VIDEO PREMIERE: "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga

In the 1980s, Michael Jackson and Madonna were in a league of their own in the soaring depths of the pop world. The release of their music and accompanying videos were not simply radio and music television programming dates, they were major events of pop cultural significance, marking new breakthroughs and new topics of conversation that transcended generational and gender divides.

Gwenyth & Jay? Quite The Possibility!

Some people called me crazy when I decided to post about Gwyneth Paltrow's musical endeavors. I will not begin to post the criticisms, but in a nutshell, most people thought a singer like Paltrow was "too old" and not seasoned enough to attempt a career in pop music. I, on the other hand, proceeded in posting about her musical journey, finding something particularly titillating in what she has to offer. Now the Oscar-winning actress has revealed exactly who she would love to collaborate with one a song. Why is this blogworthy? This collaboration could be monumental and could be very possible.

Rihanna & Ciara Twitter Beef? Real or Just A Gimmick...

As you probably know already, Rihanna and Ciara have engaged in quite the twitter beef. Of course it's nowhere near the caliber of Minaj and Kim's twitter/lyrical beef, but it has become quite the popular topic on twitter. Now that it has passed, the question remains, was it real or merely a fabrication intended to attract attention?

REVIEW: "21" by Adele

When Adele's debut single hit the airwaves, it propagated ripples of excitement throughout the industry. Adele was that unique blend of blue-eyed soul with a pinch of pop and a dash of blues. Her voice possessed this power, a resoundingly fruitful sound that could own an acoustic performance by her vocal acrobatics alone, yet reserved enough to know what instrumental would appropriately accent her abilities. While her debut album 19 had its faults, it functioned as a springboard from which she could ascend into a musical euphoria for her sophomore effort. But is 21 the musical euphoria it could possibly be?

Adele Makes UK Chart History; To Be US #1

Adele is one of those artists that does not necessarily need to conduct a major promotional campaign for her album to get to that renowned number one spot on the Billboard 200. An artist of her vocal abilities works purely on the talents she possesses rather than the oft-utilized gimmicks we all too often witness with today's pop starlets. Don't get me wrong, I love me those gimmicks, but the refreshing sounds of an artist who can do it all and prove themselves with just their vocal chords and a mic is a remarkable achievement.

Twitter War (Chapter 1): Lil Kim vs. Nicki Minaj

Unless you've been living under a rock, or perhaps under the bedrock, you know things between Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj have gotten a bit sour. Add a little twitter and a mixtape to the mix, and you get yourself a 21st century Twitter war.

NEW MUSIC: "Grenade (Remix)" by Bruno Mars featuring Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne has effectively capitalized on the "Black and Yellow" franchise remixes by creating the Super Bowl XLV anthem for the winning Green Bay Packers. Now, the New Orleans-native is capitalizing on the number one hit record of Bruno Mars as he has now remixed the multi-platinum selling "Grenade."

Listen to the remix below:

Gaga Topples iTunes Record; Could Be 1000th Billboard #1

Lady Gaga is not just a singer-songwriter, performer, and figment of the collective pop culture imagination, she is one of the best PR people in the industry today. After releasing phased details about her new song through the internet cosmos, the singer has finally released "Born This Way", one that has been the center of discussion well before we had any audio of the track. And it appears her publicity-saavy attempts were very successful.

Rihanna VS Chris Brown: It's Over Officially

Blogs and even respected music publications have done their part to intensify the well-publicized altercation between Rihanna and Chris Brown. After the domestic violence case, Chris Brown was punished with probation, forced to attend DV courses, community service, and an order of protection that requires the "Deuces" singer from coming within 50 yards of his former girlfriend, with the exception of events that both attend, in which that distance is reduced to 10 yards.

NEW MUSIC: "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" has made its official premiere, the official lead single from the singer's upcoming album of the same name. Produced by DJ White Shadow, Fernando Garibay, and Gaga herself, the song has been described as this generation's anthem of acceptance, self-respect, and tolerance. Listen to the track below:

NEW MUSIC: "H.A.M. (Travis Barker Remix)" by Kanye West & Jay-Z

Remember when Travis Barker remixed Soulja Boy's "Crank That?" Well the drummer of Blink-182 has chosen to add his percussion magic to the lead single off Kanye West and Jay-Z's new album Watch The Throne.

