From an outsider's perspective, it's easy to say what should and shouldn't matter to a pop star. We note the awards, special performances and chart positions. But what matters to the star, themselves? We posed this very question to the incomparable Lady Gaga.
In this very special Spankin' New Music Week edition of "The 5," as The Fame: Monster is finally officially released, Lady Gaga takes us through the five most amazing moments in her career. It's a deeply personal list that touches on the socio-political causes that are close to her heart (marching on Washington, D.C. for gay rights) as well as the small, personal pleasure of having her little sister dress up as her for Halloween.
Watch Gaga explain her top five career highlights in this exclusive MTV Buzzworthy Blog video, and get an up-close-and-personal look at the human side of Lady Gaga.
Spankin' New Music Week is coming to MTV November 23 through 27. It's a celebration of five new mega-albums that are all being released in one big mega-week.
Lady Gaga's dropping The Fame Monster Limited Edition, which if you're sharp enough you've already heard The Fame: Monster on MTV's The Leak (a whole week early!). Rihanna's Rated R also hits on Monday and you've already seen new videos for "Russian Roulette," and "Wait Your Turn." Meanwhile, Shakira's long-awaited, hotly anticipated She Wolf album drops next week.
Beyonce has the Deluxe Edition of I Am, and on Tuesday, Britney's releasing the Deluxe Box Edition of The Singles Collection.
So what's in store? We have interviews with Gaga, Shakira and Rihanna, MTV News sat down with some of the girls as well, and we'll have performances, videos, and more. It's an unofficial "ladies week," but because we're not biased we're not forgetting that 50 Cent also recently dropped his fourth LP, Before I Self Destruct and we sat down and talked to him too.
Check in next week for more Spankin' New stuff on MTV, and, until then, watch Rihanna's "Wait Your Turn" video.
There has probably never been a more anticipated release of an album than Lady Gaga's The Fame: Monster, which, not incidentally, is the subject of this very special edition of MTV's The Leak.
Lady Gaga's The Fame: Monster is a whole new chapter and the culmination of several months of performances (see: The 2009 MTV VMAs, the Los Angeles MOCA 30th Anniversary) and videos (see: "Bad Romance" and her "Video Phone" collabo with Beyonce) that have seen Gaga go from pop star to pop icon.
Gaga has talked about the eight new songs (which can be consumed as an add-on to The Fame or as a standalone EP) being wrought from her experiences over the last year and a half. Gaga's become an absolute supernova, and you hear reference to it in the glam and paranoia of new songs like "Bad Romance" and "Dance In The Dark."
But what you also get is a sense of increased confidence that comes when an artist knows the whole world is listening. The Fame: Monster's songs have the swagger and bravery that can only come from a musician working at the height of their powers.
The Fame: Monster isn't out until Tuesday, November 23, but MTV has the official album leak. It's totally free, and it's a total monster. There's nothing left to do now then sit back and enjoy the show.
+ Listen to Lady Gaga's The Fame: Monster now.
For her edition of MTV Unplugged, Katy Perry scrubbed the glitter off her brash, brassy anthems. Taking full advantage of the intimate, candlelit setting, Perry radically reworked some of her most well-known and most-adored jams, and showcased a whole new side of herself as a performer, arranger, and songwriter. Gone are the pulsing beats, washes of synths and walls of guitar, replaced by a hushed, jazzy set-up featuring, at times, upright bass, strings and horns. But the songs remain the same: witty, vulnerable and crammed with hooks.
"I Kissed A Girl"
Katy's second single gets a cabaret jazz send up, attendant with stand-up bass and torch singer vocals.
"Lost"
Described as one of the more personal songs on her album, One Of The Boys, Katy gives a little background to the ballad "Lost," before performing a heart-rendering version of the track.
"Ur So Gay"
A sly insult to an ex-boyfriend with a flair for H&M scarves, it's the song that announced Katy Perry's arrival to the music world. "Ur So Gay" gets a a horn-heavy revamp.
+ Watch more Katy Perry Unplugged performances after the jump.
Read more...
Lady Gaga's The Fame: Monster is still two weeks away, but that hasn't stopped the new songs attached to this re-issue of The Fame from surfacing.
We've heard "Bad Romance," "Alejandro," and "Dance In The Dark," and now comes possibly the mostly hotly anticipated track from The Fame: Monster: "Telephone," featuring Beyonce.
Now as is sometimes the case with these things, it's worth noting that this isn't officially official, though it certainly sounds certified. But it is a follow-up to Beyonce's "Video Phone (Extended Remix)," which features Gaga and will be featured on Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce deluxe edition.
Both The Fame: Monster and I Am... Sasha Fierce deluxe edition are due out on November 23rd.
+ Listen to Lady Gaga's "Telephone," featuring Beyonce, here.
From the annals of absurdity in consumerism, let us know turn our attention to the forthcoming super deluxe edition of Lady Gaga's The Fame: Monster.
What's super about it? Well, there are eight new jams included, including the new single, "Bad Romance." That would go under the definition of super, I suppose. But what's deluxe?
Oh Gaga -- who just tapped Semi Precious Weapons to open for her Monster Ball Tour, handed Adam Lambert a song for his new album, For Your Entertainment, and who'll appear on an upcoming episode of Gossip Girl -- Gaga's got deluxe. Included in the $100 package is a book (of Gaga), a Gaga paper doll, some photos, 3D glasses, and a lock of Lady Gaga's hair. Hmm. I will be super-deluxe interested to know how that works out. Gaga's got a lot of fans who are probably willing to shell out $100 for her hair. (Though it is cheaper than jewelry made out of hair.) If there are enough Gaga fans out there unscathed by the credit crunch, Lady could find herself going all Cassie/ Britney soon. The Fame: Monster drops November 23rd.
In this new edition of "The 5," the ubiquitous (at least on these blog shores) LIGHTS tells us a few things we never would've known about her, had she not hipped us to them.
Not only is LIGHTS an accomplished songwriter/singer/producer, she also enjoys taking a blade to undead images (or whatever) while playing the popular World of Warcraft game. When LIGHTS was little a tuberculosis shot gone wrong left her with a nasty scar on her arm. So thank the heavens she got into the fantasy role playing game; it gave her a reason to cover up her tat with a dope knife tattoo.
Otherwise, LIGHTS calls boars the worst "invention" and recalls the time she basically found herself at a boar convention at a zoo. Bummer. She also discusses making pop-up books and how the first song she ever produced sounded like something from the Thumbelina soundtrack.
Learn all you can about LIGHTS below, and be sure to check out her animated comic book adventures in the thrilling Audio Quest series.
With Halloween only a few more days away, it's time to get serious about being scary. In this edition of "Halloween Horrors," the Southern men of needtobreathe talk about Halloweens past. Matters of poor Ewok costume design are discussed, the concept of "filler candy" is broached, and a vote is taken on the matter of vampires vs. werewolves.
You can check out our earlier, less pumpkin-spiced chat with needtobreathe here, and you can watch all the Halloween Horrors your heart can handle here.
When LIGHTS isn't out saving worlds in her animated comic Audio Quest or making bubbling electronic pop (see check out the recently released The Listening), she's just a regular ol' gal with regular ol' likes and dislikes.
In this edition of "Halloween Horrors," LIGHTS talks about coming to Halloween later in life, her favorite scary movie (a battle between The Shining and the Evil Dead franchise) and conquering her fear of spiders by getting a pet tarantula, naming it Lance, and giving it a Twitter account. Be sure to check out Audio Quest, and perhaps more importantly, follow Tarantulance!
