometimes, and last year, we looked at when Tori earned her stripes not on her four MTV shows but on the red carpet talking to hip-hop royalty, when Nelson appeared on a game show hosted by Jerry Springer, and when Asaf Goren did So You Think You Can Dance?, before he went onto not just two AYTO seasons but also a new show on Food Network to identify the Worst Cook in America. Speaking of food, the name of a vegetable is a co-subject to this bit...
This summer sees Shalley Marshaun Massenburg-Smith, a Hampton Roads, VA resident, turn 30 having become a musician and actor who took up the alias of DRAM, which means "Does Real @$$ Music." Being in a military family where his mom served the country, he was born in Germany but it was in spring 2015 that he began to became more well known outside of this military area where Challenge champ Sam from Back to San Diego and AYTO original Chris T. call home. There, he released his debut EP #1Epic under Atlantic, had a single "Cha Cha" that topped the Emerging Hip-Hop charts, and then dropped a mixtape later that year. The next year drop his debut major label album, saw him appear on The Tonight Show performing with Chance the Rapper, Ty Dolla Sign and Anthony Hamilton, and was part of Chance's Grammy-winning Best Rap Album and is now himself with a collaboration with the world's most famous animated band, British group Gorillaz.
DRAM's breakout moment came in April 2016 when he and fellow rapper Lil' Yachty hooked up for his hit single, "Broccoli." It gained much international success, became his first Billboard Top 5 peaking inside the Hot 100, and earned him Grammy, iHeartRadio, Billboard and MTV VMA nominations in the process. The track's video took place both outside in the neighborhood and inside the guys' house, and featured a piano, plenty of twerking from a lot of girls and wiggle stereoscopy that has garnered over 250 million YouTube hits.
One of those who were chosen by DRAM to twerk and dance in the "Broccoli" video, which was shot in that hip-hop hotbed of Atlanta, was Nurys from Season 6 of Are You The One?. On her season - which came a year after her U.S. TV debut in that video, she was part of that love triangle that she and New Jersey girl Diandra were involved in with one of the house's resident players, Malcolm, and well after they were a no match Nurys and Diandra decided to go all in on Malcolm towards the late part of the season when they had enough of them being played. Nurys posted a picture on Instagram when "Broccoli" was the rage that summer of 2016 with the caption, "Check out the video to BROCCOLI by the homie @bigbabydram ft. @lilyachty 🌳I had a blast shooting this! #youtube #spotify #applemusic #tidal"
It's Friday, and it's the weekend as DCBLOG is about to again take you Inside the MTV Trifecta. Coming up, girls rule on The Challenge: Vendettas with a popoff queen from across the pond getting into battles both in the house and in the elimination chamber. But first on a day that those in Britain have eagerly awaited for many years in a potential reunion of the Spice Girls having social-verse abuzz, this week's sole piece of ExtraTime...
Last week, we featured two musicians with ties to the year 2001: one-hit wonder Afroman who gave an ode to marijuana with "Because I Got High", and Canada's rock imports Nickelback who emerged on the world stage a few months later. The former got to hang out with the cast of Siesta Key in nearby Sarasota, FL before their most explosive episode yet, while the ladder and frontman Chad Kroeger got to spend some quality time with Johnny Bananas. Now, another musical flashback with members of Team MTV... but this time we shift to pop, and a true flashback to twenty years ago.
When Total Request Live and original host Carson Daly first took over Times Square in 1998, a group who broke through that same year was one who chose the right time to make a name for themselves as pop music began a renaissance that continues two decades later. While attending Kent State, Jeff Timmons decided to forgo college and NFL dreams to pursue a music career out west in L.A. after receiving good feedback at a local performance. There, he met another Ohio college student, Nick Lachey, who decided that they should form a vocal group. Nick called college friend Justin Jeffre, then his younger brother Drew Lachey - a New York EMT at the time, and 98 Degrees was born.
Jeff, Nick, Justin and Drew took up usual day jobs in security, landscaping and food delivery to help foot the bills, then looked to Boyz II Men and other groups for their inspiration before making rounds in SoCal record labels in the hope they get discovered. Eventually, the legendary Motown Records won the signing battle, and 98 Degrees first made waves when they sneaked backstage at one of Boyz II Men's concerts and caught the eye of local radio who invited them to perform on air. Their debut single, "Invisible Man," went Top 15 in the summer of '97 and landed an opening act spot on Janet Jackson's Velvet Rope Tour. But that was the start of their journey.
