'Love to Love You Baby' singer dies on Thursday (May 17) after long battle with cancer.
By Gil Kaufman

Donna Summer
Photo: Fotos International/Getty Images

Donna Summer, the powerhouse singer known as the "Queen of Disco," died on Thursday (May 17) in Florida after a battle with cancer, according to The Associated Press.

The five-time Grammy winner who set dance floors ablaze in the 1970s with such anthems as "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff" and her most iconic hit, "I Feel Love," was 63 years old. In a genre that was filled with many one-hit wonders and fly-by-night studio acts that were unable to keep the disco inferno stoked after scoring hits, Summer was a lifer, consistently charting even after the dance craze faded in the late 1970s.

For photos of Donna Summer through the years, click here.

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Summer set herself apart with strong vocals backed by her songwriting skills, as well as some creative luck in hooking up with producers/songwriters Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. The pair helped her pump out hit after hit and provided her with a sensual, almost ethereal sound on tracks such as "I Feel Love," which seduced both on and off the dance floor.

Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts to a butcher father and schoolteacher mother, Summer showed promise as a singer from an early age. She made her public debut at age 10 at her church when the scheduled singer didn't show up and she filled in. After appearing in a number of musicals and plays in high school and singing with the psychedelic rock band The Crow, she joined the cast of German production of the musical "Hair" in 1967 at age 18.

She stayed in Munich after the show's run ended and recorded her debut solo album there in 1974, Lady of the Night. Though it spawned a hit overseas with "The Hostage," she didn't crack the U.S. market until a year later with the song that would make her an international superstar, the seductive disco anthem, "Love to Love You Baby." The tune she created with Moroder and Bellotte was a #2 hit in the U.S. and landed her an American record deal with the it label of the era, Casablanca Records.

The 17-minute club remix of the single, which featured such real-sounding ecstatic moans that some radio stations refused to play it, became a huge hit and set a new standard for sophisticated arrangements in a genre often marked by cheesy sounding instrumentation and lazy songwriting.

She released two albums in 1976, A Love Trilogy, which featured the nearly 18-minute epic "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" and the winter/spring/summer/autumn-themed Four Seasons of Love. In a singles genre where the one good song was the thing, Summer continued to put out consistently artistic albums, including 1977's I Remember Yesterday, which featured the tune that would secure Summer's place at the top of the disco diva pecking order, "I Feel Love." That hypnotizing track was also the first one recorded with music made up entirely of synthesized sounds.

This being the era of excess, her second 1977 album, Once Upon A Time, was another concept disc, this one retelling the Cinderella story in the disco era on tracks like "Once Upon a Time," "Fairy Tale High," "Working the Midnight Shift" and "Queen for a Day."

She transitioned into acting in 1978 in the disco comedy "Thank God It's Friday," which earned her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal for the hit "Last Dance." By 1979's two-album Bad Girls she was indisputably a star, logging six weeks at #1 and scoring hits with the sexy "Bad Girls" and more rock-oriented "Hot Stuff." When Summer released a double-album greatest hits disc later that year she became the first artists to ever score three #1 albums in a row with double-disc releases.

She went on to record a hit Barbra Streisand duet and moved over to the then-new Geffen Records, where her success began to wane. By 1983, she'd moved past the disco beat and into a synth-heavy R&B/new wave sound with the female empowerment anthem "She Works Hard For the Money." That song, though, would effectively mark the end of her hit-making days. Summer continued to release albums through the late 1980's, but was never again able to capture her disco peak. In fact, by the end of the decade she spoke out against the "sinful" nature of her disco hits and turned her back on her earlier material and focused on painting.

After a 17-year break, she released her first studio album of original material, Crayons, in 2008.

• Donna Summer: The Queen Of Disco

• Donna Summer

Singer's donation to Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is second largest in Nashville museum's history.
By John Mitchell

Taylor Swift
Photo: Getty Images

Taylor Swift has a reputation for being a good girl with a big heart, and when you pair that with her sizable bank account, you get one very large charitable donation that will benefit music education for both children and senior citizens.

The six-time Grammy winner has donated $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville to fund what will now be known as the Taylor Swift Education Center, an exhibit and classroom space scheduled to open in 2014.

