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Back in Autumn 2008 , when I was given a compilation CD of up and coming acts for 2009 , one song stood out above all others as an absolute sure - fire hit , and that was Just Dance .

The early version I had ,did not yet have Akon and Colby O ' Donis , but just Lady Gaga herself.

Right from the first couple of plays ,I was telling everyone about this song, and it's commercial possibilities.
At the earliest opportunity , I got a copy of Lady Gaga's "The Fame " album and immediately knew I was listening to an album which would be huge around the world , and catapult Lady Gaga to being a global star. It is a superb pop album.

Well fast forward nine months, and Just Dance is the second best selling single of 2009.

When Radio 1 reviewed Poker Face , (think it was Fraser and I got very passionate about what a great pop song it was ! ), I went out on a limb and said that it would outsell Just Dance.

Well luckily for my kudos, it now has , and is probably the biggest selling song in the world so far for 2009. Number 1 in several countries. From the first listen I felt Poker Face was the song that would be immense internationally.

The next single in the UK was due to be "Lovegame " but due to it's saucy nature , it became "Paparazzi ".

Paparazzi is a good pop song with a great video , and catchy , tuneful chorus , it is already in the top 5 before it's physical release.

It won't sell as many copies as the first two singles , but it will boost sells of the album , and underline the continuing success of Lady Gaga.

Fraser ,what's the latest on some possible new links that we discussed many moons ago ?



1) A link where people could big up their favourite new songs before release, that way keeping us all up to date and informed.

2) A quiz section , where fun questions re music could be set.

3) Where is the next How to Destroy.. it's been months and it's badly missed.

What's the status ?

Hoping you are well.

Spirit.

What?

Why would you have to wait for a third single to decide if you like an artist?

Both Katy Perry and Lady Gaga albums have been out for ages now, you can thus listen to a number of their tracks befoe now. Why should which one the choose to elease as a single bear any significance to your opinion of them?

The interesting thing for me about the review is that it lists " Just dance " by Lady Gaga to be "mediocre " at best " (which it clearly isn't to anyone who appreciates good pop music and wasn't to the millions who bought it !), and that the reviewer loathed Katy Perry's I kissed a girl.

Now if on one hand you bear in mind that this is someones view , it cannot really be questioned .

But on the other hand you have to realise that these two songs are among the two biggest selling singles in the world in the past year!
In terms of music sales, they have been monumentally successful !
They have been the catalysts that have turned Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into global stars, both number 1 in many countries .
Both have won numerous awards and nominations for best pop single , for these songs
Millions of people all around the world have downloaded these songs.

It now also makes you think that if a song is reviewed here as "mediocre ", it could go on to be a global success. You called Just dance "mediocre " with no constructive backing for this.

Why in a review for Lady Gaga , an attack on Katy Perry is made, is clearly unfair and not necessary .

The Unreality shout review of "Paparazzi " is first class.

The idea of waiting to hear a third single to make up your mind about an artist doesnt appeal to me , I feel most forward thinking music lovers have the skills to find out about an artist a lot quicker, there are so many mediums out ther, and passionate music lovers are quick off the mark..

As you can tell, to me , the detail in the review is not top class.

Artists don't necessarily choose the singles which are released from their albums, and it is often not a good choice which is made by their label/management. It doesn't reflect the quality of the whole album or indicate the future direction or quality of the music they will release.

This is an article about "that difficult third single release from your debut album" rather than a review of the specific record, is basically the problem.

And Fraser has sidestepped Spirits questions at point 2 ;)

omg! 3 stars? this her best song, so far! i would give it 5 stars :D x x x

I agree Nosh , this is a very good pop song.

I also agree with you Jax, instead of a review of Paparazzi , we get a diss of Katy Perry , and some off centre stuff about third singles !

My word , I got Arctic Monkeys as soon as I heard I bet u look good on the dancefloor.

And are there still music people out there waiting for Lady Gaga's third single to make their minds up about her ?
Have you been living on the moon ?
Have you not heard the best selling album in the u.k by a debut artist in 2009 yet ?
Her songs and videos have topped numerous radio and airplay charts , and are hits worldwide !

Most people in the know , would tell you that Lady Gaga's Just Dance was a huge debut pop single , expertly crafted , with international ,commercial appeal performed and marketed with a professional swagger which meant that it would appeal to millions, and would be a sure - fire hit all around the globe. As a pop single , mediocre was not a term , music experts would use to describe it.
It was the song that launched the career of the most successful new act , globally in 2009 . In music terms we are talking , it's a huge song, and a promotion and marketing dream , and it topped many t.v and airplay charts.

