Monday, December 08, 2008

What's Going On (12/8/08 Edition)

Look for these posts every Monday. Unless I change my mind. ;)

-Britney’s media “Circus” is on target to be the #1 album this week. Anyone surprised? What really is suprising is Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” is on par to be #2. Isn’t she just the little engine that could?

-What’s coming out tomorrow? New albums by Brandy, Common, Erykah Badu and Musiq Soulchild. Biggest one to watch: Ms. Brandy. Her song “Right Here (Departed)” is incredible IMO. And her last record was released four years ago. It feels like much more than that.

-What is rocking the radio formats? T.I. & Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” (top 40, rhythmic), Apocalyptica’s “I Don’t Care” (active rock), Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” (hot AC), Usher’s “Here I Stand” (urban AC), Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire” (alternative), Eric Hutchinson’s “Rock & Roll” (AAA), Faith Hill’s “A Baby Changes Everything” (AC), Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” (urban), AC/DC’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Train” (rock) and Montgomery Gentrys’ “Roll With Me” (country).

-I didn’t point this out with my other post and I should have. “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” marks Beyonce’s fifth #1 on the Hot 100, and this means that she is now tying Rihanna for the solo female artist with the most #1’s in the millennium decade (2000-2010). Which means all of these Beyonce/Rihanna comparisons have more ground than both being R&B and both being associated with Jay-Z. So for a point/counterpoint:
->Beyonce “Crazy In Love” (2003)
->Beyonce “Baby Boy” (2003)
->Beyonce “Check On It” (2005)
->Rihanna “SOS” (2006)
->Beyonce “Irreplaceable” (2006)
->Rihanna “Umbrella” (2007)
->Rihanna “Take A Bow” (2008)
->Rihanna “Disturbia” (2008)
->T.I. feat. Rihanna “Live Your Life” (2008)
->Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” (2008)

-This has been talked to death, but “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart (and overall bane of my existence for being such a seemingly ungrateful person) is primed to portray the wonderful Joan Jett in an upcoming biopic of her life. ::gag:: WTF? Just about anyone would be better than this non-actress!

-INTERNATIONAL #1s:
->Leona’s “Run” is #1 this week over in the UK and Ireland. Yay.
->Wes Carr’s “You” is # in Australia. Lady Gaga holds strong with “Poker Face” at #2. I wish her success was as apparent in her homeland. Jessica Mauboy has two songs in the top 15, and Natalie Bassingthwaghte’s “Alive” is #12.
->In continuation of the Gaga love, “Poker Face” is #1 in New Zealand.
->Proof of Canada’s randness as a track from the “Twilight” soundtrack is #1…no joke.
->Germany continues to disappoint with Katy Perry's “I Kissed A Girl” hitting #1. Same goes for the Europe Collective Chart.
->Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” hits #1 in Sweden. #5 is “Mercy” by Duffy.
->World Chart: Beyonce’s “If I Was A Boy”.

-Once again, Taylor Swift is finding a way to edge in on yet another televised performance that will also feature the Jonas Brothers. Let the Nick/Miley comparisons continue with vigor. Both will perform on this year’s bastardization of Dick Clark’s “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve”. CAUTION, RANT AHEAD: Dick Clark represents New Year’s Eve to me. He is a living legend. The fact that they are trying to effuse his aura and amazing-ness into Ryan Seacrest makes me die a little bit inside. Yes, I know Dick Clark is getting older. Yes, I agree “American Idol” is turning into our generation’s “American Bandstand” (I cringe as I write this). Still. (skeeves) END RANT.

-More bad news for my future career path. Thanks, Billboard. Read HERE and comiserate.

-Prepare for the onslaught of the Apocalypse, friends. Paris Hilton has finished her sophomore album and is shopping it to labels (now that her label Heiress has dropped her and folded. Yes, her label dropped her. Hint? No?). Scariest detail: it was produced by Mike Green, who apparently has worked with Paramore (although which songs, I am not sure). Weirder yet: It has a Kylie Minogue type dance feel, per Ms. Hilton….

-PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are peeved about Britney’s new video for “Circus”. As a fan and voice for the elephants, I agree.

-E! is reporting that Miley Cyrus wants to “divorce” her parents and become emancipated, possibly stemming from disagreements regarding her BF/underwear model/general skeeze Justin Gaston. In my opinion (which of course, means nothing), any 16 year old is definitely not ready to be “emancipated”, no matter how famous they or their parents are. This should be reserved for when the parents are stealing money and being generally terrible (like in the case of Gary Coleman or Tiffany), not because they don’t like your new flavor of the month. I really hope this is just a rumor. It smells like one.

-PopJustice has a hilarious commentary on a new slew of possible popstars for 2009-2011. Read it all HERE. On a side note, Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s “Alive” was their song of the day on Friday. GaGa’s “Christmas Tree” was Thurdays, and Jessica Mauboy’s “Burn” was Wednesday. As usual, they are right on target.

-Per The Metro, a British newspaper, Lily Allen is doing what she does best (aside from music), starting another catfight – this time with Katy Perry, calling her an “American version of me” – something I can totally see. In fact, I thought the same thing when I first heard “I Kissed A Girl”. It’s a little bit off, a little bit weird, and catchy as all hell. The difference between the two is that Lily Allen is more underground, while Katy Perry smacks of a ripe old gimmick. However, Allen does accuse Katy Perry of not writing her own songs, and therefore in not a league with Amy Winehouse and Allen (which apparently Perry said she was…which is hilarious in itself). That is not true. As unfortunate as it may be, Perry did write three songs on her album on her own, and all of the others are co-writes with the likes of Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne) and Max Martin (P!NK, Britney). No wonder that “I Kissed A Girl” is so catchy. Although her comments are a bit harsh, Lily Allen has a point. I do think Katy Perry is a marketing ploy, attempting to use bicuriosity (amongst other things) as an advantage point (not unlike Tatu). The problem is that in America, Lily Allen isn’t even relevant, but a one hit wonder. So, I suppose the battle continues. Read the whole thing HERE.

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