Is Lady Gaga's Rolling Stone Interview A Sign She Needs A Break?

Gaga takes the critics to task in her latest "Rolling Stone" interview

Lady Gaga, hot off the heels of an album that has launched an all-out war between Apple and Amazon, is featured in this month's Rolling Stone, where she talks again about the criticism of her authenticity as a real artist. She had this to say:

Is it that you believe that I am attention-seeking or shock for shock's sake, or is it just that it's been a long time since someone has embraced the art form the way that I have? Perhaps it's been a couple of decades since there's been an artist that's been as vocal about culture, religion, human rights, politics. I'm so passionate about what I do, every bass line, every EQ. Why is it that you don't want more from the artist, why is it that you expect so little, so when I give and give, you assume it's narcissistic?

While there are certain parts of that quote I do agree with, I am actually really concerned about Gaga. Like the NME interview a month or so ago, Gaga was incredibly defensive and arrogant in a way that is unlike her and unbecoming of her. I can understand her frustration, but it seems like she is psyching herself out. Reading over the key parts of that quote, there is a line between confidence and egotism that she's crossing the wrong way over.

What I chalk it up to is exhaustion and stress. Both interviews were from the most hectic period of her life; the end of the Monster Ball Tour. I don't understand how someone couldn't be at the end of their rope after a 200-date tour of the world. When people are running low on their batteries, it helps to psych yourself up, which requires a heavy dose of arrogance and defense. I think that it is seeping though in those interviews. If you've seen Gaga in public as of late, you could see how happy and joyous she is, probably because she's been able to get some sleep.

My advice to Gaga is to spend a few months away from the bright glare of the stage. She is a millionaire, she has friends and family. Take a vacation or something. Write a whole new album. Just relax and enjoy the success she's fought hard for. DO NOT tour until 2012. If this current album era has proven, Gaga's "little monsters" aren't going anywhere.

My Advice To Britney Spears: Re-Evaluate Your Life!

At last night's Billboard Awards, pop icon Britney Spears performed a highly anticipated dual set with Rihanna of "S&M" and Nicki Minaj OF "Til The World Ends". It was the first time that Britney performed on awards show since the infamous 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

Frankly, it should be her last for awhile.

I was reading Toya'z World earlier today and she wrote that the Britney Spears of yesteryear, who would've absolutely slayed her performances last night, was dead. Unfortunately, I think I agree. There was something genuinely troubling about her performance last night. Britney, a performer once known for her high-octane energy and pristine, crisp movement, was stumbling about the stage like a toddler. It was obvious who the better performer was when she and Rihanna did those power poses; in fact, Britney didn't really pose at all. She didn't even seem engaged during the pillow fight at the end of the performance.

Britney performing well two years ago on X Factor

It's unbelievable that a woman who delivered show-stopping performances in the past could have fallen so far off her game. Far be it for me to speculate about Britney's personal feelings, but it appears that she simply doesn't care anymore. I remember when she came back with "Womanizer" in 2008 and she performed on X Factor. Back then, even though she lipsynced the whole thing, there was still that fiery persona that we all came to love. She was truly putting on a show. These days, she's hard pressed to a genuine hair toss, shown particularly in her Good Morning America concert a few months back. Let's be honest here: Britney reached her incredible heights of fame because of her performance quality. If she can't even do that, why exactly is she still a pop star?

Maybe she still loves it, but is just too focused on raising her two children to care. Maybe she is still dealing with the ramifications of her public breakdown in 2007/2008. Maybe she is just a puppet for Jive, used to make as much as money before Justin returns with his new album. Also possible, she is secretly delivering crap performances and promotion as a way of rebellion, or to prove she is capable enough to be set free, she is just going through the motions.

Whatever the case is, it is no longer acceptable for Britney to be walking the stage like a zombie when there are people actually investing in seeing her succeed like she has in the past. It is insulting to her fans (me being one of them), who are constantly coming up for excuses for her, saying that she can't perform as well because she's gotten older. Yet, Jennifer Lopez could kill it at 45 on American Idol, or Janet at 45 on tour. Hell, even Michael Jackson was making executive moves at the age of 50. Let's not even get into Beyoncé, who killed it last night with her performance. It just discredits Britney even more.

My serious advice to Britney Spears is take two years off and honestly reexamine her priorities. If she wants to be a pop star, she needs to snap out of this funk and train and whatever else to get back into shape, literally and figuratively. If she doesn't, and she just wants to be a mom, that's totally fine too. She's earned the right to just raise her kids and find some peace with the millions she's made. If she wants to do both, she needs to learn (with a new manager possibly) how to balance both roles, because it can be done.

The Britney Spears we are getting right now is nowhere near her true potential as a talented pop megastar. It isn't fair to her fans, to the public, and herself. I just hope she realizes before she begins chipping at a hard-won legacy.

