Lady Gaga & Justin Timberlake & *NSYNC: The Best MTV VMAs Performances

For the first time since Britney gave her career-defining performance of "Gimme More" in 2007, the MTV Video Music Awards gave us all something (good) to talk about.



Lady Gaga continuously snatched her own wig as she opened the VMAs with "Applause" last night, and it was the best performance...until Justin Timberlake hit the stage for about 20 minutes (!!), belting out his entire catalog of hits and doing a quick "Girlfriend/Bye Bye Bye" medley with his old *NSYNC boy bandmates.



Timberlake, the recipient of this year's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, also wound up snagging Video Of The Year for the excellent "Mirrors" (which also won for Best Editing, while David Fincher won Best Directing for "Suit & Tie").

Here's the full list of who won what:

2013 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS
VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Justin Timberlake, “Mirrors”
MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO VANGUARD AWARD: Justin Timberlake
BEST FEMALE VIDEO: Taylor Swift, “I Knew You Were Trouble”
BEST MALE VIDEO: Bruno Mars, “Locked Out Of Heaven”
BEST COLLABORATION: Pink & Nate Reuss, “Just Give Me A Reason”
BEST ROCK VIDEO: 30 Seconds To Mars, “Up In The Air”
BEST HIP HOP VIDEO: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “Can’t Hold Us”
BEST POP VIDEO: Selena Gomez, “Come & Get It”
BEST VIDEO WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “Same Love”
BEST SONG OF THE SUMMER: One Direction, “Best Song Ever”
ARTIST TO WATCH: Austin Mahone
BEST DIRECTION: Justin Timberlake, “Suit & Tie” (Director: David Fincher)
BEST EDITING: Justin Timberlake, “Mirrors”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Capital Cities, “Safe And Sound”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Bruno Mars, “Treasure”
BEST ART DIRECTION: Janelle Monae & Erykah Badu, “Q.U.E.E.N.”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “Can’t Hold Us”

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It's Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' Album Cover, New Single "Wrecking Ball" & MTV VMAs Slut Fest

Miley's new album cover looks like it was the condom used when Miami Vice fucked the Cocktail soundtrack.

Speaking of which, here's Miley in heat, getting knocked up by every male (and a few females) at the MTV Video Music Awards last night.



But, really — she's sensitive. Let's listen to her sad new ballad, "Wrecking Ball," which is the #1 song on iTunes. America loves a whore with a heart of gold.

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UK Chart Roundup: Matt Cardle & Melanie C Have A Semi-Comeback

Aww. Matt Cardle and Melanie C's "Loving You" is actually a semi-hit in the UK, debuting at #14. The song is Matt's first to crack the Top 40 since the Gary Barlow-penned "Run For Your Life" landed at #6 in 2011, and it's Mel's first solo single to do so since "I Want Candy" made it to #24 in spring 2007. (Later that year, the Spice Girls reached #11 with "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)".

Ah, the good ol' days.



The UK Top 10:

1. "Burn" - Ellie Goulding *2 weeks*
2. "Wake Me Up" - Avicii
3. "Sonnentanz (Sun Don't Shine)" - Klankarussell feat. Will Heard *new*
4. "Earthquake" - DJ Fresh feat. Diplo & Dominique *new*
5. "Summertime Sadness" - Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais
6. "We Can't Stop" - Miley Cyrus
7. "The Other Side Of Love" - Sean Paul *new*
8. "Lifted" - Naughty Boy feat. Emeli Sande *new*
9. "Applause" - Lady Gaga
10. "Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell

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'Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1' Turns 10: Read The Producer's Great Interview

Following his spectacular chat with British producer Richard X for Annie's The A&R EP last month, John Hamilton — aka frequent Chart Rigger collaborator Moogaboo — whipped up a wonderful anniversary piece on Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1, which turns 10 today.

Read it over at Idolator, and be sure to catch the long-lost original single sleeve for Liberty X's "Being Nobody," plus the advert for the girl group that never materialized, Sweet-X.

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US Chart Roundup: Neither Katy Perry Or Lady Gaga Able To Unseat Robin Thicke

 

Sorry, stans. When all was said and done, neither Katy Perry's "Roar" or Lady Gaga's "Applause" were unable to unseat Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" from the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week.

What did happen, though, was this: Perry and Gaga each racked up their 12th Top 10 singles, as "Roar" jumped from #85 to #2 after selling 557,000 downloads last week, and "Applause" debuted at #6 (218,000). "Roar" technically outsold "Blurred Lines," by the way, but the latter scored more airplay and streaming points, and is now around on top for an 11th week to annoy the fuck out of everyone. Sorry, KatyKakez.

Of the 13 singles each pop broad has had serviced to radio in the States, only one missed the Top 10 on the Hot 100 — for Katy it was "Thinking Of You" and for Gaga it was "Marry The Night" — and, coincidentally, both of those songs peaked at #29.

One last thing to note: for this week at least, "Roar" has now matched the peak position of Katy's previous Top 10 hit, "Wide Awake," and ditto for Gaga with "Applause" and "You And I."

And that, folks, is the way the hooker sizzles.

The U.S. Top 10:

1. "Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell *11 weeks*
2. "Roar" - Katy Perry
3. "We Can't Stop" - Miley Cyrus
4. "Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons 
5. "Holy Grail" - Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake
6. "Applause" - Lady Gaga *new*
7. "Get Lucky" - Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams
8. "Treasure" - Bruno Mars
9. "Cups" - Anna Kendrick
10. "Safe And Sound" - Capital Cities

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In Defense Of Lady Gaga's "Applause": Watch The Music Video

Over on Idolator last week, I made a case for why Lady Gaga's lead ARTPOP single "Applause" doesn't suck, a bulk of critics seem to think.

In it, I wrote the following:

Art and pop references aside, “Applause” finds Gaga sending the biggest musical love letter to a fanbase since Backstreet Boys‘ 1999 single “Larger Than Life.” Personally, I’ve found myself more drawn to the sound of the track itself, which plays like a return to Gaga’s days of The Fame. The opening, pulsating synths are a straight-up throwback to the “Poker Face” intro — albeit slightly sped up — while the handclap-laden chorus swells and soars with the same pop frenzy that made “Paparazzi” such a delight.

Of course, as far as critical opinion goes, I've never been aligned with the majority, especially when it comes to Gaga.

And so now we get the "Applause" video, which I also find to be miles ahead of what any other low rent, z-grade pop hag is doing these days. Sorry, but Gaga's head on a swan's neck — not to mention her in David Bowie drag — just appeals to my own twisted sensibilities

I don't think there's been a more debated and deconstructed pop single this year. And that, in the end, is what makes "Applause" so exciting. In that sense, job well done, Gaga.

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UK Chart Roundup: Ellie Goulding Lands First #1 Single, Gaga's "Applause" Debuts At #5

Ellie Goulding's "Burn" debuts at #1 this week in the UK, thus knocking Miley Cyrus down to #3. Good! "Burn" kicks" "We Can't Stop" in the pussy as far as being a far more quality jam.



I was pretty disappointed when "Burn" dropped out of site quickly here in the States, after briefly making an appearance in the iTunes Top 10. Then again, given Ellie's track record here, "Burn" will probably become a stateside hit some time in 2015.



That brings us to Lady Gaga's "Applause," which goes in at #5, despite going on sale two days later than the rest of last week's new singles. "Applause" is now Gaga's highest-charting UK single since 2011's "Born This Way," which peaked at #3. The rest of the single from that one's same-titled parent album failed to crack the Top 5.

On a final note, poor The Wanted — "We Own The Night," their fourth single from yet-to-be-released third album Word Of Mouth flops at #10. I honestly have yet to hear this song, and I don't think I'm going to remedy that any time soon. Ta!

The UK Top 10:

1. "Burn" - Ellie Goulding *new* *1 week*
2. "Wake Me Up" - Avicii
3. "We Can't Stop" - Miley Cyrus
4. "Summertime Sadness" - Lana Del Rey
5. "Applause" - Lady Gaga *new*
6. "Trampoline" - Tinie Tempah feat. 2 Chainz
7. "Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell
8. "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High" - Arctic Monkeys *new*
9. "Holy Grail" - Jay Z feat. Justin Timberlake
10. "We Own The Night" - The Wanted *new*

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