"In terms of what it will allow us to do, we do education very well now," museum director Kyle Young told the Associated Press (via Billboard). "It will allow us to do what we do better, serve more people, develop new programs, and I'm happy to say that as we talked through this opportunity with Taylor, she very much wants to be involved in an advisory capacity in what we do. Is there a better person out there who's in touch with a young audience? I think not. I was joking we should be paying her to do that. I was only joking."

Swift's donation is the second largest ever gifted to the museum and is the largest given by a musician. The country-pop megastar has a long history with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. She signed her record contract there and gave one of her first public performances on the building's plaza.

In the past, she has also volunteered her time to the museum's "All for the Hall" fundraisers.

The Taylor Swift Education Center is part of a larger $75 million expansion of the Hall of Fame that will more than double the size of the museum and include a new concert theater and more space for exhibits and archives.

The planned education center will be more than 7,500 square feet spread over two stories. It will have its own exterior entrance that will lead to three classrooms and exhibit space. The expansion will allow the museum to dramatically increase its youth education programs, with plans for it to house a "musical petting zoo" and an art classroom where children can make concert posters and other art projects.

The center will also give the museum the opportunity to add new programs and workshops for teens and senior citizens.

"For Taylor to want to engage herself in the life of this place in such an appropriate way," Young continued, "every way you slice it and dice it, it's great."

• MTV First: Taylor Swift

• Taylor Swift

Phillip Phillips gets mostly rave reviews and Joshua Ledet praised on path to what appears to be another all-male finale.
By Gil Kaufman

Joshua Ledet performs on "American Idol"
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

You can understand if the contestants on "American Idol" make some bad song choices when left to their own devices. But on Wednesday night's
 triple-play episode, in which Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet had to sing a judge's choice, a tune picked by mentor Jimmy Iovine and one of their own, the selections were ... bizarre.

With only two songs from the current millennium, the top three reached back, sometimes way back on a night when it became clear that Sanchez is too green, Ledet is just the right shade of blue(s) and Phillips is, well, whatever he wants to be because he's probably going to win no matter what happens.

So, who made it thisclose, but is probably headed home tonight and who can get their big-boy pants pressed for the finale? Read on to find out!

Joshua Ledet: Randy Jackson picked the Etta James song "I'd Rather Be Blind" for Josh, who busted out the retro mic and some sleepy soul for a performance that simmered but took way too long to boil. It was solid, but even Jennifer Lopez seemed a tad bored with it and it didn't push him any closer to this century. (It was cute, though, how a Kraft commercial using the same song aired right after Ledet performed. Synergy!)

Josh went big with his choice, John Lennon's "Imagine." And because he's a preacher's kid, he skipped the "no religion too" verse. The pageant-y, 1970s AM lite radio arrangement flattened out the song's emotion, which Ledet tried to pump back in courtesy of some swooping gospel moments. It was a heartstring-tugging layup, but if you really listened it sounded like coasting, or, as JLo politely deemed it, "pulled back and controlled."

Jimmy hit Josh in his sweet spot with Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama." Someone knows what they're doing. From the manic bouncing to the nearly out-of-control, bedazzled jacket-dropping spazz at the end, Josh murdered it. That alone made up for the other two tame performances and locked him into next week's finale. A-

Phillip Phillips: Steven Tyler was going for melody with "Beggin'" by Madcon. But what he likely did was send tens of millions of "Idol" watchers to Google to find out ... who the hell Madcon is? So, a 2008 cover of a 1967 Four Seasons hit by an obscure Norwegian dance duo? Wouldn't you know it, strummy P managed to make it sound like, oh man, do I even need to say it? (Rhymes with Shave It Bath Hues.) The jammy, vanilla soul frat party rocker is exactly what I expect a P Phil album to sound like. "New Springsteen?" Really Steven?

The sexy sax player was back for Phil's choice, "Disease" by Matchbox 20. Yeah, that Matchbox 20. It was moody, conga-y, mid-tempo and so intense he had to sit down on some road cases just to contain the, um, intensity? Like Ledet's "Imagine," this one felt too easy, like a sprinter pulling up in the final 20 yards to avoid injury after looking over his shoulder and realizing he's got it. In a rare bit of real talk from the panel, Lopez called it "easy flowing" and said it lacked the "wow performance" element.

Phil's dad loved Jimmy's choice of Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight," and Iovine dared the pawn shop worker to ignore the 1978 hit's melody. Without his guitar, Phil was forced to awkwardly stroke and caress his thigh as he muscled through the heartland ballad. Between the sappy strings and the suggesting hand fidgeting Phillips looked like he was waiting out the clock in detention. Randy, of course, called it the "perfect song" and Phil's best performance. So, now all you have to do to win this thing is sing the melody of the song and not worry about actually hitting the notes correctly? I give up. You can have him, America. Remember how awesome that nighty-night song was when you don't buy his album in December. B

Jessica Sanchez: Lopez aimed for Sanchez's sweet spot with Mariah Carey's "My All," but ended up trapping the singer in a breathy lower register that made Jessica's powerhouse voice sound weak and pitchy. The snoozy lullaby robbed the high schooler of a big moment and may have punched her card home. Did Randy mention he's worked with Mariah? Well, if he thought that was one of the best renditions of a Carey song ever on TV, Carey should lose his number.

In the ultimate brown noser move, BeBe chose Aerosmith's power anthem "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." I kept waiting for girls in swimsuits or evening gowns to start parading around her, but this kind of Velveeta ballad is her sweet spot and while she didn't move the bar any higher, it's exactly what America wanted to hear. But, ugh, that last shouty note was as off as Jennifer's pink pantsuit.

Iovine went retro with 1970's "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5, which despite what he argued, didn't really make Sanchez seem contemporary, and dropped her back down into that lower range that doesn't do her favors. When she kept it up high, Sanchez sounded strong and confident, but the lazy tempo didn't provide the rocket fuel she needed to lock in a spot next week. B-

Who do you think nailed it last night? Who deserves to go home? Let us know in comments below.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

• 'American Idol' Season 11 Performances

Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Emma Watson, Leighton Meester and Logan Lerman added as presenters for June 3 show.
By John Mitchell

Wiz Khalifa
Photo: Jason Merritt/ WireImage

Rap superstar Wiz Khalifa will perform his new single "Work Hard, Play Hard" for the first time on television at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards.

Khalifa joins chart-topping indie-pop group Fun. as the second performer announced for the annual Golden Popcorn-fest. "Work Hard, Play Hard" is the debut single from the Pittsburgh rapper's hotly awaited second studio album, O.N.I.F.C., which will hit stores in August.

In addition to Khalifa, several of the biggest stars in film have been added to the lineup of presenters for the big show. "That's My Boy" co-stars Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, "Gossip Girl" diva Leighton Meester and "Perks of Being a Wallflower" castmates Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller will join already-announced presenters Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg at the Russell Brand-hosted event.

Watson, Lerman and Miller will also be on hand during the Movie Awards pre-show to debut the first "Perks" trailer. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," based on the popular Stephen Chbosky novel of the same name, tells the story of introverted high school freshman Charlie (Lerman) as he slowly comes out of his shell thanks to new friends, siblings Sam (Watson) and Patrick (Miller).

The 2012 MTV Movie Awards will air live on MTV from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on Sunday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

• MTV Movie Awards Madness Starts Now!

• Wiz Khalifa

'I always think about that song that will be able to let you out of that slump,' Looking 4 Myself singer says on 'MTV First.'
By John Mitchell

Usher at "MTV First"
Photo: MTV News

It's not often that fans get to hit the club to party with the artist behind the latest dance hit, but that's exactly what happened for the audience at the interactive off-Broadway show "Fuerza Bruta" when Usher arrived for a unique first-listen experience for his new album, Looking 4 Myself.

As the R&B megastar's latest hit, the beat-driven Max Martin-produced "Scream," pounded through the theater, Usher flew into the audience for a rave-like dance party that had everyone in the place moving.

He's used to that sort of reaction by now, having released some of the biggest club hits of the past 15 years, including "OMG," "Yeah," "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "My Way." Usher consistently makes dance records that define a night, and it's important to the singer that his upbeat songs reach people on as deep a level as his more personal ballads.

"If I'm gonna move you, I want to move you. I hope that it could be something that could be life changing," the soulful signer said during "MTV First: Usher." "You may be going through something real crazy, who knows, and just need to get out and just enjoy yourself. So I always think about the club, I always think about that song that will be able to let you out of that slump, if you're in it."

But "Scream" isn't just for those looking for escape. The track can work on many levels, according to the singer: "If you're just ready to have a good time, or if you're working out and you just need that little motivation to push you over the edge, there you go."