And what happens if a band only release one or two singles off an album , you could be waiting years to make up your mind about them. Totally in a state of flux ! lol
Oh hurry up and release your third single for God's sake...

Paparazzi has been in the top 200 for the last 24 weeks , and will galvanise sales of The Fame.

Lady Gaga has had an outrageously , successful year !

Excellent stuff !

And what about the eight minute epic video for Paparazzi ?

Superb stuff !

Well, I'm sure Steve, Fraser and co are big enough and ugly enough to stand up for themselves, but in the meantime I'm going to have to take up my sometime mantle as ChartBlog Defender of the Innocent.

1. It is perfectly normal and reasonable for someone to wait until a few songs are released by an artist before deciding whether you like them or not. Some people may well shoot off and buy an album, or download lots of songs by an artist, based on just on single or two. Many of us don't. Historically, I always needed to like four singles before I took a chance on an album. The internet has changed that for many, because samples on iTunes etc are available. And of course there's filesharing, so you can sample tracks without paying for them *avoids eye contact guiltily* - but I'm sure many people just make a judgement once they've heard a few songs on the radio. Especially if they liked one but weren't sure about another.

As it happens, I liked Just Dance and thought Pokerface was cack. I'm so-so about Paparazzi, but I like another song of hers that I heard on TV at the weekend. I know I won't be buying her album, as I rarely buy pure pop records, but - shock horror - I haven't made up my mind definitively what I think of her. I suspect many feel the same. If that puts them in the category of "living on the moon", or not "passionate" or "forward-thinking music lovers" well, I'm sure they'll live with it. Personally, it says to me that someone's got mature judgement and isn't swept away by everything that comes their way.

2. The review style horse has been pronounced dead, and yet still the flogging continues. Guys, this isn't the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Music site, with the serious reviews. This is ChartBlog. It's fun, irreverent, conversational, a bit surreal at times, and utterly subjective. Hence Steve's phrase "I thought Just Dance was mediocre at best". Note those first two words.

If the reviewer thinks a song is lame, he says so - it's his job. Whether or not the song's commercial success backs that up or not is kind of irrelevant - it's not a prediction of sales (and by the way, in the case of Just Dance, millions of people bought it, but many millions more didn't - so who's wrong?). It's an entertaining blog, based around pop music. If a reviewer wants to knock Katy Perry, it's his prerogative as the writer. If the reviews aren't getting the job done, in terms of site traffic or whatever, then I'm sure things'll change. However, I for one am entertained by the site and the reviews, etc, and probably so are the vast majority of readers who don't bother signing up and posting on the comments boards. Even if we don't always agree with the ratings, opinions, etc.

I don't want to constrain the lively debate and discussion on the comments boards at all, but some lightening up might be in order. If you don't like the content that much, there are plenty of other sites out there to choose from, as Spirit pointed out. Many of us like our ChartBlog just as it is, and don't want it to change at all, thank you very much.

I was going to write "shut up, fatty". But I imagine the Blog Police wouldn't have taken the time to appreciate the context, and would have cut me without getting the joke.

Wow! What a controversial comment section.

I don't know what all the fuss is about? I always wait until I've heard a few songs from an artist before I make my mind up about them.

I couldn't stand Just Dance (infact, I liked it until I saw the video and saw how seriously this new artist was taking herself), then I heard Poker Face and saw the video. This began to change my mind about Lady Gaga and she and her music seemed kinda fun. It was catchy and everything!

Then, I first heard of Paparazzi on angryape.com, I saw the 8 minute video and listened to the song and that was it, I like Lady Gaga.

Katy Perry is a kinda similar story for me.

The overplay of I Kissed A Girl really put me off and I never understood why everyone was so shocked by it.

Hot and Cold was just too cheesy and I could imagine Butlins staff rehearsing dance routines to it for their night time 'entertainment'.

Thinking Of You was also awful.

Now I've seen photos of Katy Perry lying in a bath with a pizza (What's all that about?) and I don't like her as a person either!

Lady Gaga: Yes
Katy Perry: No

Dannyboy__

Well I would like to say, as I have many times that I am a huge fan of this site.

Everyone is free to post their opinion , (hopefully constructive ) and this is what to me makes this site extra special.