Ciara's Career Crisis: Is She Done?

Ciara needs a big heaping dose of "magic" to revive her album sales

R&B singer Ciara had some admittedly tough competition for her album's release week (like Michael Jackson's Michael), but no one could have really anticipated just how badly she would do the first week. The numbers are in, and with sales of approximately 37,000 copies, Basic Instinct, her fourth studio album, debuted at #44 on the Billboard charts.

That's right, #44.

Without question, it is one of the worst launch weeks for an artist of Ciara's status ever. To put it in perspective, both Kylie Minogue and Robyn, relatively unknown in the US, peaked higher than Ciara did when they released, at #19 and #41 respectively. What's worse is that this during the holiday shopping season, when album sales are typically higher than usual. Had Ciara released earlier like she intended to, there is a good possibility she would have flopped even harder.

So, what happened to Ciara, who seemed to be doing well with "Ride" earlier this year, and is it too late for her to turn her career around?

I wouldn't say that Ciara's career is done, but I would certainly say that she needs to make some serious changes and decisions, and make them fast.

One of the biggest decisions she needs to make is whether or not to stay with Jive. Honestly, had I not been the pop music junkie that I am, I probably wouldn't have known she was releasing an album this week. The promotion for the album was pretty weak, even though she did perform on some TV shows. There needed to be a bigger push, especially after the mess that was the Fantasy Ride era in 2008. Jive, despite having Britney on their roster, is pretty much a floundering fish these days, with the American Idol catalog and all. Ciara would probably benefit a lot from a change of scene, as long as that scene isn't UMG, which is tempting to change over. With artists like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Kanye West over there, Ciara wouldn't see the light of day. Whether she moves or not, she needs to figure out her relationship with her label, because it's not working right now.

Ciara's biggest issue, in my opinion, is what I believe felled Christina Aguilera this year. I don't think Ciara really knows where she fits in the current music landscape. When she first burst onto the scene, she was girl from Atlanta riding the Crunk music wave. That was in 2005, and musical tastes have changed drastically. After her failed attempt at pop with Fantasy Ride, she's decided to go back to that image and style with Basic Instinct, especially with her latest single "Gimme Dat". What she may not realize is that people have long since moved on from crunk, and she isn't big enough to revive it. What she's releasing is music that is so radio-repellent that it's no surprise no one really knew her album was coming out.

I'm not saying she should book a flight to Sweden and release an album of dance-pop (although it could work). I understand her desire to remain in her field. However, she needs to try something new while keeping to her roots. To do that, she really needs to ditch The-Dream, the executive producer of her latest album. The truth is The-Dream is a hit-and-miss producer, and it's doubtful that he is saving his hits for Ciara when he's got bigger fish to fill, like Beyonce. He's quickly spiraling to irrelevant anyway; he can't even release a hit for himself. She needs fresh blood, fresh producers, to revive her artistic output. Maybe she should give Max Martin a call after all.

Speaking of artistry (a word that American Idol made me despise), Ciara needs to look at herself and decide who she is competing with. Back when she released "Goodies", she was the it girl who could move in the same lane as Beyonce, while Rihanna was just a girl from Barbados with a song made for one-hit wonder-dom. Fast forward a half decade, and Rihanna is a megastar while Ciara is not. What Rihanna did was that she improved her music to put herself in the superstar category. Had she continued releasing music like "Pon De Replay", she would be nothing. Ciara needs to do the same thing. If she wants to be global, she needs to act like it, and record music accordingly. If she wants to be a strictly Urban artist, like Keyshia Cole, than she needs to stick there. My problem is, for someone who has tasted worldwide success, that may not be, and should not be, enough for Ciara.

Ciara is a very nice woman and she is talented, so I don't want her to fail. To be frank, though, she is dangerously close to being irrelevant. The dismal performance of Basic Instinct is proof of that. I don't think she's done, but she needs to get it together. Fast.

A Short Word about Hulu Plus

I was very, very happy to finally see Hulu on the Apple App Store last night. The television streaming service has been a major hub for some of my favorite shows, including my newest TV obsession Glee.

Of course my dreams of watching Family Guy on the bus ride home were dashed when I read the terms of the app. It turns out it is apart of a new subscription service called Hulu Plus, where you can watch full current and past seasons of television shows for $9.99 a month.

Ugh.

What really, really irked me was the fact that, despite actually paying for online television now, we will still be subjected to those ads. The ads aren't that annoying to be honest, but if I am paying for Hulu, shouldn't it be ad-free, like every other paid app on the store?

I think Hulu should rethink its strategy a bit, and since this a trial, there is still time. I think that Hulu should offer two types of device viewing, just like online. If the new tiered viewing is anything to go by, then regular Hulu on devices should have access to the last 3 to 5 episodes of shows for free with the ads, while Hulu Plus has unlimited access without ads. I feel like this way would offer two types of revenue without alienating fans (like me).