Listen to the track below:

Jessie J Moves Up Album Due To High Demand

Jessie J is the artist of the moment in the UK, building upon the successes she achieved thus far in her burgeoning career. She was crowned the winner of BBC Sound of 2011 and has had a number two charting single with "Do It Like A Dude." In addition, mid-week charts have the singer's new song "Price Tag" with B.o.B making her first trip to the top of the singles chart. With all the interest surrounding the singer's music, her new album has experienced the most encouraging gesture by a label imaginable: a pushed-up release date.

Official Tracklist of Lupe Fiasco's "Lasers"

Lupe Fiasco's album Lasers will not be hitting store shelves for another month but he has release the official tracklist for the album. The album contains a dozen tracks with three different collaborations with MDMA (not the drug but the artist) and one-time collaborations with Skylar Grey, Sarah Green, Trey Songz, Eric Turner, Sway, and John Legend. The album will feature production from Alex Da Kid, Kane Beatz, Ishi, and Jerry Wonda, amongst others.

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor and The Cool were great alternative hip-hop albums that also performed well commercially while preserving his idiosyncratic flow and the amazing beats that have defined his music. If that is carried over with this album, I don't see how this will not mirror his previous successes and become another masterpiece. Let's also hope CRS can finally schedule that debut album after Lasers, but I'm sure that prospect is very unlikely with future projects from Kanye West and Pharrell.

Check the track list below:

Pink Catapults to #2 on Billboard Hot 100; Bruno Mars Holds Summit

Pink's new single from her compilation album Greatest Hits...So Far!!! has catapulted to the top of the Billboard Digital Songs chart and came awfully close to the top position on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, whose music video was recently released, rapidly ascended up the chart as it moved up 11-2 this week, only to be held off by the Bruno Mars's second number one hit "Grenade."

The song is the second release from her greatest hits album to reach top five as her lead single "Raise Your Glass" topped the Hot 100 back in December. This feat is remarkable for any act to achieve, but the fact that two songs have reached top five - and the possibility for two number hits is still there - from a greatest hits album is certainly inspiring, much like the messages both songs have possessed.

Take a look at the top ten of the Hot 100 below:

The Gaga/Kanye Coulda Should Woulda Moment That Never Was

October 2009 was a great time for Lady Gaga. Her new release "Bad Romance" was storming up the charts and it appeared that the singer was well on her way to securing herself among the pop star elites of contemporary music. The Fame Monster looked as if it would further propel the singer into greater and greater successes, while headlining a major international tour was within an arm's reach.

Look at the stage set up below:

Tinie Tempah Makes U.S. Television Debut

Remember last year when I said Tinie Tempah's "Pass Out" was destined to do great things not just in the UK, but possibly the US. Well it seems his label is intent on ensuring his US market success as the London-native has made his official American television debut on the Jimmy Kimmel Live last night. The grime-star performed his UK number one "Pass Out" in what is likely to be the first of many US performances of the song.

Check out the performance below:

NEW MUSIC: "Green and Yellow" by Lil Wayne (Freestyle)

Last year, we heard about 5,000 different remixes to Lloyd Banks's "Beamer, Benz or Bentley." It appears this year's over-remixed hip hop song is officially Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow," which has seen literally dozens of dichromatic chorus changes by a variety of different hip hop artists. Some of my favorite include "White and Navy" by Fabolous for the New York Yankees, "Purp and Yellow" by Game, Snoop Dogg and YG for the Los Angeles Lakers, and "Black and Orange" by Bailey representing the San Fran Giants. With many remixes representing a variety of different sports franchises, who would assume the responsibility of making one for the other Super Bowl contenders this year, the Green Bay Packers.

Listen to the "Green and Yellow" Remix by Lil Wayne below:

Drake Scores Six Nods At Juno Awards; Arcade Fire With Five

The U.S. may have the Grammys, but their northern neighbors have the Juno Awards and leading in the upcoming 2011 nominations is none other than Young Money and Toronto's own Drake with six.  The six categories in which the rapper is nominated include album of the year, artist of the year, songwriter of the year, rap recording of the year, single of the year, and the JUNO fan choice award.

NEW MUSIC: "Dirty Dancer" by Snoop Dogg featuring Trey Songz

Snoop Dogg and Trey Songz have teamed up on a new track for Snoop Dogg's upcoming album Doggymentary and it's a club banger. The beat is relatively subdued during Snoop's verses with redundant hand claps, bass-heavy drum beats, and the occasional record-scratching screech, but it explodes with synths during the Songz-led chorus.