I am very entertained by the site , and like the fact that we can all post our opinions.
We are all not going to agree all the time, and that sort of makes it even more interesting .

In my opinion, sometimes reviews here, are written in a way to encourage people to agree or dis agree and polarize opinion , but to me that can be good in promoting lively debate and dialogue and as this is a blog, isn't what this is for at times ?

For me, if I was gonna call one of the most popular and biggest selling global songs of the year "mediocre at best " and not give any rationale or constructive argument why I felt this, on a blog where probably thousands of people are going to read it , then I would expect a response from someone about it.

If it is that comment that initiates a constuctive discussion about Lady Gaga , then hasn't the review done it's job ?


From yesterday Steve's review has attracted 17 responses so far , that's more than Linkin Park , The Maccabees , Lenka and others put together. (These reviews are great , by the way )

In the case of attracting comments and constructive dialogue , it is an excellent review... and I have a feeling there are a lot more comments to come.
The fact that from Steve's review, more comments respond and the comments respond to the comments , just stresses how effective the original review was.

And sometimes I may write something in a way as to promote debate and dialogue.


This is a blog and some of it's success can be measured by the site traffic and increase in comments. It would appear to be getting more popular each week.

Keep up the excellent work Chartblog !

Please don't anyone lighten up.... Chart blog is great as it is !

Now Danny where is this picture of Katy Perry in a bath with a pizza ?

I shall find you a link...



"Katy Perry with pizza is still over rated"

So true.

Thin crust. Yuck.

(I mean the pizza, by the way.)

Great stuff Danny.

Regarding the pizza.. was it hot or cold ?

Lol!!!!!!

Wet!

Oh, and Spirit, I'm glad we agree that the site is cool. I love the debate and discussion, agreeing and disagreeing with opinions, etc. It's where that crosses over into frequent criticism of the quality of the reviews and the way they're written, rather than disagreeing with the opinion they express, that no-one wins.

Cool. We're all still one big happy, albeit discursive, ChartBlog family.

erm, tomato pizza!!! *is sick a tiny bit in mouth*

Hi again Curtain .
Of course I love this blog and everything about it.
Music is obviously my first love and I dread to think how many comments I have posted in the last three months. (Over 300 I am sure )
I love this site and every good music soul that contributes here .
In my wide experience this is one of the best new music sites on the net ! ( I have said this many times )
The fact that someone does a review and there are signs that say "post a comment " does sort of allow you to comment on the song and what the reviewer has said.
This is how blogs work , and sometimes people will agree or disagree with the review , the content or the star rating.
This is human nature and we all have the right to constructively post our point of view.
We will all not agree , but as fans of bands , we are free to say if we think a review was fair and excellent , or if we feel the opposite.

Part of the whole chartblog experience for me is reading the detail of the reviews , which on the whole in my opinion are some of the best in the media.
There will be the odd one I disagree with or question, but that is peoples personal tastes and experience of music.

Spirit

On a lighter note , and I sincerely mean this in a humerous way ..

I cannot stop laughing about your comment in post 12 and the last couple of lines in which you say...

"Many of us like Chartblog just as it is , and don't want it to change at all, thank you very much. "

I hope you see the funny side that within hours of you writing that , the whole layout and type settings of the site has changed !

Cue Twilight Zone music. lol

I meant humourous of course , lol

Of course you meant humourous Spirit, make no bones about it...

(see what I did there?)

Katy Perry as a pizza topping would not be welcome. I would quite definitively send the delivery person back to the pizza shop with the message "This is not acceptable." I would expect a refund or another pizza or both.

And the problem with knocking "Just Dance" or "Just 'Mediocre at best' Dance" as it will be known forthwith is that this is not a review of "Just Dance".

The review seems to say that artists have to be judged on the aggregate score of singles released from their albums which they may not have chosen for release. Now, the general trend in quality of singles from an artist may indicate the quality of the album, or not. It may indicate their future performance, or not. But this is not as has been said, a serious review of the artist or their album. It is a review of their single. One single. Which isn't Just Dance.

And round we go again...

