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Posted 9/6/11 4:17 pm ET by Bradley Stern in Celebrity, Music
It's September, y'all! And you know what that means: It's the beginning of a new season! A time to grow. A time to change. A time to... break up with people apparently! As a result, most of the songs from this week's "Must-Hear" list are brand-new breakup anthems and empowerment jams. Well, except for the Jordin Sparks banger -- that one's not new. That song just "gets" me.
Oh, well, and then there's the Grace Jones track about the perils of the corporate world, which in hindsight doesn't actually have anything to do with this whole "turning over a new leaf" theme. That one's just because Grace Jones is a LEGEND.
Right then: So there's no actual theme this week. Still: enjoy!

1.) JoJo, "Disaster"
It's been a minute since Queen JoJo last graced the radio airwaves, but on Sept. 6, Boston's baddest babe since Donna Summer is back, better and more bitter than ever on her latest (soon-to-be) radio smash "Disaster," the lead single from her upcoming third studio album, Jumping Trains.
"The walls burned up and our love fell down/And it turned into whatever, now we're saying never," JoJo soulfully croons on top of the song's defiant pop-rock stomp, which recalls the rallying battle cry of Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" (who we'll get to a little later on -- fear not.)
"Disaster" is essentially the long-awaited 2011 sequel to 2006's "Too Little, Too Late" with even more impressive, matured vocals and scathing lyricism from the 20-year-old talent, proving two already known Pop Truths: JoJo will forever be flawless, and boys will forever suck. + LISTEN TO JOJO, "DISASTER."
2.) Kelly Clarkson, "Mr. Know It All"
Still mad? Okay, perfect! Never one to settle for a sugary-sweet love song, America's first "Idol" Kelly Clarkson just premiered "Mr. Know It All," the lead single from her upcoming album, Stronger, last week during an adorkable livestream for fans. (Don't watch that stream unless you have zero qualms about cooing and gleefully shouting out loud "She's so cute!" to no one in particular.)
But if were expecting a "Since U Been Gone" rager or a "My Life Would Suck Without You" anthem, you thought wrong (KELLY REFERENCE): Unlike her usual lead singles, Kelly's holding back on the Yelly on her latest release to serve up some beautifully crooned melodies.
Sure, Clarkson's still serving us Alanis Morrissette realness with the lyrics ("Ohm you think that you know me/That's why I'm leaving you lonely"), but without all the crashing guitars and throaty howls, "Mr. Know It All" almost plays as sweetly as Bruno Mars' sugary-sweet radio smash, "Just The Way You Are." Except for the fact that, you know, she totally hates you. + LISTEN TO KELLY CLARKSON, "MR. KNOW IT ALL."
+ Listen to more Must-Hear Pop Songs Of The Week after the jump!
Posted 7/7/10 10:45 am ET by Chris Ryan in Celebrity, Music, Photos, Videos
After months of seemingly playing nowhere else but London, Rihanna has finally brought her Last Girl On Earth tour to North American shores. Above we see Rihanna, the aforementioned last girl, kicking things off in Vancouver. And I guess it was hot in ol' British Columbia because Rihanna only wore some rubber fencing as clothing.
Check this girl out! In full Grace Jones ferociousness! Rihanna's outfit is truly a onesie for the modern woman. The real winner here, though, are the geometrically astounding (though not particularly optometrist-approved) "glasses."
Rihanna is touring with Ke$ha throughout August. It's gonna be a hot summer. Check out Ri-Ri's "Rude Boy" and Ke$ha's "Blah Blah Blah" videos, both below.
Posted 5/11/10 4:15 pm ET by Chris Ryan in Celebrity, Music, Must See, Videos
That's what acclaimed harp-playing indie-folk chanteuse Joanna Newsom says in a new interview with England's Guardian. While promoting her new album, Have One On Me, in London, the enigmatic singer told the paper the following regarding Lady Gaga:
"I'm mystified by the laziness of people looking at how she presents herself, and somehow assuming that implies there's a high level of intelligence in the songwriting. Her approach to image is really interesting, but you listen to the music, and you just hear glow sticks. Smart outlets for musical journalism give her all this credit, like she's the new Madonna. ... Although I'm coming from a perspective of also thinking Madonna is not great at all. I'm like, fair enough: she is the new Madonna, but Madonna's a dumbass!"
She went on to say: "[Gaga] just happens to wear slightly weirder outfits than Britney Spears. But they're not that weird -- they're mostly just skimpy. She's fully marketing her body/sexuality; she's just doing it while wearing, like, a 'fierce' telephone hair-hat. Her sexuality has no scuzziness, no frank raunchiness, in the way that, say, Peaches, or even Grace Jones, have – she's Arty Spice! ... She seems to take herself so oddly seriously, the way she talks about her music in the third person. ... She just makes me miss Cyndi Lauper."
Boom, Gaga! You just got Newsom'd! Lot to unpack there, but we'll let you take it all in. Here's some Spice Girls to soundtrack your thought process.
Posted 4/7/10 2:02 pm ET by Chris Ryan in Celebrity, Music, Videos

