Lady Gaga...Born This Way top sales getter! Savvy promo strategy?

Shortly after Lady Gaga strutted out on stage at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in an exotic outfit replete with mysterious mask and black plumage and elegantly alighted next to Dave Letterman, the Pop Diva found herself peppered with a serious of in-depth questions from toothy Dave.

Of particular interest to the late-night host were the Pop Diva's earnings potential (and what comprised those figures).

"I guess you have to tour to make money because there isn't enough to be made in record sales," Dave quizzed at the top of the highly-rated CBS late-night show.

"No, actually I make a lot of money with my records," Lady Gaga gushed excitedly.

Indeed!

In fact, on the night of her appearance on Letterman, the sales for her latest album "Born this Way" were literally soaring into the stratosphere.

As part of a savvy record promotion, the Amazon web site - if you recall - was offering up the latest offering by the Pop Diva for a one-time fee of 99 cents!

The demand was so high for the product, that the portal was overwhelmed - and subsequently - crashed!

Some die-hard fans were crushed when the downloads ended up stalled or incomplete - and, in some cases - contained only one or two playable tunes!

After apologizing profusely, Amazon tried a second shot at the deal of the century, after the site was overhauled to accommodate thousands of  Lady Gaga Monsters anxious to get their copy pronto later in the week!

Needless to say, the endeavour paid off big time!

"Born  this Way" ranked the biggest first-week album in six years (1.11 million in sales).

Previously, 50 Cent sold 1.15 million in 2005.

Some industry analysts attribute the phenomenal success of the album to a round of guest appearances a week prior to the release on sizzling hot shows like Saturday Night Live (featuring Justin Timberlake), American Idol (where she performed a steamy erotic dance number with a sexy male stud), and the ever-popular Good Morning America.

According to Keith Caulfield at Billboard, Lady Gaga is a "true pop superstar, ostensibly the biggest in the past three years. Every single is a hit. Every video is a water-cooler moment. All eyes are on Gaga."

And, where are Lady Gaga's sights set now?

News at 11!

http://www.thetattler.biz

Justin Bieber...Acoustic tune "Pray" splashes on Internet!

Justin Bieber's much-ballyhooed effort - "My World's Acoustic" - has hit the web two weeks before the disc was due to be released on November 26th.

To the delight of mop-topped Bieber fans!

"Pray" uses a string section, synthesizers and congas to get the juices flowing!"

The tune is also rife with heartfelt thoughts.

Bieber croons:

I know there's sunshine beyond that rain
I know there's good times beyond that pain
Heaven, tell me I can make a change

Bieber fans - anxious to snap up publicity stills - may be thrilled to hear that the pop Icon has launched a new web site where photographs by Robert Caplin (featuring Bieber) will be posted.

http://www.bieberpix.com/

Caplin was one of the artists who worked on Bieber's recently published memoir:

"First Step 2 Forever: My Story"

"Robert Caplin is gonna be posting never before seen pics every week to help others," Bieber tweeted the end of last week.

Proceeds from sales of prints sold on the site will be donated to an unnamed charity.
Just betcha, they'll be snapped up in no-time-flat!

http://www.thetattler.biz

Justin Bieber...35 minute stretched out SMILE a whale of a hit!

Bieber Warhol Pop style!

Nick Pittsinger had a hunch, tooled around with it, and ended rustling up a slow-mix version of a Justin Bieber hit that has been wowing even the most staunch cynics who previously wrote off the “Bieb” as pop fluff.

Granted, the crooner - who hails from Stratford-on-Avon (Canada) - tends to rattle out tunes in frenzied succession like some hopped-up speed freak on the edge.

But, with the “Smile” novelty circulating the Internet, there appears to be a wider appeal than ever before in respect to a fan base.

A thirty-five minute (29 second) stretched-out version (U Smile 800 % slower) comes across as some kind-of haunting chant that stirs the imagination.

It’s doubtful you’ll catch it on any of the commercial pop teen radio stations, but, it’s a trip worth tracking down on the wild-and-woolly net.

Shortly after the “Bieber's” slo-mo sound was posted on SoundCloud, it caught a wave, not unlike one in the eerily oceanic track which some find reminiscent of the plaintive cries of a whale.

www.julianayrs.com

Lady Gaga...Poker face slips as Justin Bieber zooms to top slot! Oh, baby!

In recent weeks, the mercurial Lady Gaga - oh she - of the wild madcap chapeau, racy (at times avant-garde) tribally-inspired ritual garb inclined to incite, and ubiquitous towering heel (OMG!) - had much to shake her gender-bending image about.

At the " World Music Awards", for instance, the pop flavor of the year  was singled out - and consequently - buoyed up into the International glare of the musical spotlight when she nabbed four  coveted trophies in top prestigious categories such as Best New Artist, Best Single, Best Album, and Best Pop Rock Artist.

And, just this past week, the Pop Diva boasted that her fan base on Facebook was just rocking - thank you very much - at a staggering 10 million plus.

Unfortunately, just yesterday, there was a hiccup.

"Poker Face" - 'til now the most-highly-viewed video on YouTube - was left idling in stardust when Justin Bieber's pop hit (BABY) zoomed into the blogosphere a silver bullet.

Imagine the creative outcome, if Justin & Lady Gaga knocked heads on a studio recording session, or two.

The dynamic duo would take the free world by storm.

Music is the Universal language, after all!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Enrique Iglesias... Spanglish upbringing reflected in Hot album! Akon & Usher featured!

 

Eclectic mix includes collaborations with Usher!

Euphoria - the new musical release by Enrique Iglesias - is a departure for the handsome Pop star.

This time out of the recording studio, Iglesias pooh-poohed the notion that it was necesssary to press one version of a musical release for the Spanish market, another for English-speaking fans.
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Consequently, Enriques's offering is chock-full of collaborations and an eclectic mix of tunes that reach out to a diverse spectrum of musical tastes under the sun.

Enrique is obviously thrilled that two of the songs - "I Like it" and "Cuando me enamoro" - are racing up the charts (hits).

But, one of his favorite compositions is a reggae duet with Akon.

In fact, the charismatic singer teamed up with a handful of artists on "Euphoria".

Each of the collaborations - such as those with Usher, the  duo Wisin and Yandel, and Nicole Sherzinger - shone with their own "grace and magic" gushed Iglesias in a recent upbeat interview.

Enrique was born in Madrid (can he really be 35 now?) and grew up in Miami.

According to the outgoing performer, he was rasied on Spanglish, which amply prepared him to record his latest musical gem without stumbling.

The album was a three-year effort and features tropical ballads, reggae, and pop.

 

http://www.julianayrs.com

Cobacabana...day I talked back to director! OMG...

Last night I woke up at about four o'clock in morning and found myself drifting back in time to the olden- golden days when I used to scurry around town to nab bit parts in the Film & Televsion industry.

For some inexplicable reason, a brief stint on the TV Movie - "Copacabana" (an adaptation of Manilow's hit song)- flooded my mind with hilarious memories.

Like "Lucy" - who was always trying to break into show biz - I was always get rooked into some fly-by-night production, or scam, which I can reflect on now and laugh heartily about.

If you recall, Manilow - who started out as a back-up pianist for chanteuse Bette Midler at the Men's Continental Baths in NYC - wrote the lyrics and music for "Copacabana" with partners Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman (a catchy tune which debuted on Billboard's Magazine's Top 40 Chart on July 7th, 1978).

"Copacabana" is also known as "Copacabana (At the Copa)".

Manilow nabbed a Grammy Award for "Copa" in February 1979.

The popular crooner was approached one day - although I am not familiar with the specific background details (how the project came about)  - to produce  a televison MOW based on the storyline of the song.

Just like in the pop hit, the TV production featured  two main characters - Lola (her name was Lola, remember?) - and Tony (her lover).

Manilow and his co-writers -  Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman - expanded the idea with additional songs and intriguing plot twists suggested by the song.

If you recall, at a climatic moment, a character is shot.

This is where I come in!

I was cast as a glorified extra (in a special bit!) - along with another actor - to dash out  on the dance floor and apprehend the gunman.

The scene was rehearsed quite strenuously and required exact timing that evening for two reasons.

For starters, the scene was being shot with dazzling special effects (and a stop-action camera) that was difficult and costly to set up.

But, there was a bigger dilemma looming on the horizon.

