"Circus" to top Billboard 200!

Photo credit: Jive Records
According to hitsdailydouble.com and other album sales predictions, Britney Spears' sixth studio album, titled "Circus", will top the Billboard 200 chart this week. Far exceeding expectations of 300,000 copies, "Circus" is looking to sell between 450,000 and 500,000 copies in its first week of release, making it one of the years top selling albums (and second highest female debut of the year). The astounishing figures come thanks in part to a flurry of media appearances including Good Morning America, New York & Los Angeles' tree lightining ceremonies, MTV's VMA's, Madonna's Los Angeles tour stop, and a documentary titled "For The Record" which was one of the most watched shows on MTV this year. First single "Womanizer" has been topping the charts for several weeks now and shattered several records, new single "Circus" is already picking up a lot of spins on radio. Spears' last effort, "Blackout", opened with about 290,000 copies but quickly experienced a decline in sales because an enormous lack of promotion (other than the tragic 2007 MTV VMA's performance) and negative press left and right which saw the pop star lose custody of her kids, shave her head entire bald, drink and drug fueled episodes all over Southern California and multiple involuntary psychiatric stays in the UCLA mental health facility. Akon's new album is expected to come in behind Spears with the 2nd highest debut with sales in the 80,000-90,000 range.

Update: "Circus" sold 505,073 copies in its first week of release in the U.S.

Here's the video for her new single "Circus":

Lady Gaga - The Fame

Photo Credit: Interscope Records

Lady Gaga (real name: Joanne Stefani Gabriella Germanotta) is preparing to release her major label debut album and there is quite a buzz around this singer/songwriter. Her album, The Fame, is being released in the U.S. on 10/28/08 and the major online presence of the artist is predicted to propel the album nationally. First single, "Just Dance", which features Akon and Colby O'Donis and was produced by RedOne, has over 13 million hits on YouTube. Lady Gaga's MySpace Music profile also has over 13 million plays on the songs posted on site.

Lady Gaga is a singer songwriter from New York who has written songs for various artists including Britney Spears, The Pussycat Dolls and New Kids On The Block. Her album features electro, glam rock, reggae, dance, piano ballads, 80's music, with quirky lyrics and most of the songs are beat driven - she's found a way to integrate varying styles and actually makes it work to her advantage. Her songs have been featured on many hit shows including "Just Dance" on the MTV hit show The Hills, "Poker Face" on The CW hit show Gossip Girl, "Beautiful Dirty Rich" on ABC hit show Dirty Sexy Money, and "The Fame" on the Australian version of Make Me A Supermodel. Her production company Haus of GaGa has garnered Lady Gaga a wide array of exposure through media, technology and fashion - she has performed on various TV shows like Rove, Jimmy Kimmel, So You Think You Can Dance? Sommerkrysset, and the Miss Universe Pageant.

Lady Gaga, who attended various music schools (including NYU) and learned to play piano by the age of four, started out at New York clubs performing with bands and other artists and built a small empire through word of mouth and internet self promotion which has reached catastrophic levels that garnered her a record deal with Interscope Records.

Official Site: http://www.ladygaga.com/
MySpace Music Profile: http://www.myspace.com/ladygaga
YouTube Channel: http://www.blogger.com/youtube.com/user/ladygagaofficial?ob=4
MTV Profile: http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/lady_gaga/artist.jhtml

"Just Dance" music video:

2008 MTV Video Music Awards Still Have Folks Buzzed

Photo Credit: AP

By DeJuan Hoggard

HOLLYWOOD – Seems as if the entire American population is still getting excited over the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards held at Paramount Pictures last Sunday. Hosted by British rocker-turned-host and self-proclaimed sex addict Russell Brand, the 25th awards show has created mixed feelings among fans and celebrities. Twenty-two year old Eric Arnold of Pasadena, who did not watch the show and plans to watch the show on TiVo said, “I heard it wasn’t a very good awards show and couldn’t compare to the previous shows.”
Britney Spears appeared to be the talk of the awards, going home with three: for Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year. Spears, who highly disappointed fans last year with an awful opening performance, proved herself this year with a hilarious opening skit with actor Jonah Hill.
Performances by Lil Wayne and T-Pain, Kid Rock, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, pThe Jonas Brothers, Pink, Paramore, and Kanye West were definitely highlights of the show. Brian, from Bad Boy Records’ Day 26, said, “Did you see Pink perform? Man, she’s hot.” The group who is on the same label as Danity Kane, which was up for the Best Pop Award but lost to Britney Spears, enjoyed their first Video Music Awards. “I ain’t gonna lie, the show was hot,” said Mike from the group.
Other attendees of the event included, Perez Hilton, Lauren Conrad, Busta Rhymes, Jamie Foxx, Heidi Montag, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Jordin Sparks, John Legend and many more. Travis Barker and DJ AM were the house band for the night, entertaining the American and studio audience with performances with Katy Perry, Lupe Fiasco, and LL Cool J.
“Show Magazine” model Diznee also attended the awards for her very first time. “I liked the way they went back and forth from between the sound stage and the studio back lot for the performances. It gave a different element for the show – even though if it were me I would’ve had it at a different venue. And Russell Brand, I didn’t like him. He offended a lot of people and I think MTV will hear a lot about that”, she answered as she blew bubble gum bubbles in between sentences.
Kanye West, who vowed he would never again show his face at the Video Music Awards, closed the show with his new song entitled “Love Lockdown.” “I loved the blinking heart on his chest…all of a sudden out of nowhere, here come these drummers who looked like they came from the Beijing Olympics,” commented Diznee.
At the end of the night, Spears walked away with the most awards and showed America that she was back and couldn’t be stopped. The full list of winners are:
Best Female Video: Britney Spears – “Piece of Me”

Best Male Video: Chris Brown – “With You”

Best Dancing in a Video: Pussycat Dolls – “ When I Grow Up”

Best Rock Video: Linkin Park – “Shadow of the Day”

Best Hip Hop Video: Lil Wayne featuring Static Major – “Lollipop”

Best New Artist: Tokio Hotel – “Ready, Set, Go!”

Best Pop Video: Britney Spears – “Piece of Me”

Video of the Year: Britney Spears – “Piece of Me”

Best Art Direction: Gnarls Barkley – “Run”

Best Choreography: Gnarls Barkley – “Run”

Best Cinematography: The White Stripes – “Conquest”

Best Direction: Erykah Badu – “Honey”

Best Editing: Death Cab for Cutie – “I Will Possess Your Heart”

Best Special Effects: Kanye West featuring T-Pain: “Good Life”