Lady GaGa Rocks the AMAs

Well, the AMAs were not a total disaster. At least we got another head-scratching/bizarre (in only a good way) performance from Lady GaGa.

GaGa mashed current single "Bad Romance" with 70's-esque ballad "Speechless" from The Fame Monster, which is out in stores/iTunes as of Monday (yesterday) 11/23. I'll be picking up my copy probably at Best Buy today sometime. The Wallie World copy would be "sanitized," and we just can't have that. Who wants a "free bi---" when it's just a "free bitch"? I mean, for real!

Here's GaGa's performance from this past Sunday's AMAs.



Even though there were some backing vocal help, GaGa clearly sings this au naturel. Huge props for that and her piano mastery as well. Best/weirdest outfit AMA should have clearly been hers!

The American Music Awards - So Glad I Didn't Watch!

What kind of hot mess was the AMAs last night, huh?

I knew the show was airing last night, but I needed to watch the DVR shows I have saved up (I'm at 78% full!) So glad I did! The beauty of You Tube and Twitter made me feel like I was there - in the few minutes I devoted to reading the blow-by-blows. So much better than actually wasting time like that.

Some thoughts:

The Janet medley was nice. Girl could not have been singing through all those moves! And not sure about the outfit. Why pants and Uggs? Janet's got a great body, so why not show off the legs at least. OK - I realize Nipplegate still hangs over her head, but still...



The Rihanna number was a mashup of new songs. Very dark material from the new Rated R album. I have to say I have not spun the new songs as much as I have Lady GaGa's new stuff. Rihanna's sound has deffo matured and headed in the "rated R" direction - which is fine. Folks looking for "Umbrella, Part II" will be sadly disappointed. Even though the epic "Cold Case Love" is worthy of multiple listens. "CCL" is a career-defining song for Miss Rihanna. Hopefully she will release it as a single. Rihanna looked awesome last night as well.



The J-Lo performance. SAD. Talk about trying waaay too hard. This is not 2003, J-Lo honey, so the announcer/fighter chick thing is not going to work. The single is a snoozer that you tried to jazz up with some dance moves and SM attire. Again, sad. And you were not even wearing louboutins!



Finally, I do love me some Taylor Swift, but to have the AMAs snub GaGa is really an insult. Lots of folks are talking about how Taylor is neither pop or rock, but I say she has successfully crossed-over. Her base will always be country, imho. Anyways, Taylor took it in stride and gave a shout out to Janet and the Jackson family, showing sophistication, humility and class. Gotta love her!

UK Charts: GaGa Goes Top 10

OK, GaGa is not #1 (yet), but her "Bad Romance" enters the UK Top 10 this week, from #11 to #8. It's just a matter of time, folks.

No surprise that the X-Factor finalists have the #1 song with a cover of Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone." The finalists dethrone the one week reign of the Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway." How funny that MMHW did not grace the #1 spot on Billboard after both "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" hijacked the charts for 26 weeks.

The UK Singles Chart, Top 5:

1. "You Are Not Alone" / X-Factor Finalists (New) [1 week]
2. "Meet Me Halfway" / Black Eyed Peas (1)
3. "Whatcha Say" / Jason DeRulo (New)
4. "Happy" / Leona Lewis (2)
5. "Fight For This Love" / Cheryl Cole (4)

In other chart news, Alesha Dixon's newest balladry "To Love Again" debuts at #15, and Florence and the Machine move up from #27 to #16 with "You've Got the Love."

Calvin Harris' new single flops out - only debuting weeks ago at #18, and falls to #35. It was #24 last week. *Womp womp*

From the Treadmill to You: Songs To Pump YOU Up

Olga and I have been on an exercise kick this year. I always bring my iPod with me everywhere, so taking it to the gym is a given.

Have you ever noticed that songs you have in a playlist or have earmarked for a workout do not always work for you? For me, a song I like for reasons other than the beat may totally throw off my treadmill mojo when shuffling up. And from a workout perspective, that can be a bad thing!

Anyways, even though a bit dated, pretty much any Stock Aitken Waterman or just PWL tracks work GREAT.

Case in point: Dead or Alive's "My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor)." It's never really been a huge DOA fan, but this track was placed into a Stock Aitken Waterman playlist and randomly shuffled up one evening a while back. That sucker rocked my workout, let me tell you! I gave that puppy 5 stars, and ever since, it's been a staple in my workout playlist.

