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Shannon Bex performing with Danity Kane in 2006, and now, as the singer of BEX.

In 2005, Diddy invited MTV's cameras to follow him as he scoured the nation for talented young performers to be a part of an all-female pop act. Overconfident, underdeveloped divas flooded castings, assuring the hip-hop mogul they had more talent than they actually did. Yet in the midst of him "Making the Band," Shannon Bex, a former cheerleader for the Portland Trail Blazers, blew the guy away with her background in dance and her commitment to performing, and ended up securing one of five spots in Danity Kane. Her talent had done all the talking for her.

The girl group's first album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the summer 2006 hit "Show Stoppers." Tour dates with Christina Aguilera followed, and their sophomore album, "Welcome to the Dollhouse," made DK record-breakers, as they became the first female act to debut with two No. 1 albums in a row. There was trouble beneath the surface, though, and only a couple of years after Shannon and Co. came together, they fell apart. By 2009, Danity Kane was nothing but a memory, and Bex ultimately decided to leave the sinking ship behind.

Two years later, the woman Diddy praised for her professionalism in the face of chaos has a new project in the works: a coed country/R&B band called BEX. It's certainly a change of pace from the days of "Damaged," but the now 31-year-old Bex is bent on moving forward with her love of music, even though her first taste wasn't as sweet as she'd hoped. Below, check out what she told Remote Control, take a walk through memory lane with the video to "Bad Girl" and make sure to check out the singer's Twitter account to keep up with her latest successes!

Take us back to the time during which you first tried out for "Making the Band"--what was going on in your life?
My husband and I had been married a little over a year when I tried out for the band. I had just come off of the NBC show "Fame," and though I had been signed to a recording contract, I had my first lesson of this business: Hurry up and wait. So to keep myself moving forward and busy, I went back to dancing for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Read more...

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Tags Danity Kane, Diddy, Shannon Bex, Video, Where Are They Now?

Years ago, at the height of Diddy's "Making The Band [Pick a number]" popularity, he coined the catchy term "bitchassness," which he so eloquently defined as an "epidemic of envy, hate, or deceit." Well, Puff's not the only MTV reality frontman that's lobbing around some self-created slang!

Rob Dyrdek's latest show, "Ridiculousness," (premieres Monday, August 29 at 10/9c) puts him back in front of the camera, where he'll pick apart viral videos and basically laugh at the misfortune of others as they tumble and fall (America's favorite pastime!). Check out the trailer below and see him poke fun at some internet clips that truly are ridiculous.

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Tags Diddy, Rob Dyrdek, Trailer, Video

Tonight's 2-for-1 ass-whooping special of "Bully Beatdown" featured Nick (a.k.a. "The Truck"), an athletic in-line skater with an affinity for death metal music and pounding his victims Chris and Blair into the ground (oh, and taking claim for coining the term "Bitchassness" when we ALL KNOW that Diddy invented it). Too bad for him, legendary MMA fighter Jeremy Horn was there to set him straight.

Check out the video below to hear what Jeremy has to say about the sport of fighting, then take the poll and let us know if you were impressed with the way he tossed The Truck on his axle!

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Tags Diddy, Jeremy Horn

In a recent battle of the Bad Boys, Brooklyn had nothing on the Bronx.

According to Life & Style's "Scene Queens," hip-hop mogul Diddy approached Sammi "Sweetheart" outside a Fashion Week event dropping lines like, "I’ve been thinking about you" (we were expecting something more R&B, like, "I've been thinking about licking you all over")--but apparently, the "Jersey" girl only has eyes for maybe/kinda/sorta boyfriend Ronnie Magro. (Yes, the same guy who cheated on her.) The Queens reported that Sammi couldn't have been bothered to respond to Diddy's advances, even though he'd been texting her friend and begging for her digits.

Every time Ron three-way kisses drunk clubgoers, we question Sammi's taste in men; however, this time she deserves a round of applause for not getting all googly-eyed over some smooth-talking celeb. Looks like fame hasn't changed her yet--well, apart from that amazing style upgrade!

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Tags Diddy, Jersey Shore's Sammi

Snooki's been ob-freaking-sessed with her MacBook camera and the world of Pandora lately, but she dismounted from "Tony The Dragon" yesterday to meet up with JWOWW for a little early morning fun. While most of you were sound asleep, the two "Jersey Shore" casties were running shiz in the Sirius XM Radio studio (apparently they were talking about some crazy stuff). Vinny also dropped by to step behind the mic, then later got into a car with a hot-tempered driver (dude, take the subway next time!).

Elsewhere, Diddy tried to start rumors about LeBron James coming to New York, and "The City" star Joe Zee found himself in a rare moment -- asking for wardrobe tips! Check out their tweets below:

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Remember the first episode of "Jersey Shore" when Snooki's car broke down before she even made it to Seaside Heights? Well, this go-round, her ride got all the way to Miami just fine ... then broke down after filming was completed! Hey, it was probably a blessing in disguise. Earlier this week, the pouf princess upgraded from a Honda to a Beamer. (Nice work!)

Elsewhere, Whitney Port pondered this season of "The Bachelorette," newly single-ish Heidi Montag brainstormed with gossip queen Perez Hilton about the next step in her career (let's hope that doesn't actually happen) and Diddy paid for all his sugar fixes.

Check out their tweets below:

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Tags Diddy, Heidi Montag, Jersey Shore's Snooki, MTV Twitter Roundup, Perez Hilton, Whitney Port

After Tuesday's episode of "The Hills" aired, Lo Bosworth took to her Twitter to try and set things straight -- she and Stephanie Pratt weren't responsible for spreading the nasty rumors in Whoville Hillsville! Kristin Cavallari wrote back, and she's obviously still not buying it. (We're anxious to get to the bottom of this whole thing ourselves.)

Elsewhere, Diddy encouraged people to ask for what they want and Asher Roth might be a great lyricist, but it sounds like he's totally lost in the kitchen.

Check out their Tweets below:

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We spent the past week monitoring the Twitterverse so we could report back on what your favorite MTV celebs have been up to. (Sometimes our job is VERY tough!) Here's a bit of what's been happening:

Lauren Conrad may be a trendsetting novelist, but recently she's been feeling kind of uncool. Former costar Whitney Port looks like she's been developing a soft spot for Apple geeks, and Lo vented about her least favorite day of the year: April 15.

Elsewhere, Justin Bieber went to meet President Obama (lucky!), Diddy might've been rough housed at the dentist and Andrew from "Real World: D.C." was poppin' bottles with models! Check out their Tweets below:

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Tags Barack Obama, Diddy, Justin Bieber, Lauren Conrad, Lo Bosworth, MTV Twitter Roundup

Jon Gosselin's not about to let a pesky little divorce stand in the way of his social calendar. Instead, the man best known for his opportunistic style of parenting (and Diddy-like obsession with shades) has been making the most of his newfound bachelorhood/15 minutes by hittin' the D-list party circuit and trying to mac on anyone with a uterus.

'Course, being a big-time celeb future has-been has its pitfalls -- like having trouble finding "real" girls who aren't intimidated by his meteoric rise to mediocrity. So much so, in fact, that he's devised a completely new plan of attack: start dating other celebrities! And who's at the top of Jon's Hollywood "Lust" List? According to StarMagazine.com, that'd be Lindsay Lohan, Kristin Cavallari and (drumroll please!) Whitney Port!

Ya gotta give Jon props for setting his sights so high. We're sure our fave City gal is appropriately flattered, though we're guessing she'd rather go out on another 100 dates with "Let's join forces" boy than agree to sit across the table from Kate's ex.

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Tags Diddy, Jon Gosselin, K-Cav, Kristin Cavallari, Lindsay Lohan, Whitney Port

We've got a winner, folks! Liz, the sweet country gal with the powerful pipes, was crowned a star on tonight's finale, and she just couldn't be more delighted. Check out Liz's update below to find out her thoughts on the entire Starmaker experience!

What a ride it has been. Out of 14 singers in the pack, Diddy picked me -- the COUNTRY artist -- to represent BadBoy. I’m the happiest girl in the world!

I knew when I entered this competition that it was going to be tough, but being myself and staying true to who I am were key ingredients to the top spot. I have taken all the criticism from the Starmaker judges and turned it into positive advice to help further my career. And I feel blessed to have had the chance to work alongside so many great individuals, each with their own unique talents.

The Starmaker stage was nothing short of AWESOME. The moment I walked out with adrenaline pumping through my veins, the crowd cheering my name, I knew this was only the beginning of my journey!!

I want to thank Diddy and Mark Burnett for making such an amazing program! Also, the house band who rocked it out every week; vocal coach Romeo Johnson, who had the best techniques; Laurie Ann Gibson because she is such a motivator!; Tamara Conniff, who offered the best advice; and last but definitely not least, Rodney Jerkins, producer extraordinaire.

To all the people who have goals and dreams: Shoot for the **STARS** because you only live ONCE ... and DREAMS DO COME TRUE!

Now, as I sign with BadBoy I have just three words to say: Let’s make history!

Yeehaw!!
Liz

P.S. You can keep in contact with me through my Twitter and Myspace.

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Tags Diddy, Laurie Ann Gibson, Mark Burnett, Rodney Jerkins, Starmaker's Liz, Tamara Conniff