98 Degrees differentiated themselves from 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys by emphasizing their original songwriting skills that reflected R&B more than mainstream pop. And while the Orlando pop outfits were exchanging #1 on TRL, 98 Degrees plowed along scoring a cameo alongside Stevie Wonder on Disney's Mulan soundtrack, then released their debut album that scored two Top 5 hits, including breakthrough hit "Because of You" whose video saw them perform on the Golden Gate Bridge. Two more albums followed, and after taking a 10-yr. hiatus when Nick got hitched to Jessica Simpson and later TRL alum Vanessa Minillo, the guys reunited and are still performing.
Brittany, Jeff, Nicole and performer Nicole
Michelle (IG @BrittanyBaldi)
This brings us to this: last week, two Are You The One? alumni -- Brittany from Season 1 and Exes 2, and fellow New Englander Nicole from the most recent Season 6 (and one-half of the only Truth Booth perfect match in New Orleans) -- had the opportunity to welcome Jeff to their Boston home base for a benefit concert, the Generations Gala, where the heartthrob served as event host. Members of The Cars (2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees) and The Joe Perry Project, X Factor USA alum Jillian Jensen, aka Amber Eyes, and social media sensation Wolftyla performed at the Gala, along with emerging acts to benefit causes helping in the effort to battle substance abuse.
Below & to the right are their embedded photos from backstage, with Brittany captioning to the right, "Amazing time last night at #GenerationsGala ! 😎👏🏼", while Jeff added below, "Great hanging w @brittanybaldi @niicoleamber @nicolemichellesings @generationsgala last night. Thanks #boston @dufresnebilly @royaleboston"
And on the topic of the ladies featured here: last fall on Season 6, we saw Oregonian Joe having to deal with his ex, Season 5 alum Taylor, in the New Orleans house during the always spine-tingling visit from the exes during any AYTO season... if word on the vine is right this might not be the last time they get to be in the same house. But Taylor & Joe aren't the only ones among a group who pulled out a Patriots-esque last ditch comeback to win $1 million with ties to a past season.
Before she went onto last season, Nicole had worked with Brittany on web videos for Boston web site Performer.com, including doing some together. Below is one of their projects - Wicked Bites, which is also a TV show that airs on regional sports network NESN, and of them checking out a sports bar and restaurant located down the street from Fenway Park... all set to the tune of "The Right Stuff" from, of all groups, old school boy band New Kids on the Block.
One might imagine what kind of advice the Season 1 original gave the Season 6 newbie about what to expect in the AYTO house. But Brittany and Nicole represent part of the recent crop of a long line of proud castmates of Are You The One? and The Challenge/Real World franchise who come to us from New England and those who are Boston born and bred. And when you count other shows from outside the Trifecta, the MTV universe will have some New England representation in the upcoming new show Winter Break: Hunter Mountain - which we will cover later this Super Bowl weekend.
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Tomorrow, we'll have the 'Pulse of week 5 of Vendettas. And for a little tease of what to expect, if you love drama and competition... you'll enjoy what's to come. See you then, and have a great Friday.
As the NFL playoffs begin - and after something similar took place in the first Wild Card game just earlier today, exactly one month ago tonight came the MTV Trifecta's equivalent of 28-3… that was the lead the Atlanta Falcons held in the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl LI. Of course, a 25-point lead that seemed safe would evaporate in the biggest comeback in the history of the NFL championship game when the New England Patriots won their fifth Lombardi Trophy in the first league title game to go to overtime since 1958. Along with 3-1 series leads being squandered in the previous year's NBA Finals and World Series and saw decades-long title droughts end for the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland sports fans, the word "comeback" defined sports in 2016 and 2017. But perhaps there was one comeback that overtook all of them, and it did not take place in the sports world.
Back on December 6th, the cast of Are You The One? Season 6 was faced with almost a sure bet that they would join the Season 5 cast of earlier last year as the only two casts in the show's history who did not win the money. They had just one Truth Booth perfect match all season long which they didn't get until late in the season and didn't get over the halfway hump in a matchup ceremony, and most of the house were resigned to possibly having a losing feeling. And like previous casts, they had to deal with no-matches staying together, despite somehow avoiding a blackout and losing money. But with one last roll of the dice by a guy who put on a monkey costume and scaring the girls one night, those stigmas were all overcome in the single biggest comeback in AYTO history: ten lights lit in the 10th matchup to go 11 for 11 and they walked away with $1 million.
