Ok, before you jump down my throat, search for my coordinates on Google maps and hunt me down in my sleep, please hear me out.

First of all, I like Taylor Swift. I like that she’s sweet and wholesome, I like that she writes her own music, I like that they play her music all the time on the radio so I can turn it up loud when I’m driving and sing at the top of my lungs. I think she’s got awesome hair and love that she doesn’t let her 5’11 frame bother her.

I really do like her.

But all that being said, I also think the Taylor-mania is getting a little out of control. When she beat out Beyonce at the now infamous VMAs this past September, I agreed with what Kanye said. (And that made me rather unpopular, to say the least.) Sure, Taylor’s song was catchy and the video was cute, but it was not better than Beyonce’s jaw-dropping choreography for “All The Single Ladies.” The lyrics weren’t anything new or brilliant, the tune wasn’t anything we hadn’t heard before (assuming anyone ever listened to country music before…) and while the song was good, it was by no means the best.

And it was at that moment – when Kanye acted a fool – that people started looking at Taylor in a new way, putting her up on some pedestal that she never really deserved to be on. Read More »

Wow, this week was a bit of a bummer. So much anticipation and a whole lot of disappointment. You’re probably thinking I deserve it. After all, I got my hopes all up about Mariah Carey and Selena Gomez, so what did I really deserve, right? But I’m still a bit let down because, yes, I was expecting a lot from Mariah. She’s had more #1 hits than any other artist in history and while I wouldn’t listen to her every day in my car, I did think I’d at least like it.

Turns out, you all might be best off just listening to Britney Spears’ new single, “Three,” this week. Or Zero 7. You may not know who they are, but they are great and they really restored my faith in music after that Mimi/Selena letdown. So, thanks, Zero 7! Read More »

Here’s a head-scratcher: after months of kooky behavior (like, I dunno, shaving your head and flashing your va-jay-jay all over LA), after the media and public alike had written her off as Queen of the Looney Tunes, America woke up this morning and decided to accept Britney Spears back into the fold of elite pop stars.

Yep, forget the wacko driving-with-your- infant-son-dangling-from- the-driver’s- seat incident, Ms. Spears is a drool-worthy role model again. If you happen to have access to the internet (which I’m assuming you do, if you’re reading this), you can’t be more than a mouse click away from a Britney love fest. Today, her newest album, Circus, was leaked online just one week before its official release, and the world is abuzz with Brit.

How does the album fare? As far as pop records go, Circus ain’t too shabby. We’ve all heard the tour-de-force “Womanizer,” and the new single “If U Seek Amy” (is she referring to Ms. Winehouse? If Britney’s looking for her, she need look no further than a London crack den) is as gritty and caustic as I imagine Ms. Spears would be after a night of boozing. But a lame vehicle for singles (and moolah) this isn’t: the song “My Baby” perked my ears right up. Could Britney–gasp– actually be crooning? Her voice shines through clearly and tenderly on what is a sweet ode to her children.

I’m still confused at how Brit Brit has achieved her massive reinvention. I mean, check her out on the cover of Rolling Stone for godsakes! As she says in the opening to the title track, “There are two kinds of people in this world: entertainers and observers.” If baffling the public counts as entertainment, then Brit, baby, you’re a star.

Check out her album, Circus, on Imeem.com

Who doesn’t love a good train wreck like Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears? For us “ordinary folk” (those of us who wear Old Navy, drink PBR and dream of tetris being an Olympic sport) there’s nothing like a healthy dose of tabloid exploitation on those who live in (what at least appears to be) an alternate universe… where dogs wear juicy couture, cars come equipped with mini-bars, breasts double as flotation devices and pocket lint is laced with cocaine.

Is it true though? Or are the tabloids just running exaggerated fantasies to harpoon mass appeal? It’s hard to know because these grandiose lifestyles are perpetuated by the attention drawn to them (unless the celebrity is actually talented). Case in point — the Kardashian sex tape.

Bad publicity is good publicity, I suppose… especially for the venues that become associated with celebrity attendance (who doesn’t want to go to places where you might see a rockstar in a bar fight or catch Paris Hilton stripping down to… well… a slightly more naked version of her usual self?).

When talking about club publicity, nothing turns up the temp on a particular venue more than the drug habits of the celebrities. The scandalous behaviors of one Miss Britney Spears has made headlines for a variety of clubs in New York including an all time personal favorite, Marquee. Yes, she has been caught using drugs in the public bathrooms all around town and she’s not the only one. The question then becomes, of course, how many drugs are being done in these places? Certainly you run a high risk (pun intended) of being caught abusing drugs if you are a celebrity, but what about us ordinary folk? Are drugs swimming through the clubs as the tabloids would have us believe? Read More »

There is a real crisis going on in America and it’s deeply effecting the children. No, I’m not talking about the War in Iraq, the nuclear problem in Iran or the skyrocketing price of oil. I am talking about the Hannah Montana Ticket Shortage of 2007. Sounds ridiculous, huh? Well maybe to people with some semblance of a life, but to thousands of soccer moms and Disney-conditioned / obsessed tweens, this is a serious dilema of gargantuan proportions and someone must be held accountable.

For those of you who haven’t a clue what I am talking about, here’s a little backstory:

Hannah Montana is a fictional character from the Disney show of the same name. Hannah, (played by Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter Miley) is a 14 year-old average teenager living a secret double life as a Teen Pop Sensation. The show has scored record ratings for the Disney Channel and is incredibly popular with the 5 to 12 demo. So naturally when Disney announced a nationwide Hannah Montana Live Tour (no, it’s not an ice show) demand for tickets spiked higher than that of a furry red homosexual tickle doll on Christmas Eve. Read More »

Whenever a celebrity, and more specifically, a pop star, is caught on camera doing something stupid, lame, idiotic or illegal, I must admit there is a part of me that relishes in the embarrassment. What can I say? I guess I’m just an evil person who finds pleasure in the oh-so-ironic pain of the rich, famous and beautiful ones who fall victim to the same thing they’ve wanted all along – the spotlight.

Blender has dug deep (as there are waaay too many to list) to establish the Top 20 Most Embarrassing Pop Star Video Moments. Some moments are recent and some are from pop’s forgotten past. Some moments are mild and some are mean. Some moments are self-induced by drugs, and some are just self-induced by plain stupidity. Whatever the case, from Nirvana to Paris, they are all golden moments, and touchstones in the culture that is pop.

Revel in K-Fed’s face as he is dumped by Britney via text. Snicker as Lindsay is publicly referred to as a “firecrotch” with giant labia. Ouch. Cringe as R. Kelly, and YES, that is indeed R. Kelly, as he checks to see that the shot of him peeing on his much younger, female counterpart, will be caught at just the right angle. GROSS. Read More »