G.U.Y. (Gaga Under You)

I admit that I've been waiting to write about Lady Gaga since when I started this blog. Finally, the chance has come with Goddess of Love's latest video "G.U.Y." (abbreviation of "Girl Under You").

It's Gaga's handwriting on the single cover of G.U.Y.

"G.U.Y." is served as the third single from ARTPOP. Even though ARTPOP failed to achieve the previous commercial success of Born This Way and the second single "Do What U Want" missed a great opportunity to be a big hit worldwide due to its Terry Richardson-directed music video was shelved, "G.U.Y." still had a big budget to bring Gaga back to the top.

The Zedd-produced track has always been a fan favorite, received acclaim from music critics as a true ARTPOP standout and a potential huge hit. There was a dilemma whether to release "Gypsy" - another standout track, fan favorite and label's choice, or "Venus" - a controversial song and Gaga's personal favorite, but in the end "G.U.Y." - critics', fans' and Gaga's darling had been chosen as the third single.

"G.U.Y." music video starts with Gaga as an angel that was shot down in the middle of nowhere. There're man all around Gaga, but no one helps her because they only care about the money falling all around her. The album title track "ARTPOP" is playing in the background (I love the slightly remixed audio in Gaga removing the arrow from her chest scene).

Gaga makes it on her feet to a palace (the breath-taking Hearst Castle, California), where she collapsed at the front door. "Venus" begins as she is carried to a magical pool to heal. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars make a cameo - which is said to imply the music industry in which some artists that can't even play their own instruments but still get famous of their looks.

"G.U.Y." plays as Gaga rises again from the water as a Greek Goddess (is that Venus - Goddess of Love?)! I'm not gonna go into any more details because you HAVE TO watch this incredible video yourself. Just know that Mother Monster looks absolutely stunning in each and every look in the mv. And the storyline is pretty cool (even though it's pretty hard to understand just like most of her other videos), featuring famous Youtuber SkyDoesMinecraft, Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards, and special cameo by Michael Jackson, Gandhi, John Lennon and Jesus (sort of).

"G.U.Y." is like the best gift Mother Monster gives to Little Monsters this year (so far). It's beyond EPIC! And it's a pretty smart marketing strategy actually.

After leaving fans hung up and disappointed over "Do What U Want", "G.U.Y." was highly hyped and expected as a come back - the true beginning of ARTPOP. And surprisingly, the mv turned out better than expected, and contained not only one but four songs from the album (hey, I forgot "MANiCURE" on the long ass credit). What a way to promote for ARTPOP! And with the streaming rules of Billboard, ALL four of them will receive streaming points and therefore chart on Billboard Hot 100 next week. Brilliant to be honest.

Now all we need to see is what Interscope plans for "G.U.Y." beside the gorgeous music video. Meanwhile, Little Monsters, don't forget to stream the video on Youtube as well as the song on other streaming platforms such as Spotify... And request the song on radio too! Buy the song on iTunes here, or gift it to your beloved ones!

Watch the amazing music video of "G.U.Y." here:

Canadian Artists to Watch

Even though the American music literally dominates the world, I've always loved and been proud of our Canadian music. Since we talked about our very own Canadian multi-platinum recording artist Alyssa Reid last week, this week, we're gonna talk about the latest coming hits from some of our other native artists.

First of all, let's talk about Alyssa again. The golden girl of Wax Records teamed up with a brand new artist of the label - Virginia to Vegas - in his debut single "We Are Stars". Well, despite that all-American name, Virginia to Vegas is a Canadian singer, for sure. He's a Toronto-based handsome young men whose real name is Derik Baker.

Upon its release, "We Are Stars" immediately received large attention. The song quickly climbed up on iTunes, and has reached top 20. With strong digital sales and quick-rising airplay, the song has so far peaked at #24 on Canada Hot 100 to date. Virginia to Vegas is having a great chance of having a top 20 hit with his debut single - a great achievement that not all Canadian artists can get.

Another song that is about to smash coming from the Best New Artist at JUNO Awards 2011 Meaghan Smith - "Have a Heart". "Have a Heart" is the title track from her third studio album, to-be-released on April 22, 2014.

Unlike her previous singles, "Have a Heart" is more pop mainstream, accompanied with an awesome music video that brings back Bicentennial Man (Robin Williams - 1990) vibe. In the video, Meaghan is in love with a heartless robot, so she decided to give it a mechanical heart. I'm not gonna say how the video ends, you have to watch the great music video to find out! Thanks to such awesome video and addictive melody receiving a lot of airplay from AC radio stations, the song debuted and has yet peaked at #94 on Canada Hot 100. With "Have a Heart", Meaghan is on her way to have her biggest hit to date.

 The last song we're gonna take a look (listen) today is "In Better Hands" from the one and only Fefe Dobson. "In Better Hands" is the second single from the Canadian superstar's upcoming album Firebird.

Fefe Dobson never fails to satisfy her fans. "In Better Hands" is simply just another perfectly perfect song from the JUNO-nominated singer-songwriter. While the lead single "Legacy" was an undeserving commercial flop, "In Better Hands" is expected to bring Fefe back to the top chart. The song reminds me of her biggest massive hit "Stuttering" a lot. Now all she needs is another perfect video to promote for the song.

Don't forget to check out and support our talented Canadian artists by buying their songs on iTunes. And request your favorite songs on radio if you can!
Buy "We Are Stars" by Virginia to Vegas featuring Alyssa Reid here. You can also buy Alyssa's latest album Time Bomb here.
Buy "Have a Heart" and pre-order album Have a Heart by Meaghan Smith here.
Buy "In Better Hands" by Fefe Dobson here.

Get Your Satisfaction Guaranteed with Alyssa Reid

In celebration of Alyssa Reid following me on Twitter (yay!!!), let's take quick look at her new album Time Bomb.

Time Bomb is the second album from multi-platinum Canadian recording artist Alyssa Reid. It's a follow-up of her highly successful debut album The Game. Supported by two amazing singles - buzz single "Running Guns", and the hit lead single "Satisfaction Guaranteed", fans expected a great album from Alyssa, and she didn't disappoint us.

Just like what it's said in the intro, this album is made for airplay success. It's full of radio-friendly hit potential songs. "Satisfaction Guaranteed" indeed has been a huge hit on the radio in Canada. You can turn the radio on and hear this song every hour. Imagine how much she could do if she released the song in the US! "Hurricane" - the second single (third single overall) is on its way to be another hit. Other songs such as "See Me" (spot the similar with "Presh Out the Runway" by Rihanna?), "Radio Silence" (hope the radio will NOT be silent with this song), "Change Your Mind", "Let It All Go" (the intro is everything) and "Last Chance" (feat. JRDN) all have big potential.

And as I always say, if J.Lo is the Queen of Samples in the US, Alyssa Reid is probably the Queen of Samples in Canada. Maybe you still remember her huge hit "Alone Again" - sampling Heart's "Alone"? Time Bomb also has another amazing sampling song - "Gravity" (yes, you guess it right, the sample is from "Defying Gravity").

Another moment from the album is when she steps out of radio-friendly songs. While "Clyde" is probably not the most easy-listening song to open the album, the title track "Time Bomb" is a perfect way to end the album (well, I don't count the acoustic bonus tracks). "Clyde" can either make you love or hate it (I don't blame you), and "Time Bomb" is such an emotional track that it could be very difficult to listen to - but hey, that's what the closing track should do.

To date, the album has sold 1,352 copies in Canada, peaked at #56 in Canada Albums Chart. While it's not a great number at all, one can still hope with the upcoming hit singles such as "Hurricane", she can boost the album sales a little bit more. This is a great album and deserves more success.

You can watch the mv of "Running Guns" (it was filmed in Japan!) and "Satisfaction Guaranteed" below and buy Time Bomb here (support Canadian talents everyone!)

Turn the Music Louder with Lea Michele

One of the most anticipated album of the year - Louder by Lea Michele - is finally here!

The Glee star finally dropped off her debut studio album this week, on March 4, 2014. With no surprise, Louder turned out to be an amazing album, showing off Lea's incredible vocals through many catchy, hit-potential songs. The album is a perfect combination of up-tempo pop smash, lovely mid-tempos and heartfelt ballads.

The lead single - "Cannonball" - is a perfect start for the album. "Burn with You", "You're Mine" (dedicated to Cory Monteith), "Cue the Rain" and "Gone Tonight" are notable mid-tempos also.

Louder also two biggest hit-potential up-tempo pop songs: the title track and "On My Way". If she releases these songs as singles, they will surely dominate the charts worldwide!

But the strongest point of Lea has always been the ballads. The heartbreaking songs that dedicated to her late fiance Cory Monteith - "Battlefield" and "If You Say So" - can make you cry any minute. "Thousand Needles" is also a great track, and "What Is Love?" is a totally flawless song that should've been in the standard track list.

With flawless vocal performance and absolutely amazing songs, Louder is certainly one of the greatest albums this year. All the music geeks should go and get your own copy now!

Louder is now available on iTunes or any music retailers. Listen to lead single "Cannonball", title track "Louder" and "What Is Love?" here: