March 30th, 2012 | 11:00 am by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Shearer’s Spotlight: Inspired By Melanie Fiona, Jim Rocks Around The Booty Call Clock

Each week here on VH1 Tuner, our VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown host Jim Shearer (@jimshearer on Twitter) will be sharing his Shearer’s Spotlight with us. Be sure to tune into the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown tomorrow morning when it airs on VH1 at 9 a.m. ET/PT.

Melanie Fiona, who is currently supporting her new album The MF LIFE, recently visited VH1 and performed her latest single “4AM,” a track that questions the whereabouts of her boyfriend.

While she was singing, other early morning/late night songs came to mind.

Taking a cue from Melanie, here is a soundtrack for the night—where monogamous relationships go to die and booty calls blossom:

12:00AM
“Midnight City,” M83
Apparently M83 likes to party deep into the night, because at midnight, a time when many of us are sleeping, he’s still waiting: in a car, for the right time, for a roar, and a ride in the dark.

1:15AM
“Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum
The alcohol buzz and drunken dialing commence as Lady Antebellum harmonize over the following chorus: “It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk, and I need you now.”

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December 29th, 2011 | 4:27 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

The Top 10 Music Stories Of 2011: From Baby Bey-Z To Lana Del Rey

2011 has been a big year in music, and between the Grammys, new babies, viral artists and some great losses, the music world has been rocked over and over again. With only a few days left until we wave goodbye to 2011, we’re reflecting on the 10 biggest stories of the year…

1. Beyoncé’s Pregnancy
Forget actual music — who cares about music when the Queen Of Everything is pregnant? It seemed like all anyone was talking about in 2011 was Beyoncé‘s pregnancy, from the initial, dramatic reveal during her VMAs performance of “Love On Top,” to the controversy surrounding the realness of her baby bump. And now the world waits with baited breath for the chosen one to emerge from the most revered womb on earth.

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December 21st, 2011 | 12:15 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Rebecca Black’s “Friday” And Jennifer Lopez And Pitbull’s “On The Floor” Rule YouTube In 2011

It sort of makes sense… On “Friday” we want to get “On The Floor”… Right? Right? It’s all about the party for 2011′s most viewed YouTube videos, with Rebecca Black’s “Friday” racking up a whopping 180 million views (when you combine the original Ark Factory release and the independent release of the video) — the most of any non-major music label release on YouTube. 2011 will henceforth always be the year in which Rebecca Black gave a new meaning to the word “viral.”

As popular as Rebecca Black was, though, she couldn’t compete with the likes of J. Lo; her beat- and booty-heavy video “On The Floor” came in at number one with over 450 million views. Pitbull also featured at #5 and #6 with “Give Me Everything” featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer, and “Rain Over Me” featuring JLo’s ex-hubby Marc Anthony, respectively. See the top 10 list below.
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November 16th, 2011 | 4:00 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Rebecca Black Is Not Content To Be William Hung

Internet meme Rebecca Black has just released a video for her third single, “Person Of Interest,” and we’re scratching our heads about what this all means. After her first single, “Friday,” literally devoured the Internet back in February and racked up 167 million views, Black found a strange sort of fame as a viral sensation. In short, Black didn’t necessarily become famous because people liked her music (although we’re sure there were some who did), but because people were intrigued by her.

In July, Black released her second single, “My Moment,” which was no “Friday,” but not exactly a sophomore slump, either. It has been viewed almost 30 million views, which is less than 20% of her “Friday” total, but still, that’s 30 MILLION VIEWS. But now that’s she’s released her 3rd single under her own label, RB Records, we’re curious to see if the Law Of Diminishing Viral Returns will hold true, or if Rebecca Black can figure out a way to truly succeed.

The main issue at hand seems to be this: Rebecca Black is not content to be William Hung. Instead of embracing (or completely retreating) from her viral infamy, Rebecca instead decided to pursue the path of becoming a “serious” artist. No, not “serious” like a Thom Yorke or PJ Harvey, but “serious” in the way that pop stars like Katy Perry are serious about their brand and the artistic choices they make. To that end, both the video and the song “Person Of Interest” are intentionally inoffensive and innocently youthful, complete with Black’s flair for overly-obvious lyrics and matching visuals. The song seems designed to appeal strictly to tweenagers, and it very well may end up doing so. It most certainly does not, though, hold any sort of appeal for the cooler-than-thou hipster quotient who embraced the over-the-top ridiculousness of “Friday” and helped propel her into the spotlight in the first place. Who knows if this gambit will end up paying off, but at this point, it seems pretty clear to us that Rebecca Black is savvy enough to recognize that in order for her to build an audience, she first has to destroy the one she already has.

