So the VMAs happened...

If you were watching the VMAs last night, you are now probably thinking 'damn did I really waste my time on that?!' Or maybe you're not, maybe you liked it. And if you're in the 3rd group and didn't watch it at all, this is the place for you!

Let's check out what happened, y'all!

1. Gaga performed Applause (you know, the new single where you can barely understand a word she's singing). The performance was average, even boring for her standards, with the same choreography as always. She wore a rubber-sort-of-hat on her had, which looked awful, as if she were a patient escaped from a hospital.

2. Katy Perry performer Roar in a boxing ring. This might sound awesome, but it was not. Everything looked low-budget: the clothes (awful, awful...), the props, the song...

3. Miley Cirus did a trainwreck performance of her inexplicably big hit We Can't Stop. This whole sleazy, slutty, horrible performance can be summed up in this gif:

4. Justin Timberlake did a tribute performance for himself. For himself. 'Nuff said.

5. Flawless Selena Gomez won the award for the Best Pop Video (Come & Get It), and rumors are Miley left the show early because of this and because of poor comments on her performance.

6. One Direction won the Best Summer Song (Best Song Ever) award and got booed. Oops!

And some other stuff happened, too, I guess. :D What were your favorite/least favorite moments? Spill that tea!

New Britney single in a few weeks!!1!

Drop everything you're doing and better sit down! According to music producer Naughty Boy, the new Britney single (1st from her upcoming, 8th album) is supposed to come out at the end of summer!

In an interview for Digital Spy, Naughty Boy said: "It's not out for another couple of weeks, but we've just started working on tracks for her until the studio session."

He added that he was working with William Orbit on the song, complimenting both him and Britney, saying that she "is one of the only few who can really change the pop scene with what she does". So true! Now let's get that new single out ASAP!!

New Diana Vickers video - Music To Make Boys Cry

Diana Vickers has released the video for the 2nd single off her new album, and both are called Music To Make Boys Cry.

The video is very cute, like we have learned to expect from Diana, and the song has been met with very positive reception from the audience. It's a fun, 80s-style upbeat song with some interesting lyrics.

Although the vid is a bit on the low-budget side, it's fun and cute, with lots of colorful visuals. Every scene is just perfect to be made into gifs and posted on tumblr. (which fans will probably do).

According to a recent interview she did, the album has a lot of 80s influence, so we can probably expect some more songs like this one! The album is out September 14.

Backstreet Boys perform on America's Got Talent

Promoting their latest album and single In A World Like This (you should check it out, its good!), Backstreet Boys have performed on America's Got Talent a few days ago. Dressed in cool black outfits, they sang a medley of In A World Like This and their (possibly) biggest hit, I Want It That Way.

Moves were there, vocals were there, everything was spot on. Of course, the crowd went wild (obviously the Boys' hardcore fans were let in), and the judges seemed to enjoy it too. For the younger readers here, I Want It That Way was their hit from their 1999 album Millennium. And you know I have to post the video of it:

Avicii's new single - You Make Me

 

Here's another awesome song by Avicii! He has just released his next single, You Make Me, from his upcoming album True, which is coming out in exactly one month. Check out the track and be amazed!

After the awesome Wake Me Up, this is sure to be another hit for Avicii. You Make Me is a cool upbeat song and the piano is my favorite part. The song features vocals from Salem Al Fakir, who is a Swedish musician. Also, Avicii has released the album cover for True, check it out here:

Olly Murs releases new video - Right Place Right Time

Olly Murs has released a video for Right Place Right Time, the 4th single off his latest album of the same name. Check it out:

It's one of those random-scenes-from-tour-and-stuff videos, which even includes some scenes from his time on X Factor and from the making of some of his previous videos. I'm not really crazy about such videos, because they seem cheap and lazy, like if you're not going to shoot a real video, don't do it at all. The song is also kind of meh, he could have chosen much better songs, like Hand On Heart or Hey You Beautiful.

Not to leave you underwhelmed with this song/video, here's a much better effort of Olly, from his first album:

Lady Gaga premieres new track 'Applause'

Right after Katy Perry has officially premiered her new song 'Roar', Lady Gaga has premiered her new song 'Applause', although it was supposed to premiere on August 19. Nothing like good old fair competition, huh? ;)

It's definitely more similar to Gaga's early stuff than Born This Way album, but at first listen it doesn't even come close to her mega hits such as Poker Face or Just Dance. What do you think of the song? Which one is better (or less bad) - Roar or Applause?

Katy Perry - 'Roar' full song leaks

For days (or weeks, wasn't really paying attention) Katy Perry has teased the audience with over-dramatic teasers, snippets and a cringeworthy single cover, killing and burying her past album (not really sure why, she wasn't complaining when she got all those no.1 hits). Now, her new single Roar from her new album Prism has finally leaked, a few days before its official release. You can listen to the song here:

It's a mid-tempo song with some generic lyrics about coming back stronger than ever, you know that stuff... At one point she even says "I've got the eye of the tiger"... Ummm, ok, if you say so. The song is definitely not what I would expect for a first single from her, and her 'roars' are not very convincing. Still, I'm sure her fans are gonna eat it up. What do you think about it? Flop or not? Do we have a new California Gurls on our hands?

Bastille - Things We Lost In The Fire video

How could I have missed this? The amazing UK band Bastille have released a new video for their next single Things We Lost In The Fire and I have only just discovered it! This is one of my favorite songs on the album and I love it that they are releasing it as a single (out  August 26).

This video continues the Bastille tradition of creepy and morbid videos, but it's very interesting and has some  nice visuals (although it's kinda confusing, at least to me). Still, this awesome song is sure to be another big hit for Bastille. We'll see if I'm right in a few weeks...

Oh Land (feat. a power socket) - Wish Bone cover art

Lo and behold, the cover art for Oh Land's upcoming album Wish Bone has been released! Oh Land looks amazing (with a normal hair color :D) in a pose that is unusual to say the least. Other points of interest on the cover (that make us love it even more):

a) a cool font with bones

b) a great hat/crown that she must have stolen from El Dorado, and

c) a power socket on the wall that for some reason wasn't Photoshopped out :)

If the album turns out to be as good as the cover, it's gonna rock!

New albums in the US - Billboard 200

So what's going on on the Billboard 200 album charts, you ask? I'll tell you!

As it was expected, Robin Thicke's album Blurred Lines debuts at no.1, with 174,275 copies sold in its first week.

No.2 is Five Finger Death Punch (Kill Bill much?) with their album Wrong Side of Heaven, vol.1, while Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail is at no.3.

No.4 is Tech N9ne with Something Else, while the Backstreet Boys debut at no.5 with their new album In A World Like This with 50,215 copies sold. All of their albums have debuted in the top 10 so far.

Emblem 3 (Simon Cowell's boyband from last year's X Factor) debut at no.7 with Nothing To Lose, and Selena Gomez with Stars Dance (no.1 last week - her first no.1 album) drops to no.8.

Well there you go, lots of new albums this week! What are your favorites?

Oh Land premieres new video - Renaissance Girls

 

The always inspiring Danish singer Oh Land has released her new video for Renaissance Girls, the 1st single off her upcoming album Wish Bone (out this October). Take a look:

It's a cool dance video, kind of like the one she did for White Nights, but more realistic. She is presenting her new hair color in the vid (kinda weird but I like it) and changes outfits several times. And she's got some cool moves that even include knitting at one point!

The song is not my favorite, but if you listen to it several times it will stick with you and you'll realize how catchy it really is. And this cool video will definitely help! :)

Songs you either love or hate pt.1: Marie Serneholt - Salt and Pepper

When I find something fascinating in the music world I love to share it with you, especially if it's something really good (or really bad). I'll let you judge this one. Here's a song by a Swedish singer Marie Serneholt (used to be in A*Teens), which was her entry for the Melodifestivalen 2012 (Swedish competition for choosing Eurovision songs).

The title should've tipped me off not to play the song, but I had to (I'm a sucker for A*Teens, what can I say...). Ok, Eurovision songs are not really known for their quality, but this... It's catchy as hell but sounds like something that would be used only in Austin Powers movies. Now, many YouTube viewers have noticed that the song is very similar to another song, which brings us to... The Boy Does Nothing by Alesha Dixon:

Alesha's song was a huge hit in the UK, though. So, which one do you prefer (if any)? And do you think the songs are similar or are they different like salt and pepper, salt and pepper...?

Britney news day: Smurfs 2 premiere, tweeting about new album!

There's not a lot of stuff going on right now in the Britneyland, since the new album is still in the writing/recording stages, but when things get going, they don't stop! Brit has attended the Smurfs 2 premiere a few days ago, looking cute as always, and took some pics with Katy Perry. And of course they exchanged some tweets afterward:

Katy Perry ‏@katyperry28 Jul

OMG!!!!! I CAN'T IM CRYING http://twitpic.com/d58f26 

Britney Spears ‏@britneyspears28 Jul

So great to see you Smurfette @katyperry! Can't wait for our Vegas date... pic.twitter.com/ksyZuuNBV5

After the premiere, Brit tweeted about her upcoming album:

Britney Spears ‏@britneyspears28 Jul

Ok, play time's over! Back to dance rehearsals, writing and recording. #GameTime #LetsGO

Who's excited? Don't lie, I know all of you are.