Him: “The video is a drug fueled violent lesbo orgy with Gaga and Beyonce in the Pussy Wagon they used in Kill Bill” Me: “Srsly?” Him: “Yes.”
“You can watch the 9 minute video at your own leisure, whilst it might feel like a bandwidth waster it’s a very well executed video. Shock value all the way”
In the nine-and-a-half minute clip, at least 10 separate brands are plugged, including Virgin Mobile, Diet Coke, Polaroid (for which Gaga is a creative director)…
Ogle. Shmoogle. Google.
The star-studded Hope for Haiti Now telethon this past Friday brought in millions of viewers and dollars for crucial Haiti relief efforts. In fact, the initiative, which is still accepting donation via the web, text, phone, or mail, has raised $58 million to date, setting a record for the most funds raised during a telethon,This total doesn’t even include corporate donations or iTunes sales figures, which are still being calculated, reports USA Today.
The telethon, hosted by George Clooney and Grammy-winning musician Wyclef Jean, was heard by Haiti earthquake survivors on radio, featured inspirational performances from Haiti-born Jean, Madonna, Jay-Z, Bono, Sting, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Coldplay, among many others.
According to MTV.com, the “Hope for Haiti Now” album is currently the #1 iTunes album in 18 countries, and is the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history. The studio version of “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” is also the #1 song on iTunes in 12 countries.
An event like this that has raised so much for the stricken nation, stands to show what we can do when we all come together to help with something we believe strongly enough in.
This year has been an interesting one, musically at least, there have been some surprising chart toppers, artists and revelations, overall 2009 has been a good one. Here are my pick of the top 10 artists for 2009. I based my decisions on both what I’ve been listening to all year as well as the rather obvious choices…
She has a flair for the eccentric, strange and over the top, she also has had an amazing year. 2009 belongs to her, with singles such as “Poker Face,” “Just Dance and “Paparazzi,” having all hit number one on the singles charts as well as being played in every club and on almost every radio, it just show how well she’s done.
I must admit it was hard to choose between Lady Gaga or Beyonce for the top spot and Lady G narrowly won. As for Beyonce, she released her album “I Am…Sasha Fierce” late last year and the spawned singles have risen to the top of the charts, most notably “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” which was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and won the award for Video of the Year. She also managed to get Jay-Z to put a “ring on it”, all in all 2009 has been a good one for her.
The Black Eyed Peas have had a very successful year, with hit after hit. They topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 26 consecutive weeks with back-to-back singles “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling,” breaking a record that had stood since the mid-’90s. Their album The E.N.D. debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart and has sold more than 1.5 million copies to date, it also earned them six Grammy nominations. Not bad at all.
In 2009, Michael Jackson’s death was arguably one of the most shocking. The loss struck the world and the world of music hard. Shortly after his death Jackson’s dominated the charts with six of the top ten digital albums being his, as well 25 of the top 75 digital songs and nine of the top ten pop catalogue albums, a clear indication of just how much of an influence his music still had. The documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is Itbecame the highest grossing documentary ever taking in more than $252 million worldwide in its first 2 days showing Michael was still the King of Pop.
Rihanna has had one hell of a year, with much tabloid controversy concerning here and Chris Brown. She also made history when she performed for a global audience via Nokia’s live streamed concert in London, which officially marked the launch of her much anticipated new album, Rated R. The album shows off her darker and edgier side and proves she can be radio friendly with an edge. Her single “Hard” featuring Jeezy is one to look out for.
Jay-Z’s album “The Blueprint 3” was one of the most anticipated albums of 2009, once released it flew to the top of the charts, and became his 11th US number-one album. The single “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys has been a smash hit.
While 2008 introduced Kings of Leon to the mainstream audience, 2009 has seen the band build on that success. Their single Sex on Fire” won the band a Grammy Award. It seems as their singles reach worldwide chart success and consistency, so does the band. I love the Nashville natives and I look forward to hearing more from them.
New comer duo La Roux who are “trying to make pop music like it used to be in the ’80s…” has caused quite a stir this year with their singles “Quicksand” and “Bullet-proof” garnering a lot of airplay. They burst into main stream and look set to stay there. It’ll be interesting to see what 2010 holds for them.
One of my most exciting finds in 2009 was Florence & the Machine. “Soul inspired indie” combined with haunting vocals and a melodic sound mean that they make for addictive listening. The band’s debut album, Lungs, was released on 6 July 2009 and the success it achieved shows that Florence & the Machine is band on the rise and are one to keep an eye on.
The Temper Trap is another exciting find in 2009. Their single “Sweet Disposition” has been featured on the soundtrack of 500 Days of Summer, but their song “Science of Fear” is one to look out for. They create a “captivating, atmospheric sound using grand guitars, pulsating rhythms and yearning vocals.”
Some of the most popular songs of 2009 (and one or two of my favourites):
Black Eyed Peas “Boom, Boom, Pow” Flo Rida-“Right Round”.
David Guetta -“Sexy Chick”. Lady Gaga-“Bad Romance”. Owl City-“Fireflies”. Ke$ha-“TiK ToK”.
Musical Mover & Shaker! 