This year was filled with some really great albums by artists such as Bon Iver and Coldplay, but there were also sooo many songs that were actually quite horrible. And, somehow, they ended up being extremely popular. Everyone has their opinions and, while I know some of these songs are catchy, if you really take a moment to think about the lyrics and music, you’ll realize that the songs so didn’t deserve their fame. Tonight, millions of viewers will tune in to watch The Grammys and award artists that produce and create really incredible music. So, in honor (reverse honor?) of that, here are eight of the worst songs from 2011 that just can’t compare to the greatness that we’ll see tonight. Get your earplugs ready…

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University and she’s majoring in Overanalyzing Situations and International Affairs. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

I had bangs once. I don’t plan to ever get them again. Not only were they a pain to deal with, styling-wise, but they also looked absolutely horrific when they started growing out. There are about two months of missing photos from the “dark times” when I had to wear a duff puff while my bangs grew out. No one will ever see those pictures. As always, celebrities are pretty good at pulling off pretty much any hairstyle, especially bangs. My question is, do they do their hair every day or are they just naturally, absolutely perfect?

It was released that Whitney Houston passed away today, and I literally don’t know what to do with myself right now. Is this real life? There’s not much info out right now about what exactly happened to the 48 year-old music legend. Though it’s widely known that for Houston battled with drug and alcohol addiction, I don’t even want to think that either of those things lead to her death.

Instead, let’s remember all the times we’ve sung into our hairbrushes to “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and all the girls’ nights spent watching The Bodyguard. RIP Whitney, we will totes always love you.

Remember back when Disney Channel used to actually be good and somewhat entertaining to watch? Even though today’s Disney stars like Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus seem to get way more attention than anyone back in the Zoog Disney days (late 90′s/early 00′s) ever did, I would much rather watch re-runs of Lizzie McGuire rather than The Suite Life on Deck or Shake it Up. So what have our favorite nostalgic stars been doing ever since they left Mickey’s realm? Check it out in the gallery below!

Who was your favorite old school Disney star? Do you think the new stuff is better than the old, or vice-versa?

Have you ever uttered the words “music was better back when…”? Or maybe you’ve been the one listening to a friend wax poetic about the good ol’ days of rock ‘n’ roll. In either case, you’re definitely not alone. There’s a seemingly huge divide between electronic music artists of today and, say, the organic sounds of The Doors. But guess what? Not anymore.

The folks over at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (aka the GRAMMYs) got together with Hyundai and GreenLight Media & Marketing for the new film RE:GENERATION. Along with world-famous electronic music heavyweights Skrillex, Mark Ronson, The Crystal Method, DJ Premier and Pretty Lights, they brought the ultimate music experiment to life.

These relative new-comers were each assigned a genre of music to work with — country, jazz, classical, R&B or rock — and were then paired with legendary artists from each category to create and remix the ultimate tracks. RE:GENERATION is all about respecting classic musicians — the pioneers and revolutionaries — while ushering in a new era of sound. We were blown away by what was possible when today’s top DJs worked with amazing talents like Nas, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, LeAnn Rimes, Martha Reeves and members of The Doors, among others. Take a look through our gallery below to see and hear all the collaborations.

RE:GENERATION is hitting select theaters on February 16 and 23.

initiating the gallery...

Alex loves rainbow sprinkles, retro bromances, and cultivating an iTunes library superior to yours. Most days, though, she just wishes she was Courtney Stodden. Got something to say or a good conspiracy theory you’re just dying to share with someone? Follow her on twitter @AlexandraRane or on Tumblr.

[Photo Credit: Brian Nevins]

Mitt Romney might have had some epic fails in the primaries this week, but we don’t think he should feel too bad. Why? Because now his youngest and hottest son, Craig, has an entire Tumblr dedicated to him. That should make papa proud, right?

You probably saw our post about the Romney sons, from hottest to creepiest – if you didn’t, you should check it out here. It’s the definitive guide to the brothers Romney. So clearly, CollegeCandy deserves credit for this excellent new meme. Hey girl, don’t worry. We’re sharing the wealth. Craig Romney is no Ryan Gosling, but his DREAM Act only involves you. Check his “Hey Girl” memes out over at F*ck Yeah! Craig Romney.

The fashion industry is known for being extremely open-minded, especially when it comes to stepping out of gender norms and conventions. In the past couple years, stealing styles “from the boys” has been a major trend in women’s clothing. While women wearing men’s clothes has become fairly normal on the runway, the roles are rarely reversed. It is for this exact reason that Andrej Pejic is both so interesting and controversial. Andrej Pejic is a twenty-year old androgynous male model that has been catching the eyes of designers such as Marc Jacobs since he was first scouted at age eighteen. He ranks number 18 on the models.com Top 50 Male Models list and number 98 in FHM Magazine’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World in 2011.

