So let’s take a look back and rock out to the 20 biggest songs of 2010. (It’s like my own little Grammy’s!!)

Some of the biggest names to enter the pop scene in 2010 include B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Mike Posner and Taio Cruz. All of them were hot able to make big names for themselves by earning multiple slots on the Billboard charts with huge hits like “Cooler Than Me.” It was a nice, refreshing change to the usual women of music (Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Katy Perry) who seemed to constantly and incessantly rule the airwaves (and YouTube – I’m lookin’ at you, Bad Romance!). And while everyone was going goo goo for Gaga, I’d say Katy Perry was the real queen of pop this year, immediately releasing three megahits off her new album, Teenage Dream.

The music scene was also shaken up by the comebacks of huge artists like Eminem, Usher, and Train who all reminded the world that they’re still alive of who they are and what their music is all about in a big, overplayed way. In addition, we got to hear all different assortments of collaborations from the relatively-unknown-artists-at-the-time, B.o.B and Bruno Mars with “Nothin’ On You,” to the massively famous, all-star duo of Eminem and Rihanna on “Love The Way You Lie.” What probably startled the pop scene the most this year, however, was Lady Antebellum’s, “Need You Now.” I’m not sure I can think of any other recent country song (other than all of Taylor Swift’s, of course) that’s received that much airtime on pop radio stations.

And, lastly, drum roll please… this year’s best and worst! I think I’m gonna have to go with “Airplanes” by B.o.B featuring Paramore’s Hayley Williams and “Bedrock” by Young Money for this year’s best, for both providing us with fresh new sounds and rhymes. As for this year’s most obnoxious, overplayed hits – I think I have to hand this award to both the infamous “California Gurls” and “Rude Boy.” If I never had to hear those overly repetitious songs again, I’d die a happy woman.

Of course, with NYE right around the corner, I have a feeling I’ll be hearing both of them (and their dance remixes) blasting from the DJ booth in 3 short days.

But until then, why don’t we all take some time to indulge in the megahits of 2010 – the ones we loved, the ones we’re sick of, and the many that we’ve totally forgotten about since radio stations only play the same 6 songs over and over and over again. Do I smell an awesome New Year’s Eve pre-party playlist? Rock on, friends. Rock on.

I used to be an avid Lady Gaga fan. She was quirky, and her music was catchy. I even loved her strange sense of style, telling my friends how awesome it was to finally have a true performer on the music scene. Her music videos, although weird, I tolerated, saying it was what made her, her.

Now, however, I can’t appreciate Lady Gaga for the artist she is.
And with all the bells, whistles, and the generally over-the-top antics, I don’t see how anyone can.

It always goes like this: A new Gaga song comes out and I love it, dance to it, rock out to it with the windows down in the car. I’ll be excited about the release of a new music video. And then said video comes out… and it’s confusing.

No, it’s downright strange.

Take Gaga’s latest music video release for Alejandro. The world was on the edge of their seats wondering what was coming, what she would think of next. Then we finally saw it and I was so distracted by trying to figure out what it meant that I barely realized Alejandro was playing in the background. Why were there men in high heels? And what was with all the (offensive) Catholic references?

It seems that with each new Lady Gaga release, things get stranger. Even when we didn’t think that was possible any more. Remember when Bad Romance hit the interwebs? Yeah, everyone sat at their computers, mouths wide open, asking themselves WTF was going on when those creatures climbed out of those pods. I watched it a dozen times, trying to understand.

And then Telephone came out and suddenly Bad Romance seemed so normal. The video was intense and sexy and creepy and strange, and ruined Telephone for me, because instead of just picturing Lady Gaga dancing at the clubs with a boy bugging her (which is the point of the song, yes?), I had to think of her killing people with Beyonce. While wearing caution tape.

Talk about a buzz kill.