• MTV First: Usher

• Usher

Mixtape Daily introduces newcomer, who hooks up with Yo Gotti and DJ Scream on her latest, Girl, Interrupted.
By Rob Markman

Sadie Hawkins
Photo: MTV News

Firestarter: Sadie Hawkins

It's no secret that rap has been a male-dominated sport, but you can't forget the ladies. Of course, Nicki Minaj is the most recognizable, and Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks are both making waves. Well, it's time to add another name to that growing list of femme fatales: Sadie Hawkins.

If the name sounds familiar, Hawkins borrows her moniker from a 1930s comic-strip character. And, school children often attend Sadie Hawkins-themed dances, where traditional roles are reversed and the girls ask out the boys. The name is particularly fitting for an artist who rhymes with a ferocity typically associated with male rappers.

Sadie started out as a model, and during one of her photo shoots, an onlooker suggested she try her hand at music. "He was like, 'Are you a rapper?' And I was like, 'Nah,' " she told Mixtape Daily. "He was like, 'Yeah, you look like a boss chick. Your name should be 'Sadie Hawkins.' "

As a child, she always admired hip-hop's top female spitters. "Growing up, some of the female MCs that I grew up on — like Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Salt-n-Pepa, MC Lyte, Missy, Eve — seeing them out there, and they doing it, and they actually made it happen, it could give you [a feeling like] 'Yeah, OK, I can do this too,' " she shared.

Sadie pays homage to the queens on "Microphone Checka," a track on her DJ Scream-hosted, Angelina Jolie-inspired Girl, Interrupted mixtape. Hawkins spits over a 1980s-style instrumental while name-dropping some of her favorite back-in-the-day rappers.

On "Cocky," the lyrical newcomer partners with Yo Gotti, proving that she can hold her own against one of the game's most-respected MCs, and on "Ms. Money," she delivers a catchy make-it-rain ode that's ripe for radio.

Sadie Hawkins shows tons of promise: More than just a pretty face, the rookie spitter makes music to back it up.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

'Sometimes you can't communicate in words, but in a song, you can,' late Queen of Disco told MTV News in a rare interview.
By John Mitchell, with additional reporting by John Norris

Donna Summer
Photo: MTV News

Donna Summer's death Thursday (May 17) at age 63 after a long battle with cancer saddened music lovers around the world. Fans are mourning the loss of one of the greats, a real pioneer, whose innovative use of synthesized backing tracks blazed the path for the dance music we are all so familiar with today.

Hers are some of the most memorable disco songs ever recorded, and her impact on music is almost too large to quantify with words, but for Summer herself, it was all about the voice.

"Music is part of my life. For my judgment, music is the greatest of all the gifts," Summer told MTV News' John Norris in a rare 1989 interview. "The voice — not my voice, but the voice — to me is the greatest gift. Having a voice. You need no other instrument, all you have to do is sing. Open your mouth, and it's there."

Because her sound was so rooted in the mechanics of disco, with its glittering synths and pulsating beats, some people don't know that the five-time Grammy winner was also an amazingly accomplished vocalist. Her mezzo-soprano voice transcends even the genre she pioneered. Before she became the Queen of Disco, she sang gospel in church and in her early 20s moved to Europe, where she performed in musicals like "Godspell" and "Showboat" and joined the Viennese Folk Opera.

"When I hear other people singing, I think, 'God, it's great, it's a great gift, what a great gift,' " Summer told MTV News. "And probably one of the gifts that people want the most is to be able to sing, and for obvious reasons — it's soothing, it's stimulating, it's encouraging, it's sad, it covers every spectrum of emotion."

It was a gift she was lucky enough to have and good enough to share with the world — one that brought her 14 top 10 hits and four #1's.

"There's no better way to get into those crevasses, those cracks in somebody's personality and root out the real person but through singing," Summer continued. "Sometimes you can't communicate in words, but in a song, you can."

Share your condolences for Donna Summer's friends, family and fans in the comments or on Facebook.

• Donna Summer: 1948 - 2012

• Donna Summer: The Queen Of Disco

• Donna Summer

'Her songs are so iconic that people use them as shorthand,' expert tells MTV News about late singer's tunes being all over pop culture.
By Kara Warner

Donna Summer
Photo: Fotos International/Getty Images

The news of Donna Summer's untimely passing Thursday (May 17) weighed heavily on all those who knew and loved the undisputed Queen of Disco.