There were a lot of notable figures that occupied that house in New Orleans, from resident players Malcolm and Michael to fan favorite romance Clinton and Uche, and who can forget Tyler and Ethan and their perfect match song being the most popular on the New Orleans hit parade? But Season 6's breakout female star was West Virginian Alexis Eddy, who had the unbearable task of having to put up all season long with New Jersey frat guy Keith Klebacher. This included her beloved teddy bear Bridget being taken away from her and being sent to a final resting place on an outdoor grill on the season finale.
He orchestrated the strategy that brought them cash, champagne and confetti, but feelings between him and Lexi were blown away both on social media and then on the reunion, There, he scored a girl who had her heart broken not once but twice: Brazilian beauty Carolina Duarte of Season 5, who saw her match Hayden pull a Bananas-like move and stole $60,000 from her on Second Chances, something that may happen again and often on Vendettas perhaps sooner rather than later.
It did not take long for Alexis to rebound from seeing her NOLA crush get cuddly with a girl who loves the iPhone and kicking butt… and in fact not only did she score love with someone after the show, but made social media buzz and some history with it too. And while the biggest news that went down during the holidays for the MTV community was of Challenge star Cory, Amber & Ethan of AYTO Season 1 and Jersey Shore's Ronnie revealing big baby news, Alexis' news was more meaningful even though it almost got lost in all the parent news.
On the day after Christmas, she revealed an Instagram post that revealed with five pictures that read, "Guess what, (explicative)? I'm Gay!" Her IG caption added, "Thanks for always loving me, even when I don't love myself ❤️ ." The photo revealed Lexi with her girlfriend, Morgan, in West Virginia as she came out as a bisexual.
She became the first AYTO cast member to make it public that they are in love with someone of the same sex, something that in the present setup of the show would be practically impossible. This comes after she got to hook up with several guys during her time by the Bayou, and acted with the same kind of wild and crazy that her fellow West Virginian, Ashley M., has done on her Real World season of Ex-Plosion and at least part of the last five Challenges -- winning Invasion last year... not to mention cast of the forgotten but memorable 2013 show Buckwild.
On Tuesday a few weeks after the season concluded - and after engaging in some Twitter sparring with Carolina's friend and one no stranger herself to AYTO heartbreak, Shannon Duffy (who's also the girlfriend of Alexis' perfect match, Anthony Martin), Alexis took to Twitter for a thread, which was later deleted, of just exactly how she was swayed the other way, and of how there is a much deeper relationship she has with Morgan than what most thought at first.
"If you would've told me 8 years ago that I'd be dating my very best friend, I would've probably laughed in your face. I am eternally grateful to be in a relationship with someone who I can say genuinely knows me better than I know myself. She has been by my side through all the trials & adversity I went through. She held me while i cried when I got my heart broken by my first "love". We snuck my parents alcohol into my room and locked the door to get drunk for the first time... We googled how to make a bowl out of an apple, and she smoked weed with me for the first time. 😂 She held me while I cried for months after my cousin was convicted. We finally professed that our love for each other was way more than friendship once we got to college. We struggled through drug addiction together. She held me as I broke down when I realized we had a problem. She held me as I cried because I was in so much pain once we got to rehab. She held me when I cried once we got of rehab because we finally were back to ourselves. And... to be completely honest... she's the only one who's ever really made me feel like things were going to be okay. No matter what. She's home for me. I love you @moclyde11 ❤️ "
♥ TWITTER @Lexoquence
That thread made reference to the events that took place near to Alexis' heart before going on AYTO and received just a brief mention on the season in reference to a tattoo on her back: as reported by In Touch Weekly during the season, Alexis is the cousin of convicted murderer Sheila Eddy, who was involved in a much-publicized murder case involving Sheila and friend Rachel Shoaf who killed friend Skylar Neese back in summer 2012 , and both killers are currently locked away on 15-year prison terms for their roles in the killings. The case also attracted much national attention inspiring a Lifetime movie and garnering coverage on Oxygen's Snapped and past subjects of ExtraTime stories in Dateline and Dr. Phil... more on that in a future post.
The news of Alexis coming out, of course, came as a huge surprise to a lot of people, but given her outrageous persona it wasn't a surprise to her either. As they say, Love Wins.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
It's Christmas Eve 2017, and Merry Christmas to all of you enjoying the warmth of the magical night that's ahead. And welcome back to our look at the MTV Trifecta, where a season that began while the weather was at the top end of the thermometer in the summer now comes to a close in the first days of winter as we wrap up Season 6 of Are You The One? with part 2 of the Reunion.
