Monday, November 23, 2009

Gaga Disses YO: "I'M JUST NOT FROM YONKERS!"




Lady Gaga appeared on The Jay Leno Show tonight to perform her single 'Bad Romance' and promote her album The Fame Monster, in stores today. Gaga ad Jay chatted over tea, until he finally asked her, "What is the WORST rumor about you that you've read so far?". Her reply? "That I'm from Yonkers. I mean, I love the Bronx, but I'm just not from Yonkers There are all sorts of rumors about me but that's just my least favorite...It makes me so angry." Oh really? What's wrong with Yonkers, Gaga? You and you're all-girls catholic high school in MANHATTAN. You preach equality amongst human beings, yet hate on the 6th Borough and its inhabitants? I don't think Jadakiss is going to be happy about this AT ALL!

Rihanna vs. Gaga




Two of my favorite artists released their long awaited albums today. The verdict?

Rihanna lays down emotional lyrics on her new album Rated R , which is expected, obviously inspired by her roller coaster year beginning with an assault from then boyfriend Chris Brown. The album can practically be split right down the middle between heart wrenching ballads (Firebomb, Stupid in Love) and stand out club tracks (Hard, Rude Boy, Wait Your Turn) that deliver hard beats and killer hooks. Rihanna sings 'I just wanna set you on fire so I won't have to burn alone/Then you'll know where I'm coming from' in Firebomb expressing her heartache over the break up and highly publicized incident with Brown. The Explicit Content warning sends Rihanna right over the pop edge she was teetering on and right into a more hip hop/gangster neighborhood where she seems to be making a home. She proves it in perhaps my fav track, G4L, filled with trash talk and an eery, synth beat. Lacking fire are tracks like the awkward Te Amo, organ driven Cold Case Love, and of course the horrendous first single Russian Roullette, penned by none other than Ne-Yo (Unfaithful). All of RiRi's collabrations get 4 stars. Sidenote: The legendary Slash appears on the album on the track Rockstar 101.

I can go on and on about why I (along with the rest of this country) am obsessed with Lady Gaga and her music, particularly this 8 song album. Her music comes across as pop, when buried beneath lies so much more. Gaga shed some more light on the inspiration behind many of the tracks on The Fame Monster during her interview on On the Record: Lady Gaga on the FUSE network tonight. Each song represents a fear of hers; death, alcohol, love, sex. And each and every one of them could be a single. She's unstoppable, and humble. Although the entire album will do incredible numbers and each song can hold its own on the Billboard charts if individually released, her collaboration with Beyonce on 'Telephone' is the moneymaker. 'Speechless' speaks of Queen, 'Alejandro' whispers Ace of Base and 'Bad Romance' screams Hitchcock. But overall, the delivery is uniquely Gaga.

Winner: Gaga. Her 8 songs are lightyears ahead of any track on Rihanna's album in terms of compositition and lyrics. Although, both will be on repeat on my iPhone for weeks to come.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

AMAs: Thoughts?


LADY GAGA: Freddy Mercury Reincarnated

Lady Gaga debuted her new single 'Speechless' tonight off of her new album The Fame Monster that drops tomorrow. Who else in the industry today would have the balls to smash Johnny Walker bottles on a piano and continue to play over the glass without missing a note? The song echoes Mercury vocals and melodies. It was the highlight of the otherwise forgettable American Music Awards, a show filled with one dull performance after the next, a requirement for award shows these days. Other thoughts:

-Shakira and J. Lo lip synched through their miserable songs/performances, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood belted, and Whitney Houston gave it her best, which after years of drug abuse, isn't much. Still, the performance was emotional considering all she's been through and the truth is the girl looked fantastic in that knock out white dress. God bless her!

-Oh Janet Jackson. She's still recovering from the Super Bowl incident. I mean I don’t know many people that don’t enjoy a classic Janet Jackson medley every now and then but am I the only one that thinks its wrong that her and her brothers are capitalizing on their brother’s death? Coincidence that Janet releases a Greatest Hits abum, to be released months after her beloved Michael tragically dies? I think not. Way to use him for publicity. Lets not forget the brothers and their new reality show ‘The Jacksons: Family Dynasty’ that's soon to air on A&E. They really do give reality shows to just about everyone these days. But you must admit that Janet can still work it out on stage, even if she can't keep up with her dancers and even though she lip synched the entire performance. Everyone loves a good comeback. i.e. Britney, Whitney.

-Fergie's OTK Christian Louboutins were memorable, although her singing was not.


-Taylor Swift won Artist of the Year, beating out Gaga and MJ. Wow. She's so adorable I just want to smash her. An artist that can actually sing and write her own music and doesn't shake her ass all over the stage (cough aforementioned)? Not to mention she's dating my underage werwolf. Precious.



-Adam Lambert's new single/performance was whack. He should stick to Queen and KISS covers.

-Big fan of Alicia Keys new single 'Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart'. Huge improvement from 'Doesn't Mean Anything'. Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsJ0lqOetXM

-Did Jay-Z and Perez Hilton coordinate their suits?