Listen to the track below:

Rihanna's "S&M" Gets Banned In 11 Countries & My 2 Cents On The Matter

Rihanna's newest music video has been rendered too hot for air in eleven countries, where it has faced a variety of bans, while some radio stations around the world are choosing to air the song after a certain time. One of the countries in the United Kingdom, where BBC Radio 1, the most listened to national contemporary hit radio station, has chosen to only play the song after 7pm. Other countries have decided to pull the video all together from television, and YouTube has flagged the video, meaning only signed-in members 18 or older are able to view it from the most popular video-sharing site on the web. Even MTV is considering re-editing it so as not the cause controversy.

Watch the sex-tacular video below:

VIDEO PREMIERE: "Mine Smell Like Honey" by R.E.M.

The Athens, Georgia-based band R.E.M. have released the music video for their new song "Mine Smell Like Honey." In an exclusive release for NME's online publication, the music video is an interesting visual reminiscent of the antiquated silent films of the 1920s and that's exactly what the intent was here as bassist Mike Mills told Spinner that in particular they aimed to recreate the magic of Buster Keaton-type silent comedies.

Watch the video below:

Gwyneth Paltrow: "Beyonce Is The Most Talented Human Being On The Planet"

Picture Source

Gwyneth Paltrow is in absolute awe of the talents of her close friend and R&B superstar Beyonce. The actress, who has recently taken her first step into music with her episode on Glee and her film Country Strong, has showered the "Single Ladies" singer with compliments before, but not with the strong words she has used today.

Chris Brown's "Beautiful People" Cover Artwork

We had Britney Spears's new album cover artwork today and we can add Breezy to that list as well. Chris Brown's "Beautiful People" single has new artwork to go with it. The trance, synths-heavy dance track is a sure-fire hit and the cover art is nice. Over a honey mustard yellow background, magazine cutout ransom letters spell out "Beautiful People," perhaps a metaphor that beautiful people come is all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. Regardless, it's a nice cover.

Listen to the track below:

Britney Spears' New Album Cover

Britney Spears has announced the (presumable) title of her upcoming album: Femme Fatale. The reason I say presumable is because cover artwork featuring the "Hold It Against Me" singer appeared on her twitter page, which of course could be the title and cover art work of an upcoming single or the album itself. However, immediately following the twitpic arrived a succinct one-word tweet that read, "March," the month in which the album is due to hit stores.

Check out the album cover artwork below:

Rihanna and Drake Performing At Grammys

You can now officially add Rihanna to the list of Grammy Award performers after the singer just announced that she will perform at this year's ceremony. Due to a "twitition" (twitter petition) and overwhelming support for the singer to perform, she has confirmed on twitter that she and Drake will perform her single "What's My Name?"

NEW MUSIC: "Raised In Da Hood" by Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg has released another song from his upcoming album Doggumentary titled "Raised In Da Hood," which features verses about Dogg's upbringing in the hood during his days in Long Beach. The Baby Dubb and DJ Reflex-produced track features a simple, cyclical beat with a west coast edge to it, while the track is a refreshing return of Snoop Dogg from the Doggystyle days.

Listen to the new Snoop Dogg track below:

Chris Brown Scheduled To Do SNL

Chris Brown has been booked to perform (and presumably take part in a skit or two) on the February 12th episode of Saturday Night Live. This marks the first time the "Deuces" singer has performed on the show, a milestone that Nicki Minaj described as "monumental" after performing last weekend. The episode will be hosted by Russell Brand, the husband of Rihanna's BFF Katy Perry.

Justin Bieber Visits The Late Show With David Letterman

Justin Bieber stopped by the Late Show with David Letterman on his promotional campaign for his new movie Never Say Never. The interview was funny even though Justin Bieber seemed a bit nervous, as their conversation went Letterman's envy of the power the teen heartthrob has over his female fans to his family and hometown.

Check out the interview below:

VIDEO PREMIERE: "S&M" by Rihanna

The music video to Rihanna's new song "S&M" has made its VEVO premiere today and, as expected for a song with sadism and masochism in the title, it has the raunchiness to vaporize the droplets of holy water some may be tempted to splash at the screen. The video consists of a variety of latex costumes and S&M accoutrement, while scrolling headlines from some of her harshest critics scroll behind the singer.

Watch the video for "S&M" below: