Lady Gaga Passes Britney Spears as Most Followed Person on Twitter

     Pop artist Lady Gaga has recently been crowned the "Queen of Twitter", passing up Britney Spears to become the most followed account on the social networking site.  Spears, who passed up Ashton Kutcher in May for the top spot, became the first person to amass over five million followers.  Lady Gaga currently boasts 5,779,780 followers compared with Britney Spear's 5,717,362.

    Gaga joined Twitter on March 26th, 2008.  Her first post read, “Rehearsing for my video ‘Just Dance’ and am now at WMC to perform at the Armani and Nervous Records party. But I am no nervous record.”

     Since then, the pop artist has posted 447 tweets.  To commemorate her achievement, Lady Gaga posted a video dressed up as the Queen of Twitter (see below).

     Gaga also passed up Barack Obama as the living person with the most fans on Facebookwhen she topped 10 million in July.  Only the late Michael Jackson has more Facebook fans.

Lady Gaga Crowd Surfs, Gets Licked at Lollapalooza

     There were over 150 acts at Chicago's Lollapalooza 2010, but Lady Gaga stole the show.  The singer brought an abbreviated Monster Ball to the festival's main stage, but she also showed up at Semi Precious Weapon's set.  The band has been opening for the Lady during her tour, and Gaga decided to to pay them back by playing drums, being a back up singer, and jumping into the crowd.  One crazed fan even had the opportunity to lick Lady Gaga's stomach.

VMA Nominations: Gaga Reigns Supreme

MTV revealed the nominations for the 2010 Video Music Awards yesterday, and while there are a few notable snubs (Rihanna! The Miley!), and even fewer suprise nods (Florence + the Machine! 30 Seconds to Mars!), there's really one thing people are going gaga over: Lady Gaga.

Not only did she score a record 13 nominations (17 if you count Beyonce's "Video Phone," featuring Gaga) she is nominated twice for Best Choreography in a video and Video of the Year for both "Bad Romance" and "Telephone."

MTV Video Music Awards have a history of honoring the popularity of a song or an artist more than the actual video itself and this year proves no different. Taylor Swift's video for "Fifteen," for example-- really? And while I revere Beyonce in the highest, I'm honestly shocked her video for "Video Phone" garnered such love from VMA voters; it made little to no impact and only received buzz because of the collaboration with Lady Gaga. And let's face it-- it's just an okay video to a terrible song.

So what if Rihanna's string of amazing videos this past year were almost completely ignored (one nod for "Rude Boy"'s editing...)! So what if Ke$ha's aaaaawwful video for "Tik Tok" earned 4 nominations! So what! It's just the VMAs! Like the videos really matter.

The nominations, please....

Justin Bieber Beats Out Lady Gaga for Most Viewed YouTube Video

     Tween singing sensation Justin Bieber recently over took pop artist Lady Gaga for the most viewed video on YouTube.  Bieber's "Baby" featuring Ludacris topped Gaga's "Bad Romance" yesterday afternoon.  "Baby" has managed to receive 246,353,903 views.  "Bad Romance", the former top video, has received 245,688,071 views.  In distant third is the classic baby video, "Charlie bit my finger".

     In terms of music video, Miley Cyrus has a strong YouTube presence.  Her "Party In The U.S.A." is the third most watched video, while "7 Things" lands at No. 5 and "The Climb" at No. 7.  Strangely, Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me" is No. 4 (Who watches that?).  Lady Gaga also placed a second video in the top ten with "Just Dance" at No. 6.

     See the full list after the jump.

The Meaning Behind Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" Music Video

     The music video for Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" was released today, and in what has becoming standard Gaga fashion, it clocks in at just under nine minutes.  Nothing in the video is reminiscent of things that are "hot like Mexico", instead it's all Nazis and shirtless Beatles (or are they headed to a Three Stooges convention?).  Earlier today, the video's director, Steven Klein, talked to Rolling Stone about the meaning of the video.