Of course, they aren't going to do that and I just won't watch Glee on my iPhone (although I can always buy it on iTunes).

My Genuine Advice to Chris Brown

I am a strong supporter of domestic violence victims, and I believe that people who have the ability to put a person through that kind of abuse should be punished.

At the same time, I believe that, in certain cases, second chances ought to be given, especially when a person is young.

This past week, Chris Brown faced the first litmus test of his popularity following his shocking assault of pop superstar and girlfriend Rihanna. He released his album Graffiti, two weeks after Rihanna released her album, Rated R. When it was clear that his album was going to underperform, he went on his Twitter and had what can only be described as a Mariah Carey-style breakdown, where he outright accused retailers of blackballing his record. His evidence? Tweets from four disgruntled fans who were unable to locate the album. This prompted chart publisher Billboard to release a report which not only revealed that his CD was in stock in every major retailer, but it was underselling as well. Shortly after the article was published, his record label reportedly ordered that his Twitter account be deactivated. Then the sales came in; his album came in at #7, selling 101,000 copies in its opening week. It's a considerable difference compared to Rated R, which sold 188,000 copies, a big drop from the 294,000 copies he sold with 2007's Exclusive, and an embarrassing gap compared to this week's #1, Susan Boyle's 580,000-selling I Dreamed a Dream.

With his singles effectively doing nothing and low expectations for next week's sale projections, it is very safe to say that Chris Brown's career is in free-fall. I'm sorry fans (and the crazy delusional fans who actually believe that Rihanna deserved what Brown did to her), but there is no getting around the fact that he is in serious trouble, and fast action is needed to salvage what is left of his career. Just last year, he essentially ran pop music. Now, pop music will barely touch him.

Although I believe in his karmic retribution, I don't enjoy seeing a person crash and burn. So, in the most objective way possible, here is the advice I give Chris Brown to save his career.

First, he needs to grow the hell up. The Twitter meltdown he had last weekend was pathetic. Considering his idol is Michael Jackson of all people, it boggles the mind that he would think that the general public (not the rabid fans I mentioned earlier) would welcome him back with open arms after he assaulted one of the biggest stars in the world. People are not automatically forgiving, and just because they aren't flocking to the stores on your behalf doesn't mean record stores across the country are blackballing him. If people really wanted his record, they would've bought it. Speaking of the album, my biggest issue with it was the lack of maturity it presented. Songs like "Lucky Me" and "Famous Girl" are simply unacceptable after what he has been through. He tries to present this adult image in his booklet, but he sounds just as juvenile as he did on his debut. He actually regressed from Exclusive, if that's possible.

Instead of releasing an album in the same year as his domestic incident, he should have taken the time to write material that shows he has grown as a person. Even if he didn't reference the incident, he could've come a lot harder than the hip-hop fluff he was offering, like "What I Do" or "Wait". His fans deserved better.

He needs to take time off; a lot of time off. His image was damaged before he started doing interviews, but he basically but a gun in his head with the disastrous Larry King appearance. Every interview following that was incoherent and completely ineffective. He kept trying to explain the incident, but failed to provide any details or reason for what happened. He didn't offer any wisdom that could help teens in similar situations, which would have made the tragedy a teachable moment, as Oprah said. Speaking of the most powerful woman in the world, what was thinking calling her ungrateful? Just because he did her a favor doesn't mean she owes him any kind of loyalty. She's Oprah, for heaven's sake. That little problem, piled on top of overdone, pointless appearances and discussions of the assault, and the release of the album dealt a serious blow to his public image. He has come off, despite his intentions, as completely oblivious about the scope of his actions and as an undeserved victim of the ridicule he does deserve.

So, after his next single flops, he needs to quit the music business for a time. He needs to go home and lay low. He needs to not be on television apologizing unconvincingly. He needs to learn exactly how his actions affected not only Rihanna, but other women and men. He was a role model, and whether he wanted that title or not, he needed to respect it. He needs to take responsibility for himself, instead of blaming everyone and their mother for it. He needs to allow us to either forget or forgive the accident instead of forcing it, which he was doing.

When I mean quit, I mean no guest appearances on tracks, no TV appearances, no radio, no promotion, no nothing. After this sabbatical, which I suggest lasts throughout 2010 and maybe some of 2011, he should come back with a lot of real, honest R&B and pop material. I'm not saying he can't be fun (I love his songs like that), but he just can't carry himself the way he did with Graffiti. Hopefully, the music he comes back with will be good enough to recapture the public's interest.

I'm sorry if my advice came off as harsh, but he needs a hard dose of reality, as does his fans. The career Chris Brown had before is long dead. He needs to build a new one, and the only way he can do it is with what I recommended: growth and time. If he takes the advice, then his career will eventually heal.

If not, then he can say goodbye to the pop dominance he had just eleven months ago.