Despite the fact that "disco fever" lived and basically died in the 1970s, Summer's music continues to live on. Her many unforgettable hits like "Last Dance," "Love to Love You Baby" and "She Works Hard for the Money" transcended genres and left an indelible mark on all pop culture, from the music charts to television and film. A quick perusal of Summer's eclectic IMDb page demonstrates the fact that her music is the go-to for filmmakers and show-runners looking for that perfect dance number in their TV show or film.

"Her songs are so iconic that people use them as shorthand either to convey disco or those songs lend themselves to montage-type stuff," Entertainment Weekly music editor Leah Greenblatt told MTV News. " 'She Works Hard for the Money' is always used for when a lady is going about her business. Songs like 'Love to Love You' and 'I Feel Love' are almost like a 'bow-chicka-bow-wow,' in that they always convey sex, whether that's in an ironic way or in a real way."

Two relatively recent comedic examples include the memorable love scene/orgy in "Zoolander" set to "Love to Love You" and Cameron Diaz's group dance number in "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," set to "Last Dance."

"A lot of her songs were almost cinematic in the way that their lyrics and music were arranged," Greenblatt said of the repeated use of Summer's songs for television and film. "A lot of [scenes] can go out or end on 'Last Dance.' 'She Works Hard for the Money' is all about when a woman has to go out and earn in a movie; it's the perfect music cue. And when someone is having a threesome with a Sherpa [like in 'Zoolander'], her music was so great for that."

Greenblatt went on to say that Summer's songs will continue to provide the soundtrack to key moments in our lives.

For photos of Donna Summer through the years, click here.

"There was a time when disco was really derided and dismissed, but it would be really hard to find a person over 25 or 30 who doesn't have these songs as part of their DNA. Whether or not you liked disco, it's really hard to deny her voice and her talent," she said. "Her music stands out because she was such a great singer and because a lot of her songs were about emotions too. You can really feel in her voice that she means it.

"Also, how many artists have music that has been featured on 'Sex and the City,' 'Parks and Recreation' and in 'Frost/Nixon'?" Greenblatt added. "For whatever reason, comedians love to use her too. There's the campy tributes but also a sincere love for her. And anytime anyone takes their clothes off [in TV or film], someone has got to play 'Hot Stuff.' "

Share your condolences for Donna Summer's friends, family and fans in the comments or on Facebook.

• Donna Summer: 1948 - 2012

• Donna Summer: The Queen Of Disco

• Donna Summer

The late Beastie Boy's legacy is remembered in resolution that celebrates his life, music and love for New York City.
By James Montgomery

Adam Yauch
Photo: Bertrand Guay/ Getty Images

Adam Yauch was, in almost every sense of the term, a true New Yorker — born in Brooklyn, raised on the music of the Village and the Lower East Side, representing the eclectic energy and vibrant multiculturalism of NYC itself through his films and social causes — so it's fitting that, earlier this week, the New York State Senate passed a resolution honoring the late Beastie Boy's achievements.

The resolution — officially known as J4637 — was written by State Senator Daniel Squadron (who represents the district of Brooklyn Heights, where Yauch was born) and celebrates Yauch's many accomplishments and contributions, including raising the profile of New York City in a time when many thought its best days were behind it, noting:

"The Beastie Boys became well-known in the innovative music scene in Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side with a sound and a style all their own ... [they] exemplified New York through a period in which grassroots creativity and a community of iconoclastic artists helped redefine and rejuvenate a city on the ropes, with iconic imagery from Brooklyn to Ludlow Street."

Squadron also paid tribute to Yauch's activism, including his Milarepa Fund (which raised awareness of the abuses in Tibet) and his Oscilloscope Laboratories, which produced films like the Yauch-directed "Gunnin' For That #1 Spot," about high-school basketball prospects competing in a tournament at Harlem's historic Rucker Park.

J4637 also works in a nod to the Beastie's 1994 hit "Sure Shot" ("The music and message of the Beastie Boys evolved over the years, but they can't, they don't, they won't stop changing the face of hip-hop, of music and of our culture") and allowed the Senate to "pause in its deliberations" to remember Yauch, "a man of colossal talent and charisma."

"Adam Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wengdu, and their daughter Losel," the resolution concludes. "He will be missed by his family, his fans and all who knew him; his dedication to his music, his activism and his heritage leaves an indelible legacy of inspiration for all other artists."