(Lady Gaga Photo Credit: Vanity Fair Italy)
Just because M.I.A. been quiet musically doesn't mean she ain't got her opinions. In a recent interview with the NME she shared some of them, dissing "Twilight," Ke$ha and Lady Gaga and killing all of our dreams in the process.
According to M.I.A., Gaga pimps the system. The fiercely political, politically active singer may have "sold out" in the past, but according to the "Paper Planes" pilot, it's always for a good cause. When she gets a fee to play a corporate show (even one for MTV), she claims the proceeds go toward "building a school in Africa."
So she's got no time for what she sees as Gaga's brazen commercialization of her music, especially in the video for "Telephone." Are they even interested in making money from music anymore? Lady Gaga plugs 15 things in her new video. She even plugs a burger.
M.I.A's no fan of Gaga's music either: "None of her music's reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is. She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-year-old Ibiza music ... But she’s a good mimic. She sounds more like me than I f***ing do!"
On the top of Ke$ha, M.I.A. makes the oft-made assertion that the "Tik Tok" singer has been biting the style of hipster-dance princess Uffie.
M.I.A. saves her last dart for the the "Twilight" franchise, claiming she dodged the bullet of having to contribute to the soundtrack when label boss Jimmy Iovine intervened and spared her from the chore. Who knew contributing to soundtracks was such a tough gig?
Interesting points all around. You can check out the transcript of the chat here.
(Credit: Thierry Le Goues via KanyeWest.com)
A picture says a thousand words, which is good because Kanye West usually has a lot on his mind. In the past, back in the halcyon days when KanyeUniversecity was his main online thought depot, Kanye would regularly blast off on one topic or another usually in ALL CAPS (see some of our favorite Kanye rants here).
These days, Kanye is moving into a more visual medium to express himself, perhaps saving all his words for his raps. KanyeWest.com is his new-ish outpost, and it is, for the most part, made up of hi-res, high quality images ... of ladies. Because Kanye West LOVES the ladies.
Even without words, this cat is outrageous. Kanye's site currently features naked girls dressed in chain mail, Amber Rose rocking a zorro mask, a scene from the Nas/DMX gangster flick "Belly," some cute babies (!!!??!) and pretty much an entire page dedicated to Grace Jones. It's funny and pretentious and a bit ingenious. Much like the man, himself.
We've selected a few PG shots for you to see. Take a gander for yourself at KanyeWest.com. Warning: The site has some NSFW stuff. It's all in the name of art though.


Posted 12/14/09 5:32 pm ET by Chris Ryan in Celebrity, Music, Videos
No delicate wallflower, Lady Gaga is rarely one to mince words. Even when she's showering praise on one of her idols, there's no mincing in sight.
Case in point, her recent admission that '70s fashion and music icon Grace Jones. Gaga recently gushed that Jones, "gets my juices flowing. The song 'Corporate Cannibal' makes me want to pee myself."
No real shock here, gang. Jones pretty much wrote the book on post-modern pop that questions/shatters gender and sexuality roles. In fact, you could go as far as to say that the Lady's now famous "Ga-Ga-Ooh-Rah-Rah" chant in "Bad Romance" is a homage to Jones; it has the same androgynous-diva tone.
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