Showing posts with label Katy Perry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Katy Perry. Show all posts
12/24/2011
Viral Video of the Day: The coolest Christmas light shows of 2011
Clark Griswold, eat your heart out. The 2011 holiday season is filled with some amazing Christmas lights displays and shows.
The above video has been making international fans of dubstep music very happy. "The Cadger Dubstep House" in Meridian, Iowa, uses 35,000 energy-saving LED lights and dances to the song "First Of The Year (Equinox)" by DJ/producer Skrillex.
Another impressive display uses more than 54,000 LED lights at a house in Fountain Valley, California. The snowflakes, arches, mini trees, mega tree, & star topper were all custom-made to honor a friend who passed away before realizing his dream of a "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"-style setup for the holidays:
Fans of smartphone video game Angry Birds will appreciate this next one, possibly the coolest of Christmas 2011. According to Tech Crunch, this California display is fully interactive and allows people to play from a controller that slingshots the game's birds at the evil pigs:
And for fans of pop music, one of 2011's biggest artists got a Christmas lights tribute in Hound Rock, Texas. Watch as Katy Perry's hit song "Firework" is sequenced in a display of LED snowflakes and wintry lights:
12/15/2011
MTV names Katy Perry its 1st artist of the year
NEW YORK (AP) — Katy Perry's run of No. 1 singles has earned her the distinction of becoming MTV's first artist of the year.
Perry topped Adele after a spirited discussion among MTV's internal panel of experts, the network said Thursday. Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was chosen top song of 2011, said Amy Doyle, the network's chief of music programming.
MTV also declared Skrillex its electronic dance music artist of the year over David Guetta.
Different parts of MTV would make "best of" lists in the past, but the network wanted to establish a franchise that brought all its online and TV arms together and emphasized MTV's music roots, Doyle said. The network, established in 1981, hopes it becomes an annual thing.
Seven panelists made the final choice, and their deliberations were featured in MTV programming this week.
"Rolling in the Deep" was an obvious selection as top song, Doyle said. Runners-up were Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and Rihanna's "We Found Love."
"I loved the song the moment I wrote it," Adele said. "The melody and the beat added some conviction to it. I think that's why people connected with it."
Perry's achievement of tying Michael Jackson's "Bad" as the only albums to yield five No. 1 singles was particularly impressive, Doyle said. Along with the title cut, "California Gurls," ''E.T.," ''Firework" and "Last Friday Night" (T.G.I.F.) all topped the charts. She's trying to beat the record with the current single "The One That Got Away."
"You just really felt her presence in pop culture throughout the year," Doyle said.
Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny Moore, describes his music as a combination of "dubstep, electro and glitch." MTV included the category of best electronic dance music artist to pay tribute to the way the style is taking off with its young viewers, she said.
MTV also asked its viewers to vote on their choice of the best live performances shown on MTV all year. Their choice was "Hurricane" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Perry topped Adele after a spirited discussion among MTV's internal panel of experts, the network said Thursday. Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was chosen top song of 2011, said Amy Doyle, the network's chief of music programming.
MTV also declared Skrillex its electronic dance music artist of the year over David Guetta.
Different parts of MTV would make "best of" lists in the past, but the network wanted to establish a franchise that brought all its online and TV arms together and emphasized MTV's music roots, Doyle said. The network, established in 1981, hopes it becomes an annual thing.
Seven panelists made the final choice, and their deliberations were featured in MTV programming this week.
"Rolling in the Deep" was an obvious selection as top song, Doyle said. Runners-up were Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and Rihanna's "We Found Love."
"I loved the song the moment I wrote it," Adele said. "The melody and the beat added some conviction to it. I think that's why people connected with it."
Perry's achievement of tying Michael Jackson's "Bad" as the only albums to yield five No. 1 singles was particularly impressive, Doyle said. Along with the title cut, "California Gurls," ''E.T.," ''Firework" and "Last Friday Night" (T.G.I.F.) all topped the charts. She's trying to beat the record with the current single "The One That Got Away."
"You just really felt her presence in pop culture throughout the year," Doyle said.
Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny Moore, describes his music as a combination of "dubstep, electro and glitch." MTV included the category of best electronic dance music artist to pay tribute to the way the style is taking off with its young viewers, she said.
MTV also asked its viewers to vote on their choice of the best live performances shown on MTV all year. Their choice was "Hurricane" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
12/08/2011
On the Charts: She and Him, the Killers Score With Christmas Pop
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Christmas music on iTunes. In a slow, post-Black Friday, pre-last-minute-shopping week, five albums on iTunes' Top 10 had holiday themes: the Killers' (RED) Christmas, She and Him's A Very She and Him Christmas, Glee's
Christmas album and, of course, the lingering smashes by Michael Bublé
and Justin Bieber. Interestingly, nary a holiday single made iTunes' top
songs list, a phenomenon for which we have two theories. One is that
cool, exclusive holiday singles such as My Morning Jacket's "When the
Bells Start Ringing" and Kelly Clarkson's "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
won't chart until next week. Another is that iTunes is packed with
quality singles these days by specialists such as Bruno Mars, Rihanna,
LMFAO and Katy Perry, so it's hard for Christmas novelties to squeeze
them off the singles list. However, the week was pretty barren for hot
new album releases.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Rock music. Rather than knocking on Nickelback again – although, for the record, we did name the Canadian pop-metal goons "Winner of the Week" last time – we'll just use their album Here and Now as yet more evidence that the band's genre is no longer a chart phenomenon. Over and over this year, from Cake to Coldplay, we've seen rock albums make strong Top 10 debuts then drop precipitously a week later. It's happening with Nickelback, too – with 78,000 in sales this week, the band dropped 66 percent, from Number Two to Number Five. That's despite a massive jump of 42 slots up the most recent Ultimate Chart, which measures online stuff such as YouTube views and Facebook likes, to Number Seven. Here's a clue to the big second-week decline: their "When We Stand Together" video landed more than 39 million YouTube views in its first week (it came out on November 23rd) but has slightly fewer than 41 million views today. To recap: 39 million in one week, two million the next. Not good.
THE GRAMMY NOMINATION BOOST?: Grammy nominations came out too late last week to place on the conventional charts, but we received an interesting list from Facebook regarding its "fastest-growing musicians, actors and songs." (We presume this refers to the fastest-growing popularity of musicians, actors and songs and not that, like, Rihanna is suddenly 75 feet tall.) The Top Three "most-listened-to songs" aren't too surprising – Rihanna, Katy Perry, LMFAO – but farther down the list are things such as thrash-dancer Skrillex's "First of the Year" and "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" and David Guetta's collaboration with Sia, "Titanium." This leads us to believe that the nominations served their purpose, at least in part, to help people learn about interesting new music that they might not have discovered otherwise amid the pop dominance of Lady Gaga and Adele.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: Rock music. Rather than knocking on Nickelback again – although, for the record, we did name the Canadian pop-metal goons "Winner of the Week" last time – we'll just use their album Here and Now as yet more evidence that the band's genre is no longer a chart phenomenon. Over and over this year, from Cake to Coldplay, we've seen rock albums make strong Top 10 debuts then drop precipitously a week later. It's happening with Nickelback, too – with 78,000 in sales this week, the band dropped 66 percent, from Number Two to Number Five. That's despite a massive jump of 42 slots up the most recent Ultimate Chart, which measures online stuff such as YouTube views and Facebook likes, to Number Seven. Here's a clue to the big second-week decline: their "When We Stand Together" video landed more than 39 million YouTube views in its first week (it came out on November 23rd) but has slightly fewer than 41 million views today. To recap: 39 million in one week, two million the next. Not good.
THE GRAMMY NOMINATION BOOST?: Grammy nominations came out too late last week to place on the conventional charts, but we received an interesting list from Facebook regarding its "fastest-growing musicians, actors and songs." (We presume this refers to the fastest-growing popularity of musicians, actors and songs and not that, like, Rihanna is suddenly 75 feet tall.) The Top Three "most-listened-to songs" aren't too surprising – Rihanna, Katy Perry, LMFAO – but farther down the list are things such as thrash-dancer Skrillex's "First of the Year" and "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" and David Guetta's collaboration with Sia, "Titanium." This leads us to believe that the nominations served their purpose, at least in part, to help people learn about interesting new music that they might not have discovered otherwise amid the pop dominance of Lady Gaga and Adele.
12/07/2011
Guessing the 2012 Grammys
Predictions on who will be honored on “music’s
biggest night”, based on a mixture of rumors, critical acclaim, and the
academy’s voters.
Adele’s 21 vs. Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops And Hooligans, Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, and Rihanna’s Loud
Adele is one of those rare artists that both critics and music fans adore. You don’t have to be psychic to foresee her leaving the ceremony with an armful of trophies, which will include this nod to the most-lauded album of the year.