     "She likes epics. It fits her personality. We combined dance, narrative and attributes of surrealism," Klein said. "The process was to express Lady Gaga's desire to reveal her heart and bear her soul."  Although the video seems highly political, Klein commented that, "the politics came out of the story, but was not the official intention."

Since U Been Gone: Music for a Return Missionary

     This Tuesday, my brother Boston gets back from serving a two year mission in Houston, Texas.  During that time, he didn't watch movies, kiss girls, check Facebook, or listen to music.  Instead, he talked to people about Jesus and restored Christianity, selflessly served others, and changed people's lives.  Now that he's back, I feel that it's my duty to help him adjust to post-mission life, and to do that, I made a mix of some of the music he missed in those two years.  Most of the songs are good, some of them are not as good, but I'd like to think that they paint a pretty accurate snapshot of what music was like in the past two years.  Some songs are from Schwarz brother's staples like Kanye, Coldplay, and the Killers and then others are inescapable time stamps of pop culture ("I Gotta Feeling", "Single Ladies", "TiK Tok").  Check out the list after the jump.  Any songs from June 2008-June 2010 that deserved to make the cut but didn't?

Chart Watch: La Roux Risks Losing Blogger Love with Hit

     For the past three months, a former UK No. 1 single has been slowly and quietly climbing the Hot 100.  It's called "Bulletproof"and it's by synth pop-duo La Roux.  Last week, the track lept into the top 20 and this week, it jumps up to No. 14.  La Roux is led by frontwoman Elly Jackson.  Armed with a voice like an electric screwdriver (don't worry, it actually does grow on you) and hair that Lady Gaga wishes she thought of and made a hat like, Jackson is ready to take La Roux to unimagined levels of success in the States...that is, until the very people who broke them here decide they're moving on to the next big thing because La Roux has become pretentious.

     Sound familiar?  It's a trend that is becoming all too common in the modern pop landscape.  A decade ago, Disney was the pop factory that popped out stars (even though they still do, Miley isn't near the level of Britney ten years ago), but now, its a more democratic process.  I'm not talking about American Idol, I'm talking about blogs.

     La Roux actually released "Bulletproof" a year ago, where it topped the charts.  They were huge over there, and thanks to the modern miracle of the world wide web, there was buzz in across the Atlantic too.  Music blogs fell in love with La Roux.  Articles were written, articles were read, and torrents of their debut album were downloaded.  By the time "Bulletproof" was aimed for America, La Roux already had early anticipating fans in the form of bloggers, music enthusiasts, and trend setters.  In fact, a month ago, Gawker featured an article calling La Roux the thinking person's Lady Gaga.  The funny thing is, over a year ago, Lady Gaga was the thinking person's Lady Gaga.

Violence, Nudity, Simplicity, and Excess: Music Videos in the Post-MTV World

     MTV launched in 1981 with the tagline "You'll never look at music the same way again," and it was true. To say that the music video revolutionized music is an understatement.  Music videos allowed artists to visually express themselves and add more meaning to their records than they could have before.  Although MTV began with a 24/7 all music video format, it eventually moved away from that until even short clips of videos were far and few between.  The end of an era, symbolically at least, came on Valentine's Day 2005.  That was the day the domain name www.youtube.com was activated.

     YouTube made the original purpose of MTV irrelevant.  There was no need to sit through videos you didn't care about while you waited for the ones you wanted to see.  There was no need to wait for a record label let Yahoo! music videos put their video online.  YouTube idealized the wild untamed frontier of the Internet.  It also represented the continued fragmentation of pop culture.  In late 1983, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video was inescapable.  If you turned on MTV for any length of time, you'd end up seeing it.  That's the kind of pop cultural homogeneity you get when there is only one place to watch music videos.  In the Internet age, it takes a lot more work to pull it off.