In Part 1 of this season-ending get-together, the entire cast joined Terrence J. to dish on the big stories that went down in New Orleans, including a pregnancy scare for Keyana while she was in her relationship with Michael. We also saw what really went down with the love triangle of Malcolm, Nurys and Diandra, and there was the relationship of Keith and Alexis which did not turn out well after the season, and saw him cuddle up with Carolina from Season 5.
For Part 2, there are still more questions on our minds: is Clinton and Uche still together? Is the guy who was percieved as the bad boy of the house, Kareem, and his girl Alivia still an item? What's the deal with the girl once voted hottest college girl on campus in Zoe? Is it possible that Keith is not alone in dating one of the girls who did not win the money earlier this year? And who else from this season is seeing fellow alumni of this great guilty pleasure?
The answers to those pressing questions and all the action, reaction and interaction of this last week of AYTO 6 is straight ahead, plus an AYTO alum opens up about something near and dear to her. And after the Pulse, ExtraTime will have a visit from AYTO's first family as the only perfect match to still be together after the show mark an important milestone for their baby girl.
All of that is ahead on the final installment of the Pulse of Are You The One? New Orleans.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
On what has been a very exciting Saturday night, welcome back again as DCBLOG now turns the attention to Are You The One? and Part 1 of the Season 6 Reunion. And if you're lucky enough to still be up on Team No Sleep or just be taking a break from your night at the club, thanks for waiting for us to bring you this cup of tea.
Last week down in New Orleans, our cast of 22 girls and guys who were seemingly out of it and on the verge of being the second cast of lose the game were given a second chance to make a run at the biggest comeback a cast has ever had to win the whole thing. After one more meeting with his crush Alexis which saw her beloved teddy bear feel the heat, Keith got another shot to try his hand at putting together the strategy that would bring them from one beam and one truth booth match to 11 beams and $1 million. And they pulled off that almost improbable comeback.
This week, it's Part 1 of the two-part Reunion, as the entire cast reunites along with the man who's ably took over as host, Terrence J. After weeks of trying to love together and win together, the cast will give insider info on the explosive moments that went down in the Big Easy, spill that always nice tea on the unseen drama that's emerging from the cutting room floor, and reveal what's gone down since they left the house.
All the action, reaction and interaction from this penultimate week of this AYTO season is ahead, along with the beef that emerged with a member of the Season 6 cast and a member of the losing Season 5 troupe, Also included, the 22nd and last castmate of this season finally speaks out on Twitter... find out who and the amazing thing they're doing after the surprise win. And after the diary, ExtraTime will feature some musical goodies from an AYTO original.
All of that is ahead on the 'Pulse of Are You The One? as we continue our ride Inside the MTV Trifecta. And again, thanks for staying up for us tonight.
The following is an update of an original post from DC WRAP for The Challenge XXX Week 5, reposted in the interest of our readers and featuring alumni of Are You The One? which will be featured here this weekend.
Last week saw a gripping end to a season that began all the way back in August with its cast being revealed on a hot summer's weekend. Down by the Bayou and in a region that's shown a spirit of resiliency in addition to its warmth and Southern hospitality, we saw one of the most climatic and nail-biting finishes that we have ever seen to an MTV reality series -- maybe any reality series across the dial. The cast of Are You The One? Season 6, a group who affectionately call themselves the Sexy Season 6, dug deep from a unprecedented deficit any cast of that show had been in late in the season to roar all the way back from one light and one Truth Booth match to light all 11 beams and win $1 million in dramatic fashion in a historic comeback.
To mark this comeback of the year, the likely candidate for several awards on our DCBLOG Reality Debrief at the end of next week and two of AYTO's biggest alums having both a stellar 2017 and another readying to settle some unfinished business, ExtraTime would like to revisit a story we did during The Challenge XXX over the summer where Second Chances champ and the mastermind of a similar late comeback on Season 3, Devin Walker, got to team with the house's fellow resident comedian, Zak Longo, as they went into the group's Rolodex to prank some of their fellow alumni including some of the Season 5 losing squad. After that, a new update to that as they get to become their inner high school seniors for a moment and haze the Season 6 newbies with the help of Dirty 30 finalist Tori Deal.