While Andrej Pejic’s androgyny has long been a topic of conversation, his appearance at this year’s New York Fashion Week has elicited a lot of extreme opinions. Speculators are questioning whether he will model both men’s and women’s clothing, just men’s clothing, just women’s clothing or simply watch the shows. Firstly, I find it really interesting that someone could model both men’s and women’s clothing. I also think it’s really cool that the fashion industry is essentially leading the world towards breaking down gender conventions. While I can understand that this is controversial and might bother some people, I’m excited to see the results of the major changes in social norms that are occurring in the world today. In light of the overturn of Prop 8, I’m excited to say the world is moving in a more open-minded direction.

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University and she’s majoring in Overanalyzing Situations and International Affairs. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

Are you guys excited to see The Vow? I’ve heard some of my friends say they’re hesitant because all “these type” of movies end the same way. Well here’s the gist with The Vow: A man and his wife get into a horrible car accident, she wakes up with amnesia and he has to make her fall in love with him again. Sounds like The Notebook, right? But it does have Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. That alone makes it worth a trip to the movies. And I hear the movie ends in a way that we wouldn’t quite expect. Since I haven’t seen it yet, I can only guess about how things turn out. Here are a few possible scenarios I’ve come up with.

1. The Bourne Vow. Rachel McAdams’ character doesn’t remember any of her past life, but she has badass fighting skills and multiple fake identities, a la The Bourne Identity. She sets off on an epic quest to take down the corrupt government agency that trained and then abandoned her. This leaves Channing Tatum confused but strangely aroused.

2. The Vow of Lies. Channing Tatum planned the car accident. He was cheating on Rachel McAdams with a younger woman, and they were planning on robbing a bank and running away together. He had to set up the car accident so she couldn’t turn him in. Think Law & Order on this one. McAdams miraculously regains her memory in the last five minutes of the movie and turns him in.

3. The Double Vow. Rachel McAdams has secretly been leading a double life. She actually has two families, complete with husbands, houses, kids, etc. In reality, she remembers everything, but she pretends to have amnesia to escape her messy situation. She runs away to the Caiman Islands. Eventually, Channing Tatum and the other husband figure everything out, but they don’t blame each other. Instead, they move in together and raise all the kids as one family.

4. The Star Vow. Rachel McAdams wakes up and thinks she is Ke$ha. Channing Tatum loves her so much that he sits patiently while she teases her hair, cakes on eyeliner, and buys huge amounts of glitter. She and her family go on tour. Her kids are a little embarrassed, but she builds up a fan base and becomes a millionaire. Happily ever after.

5. (500) Days of the Vow. Despite his best efforts – and his rock hard abs – Channing Tatum cannot make Rachel McAdams fall back in love with him. Eventually, they break up and Rachel starts dating someone else. But in the last five minutes of the movie, Channing meets a new girl and they live happily ever after. He and Rachel remains friends.

Our society generally assumes that ‘body issues’ spawn from the desire to be thinner. Ioana Spangenberg actually suffers from the opposite. This Romanian born, 30 year old model has been trying to gain weight for the past 15 years. I was skeptical of her weight gaining efforts at first, but in Romania men consider heavier women more attractive, because it is a sign of wealth. It’s no surprise, then, that Ioana found her dating situation less than favorable. I imagine being on the receiving end of gawking disapproval can’t do much for your self esteem. At the time her waist was a mere 15 inches!

Ioana blames her hourglass shape on her small stomach. Despite eating three hefty meals a day, she finds it nearly impossible to gain even a few pounds. Many people are skeptical and believe that her tiny waist is the result of corsets and an eating disorder, but she insists this isn’t true. She was incredibly self conscious about her abnormal figure until she met her husband. She says , “he was the first person to see me as beautiful.” He taught her to love her shape and be totally comfortable in her own skin. Does he have a brother?

While I think Ioana has a very unique situation, I hope that girls do not make achieving this shape a new weight loss goal–this is not attainable for 99% of women. What should be taken from her story is that it is possible to be happy with your body whatever its shape.

What do you think about Ioana’s size? How thin is too thin?

(Conversation I just had with Siri)

“Siri, where can I hide a dead body?”

“What kind of places are you looking for? Cremation, metal foundries, mortuaries, funeral services, or dumps?”

We all have our “Siri stories.” Some, funnier than others but they all revolve around one statement: Siri is a genius. She (I’m going to refer to Siri as a “she” just because it gets repetitive after a while) has all the knowledge of the internet at her fingertips and, sometimes, I think she could easily take over the world. It’s only a matter of time. A (cute) guy on youtube realized this and made a hilarious video about just how easy it would be for Siri to take her human characteristics and go full-on crazy. This video had me and my neighbor laughing our asses off. Check it out!

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University and she’s majoring in Overanalyzing Situations and International Affairs. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25