In The Meantime... What Happened in August?

Let's continue with the recap of the biggest music news to have occurred during my bloggeritis. Welcome to August 2011! August has one major popular music moment and that's the VMAs, and with such an awards show comes quite a lot to blog about. Here's what we (or rather I) missed.

August 19: On the evening of August 18th, blogs all over America (and some Billboard aficionados from across the globe) were wondering if Katy would do it. What would "it" be, you might be wondering? Well "it" is the only album other than Michael Jackson's Bad to score five Billboard Hot 100 number ones. Come the next day, it was officially confirmed when Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" rose to the summit to take the honor as the fifth number one from Teenage Dream and the first time in Billboard history for a female's album to secure five chart-toppers. Would Ms. Perry break the record?

In The Meantime... What Happened in July?

As you have probably noticed, I have taken some time away from posting (243 days to be exact). Who would have thought so much in music would have changed between July 2011 and March 2012. But it has, both for good and bad. Below are the biggest news stories to have occurred in my blogging absence.

Let's begin with July...

Game Releases Cover Art For "The Red Album"

To provide further proof this album is set on its August release date, Game released on his twitter page the cover of the Compton-native's fourth studio album The R.E.D. Album. The cover incorporates the red motif of the album into the artwork, with a predominantly red-hued face portrait with his hand curled around his jaw and nose.

The album, scheduled for release on August 23rd, will mark the rapper's return to new music since 2008. Check out the album below:

Alice Cooper Joins Kesha For "School's Out"

Kesha is on tour in Europe and why not spruce things up with a summer-appropriate cover of "School's Out"... WITH ALICE COOPER HIMSELF! That's exactly what fans were treated to at the Get Sleazy Tour's stop in Oslo, Norway, where Kesha brought out a black eye-shadowed Alice to perform his magnum opus alongside the pop star.

The singer's tour runs through September. Will you be attending?

Check out the performance below:

Beyonce "4" The Win; Tops Billboard 200

Beyonce's fourth-studio album, appropriately titled 4, has taken the honors of debut atop the Billboard 200, becoming only the second female artist to collect four consecutive top spot notches in BB history. The album's 310,000 copies sold last week put her in a dead-tie with Britney Spears whose streak of four number one albums ended in 2007 when Breakout came in at number two.

The album's sales were more than triple the nearest contender, Adele's 21, and also are the third best sales week of 2011, ahead of Spears but behind Lady Gaga and Adele. This marks some good news after rumors swirled that a pushback of the album's release was imminent. However, while the sales are good, they do mark her lowest first week numbers in her career as a solo artist, coming just 7,000 short of her debut album Dangerously In Love.

Wonder what next week sales will look like...

LMFAO Scores First #1 On Hot 100

LMFAO must be laughing their ______ ______ off because their latest single "Party Rock Anthem" has ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, displacing the one week reign of Pitbull's "Give Me Everything." Much like its predecessor, this is the first song of theirs to ascend to the top of the charts as their highest charting song (aside from a David Guetta collaboration) was "I'm In Miami Bitch," which stalled at number 51. However, their music has become a party staple, including "Shots" which has been played at every bar, nightclub, and frat party since its release in 2009.

The main component propelling the song from 3-1 on the Hot 100 was digital sales, which were up 22% this week as compared to last. Selling 258,000 copies, the song replaces Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (TGIF)" on the Hot Digital Songs chart. America now joins nearly a dozen other countries where the song has topped the charts, including most of Europe.

Check the video below:

NEW MUSIC: "Let Me Down" by Kelly Clarkson

A Kelly Clarkson song has leaked on the internet and is rumored to be a song from her upcoming album. Listen to the track below (review soon to come):