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November 15th, 2011 | 3:15 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Rebecca Black Has A New Song, “Person Of Interest” (Yes, This Is Completely For Realsies)

What’s an Internet meme to do when her “Moment” seems like it might be over? Release a new song, of course! Viral sensation Rebecca Black sure doesn’t quit — just when you think the teenager is about to disappear into obscurity, BOOM! she comes back with yet another song. Maybe appearing in Katy Perry’s video for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)” bolstered her resolve, maybe she has an over zealous stage-parent team, maybe despite her small years she’s already ravenous for money or maybe, just maybe, we’re tired old cynics and the girl is just doing what she does because she loves it, she can, and why the hell not?

The new track, “Person Of Interest,” is sort of upbeat, but not particularly inspiring. Firstly, Rebecca Black is fairly flat (come on vibrant, perky teenager, we know you’re hidden in there somewhere!) and secondly, whoever is writing her music isn’t really helping her bring the attitude. With lyrics like, “There’s a chalk line on the dance floor in the shape of my heart / Crime scene tape on the front door,” Rebecca Black is probably as confused as us. The lyrics suggest a distinctly stalker vibe and there’s not much that’s particularly sexy or celebratory about crime. But maybe that’s just Rebecca “thing” now — weird lyrics. Listen to the new track below and tell us what you think!

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October 26th, 2011 | 3:15 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Be Relevant This Halloween: How To Dress As 2011′s Biggest Music Moments And Memes

Halloween is coming up and it’s time to start getting serious about costumes if you don’t want to be a sexy [insert noun here] or a regular-person-but-just-covered-in-blood-because-that’s-all-you-had-time-to-buy. This Halloween dare to be a little bit braver, a little more irreverent, and a little more clever with your costumes. That’s right folks — no more Lady Gaga get ups, lest you be deemed “like, sah 2010!” There’s a wealth of cultural reference at your disposal this year, with 2011 being renamed the Chinese Year Of The Meme (it hasn’t really, I just said that to get your attention). We’ve picked out some of our favourite musical memes of the year in the hopes that you’ll be inspired to trick yourself out in the spirit of a wickedly self-aware Halloween…

PREGONCÉ

Why? Only the baby of hip-pop royalty Jay-Z and Beyoncé could become an Internet meme and every GIF aficionado’s wet dream before the little tyke is even born. Barely beyond conception, Baby Bey-Z hit the Internet harder than “Friday” (see below) and made “Pregoncé” a word faster than you can say, “I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly.” For Halloween, go as Pregoncé in the costume she wore at the VMAs earlier this year when she unleashed unveiled her newly rounded belly to the world.

How? We’ll start from the top down: first you need some crazy 70′s flicked blonde hair, wig it if you’re a brunette or a dude, and if you’re already blessed with the golden tresses, heat up those rollers, girl! Next you’ll need a white shirt (stuffed with a pillow, of course we don’t expect you to actually get pregnant) and black pants; easy. The sparkle blazer might be a bit harder. I suggest taking a cheap / second hand blazer, a can of spray on glue, a butt-load of glitter and having the absolute time of your life. Add some velcro to the inside of the blazer so it’s easy to rip open over the course of Halloween as you constantly re-enact the big reveal. Carry around a fake microphone so you can throw it down dramatically before you rub your belly emphatically and smile, smile, smile!

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July 18th, 2011 | 5:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Song Of The Summer Countdown: Katy Perry And Adele Are Neck And Neck At Summer’s Halfway Point


[Click here for a larger image]

This marks our eighth week of charting this year’s Song Of The Summer contenders, and it’s been quite the race so far. Adele‘s unstoppable behemoth, “Rolling In The Deep,” has been at the top of the charts for five of those weeks, and Katy Perry‘s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” has held the top spot for three of ‘em. However, it’s Perry’s jubilant anthem about the joys of getting blackout drunk that has all of the momentum in its favor after grabbing the top spot in our VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown for the first time this week.

At the moment, everyone who isn’t named either Adele or Katy Perry is currently playing for third place, but that’s a tight race, too. Pitbull and LMFAO each continue to hold strong with their club-friendly megahits, while Lady Gaga‘s “The Edge Of Glory” makes its highest appearance on the charts so far this summer, despite its video being widely panned as being too underwhelming and not up to snuff with the rest of Gaga’s video canon. It’s also worth noting that OneRepublic‘s “Good Life” would also find itself in the running for the top prize, if not for a total lack of traction on YouTube and LastFM.

One last note: Rebecca Black‘s follow-up to “Friday”—a song which might just be the most popular (and hated) song of 2011 so far—is scheduled to be released at 8 p.m. this evening. We should know in less than 24 hours time whether this song has got what it takes to make a late summer run at #1.

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July 11th, 2011 | 6:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Step Off, Haters: Rebecca Black Is Ready For Her “Moment”

Internet sensation Rebecca Black, fresh off a starring role in Katy Perry‘s Song of the Summer frontrunner, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” clearly isn’t your typical 14 year-old. Not only does her confidence belie her years—as she explained to us, she doesn’t get nervous because “I don’t see the point in it”—but she has no intention of spending her summer vacation simply marinating with friends. Instead, she’s looking to catch viral lightning in a bottle for the second time in less than six months.

On July 18, Rebecca Black will make her new single, “My Moment,” available on both her YouTube channel and on iTunes. It seems highly unlikely that she’ll be able to grab the cultural zeitgeist by its proverbial cojones once again, but you never know! One thing we do feel fairly certain of is that, regardless of the quality of her song, she’ll quickly outpace Lexi St. George, the girl handpicked by Ark Music Factory CEO Patrice Wilson to be his company’s Next Big Thing™. Despite getting a week’s worth of promotion on ABC’s Good Morning America, “Dancing To The Rhythm (With Me)” has stalled out at 194,000 views and failed to crack either the Billboard or iTunes 100.

Rebecca Black to debut new single on July 18 [USA Today]

[Photo Credit: RebeccaBlackOnline.com]

July 1st, 2011 | 1:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Is Lexi St. George The New Rebecca Black?

If Ark Music Factory CEO Patrice Wilson has anything to say about, she will be! The man who turned Rebecca Black into an overnight sensation back in March has a new prot?g? named Lexi St. George, who was introduced to American audiences yesterday during a Good Morning America segment called “Instant Pop Star” (a name that, at least to us, doesn’t seem to place any sort of value in oldster values like “artistic integrity” or “career longevity”). The 14-year-old debuted her (unnecessarily parenthetical-laden) first single, “Dancing To The Rhythm (With Me),” on the show and, if you’ll allow us to damn it with faint praise, it sounds like just about everything else on Top 40 radio these days. Which is to say, it’s sung by someone with an appealing yet thin affect –think Katy Perry, think J. Lo– and, of course, its bridges and choruses are punctuated by sweeping, lite trance rhythms. It’s catchy, yet disposable, which sort of makes it a perfect pop song to play for your cadre of bleeding edge, irony-appreciating friends at a barbeque this weekend.

Lexi St. George reminds us a lot of Hermione Granger, if Ron Weasley‘s best babe decided to forego a career pursuing Defence Against Dark Arts and instead went the pop star route. She’s got clean-cut Everygirl good looks, and her dance floor skills would blend in perfectly at a junior high mixer. Most importantly, though, she looks like she’s having “fun fun fun fun” with her group of (hilariously) multicultural friends¹ in her video. Speaking of Rebecca Black, it’s too early to say whether or not Lexi St. George will experience the same rocket ride into the spotlight that Black enjoyed, but no matter what happens to her, you can bet that she’ll be the star of her school’s Homecoming dance come this Fall.

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June 16th, 2011 | 7:27 pm by Nick Minichino

Last Lap: Thursday’s Odds And Ends In Music News

Rebecca Black Pulls “Friday” Off Of YouTube
Sorry, kids, there be no getting down this Friday, for TMZ reports that teen superstar Rebecca Black —who, you’ll recall from our interview with her at the OMAs, “does not believe in getting nervous”— is engaged in a beef with her record label, Ark Entertainment. Until they get their issues settled, YouTube is “Friday” free. Some might argue that’s a good thing, but those people would be wrong. [TMZ]

Premieres: Matt & Kim Video, J. Cole Single, Lady Gaga Video (Imminent)
OMA favorites Matt & Kim premiered the video for “Block After Block” over at MTV.com; the first single from J. Cole’s forthcoming debut full-length went out to radio today (and can be heard below); the video for Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” will premiere during So You Think You Can Dance tonight.

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