• Adam Yauch: Remembering A Beastie Boy

• The Beastie Boys' Adam 'MCA' Yauch: A Life In Photos

'We take you on a ride through this album,' Joell Ortiz tells MTV News of Welcome to: Our House.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by James Lacsina

Royce da 5"9" of Slaughterhouse
Photo: MTV News

Slaughterhouse are putting the finishing touches on their humble abode. Welcome to: Our House, Slaughterhouse's major-label debut on Shady Records, is scheduled for a June 12 release, and Eminem is just putting the finishing touches on the much-anticipated LP.

"The album is done. In terms of vocal recording, we're done. Marshall is still in the process of mixing, we still got a couple of records that we're missing," Royce da 5'9" told MTV News on May 9 from the set of their "My Life" video. "We're on pace for June, worst-case scenario, we're looking at July, but it's definitely coming, 100 percent.

This isn't SH's first album, but ever since it was announced that Royce, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I signed to Eminem's Shady Records at the top of 2011, rap fans have been wondering what type of sound the major-label marriage would yield.

"Fire," Joe Budden said, describing the sound of the new album in a single word.

His partner-in-rhyme Ortiz was a little more descriptive. "It's a really personal album, but there are records like 'My Life' which are celebratory," he said.

Each member of Slaughterhouse is a master lyricist in his own right, and when they converge for group efforts, the expectations are that much higher. "There are records were those core Slaughterhouse fans will get their 'Ohs and ahs' like 'OK, the pen is pushing,' " Ortiz said, promising a barrage of witty lyrics. "It's themed, but we take you on a ride through this album. Y'all gonna enjoy it."

The group is so excited about the album that they are taking great care in making sure it isn't leaked onto the Internet prematurely. In fact, Welcome to: Our House is so closely guarded, none of Slaughterhouse members even have a copy. "We don't have the music, it stays in the studio. It's safe there," Ortiz told us. "But every time we go to record or just get up and meet in Detroit with Em and everybody at Shady, I personally ask them to hear records."

What are you hoping to hear on Welcome to: Our House? Leave your comment below!

'I wanted to do the right thing by all of them,' Ryan Murphy tells Vulture.
By Fallon Prinzivalli, with additional reporting by Christina Garibaldi

The cast of "Glee"
Photo: Adam Rose/ FOX

Twitter is a blessing that affords celebrities the ability to communicate with fans and update on their projects. But it can also be a curse when it sparks unwanted rumors — as "Glee" star Amber Riley found out the hard way.

Gleeks thought the actress wasn't returning to the show next fall when Riley tweeted, "Just closed a chapter in my life, the only thing I've known day in and day out for three years. I'm going to miss the whole Glee family, seeing them everyday!"

When the show's creator Ryan Murphy spoke to Vulture, he dispelled the gossip. "A lot of people have been writing Dianna [Agron] off the show, Amber's off the show — they're not off the show," he said. "I think Amber was talking about that bittersweet feeling of, 'I'll never be in the choir room with that exact group of people.' ... She's excited about where her character is going. They all are. I wanted to do the right thing by all of them."

MTV News caught up with Agron before the news broke that her character was returning. The actress told us that while she's interested in the future of Quinn, she likes the story line to be a surprise.

"It's so funny, because I do write, and there was part of me that was like, 'Oh, I know these characters inside and out. What if they gave me a shot to sit in the writer's room and toy away with that?' But at the same time, it's like, 'I don't want to have any say in that.' I love the surprise element of it."

While fans need not worry about the fate of Lea Michele, Cory Monteith or Chris Colfer following reports that the show will track Rachel, Finn and Kurt's New York adventures, it's hard not to wonder what's in store for the glee-club seniors as they graduate on the season finale. With Quinn (Agron) off to Yale and Puck (Mark Salling) headed to California to expand his pool-cleaning business, some characters could get tossed to the side. But Murphy said that he told the actors if they wanted to stay on the show, he had a place for them — including Matthew Morrison's Will Schuester and Jane Lynch's Coach Sue Sylvester. "They're all coming back," he said. "Anyone who is a regular is coming back. Everyone said yes."

But he does clarify that they may not come back for the long haul. "It doesn't mean everyone will be doing 22 episodes, but everyone wants to stay in our family and our world,'" he revealed. "I wanted to make sure those actors know that if they want to have a home, they have a home. If they want to explore new and different things while also having a home, that is also an option."

"Glee" returns to Fox this fall, moving from Tuesday to Thursday nights, and is set to begin season four with a second Britney Spears tribute episode.