I love how Lady Gaga remains in character in what's designed to be a "behind the scenes" recording session video — and I especially love how that "character" is always in flux, bouncing here from a Cher ensemble to something closer to Linda Richman. But, this is potentially genius for Ms. Gaga: The young pop "consumer" is incredibly fickle, but Gaga still has a voice and an undeniable talent; and your mom is more likely to plunk down $15 for old friend Tony Bennet and his spunky sidekick singing the classics, than a 15 year old would be willing to part with any money for any pop fluff they'll probably tire of within 15 minutes. And Tony? Well, the legendary Mr. Bennett knows his creative and commercial way around pop crossovers very well, having shared the mic with everyone from Amy Winehouse to Queen Latifah to Sting, Bono, Tim McGraw and even Elmo.
Of course there's beauty to be found amidst the wreckage of Detroit. And an amazing and giving spirit, as you'll see if you don't to jump to conclusions too early in this inspirational video.
UK boy band Rixtonmight not have the budgets of bigger stars, but they have an idea. Actually, they have other people's ideas. The boys take the lo-fi piss out of some of the past year's most memoriable videos — yes, of course there's a Wrecking Ball and Blurred Lines, but also clips by Rihanna, Bieber, Gaga and Katy — before stumbling upon a mass make-out concept that suits them just fine.
The math behind the 3 million+ views this has racked-up is simple: Priyanka Chopria looks like an exotic supermodel who also happens to be the biggest movie star back home in India. The song is a bit dance/pop-by-numbers — and the video doesn't aspire to be more than a high-end beauty piece in exotic locations — and for extra insurance, they got PItbull to bless it and bring in his own sizable audience.
It's all as it should be, to be honest, basically an example of how to use a debut video to and song to exactly brand someone who could very well be the next J-Lo. In fact, let's call her P-Cho.
Walking Dead fans will likely recognize this song from the show's soundtrack, but any music nerd worth their salt should be able to recognize familiar straings in this Jamie N Commons folk dirge — think: Joe Cocker singing "Natural Blues" in a