Record of the Year
Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” vs. Bon Iver’s “Holocene”, Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave”, Katy Perry’s “Firework”, and Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”
“Rolling in the Deep” was THE song of 2011. You heard it in commercials, on multiple radio stations every five minutes, and repeatedly covered on TV talent shows.
Song of the Year
Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” vs. Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave”, Bon Iver’s “Holocene”, Kanye West feat. Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and Fergie’s “All of the Lights”, and Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”
Being that this is a songwriter’s award, the voters love to see it go to a song performed by its main songwriter. Not to mention, it would be a shame to see it not go to Adele’s modern classic.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Lady Gaga’s “You and I” vs. Adele’s “Someone Like You”, Katy Perry’s “Firework”, Pink’s “F***in’ Perfect”, and Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”
A combination of the former “Best Male Pop Vocal” and “Best Female Pop Vocal” categories, look for the best track off of Gaga’s latest album to take the prize. (Especially after this performance aired on the 2011 Grammy Nominations Concert special.)
New Artist
Niki Minaj vs. the Band Perry, Bon Iver, Skrillex, and J. Cole
This year’s Grammy’s will be another “ladies’ night”, with Minaj being another big winner. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the voters chose the up-and-coming country group instead.
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse’s “Body & Soul” vs. Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”, Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera’s “Moves Like Jagger”, the Black Keys’ “Dearest”, and Coldplay’s “Paradise”
A few years ago, Amy Winehouse brought a lot of excitement to the awards, which helped introduce her talent to a nationwide audience. Though her promising career was put to an end by her tragic death, voters still have the chance to honor her one more time, with this duet with a Grammy favorite.
Best R&B Album
Kelly Price’s Kelly vs. Ledisi’s Pieces of Me, R Kelly’s Love Letter, Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E, and El DeBarge’s Second Chance
The academy’s new rules made controversial changes in the R&B categories, merging “traditional” R&B with the more well-known acts. So look for one of those lesser-known, critically acclaimed artists to be honored instead.
Best Rap Album
Niki Minaj’s Pink Friday vs. Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne, Kanye West’s My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy, Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, and Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers
Niki Minaj was one of last year’s biggest success stories. Voters love to see a woman take charge in a typically male-dominated field, and given that this album was the introduction to her career, they will easily choose to honor it.
Best Country Album
Lady Antebellum’s Own the Night vs. Taylor Swift’s Speak Now, George Strait’s Here for a Good Time, Blake Shelton’s Red River Blue, Eric Church’s Chief, and Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party
Lady Antebellum are the country darlings of the awards, and since they haven’t had a “Need You Now”-sized hit recently, this is their category.
Best Country Song
Taylor Swift’s “Mean” vs. Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”, Vince Gill’s “Threaten Me With Heaven”, Dave Barnes’ “God Gave Me You”, Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter’s “You and Tequila”, and Trace Adkins’ “Just Fishin’”
Due to lack of other nominations, the Academy seems to be feeling a little Swift fatigue, but chances are that they will like this self-written ode to critics.
Best Rock Album
Foo Fighters’ Wasting Light vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ I’m With You, Kings of Leon’s Come Around Sundown, Wilco’s The Whole Love, and Jeff Beck’s Rock N Roll Party Honoring Les Paul
The Foos are Grammy favorites, but haven’t had the chance to be honored in several years. Look for their first #1 album to also please the voters.
Best Rock Performance
Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave” vs. Foo Fighters’ “Walk”, Radiohead’s “Lotus Flower”, the Decemberists “Down by the Water”, and Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall
Mumford & Sons are obviously loved by the academy, as proved with their many nominations this year. While they won’t take home any of the big categories, they will certainly pick something up.
Best Alternative Music Album
Bon Iver’s Bon Iver vs. Foster the People’s Torches, Radiohead’s The King of Limbs, Death Cab for Cutie’s Codes and Keys, and My Morning Jacket’s Circuital
A favorite of many “best of the year” lists, this award clearly belongs to Bon Iver’s sophomore breakthrough.
Best Dance Recording
Duck Sauce’s “Barbra Streisand” vs. Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend”, Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Spirits”, Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech’s “Raise Your Weapon”, Swedish House Mafia’s “Save the World”, and David Guetta & Avicii’s “Sunshine”
Call me crazy, but isn’t it likely that the vast majority of the Academy’s older voters will vote for “Barbra Streisand” based on its name (and lyrics) alone?
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