Pop & Hiss is live -- sort of! We're about 4 miles from MTV's annual pat-on-the-back party, but we're still grading all the performances as fast as we can, complete with typos. The two hours of hype will be documented here, but we also recommend you follow the tweets of our chief pop critic Ann Powers.  

 
Eminem, "Not Afraid/Love the Way You Lie." The show begins with a close-up of Eminem, his face shrouded in a hoodie, all Dungeons & Dragons sorcerer-like. But there's no 20-sided playfulness here, as Em is all solemn and serious -- stalking the stage face-down and plundering it with rhymes. "Not Afraid" is an overly forced tale of overcoming addiction, but it's stronger than anything off of last year's "Relapse." It comes alive as Em struts from a brick-adorned back room to a stage that's spread among a host of Googie-inspired symmetrics, allowing for some creative displays of light. Eminem has stolen some of Kanye West's "Heartless" drum line, and it gives the cut some award-show oomph, but doesn't add to the song's tenseness so much as explode it. The tautness comes courtesy of Rihanna, who appears onstage with a colorful, Hayley Williams-like hairdo. Her vocal delivery is straight-up stern, the perfect counterpoint to Em's more forceful hits. Overall, a solid opening: B

Justin Bieber, "Baby." Remember a couple years ago when the Jonas Brothers performed outdoors at the MTV VMAs? This year it's Bieber who’s the young'un who can't play inside with the grown-ups. He rolls up to the  downtown L.A. venue in a red convertible, chased by teenage girls. His "Baby" is fluffy retro-teen pop, and the vintage car and screaming girls attempt to connect Bieber to idols of yore. But Bieber is no Beatle, and his "Baby" is the kind of inescapable pop hit that already sounds dated, forever affixed to spring 2010. It's a sugar high, and Bieber isn't here to sing it so much as to show off his high-flying dance moves in his Team Bieber varsity jackets. But lest we think he's completely void of musical talent, he makes a brief racket on the drum set, immediately after dancing with some tykes half his size. The giant "B" on Beiber's jacket tells us what squad he’s playing for, but this belongs to the Mickey Mouse Club: D

Usher certainly knows how to make up to his fans.

After a previously rumored joint tour with fellow R&B heartthrob Chris Brown was nixed, the singer has announced he is kicking off his own outing.

With the success of the platinum-selling album “Raymond V. Raymond” and its recently released sequel, “Versus,” the 31-year-old is taking his "OMG Tour" (aptly titled after the will.i.am-assisted single of the same name) to 25 arenas across North America starting Nov. 10 in Seattle.

The AEG Live outing is Usher's first major arena trek since 2004’s "Truth Tour" in support of his smash album “Confessions.” After the lukewarm performance of his last album, “Here I Stand,” he took a "ladies only" show to smaller venues.

"Songs like 'OMG,' 'DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love,' 'There Goes My Baby,' 'Papers,' 'Daddy's Home,' 'Lil Freak’ with Nicki Minaj and 'Hot Tottie’ with Jay-Z have dominated the airwaves since last February," said Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live. "Now is the time for one of our greatest entertainers to go live, and we are thrilled to be part of the ultimate Usher experience.”

Tickets go on sale Sept. 17 and details will be available on Usherworld.com. He is slated to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

Check out the dates after the jump:

“Usually, I’m a one-kind-of-girl kind of guy, but now I’m a free to get at every girl kind of guy,” Usher Raymond reveals on “Love Em All,” the opening track and pacesetter of “Versus,” his EP-sequel to March’s platinum-selling “Raymond v. Raymond.”

Since 2004’s “Confessions,” the louche and libidinous crooner has mined the tumult of his personal life. Carefully revealing crucial details but shrouding the specifics in a haze of come-ons, Usher left fans guessing about his alleged infidelities with ex-flame Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of TLC, and his marriage to and subsequent divorce from Tameka Foster.

Yet on “Versus,” the ambiguity is absent. Freshly single, Usher does everything but buy a waterbed, an Italian sports car and announce, “Mothers, lock up your daughters.”

The Pitbull-propelled “DJ Got Us Fallin in Love” finds Usher singing generic paeans to a paramour’s eyes over a Eurovision-like Max Martin production. “Lay You Down” channels ’90s-era Prince, with Usher unctuously cooing about wanting to be the “one who keeps your body warm.” On the Michael Jackson-referencing “Lingerie,” he rhapsodizes about sexy nighties.

Occasionally, Usher flashes why he remains on R&B;’s A-list. “Hot Tottie” with Jay-Z is as intoxicating as its namesake. Bun B adds welcome grit on the Billy Ocean-homage “Get in My Car,” and Justin Bieber earns the Tiger Beat covers on the “Somebody to Love Remix.”

Though the title of “Versus” may allude to his divorce proceedings, it holds a double meaning — Usher’s at his best in head-to-head competition.

— Jeff Weiss

Usher
“Versus”
(LaFace)
Two and a half stars (Out of four)

Of the half-dozen acts that played during Monday night's mega event at Staples Center, perhaps any one of them alone could have filled the arena. But together, those genre-spanning superstars produced a fantastic and unforgettable stage show for the fairly intimate crowd.

Also, there might have been something about a video game.

The invite-only event was put on by Activision Blizzard, the Santa Monica outfit that makes such hit games as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft. Among the first nighttime events for the kickoff of this year's E3 video game expo in Los Angeles, Activision somehow managed to top Microsoft's Project Natal spectacle from the night before, which called upon the ever-mystifying Cirque du Soleil.

How a video game publisher managed to book Staples Center on the eve of the Lakers' crucial Game 6 in the NBA finals was a mystery soon forgotten after things got rolling. Eminem was the apparent headliner of the night, nabbing the longest playtime and the last punch and kick onstage, but it wouldn't be at all fair to call those who preceded him opening acts.

It's an Usher-heavy pop chart this week, as the R&B star scores another No. 1 album, and two other top 10 slots are occupied by his young protege, Justin Bieber. Usher's "Raymond V. Raymond" sold 330,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, giving the suave pop star his third straight No. 1.

Sales of "Raymond" don't quite match those of his 2008 album, "Here I Stand," which industry-trade,   keeper-of-the-charts Billboard Magazine reports opened with 443,000 copies. But Usher shouldn't feel too bad, as his business reach is widely evident on this week's tally. His teen-pop production find -- Bieber -- has the No. 2 album with "My World 2.0," which sold 290,000 copies. Usher signed and has produced the artist. 

In two weeks, Bieber's "My World 2.0" has moved a total of 574,000 copies. It's worth nothing that Beiber is the rare artist in recent history who has sold more albums in his second week than in his first. The cut debuted with 283,000 copies sold, but Bieber has remained one of the week's hottest media topics, visiting the White House and taking over FunnyOrDie.com. This weekend, he'll be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live." 

Bieber also owns the No. 8 spot, for his album "My World," which sold an additional 63,000 copies. Since its release last fall, Bieber's debut has shifted more than 1.1 million copies. 

The title of Usher's strong new album alludes to his recent divorce from Tameka Foster, whose brief marriage to the Atlanta-based R&B star (born Usher Raymond IV) provided much of the fodder for his domestic-minded 2008 album "Here I Stand."

But "Raymond v Raymond" carries another meaning as well, one seemingly directed toward Usher fans disappointed by the change in direction his wedding inspired: Here's a battle, the title suggests, between the faithful husband of the last few years and the wily lothario of yore.

With tracks like "Lil Freak," "Foolin' Around" and "So Many Girls," the album isn't coy about which Raymond comes out on top.

Over a thumping Eurodance groove in "OMG" he describes an encounter with a woman in a club that's unlikely to last beyond tomorrow morning. The reggae-scented "Pro Lover" offers a cheerful justification for the one-night stand: "I'm better when I'm touch and go."

In "She Don't Know," Usher makes the connection to his earlier work more explicit, ending most of his lines with a spirited interjection that openly echoes his up-tempo 2004 smash "Yeah!"

Near the end of "Raymond v Raymond," the singer temporarily slows the beat for "Papers," a sleekly produced ballad that appears to address the causes of his divorce: "The only time you're here for me," he sings, "is when the bottles popping and everything is sweet."

-- Mikael Wood 

Usher
"Raymond v Raymond"
(LaFace/Jive)
Three stars (Out of four)

With a Jan. 31 air date, the Grammy Awards face a challenge when it comes to paying tribute to the fallen King of Pop. Numerous award shows have already honored Michael Jackson, including the Grammys themselves: R&B star Maxwell's tribute to Jackson was one of the highlights of the Grammys' nomination concert in early December.

Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich notes that the Grammys had been close to securing a Jackson performance the last couple years. In fact, a planned tribute to Jackson's "Thriller" was believed to be such a done deal that CBS even aired commercials teasing the event.

But in the wake of Jackson's death, Ehrlich wanted to avoid having other artists sing a medley of Jackson's most iconic songs. Instead, the Jan. 31 telecast will feature a 3-D-enhanced rendition of his environmentally aware orchestral ballad "Earth Song," originally featured on Jackson's 1995 album, "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I." 

"To try and imitate him, to try and represent him, it just didn’t feel to me like it was something we should do with one of those songs that you just don’t ever necessarily want to see anybody but Michael doing," Ehrlich said in a Wednesday conference call with reporters. " ‘Beat It,’ ‘Billie Jean,’ or so many of the others. This felt to us like it was really a way of representing him. It’s like a tip of the hat. This song was so important to him."

Hey guys, thinking Usher's upcoming date at the Club Nokia might make for a perfect date night? You may be safer with a fancy meal instead.

The Washington Post's J. Freedom du Lac sat in on a conference call with the R&B superstar this week, and then later advised East Coast men that there may be better investments than a $101.50 Usher ticket, plus the $25 or so in added service fees. (Two tix, plus dinner, plus parking costs: $350 or so?)

Du Lac quotes the "Here I Stand" author as saying, "I actually never really opened the show up for male -- males, period. However, I cannot, you know, inhibit them from buying tickets. I can't prohibit them from buying tickets and being a part of it, I -- you know, obviously you can't discriminate in America. However, you know, I do want them to know that in the event that they decide to come, this show is catered specifically towards women."