Not to mention, in my opinion, a great director shouldn’t have to explain a music video. (Which, is exactly what’s happening right now.) A story should be evident; that’s what a music video is for. Now I know people are going to tell me I just don’t see the deeper meaning, that it is true art. The thing is, you’re absolutely right. I don’t understand a lot of art, but I’m okay with that. I have taken art history where I stared at modern art for hours, and although I appreciated it for the idea it supposedly represented, I didn’t actually enjoy looking at it. And that’s exactly how I feel about Lady Gaga; sure the cinematography of her music videos is great, and they are…interesting, but they’re also unsettling, and not in a good way.

Honestly, I love Lady Gaga’s music and I respect how she’s challenged the pop music scene, but I just think she’s taken things a bit too far. And at this point, I think she’s becoming more about shocking than entertaining her “little monsters.”

And with the way she’s pushed the envelope thus far, I can’t help but wonder what could she possibly come up with next. To some of you, that’s exciting, but to me, well, I’m just scared.

Just watch On The Rocks, University of Oregon’s all-male A cappella group, and you’ll agree. They. are. good.

We’ve all done it.  We claim that we are the best of friends, but the truth is that we are all guilty.  We sit and listen to our friends complain about their breakups, lend a shoulder to cry on, and then offer consoling words:  “You can do so much better” or “he’s the one missing out, not you.”  The sob-fest concludes and what do we do?

We immediately call our other friends to vent about just how annoying it is that Jill still isn’t over Jack.  After all, their break up was three months ago!  Can’t she just get a grip?!  We vow to never act so desperate, and we wouldn’t of course, because our breakups happened around the same and we are so, totally over our ex.

But wait, are we really?  Before we throw Jill down the hill for holding on too long, maybe we should read the signs to see if we aren’t exactly “over” our ex’s either:

Sign 1:  You check his Facebook every time you log on. And by check, I mean analyze literally every post, never missing a beat.  You read every status, look at every picture, and undoubtedly read the wall-to-wall between him and every mysterious girl who leaves a comment.  Privacy settings put on a damper on your stalking capabilities? You get your best friend to friend this anonymous skank (she must be a skank…they all are) so that you can see all 2,000 of her pictures without your ex knowing.  But don’t worry, BFF Jill will reassure you that you are prettier than her in each and every picture.

Sign 2: You text him while drunk. You may blame it on the a-a-a-alcohol, but you manage to text him a variation of “I miass yiou” every time you’re out partying.  After the text is sent, your phone becomes glued to your hand waiting for a response.  If it never comes, the beer tears start flowing.  You are embarrassed in the morning and claim you didn’t mean it; you were wasted.  Excuses, excuses, we’re not buying it.  And speaking of phones…..

Sign 3: You refuse to delete him! You say the nastiest things about him and blabber different versions of “I hate him and am never speaking to him again” to everyone who crosses your path, but you have yet to delete his number from your phone.  You tell yourself that you still have it “just in case”….in case of what?  And to top it off, you still have old text messages saved of the cute things he used to say to you.  You “stumble” upon them every once in awhile claiming you had NO idea they were still there. Mhm, sure.

Sign 4: You plan your hookups according to the likelihood of him finding out. The sweeter the revenge, the more of a chance the new guy has.  He’s a frat brother of your ex’s best friend? PERFECT! He is SURE to find out: perfect candidate!  If you do stumble upon a hot guy who has no connection to your ex, you make sure to get tons of pictures with him.  You on his lap, kissing his cheek, arms around each other, the more the merrier.  And without fail, they are on Facebook the next morning before you’ve even brushed your teeth.

Sign 5: Everything reminds you of him. You find yourself skipping every song on the radio because they just scream his name.  Your friends are jamming out to “Bad Romance” and you immediately must change it because was practically written for you two… you had a romance, and then.. it was bad.  You’re almost certain that Lady GaGa stalked you and used your breakup as inspiration for the lyrics.  Once the music is silenced your friend asks if you caught the new episode of “The Office.”  Of course not, it was his favorite show, so clearly you can’t watch it, or talk about it, because it’s a total representation of him.  You’re right… noooone else watches it, it’s totally “his” show.