The production was fast-approaching "golden time".

When a company shoots long hours beyond the regular schedule - and the actors are not fed - they are entitled to steep overtime pay.

Once the regular hours have elapsed - the performers start receiving time-and-a-half - then double-time - also known as golden time.

So, it was imperative that the cast and crew get the shot in one take!

In Hollywood that's generally impossible (unless Clint Eastwood is at the helm).

So, the big moment arrived, and everyone on the stage was all keyed-up and waiting for the director to yell "action".

Unfortunately, because the camera was running, the director was forced to give a visual cue to the two of us (in the wings).

Once the director's hand gave the signal, we were supposed to dart across the stage, and drag the shooter away.

Unfortunately, shortly after the shot was rolling, I suddenly noticed that the director changed his position on the sidelines on the sound stage.

A large exotic palm tree was now blocking him from view.

In a panic, and unable to alert the director, I elected to keep my eye on my partner in the scene - and take my all-important cue - from him.

Suddenly, he lurched forward onto the stage, so I assumed the cue had been given.

Wrong!

He was so nervous that he jumped-the-gun.

And, the director was forced to scream "cut".

At this point there was quite a bit of cursing - and ranting and raving - falling on my virgin ears!

On the heels of that tirade, a slew of nasty comments followed, obviously intended for my partner and me.

I don't know whatever possessed me, but all-of-a-sudden, I cried out from my position across the room.

Sir!

Suddenly, there was  dead silence, as an eerie pall fell over the set.

I could imagine what everyone in that room was collectively thinking at the moment.

OMG!

He talked back to the director.

I continued unscathed.

"You changed your position, Sir. That palm tree was obscuring my view, so I wasn't able to visually catch your cue."

The silence was so load that it was deafening.

"Surprisingly, I wasn't tossed off the lot on my a**."

Without skipping a beat, the director shifted gears.

"Okay. Let's go for another take."

Whew!

I thought I would never eat lunch in this town again!

http://www.thetattler.biz/

Ting Tings...drummer hot! Lead vocalist crankin' out catchy sound...

On Saturday Night Live the "Ting Tings" kicked up a musical storm that entertained thoroughly.

The Ting Tings is a Grammy-nominated English Indie pop duo comprised of Jules De Martino (drums, lead guitar, vocals, piano) and Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass drums, bass guitar, and cow bells).

For a lone two-man band - the rising musical pop stars - pack quite a whallop!

They're not hard to gaze at, either.

The front woman, Katie White, strutted the stage leather-clad, hip, and pretty.

Meanwhile, the studly hard-driving drummer drove home the raw novel sound with a strident catchy beat.

A youthful exuberance the "Tings" exhibited in their live performance was downright contagious.

Originally from Hackney (London), the two charismatic musicians formed the Ting Tings in December of 2007 while they were hunkered down at Islington Mill Artist Studios in Salford recording.

Stand-out performances at the Mod Club Theatre (March/2009) triggered a buzz in industry circles, and there has been no looking back for the dazzling duo since.

Their musical influences appear to flow from pop rock, Indie pop, and dance punk.

The band's debut album - "We Started Nothing" - was officially released on the 19th of May (2008).

However, because the recordings were leaked onto the Internet on May 13th (a week earlier), the single - "That's Not My Name" - managed to leap to No. 1 on the UK Singles Charts almost overnight.

A bullet, alright!

A high-profile performance at a i Tunes Live London Festival (held in the KoKo nightclub on July 9th/2008) was released as a downloadable EP in the iTunes store (and quickly streamed into  private music collections of fans around the globe).

Their influence has reached out into the mainstream of Pop Culture, too.

For example, their singles = "Shut Up and Let Me Go" and "We Started Nothing" - were featured on the ratings-getter Gossip Girl.

"Be the One" was featured on the popular TV series "One Tree Hill".

Their single - "Great DJ" - was also laid into theatrical trailers for the Anna Faris comedy - "The House Bunny" - and the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

The Ting Tings drove audiences wild on the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards when they performed small interludes consisting of remixes of past hits honored by the industry.

The band won a Best UK Video Award for their single "Shut Up and Let Me Go".

http://www.thetattler.biz

Basshunter...DotA video.