Enjoy this bonus trip into the ExtraTime Funny File, before we offer you our traditional weekend look Inside the MTV Trifecta and the week's episodes, including last night's first part of the AYTO Season 6 Reunion, starting tomorrow.
Following are excerpts from DCBLOG's Are You The One? posts, reposted in the interest of our readers and featuring a key figure in last night's first part of the AYTO Season 6 Reunion which will be covered on here this weekend.
Last week, the object of Keyana's affection, Michael got to tend bar in the clubhouse of Bravo's late night show Watch What Happens Live with the channel's signature host Andy Cohen, and a guest of that show is someone who is musical royalty and whose nickname is the Dutchess.
It was in the mid-'80s that Stacy Ferguson began her showbiz career as the voice of Sally in two Charlie Brown specials, but it was her five-year stint on the Kids Incorporated where she first made her mark, as well as being part of girl group Wild Orchid. But it was a call she got from a hip-hop group that would change her life, as she joined The Black Eyed Peas at the most opportune time as the group broadened its musical scope from just hip-hop to also include pop and dance-pop. Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap & Taboo would garner the music world's attention with over 76 million records sold, and hits like "I Gotta Feeling," "Where Is The Love" and a Super Bowl halftime show. And she has also fared very well solo-wise, with several hit singles as well as her own brand fragrance... her second solo album just released this past month.
When Michael and one of his friends appeared on WWHL, this is what happened next...
And lastly on our AYTO Pulse on Saturday, one Are You The One? alum pledged their support for the man who took back a UFC title that was effectively handed to him by the former holder's troubles with the law and then drugs after a failed drug test following his most recent fight. Now a member of Season 6 has one-upped Anthony of Season 2 and him meeting UFC champ Daniel Cormier by gaining the backing of a big name superstar. Coincidentally, the person of our focus here shares the same place of birth as the place of residency man who fought DC that night, Jon Jones.
If you grew up in the early '90s, you might remember Neil Patrick Harris playing the title role of Doogie Howser, M.D., a child prodigy who was able to complete everything a person would take years to accomplish to become a doctor before most of us would enter high school. His character completed high school, college and medical school in eight years to become America's youngest licensed doctor at age 14. And the series documented his challenges of balancing the fascinating world of medicine with the problems people his age go through... and every episode of Doogie ended with him typing an entry into his computer diary his observations of what went through that week.
Neil got his start as a child actor who was discovered in Albuquerque, NM, then cast in a 1988 film with Whoopi Goldberg and netted him a Golden Globe nod before Doogie came calling. TV guest roles followed the show's four-season run along with the first of many mature film roles, which would see him star in the Harold & Kumar franchise, and lend his voice talents to The Smurfs and other animated movies. And on Broadway, the experience he learned early on enabled Neil to embrace roles both dramatically and musically: from the successful play Rent and starring alongside Debbie Gibson and Vanessa Hudgens to hosting its biggest event, the Tony Awards, four times.
To another generation of fans, NPH is best known for playing Barney Stinson on the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, which followed main character Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) and his Manhattan friends (including Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segal) and documented the events that led them meet their mom. The show gained a cult following, numerous awards, and became infamous for its series finale in 2014 with a controversial twist ending that left everyone shaking their heads. And on the most-watched entertainment broadcast each year, two times Neil has taken the stage at the Oscars: first in 2010 in delivering the opening number, and five years later being the show's host.
And along with other roles -- the current one being playing main antagonist Count Olaf on Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harris is one of the most prominent celebrities to take pride in themselves in being openly gay. Eleven years ago next month, he officially came out of the closet after having been in a three-year relationship with partner David Burtka. They would then become parents to baby twins Gideon and Harper in 2010, then a year later the men announced their engagement just before the landmark Supreme Court ruling making same-sex marriage national law. They tied the knot three years later in Italy with Elton John performing at their reception.
So far in New Orleans, Michael has been in an up and down relationship with Keyana and also attempted to break off Kareem & Alivia, which suggests through teasers on Instagram may find themselves in rough waters come Wednesday. And after he and his friend got to hang out with Fergie at Bravo's Watch What Happens Live after the premiere (just as rumors of the Dutchess' marriage with Josh Duhamel has been going "Boom Boom Pow" recently), Mike now he has the backing of Mr. NPH when he got to take part in a promotional event for Cigna when Neil went back to when he started his career in doing a commercial for them in being a doctor once again. Below is them meeting at that event where both took part in a workout put on by the company.