Sign 6: You still sleep in his t-shirt….and hoodie…and sweatpants. We know, we know, it’s not because they’re his, it’s because they’re just SO comfortable.  Understandable, his plain t-shirt is probably made out of an extra special, soft, jersey material that no other t-shirt is made out of.  And the hoodie, we know you don’t pay attention to the fact that it has his last name and football number on the back, you just like how massive and cozy it is.  And you’re right, XL sweatshirts probably don’t exist anywhere else, his pair is one of a kind.

If you were found guilty of more than one of these tell tale signs…then you might not want to be so quick to judge Jill the next time she gets choked up when Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl” comes on the radio.  But it’s OK, maybe in the end you have to go through all of these steps to actually get over him.  And don’t worry, you are prettier than the anonymous whore on his Facebook (even though she happens to be his cousin…)

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really great local band? An awesome website? A product that truly changed your life? CHOCOLATE? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

By now everyone with a radio knows about Jason Derulo. Not only do those DJs play his songs more often than Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” (Read: Every. Other. Minute.), but homeboy really loves to sing his own name. Like, a lot.

But this is one artist whose songs I actually want to hear every ten minutes. And “Whatcha Say” and “In My Head” are just the start. Derulo’s self-titled album, which came out last week, is a Must-Know-About. It is so good I can’t even express how good it is in words. I listened to the album THREE times in a row on a recent flight to Los Angeles (helloooooo SPRING BREAK) and I’m pretty sure the woman sitting next to me was not enjoying my 5-hour dance sesh in my window seat.

Honestly, if there’s one album you are actually going to spend some money on, let it be this.

It’s the perfect pick-me-up for that early morning walk to class and your weekly (er… nightly) pre-game. Not in the mood to go for a run? Put on “Love Hangover” with your Lululemons and you will be marathon-run ready. From songs for fist pumping, to songs to to mellow you out, to songs for sexy time (to set the mood and save your roomies from hearing anything naughty), this album’s got got something for every mood.

And let’s be real – Derulo’s good looks (mmm washboard abs mmmmmm) don’t hurt, either.

This is one artist who is always In My Head. Pun intended.

Sure, the wardrobe budget was a little tighter in this home video (they replaced Alexander McQueen with a Walmart shopping bag), but even Gaga gave them props for their dedication to the original masterpiece.

Who knew a guy could make such a good Gaga?

We tip our hat to thee, Bad-Romance-Video-Kids. Way to use your time well instead of lying on the couch watching Law and Order: SVU marathons like the rest of us.

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2010/01/11/the-baddest-romance-video/feed/ 9 ccandystaff http://collegecandy.com/2009/11/10/what-drugs-is-lady-gaga-on/ http://collegecandy.com/2009/11/10/what-drugs-is-lady-gaga-on/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:28 +0000 Lauren - University of Michigan http://collegecandy.com/?p=45906 ]]> If you’ve ever wondered what an acid trip was like, Lady Gaga’s latest music video seems like a pretty close match. Seriously, this thing is freaking me out. It’s like Girl Talk mashed up a Gaga song and a drug-fueled mini-porn… then threw in a little couture fashion product placement (Burberry jacket, Alexander McQueen shoes, Chanel sunglasses…) for a little extra cash on the side.

I’m really not sure what’s going on here, but I do know that the person behind this 5 minutes of freakiness is on something illegal. And it’s really, really good ish.

I mean, no sane and sober person could come up with a bear-skin dress…or Gaga shooting a corpse with her left breast. God, those are words I never thought I’d string together in a single sentence.

Just watch and you’ll understand the madness. Well, not the madness but at least you’ll see what I’m talkin’ about.

Balloon boy’s parents are effed.

Take that 2008 wardrobe and make it 2009.

Octomom’s got her eyes on Jon Gosselin?!

Looking for something fun and healthy? Try these activities.

Project Runway fails on Lifetime.

Check out Lady Gaga’s latest.