     One of the first groups to show the world how it was done was OK Go.  It was summer 2006 when the band released their choreographed treadmill dance video for "Here It Goes Again".  The video was shot in one continuous take and cost only five dollars to make.  The video is interesting and humorous and it's no surprise that it quickly went viral.  The clip racked up millions of views on Youtube and the band scored its first and only Hot 100 hit.

     It wasn't until fall 2008 that a major pop star capitalized on what OK Go had taught the industry, and even then, it was an accident.  Beyonce was preparing for the release of her third solo album, I Am...Sasha Fierce.  To launch the campaign, two singles would be released simultaneously, the ballad "If I Were A Boy" and the dancefloor filler "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)".

What Lady Gaga Wants

     The following graph has been making its way around the Internet today, and it shows what Lady Gaga wants, statistically.  By the numbers, Miss Gaga wants "your love" waaaaay more than anything else.  "Your bad romance" is her second most wanted thing followed by "your revenge" and "your lover's revenge".

Christina Criticized of Copying

     The music video for Christina Aguiler'a "Not Myself Tonight" has hit the web, and the reviews are in.  People are either saying she's "paying homage" to her idols, or she's completely ripping them off.

     The clip borrows heavily from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" music video.  From the red lingerie to the scantily clad white diamond dancing scenes, Aguilera isn't doing herself any favors copying an artist she's already been accused of stealing from.

     There's also plenty of Madonna references in the new video.  The S&M scenes are a 2010 update of Madonna's "Human Nature" music video, while the dancing in the rain, crawling across the floor to lap up milk, and overlooking a foggy city with an eye piece recollect the queen of pop's "Express Yourself".

     Aguilera has already addressed the complaints that she isn't being original.  "No rip-offs, we're all inspired by different things. I was inspired ... by artists that came before me," she said to Atlanta radio station Star 94 FM.

     "I've been around for over a decade and I think my work speaks for myself."

     While paying homage is nothing new, Christina's biggest problem is that she's taking a major step backwards.  The video is nothing more than a throw back to her "Dirrty" days.  It comes off like she's been away for too long and is trying too hard to be relevant.

     Check the video below and see what you think.  For more music video comparisons, see what MTV had to say.

Say My Name, Say My Name: What Rock Stars' Mothers Call Them

     You might think rock's most famous drummer was lucky to get such a memorable name, but Ringo Starr was actually born Richard Starkey.  And would America be so gaga for Gaga if she went by Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?

     Bands get to pick out a name that portrays their sound and the image they want to project, so why shouldn't every other artist?  It's a practice rapper routinely engage in, but you'd be surprised at the country stars that adopted a stage name as well.  Check out the real names of artists as varied as Elton John, Jay-Z, and Bono after the jump.

Chart Watch: Rihanna Holds Down No. 1, Gaga Rises

     Rihanna remains No.1 for a second week with with "Rude Boy".  The song is this week's airplay gainer, with 98.3 million listener impressions, up 16.2 million impressions from the previous week.  This is the fifth consecutive week "Rude Boy" has been the greatest gainer at radio, the longest streak since the Black Eyed Peas had five weeks with the biggest growth in radio for "I Gotta Feeling" last summer.

     Propelled by its epic video, Lady Gaga and Beyonce's "Telephone" moved to No. 3, becoming Gaga's fourth highest peaking hit after her pair on No. 1s - "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", and the No. 2 peaking "Bad Romance".  It makes you wonder how the song would have done without the insane media buzz that followed its video's debut.  The rest of the top ten after the jump.

"Telephone" Gets Edited, Gaga Explains Meaning

     For everyone who doesn't have nine and a half minutes to spend watching Lady Gaga's "Telephone" video on a regular basis, or for anyone who was bothered by the frequent interruptions, fans across the Internet have put together edited versions with the whole song uninterrupted.  The one after the jump by Popsessed is one of the web's most heralded.

     For those of you thinking that the video was just a massivley over-the-top commercial for Wonderbread, Miracle Whip, or Virgin Mobile, think again.  Lady Gaga explained the deeper meaning of her video in an interview with E! Online.