Check out the clip:



The fist pumps at 0:40 - I do that too (on the treadmill), but I am proud to say I DO NOT do the Pete Burns moves! LOL

From the opening synths, I am instantly pumped. Add it to your playlist and see how it works for you.

UK Chart at Midweek: X-Factoring It On Top

No big shocker that the new X-Factor single - sung by this year's finalists - is on top at Midweek over in the UK.

Selling over 118,000 units so far, "You Are Not Alone" is blowing away the competition, mainly the Black Eyed Peas. The BEPs have sold around 37,000 of their latest, the current #1 UK single "Meet Me Halfway."

Jason DeRulo's former Billboard #1 hit "Whatcha Say" is at #3 on the UK chart, while Lady GaGa's most excellent "Bad Romance" is in the Top 10.

The UK Singles Chart, at Midweek:

1. "You Are Not Alone" / X-Factor Finalists (118.5k)
2. "Meet Me Halfway" / Black Eyed Peas (37.6k)
3. "Whatcha Say" / Jason DeRulo (33.9k)
4. "Happy" / Leona Lewis (22k)
5. "Everybody In Love" / JLS (19k)

Speaking of the lovely Leona Lewis, she has a commanding lead over JLS on the album chart. Echo has sold around 76,000 copies so far this week. Something to be "happy" about, no doubt!

That Girl Is Hot As Hell

Here's a couple of quick thoughts about Lady GaGa's new EP, The Fame Monster.

I loved "Monster," a track produced by RedOne, immediately. "Wanna talk to her, she's hot as hell" - chanted by I would assume RedOne himself, is catchy as hell too.

Another standout is "Telephone"- featuring Beyoncé. "I'm kinda bizzay, I'm kinda bizzay" will haunt your brain, if the "Monster" boy doesn't eat it first. Love that line, btw. "Telephone" is just as infectious as the "Ra ra ra ra ra" of the kickoff track "Bad Romance" - sure to be another Top 5 and a damn shame if not another global #1. While I do like the Beyoncé "Video Phone (Remix)" track, it just doesn't have the *umph* of "Telephone." As Robbie says, Team Telephone, all the way!

(Show Me Your) "Teeth" - with the funky horn and the big bass/drums - is another great track. Love the R&B feel with the backup singers, and yet it's still a dance track. It gets my feet and hands tapping every time. Of course, the subject matter, like many tracks (including "So Happy I Could Die") are unashamedly and purposefully risqué. In essence, GaGa is showing us her "teeth" - i.e. what she's all about, on this record.

The only track that I'm not feeling right now is "Speechless," but it's not bad. Just the change of pace is a bit abrupt and is very Scissor Sister-y (again that's not bad); it just stands out as very different from the other instantly dance-y tracks. Most likely, it's a grower.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the "The Fame Monster." It's been on repeat for like 3 days now. If I don't become a zombie or if my ipod manges not to explode in flames like the bed in the "Bad Romance" video, I may just get through this week unscathed!

It is a savvy business decision to go with an EP instead of just a standard reissue of The Fame. This is, in essence, GaGa's second album. And it's poised to catapult her even higher in the pop music firmament.

Rating: A+

New Parralox Album!

Parralox, no stranger to Olga Loves Yuri readers, has a new album out, State of Decay.

We know I do not normally post press releases, but Parralox is like family, so this is to get the word out.

Here are some more details about the album:

Parralox State Of Decay
Release date:13.11.2009
Label: conzoom Records
Format: CD & digital
Tracks: 16 (CD) - 12 (digital)
Copies: 1000 Stück


Tracklisting:
01. Beautiful World
02. Universe, I Love You
03. Isn't It Strange
04. When The Walls Came Tumbling Down
05. Hotter
06. Be Careful What You Wish For
07. Moonwalking
08. I Am Human
09. Peter
10. Two Hearts
11. How Do You Break A Robot's Heart?
12. Time

Bonustracks (exclusive to this edition!):
13. In The Night
14. Footsteps (Edit)
15. When The Walls Came Tumbling Down (Arachnophobias Remix)
16. Hold Me Now

The Parralox State Of Decay album can be ordered at the following international Online-Stores:

www.conzoomrecords.de/index.php?lang=en

www.adifferentdrum.com
www.musicnonstop.co.uk


Stay tuned for a full-on review of State of Decay, but till then, check out "Hotter" - already one of the best tracks of 2009.