     “There’s certainly always a hidden message in my music videos,” Lady Gaga said. “But I would say most predominately, I’m always trying to convolute everyone’s idea of what a pop music video should be.”  She explained that, "the idea that America is full of young people that are inundated with information and technology and turn it into something that was more of a commentary on the kind of country that we are.”

Trust Is Like A Mirror. You Can Fix It If It's Broke...

Lady Gaga has officially brought back the event single.  Not since Michael Jackson has a pop star been able to drop a ten minute music video with this much buzz.  It's blown up the Internet.  Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce "Telephone".

Free Download: We The Kings Cover Lady Gaga

 

     Billboard.com announced a new feature to their site, Mashup Monday, where artists cover cross genre songs and set the blogs on fire.  It's like the American version of the popular BBC show Live Lounge on Radio 1 and hopefully it ends up being as good.

    Billboard kicks off the feature with Florida indie band We The Kings covering "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga.  Download the stripped down track for free here.

iTunes Counts Down To 10 Billion Songs

Apple is counting down to a major milestone as digital music retailer iTunes nears the 10 billion mark for songs sold.  The customer who downloads the lucky 10 billionth song will win a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

iTunes also released a list of its top twenty best-selling songs.  This is the first time the site has released this type of information before.

The top seller is the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling".  They also come in at No. 3 with "Boom Boom Pow".  Lady Gaga is the only other artist to land two songs in the top ten.  Her "Poker Face" is the second most downloaded song and "Just Dance" sits at No. 6.  Jason Mraz, Coldplay, Flo Rida, and Taylor Swift also scored high downloaded singles.  See the full list after the jump.

Confessions of a Post-Millennial Pop Star: Ke$ha Vandalizes Hollywood Sign...Or Does She? And Does It Even Matter?

“HwOOD $IgN I$ oFFiciaLLY My bIZnatCH!!!!! Good work2allmyHoTCULpritss!! LOOK AT THE SIGN LA!”tweeted trashy pop tart Ke$ha at 3:20 am this morning.  The following viral video soon hit the web.  (In case video doesn't work, watch it here.)



She's ruled the charts for seven weeks with "Tik Tok", and now she rules Hollywood, refashioning it's most treasured landmark in her own trashy, glittery image. 

Some argue that Ke$ha's Hollywood sign vandalism is nothing more than an elaborate computer generated hoax.  The sign is closely monitored 24/7 and you don't have a prayer of getting in sober let alone wasted wearing a fuzzy Indian chief headdress.

Regardless of the whether or not this publicity stunt really happened, it's doing its job.  The video has gone viral, and the blogosphere is eating it up.  Ke$ha gave the Internet something it can't refuse to post.  Although the singer (and I use that term very very liberally) hasn't gotten the most glowing commentary on this site, and she seems far from the sharpest tool in the shed, maybe she actually knows exactly what she's doing.

We're All Fans

The 2010 Grammy Awards show is only a day away.  Start freaking out.  Head on over to the We're All Fans website to hold you over until the show.  I'm a big fan of the site and the entire campaign for the 2010 Grammy Awards.  Often critisized for being geared towards older music fans and being out of date, this campaign shows that they want (and need) younger viewers to tune in.  The site features a collage of social network mementos making the face of some of the year's biggest stars including Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, The Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, and Kings of Leon.  Go check the site out.  No, seriously.

2010 Grammy Predictions

The 2010 Grammy Awards are just days away.  Here are 17 Tracks predictions for the show's winners after the jump

Ke$ha Breaks Lady Gaga's Week Old Record

Last week, we reported on Lady Gaga setting the record for most weekly plays on Billboard's Pop Songs Airplay tally with "Bad Romance".  This week, trashy pop tart Ke$ha breaks that record with the un-killable "Tik Tok".

"Tik Tok" had an impressive 11,224 plays last week, 365 more than "Bad Romance" received.  Yet another reminder of what's wrong with pop today and what's wrong with America.