Well probably the most illuminating thing about this site is that it is called CHART blog.
On this site is the singles and the album chart , and of all the songs reviewed here about 95 per cent of them will make it into the top 75.
Chart blog.
We are all blogging about songs that are extremely likely to chart.
To this end this forms a factor about how I blog , seeing a songs commercial worth and where it is likely to chart.
Chart success can be very, very important to an artist, and if the song sells well enough then you will see them in the chart.
If however the song does not sell well and this cycle continues then the artist may be dropped from their record company and/or publisher , they may then implode and then they will certainly not be being reviewed in chart blog. This is the world of the music BUSINESS after all ,and a lot of acts are judged on chart success.
So certainly , yes, commercial sales of a song is extremely relevant.

The fact that Lady Gaga has sold over 600,000 copies in the UK of her debut number one single "Just dance " is extremely relevant on a chart blog.
This is an amazing achievement, and certainly one that in terms of commercial sales is to be commended.

sure acts get judged on their chart success. But no-one, apart from perhaps rock snobs and idiots will decide to (dis)like a song based on it's success.

You can be a success without being a good band, and be a good band without being a success. However I suspect you can't be a great band without success. Even that may be open to discussion.

I'm sure that the 6 million or however many people who brought just dance, in the main have other songs they like more. They found enough of what they like in lady Gaga to buy the record though. a good pop song has to appeal to the masses. A great one will convert them.

For the difference compare a song like Dance with me to just dance. Its all conjecture, but ti thing dance with me sucked a whole knew audience in, whereas just dance had one waiting.

*i Think

[ no edit?!]

Of course it must be noted that there are hundreds of brilliant bands and acts out there that produce great songs and albums that may not get noticed and may not sell well.
Personally I can list you loads of acts I like that for whatever reason that fail to set the charts alight.
It frustrates me but to me doesn't make their songs any better or worse .
We like who we like and to me a great song can be one that fails to chart.
To me " The reeling " by Passion Pit was a great song , it failed to chart.
" Daniel " by Bat for lashes only got to 36 , yet to me was a really good song and deserved more , but alas . (hey the album went top 10 ! )
I still love the song.
Having been on many different sides in music , I do appreciate acts who can sell millions, and the skills that have gone into this , it's a strategy that most acts and companies are chasing , but I am fully aware of all the great bands and songs that for whatever reason, do not get the recognition.
There is loads of great music in the world , it will speak to us in different ways , some will be successful some won't , whether we like it is up to us.

Round we go again is right ;o)

I do indeed appreciate the irony in the change in look of the blog on the very day I proclaimed it the best thing since Muller Crunch Corners. Thanks for that, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳. Still, at least I can now enjoy the pretty colours in the ChartBlog logo more fully. Hey - is that the old TOTP logo I see in there? Is that from when this was the TOTP blog or something? Old school.

As for Thranjax's point: Just Dance gets two lines in a seven-paragraph review - the last four paragraphs, the star rating, and the quotes from other reviews give Paparazzi all the attention it needs. And rather than saying that artists "have to be judged" on their singles collectively, I think it's clear Steve is saying that's what he personally does. And again, it's done in setting the context for his review of the song, which is essentially a very personal thing itself, and not an objective assessment of commercial success (we have Spirit for that!).

BTW - I love Daniel by Bat For Lashes too. Great song, and cool video.

We all liked "Daniel" I think, here, maybe we should have bought more copies!

I'm not sure it is clear that Steve says that. After all, he states that he is waiting for the third single to make his mind up about Lady Gaga, then reviews the third single, but there doesn't seem to then be a conclusion about what he now thinks about Lady GaGa...

Do you know, this review is getting as much analysis as a bloomin' Yes album cover..., we'll be splitting up into different Churches of Steve Perkins soon...

Ha ha ... I am glad you loved the irony of your comment Curtains !
It was like you made this deep , articulate and frankly emotional speech that Chart blog didn't need to change ,it was great the way it was, and almost within a few hours Fraser acting as some form of Almighty power , blew out the candles , started up the thunder and lightning , had a random 80's band play doomy music ,(Bauhaus will do ! ) ,and the whole of Chartblog had changed and quick as a flash your superb argument was blown away ! lol
All this, when you were defending him and the excellent Steve !
Isn't it ironic ?
Don't you think ?

What is also interesting about a chart blog , is sometimes , after a few reviews that have few comments , Maccabees , Lenka , Linkin Park which at the time had none between them , a clever skill is do to a review like "Paparazzi " and put lots of personal views in.
You call two of the biggest selling songs of the past year "mediocre at best " and " I hated it with the burning intensity of a red hot poker in the sun " (Just dance and I kissed a girl )
This then brings people on to the defence of these songs (Spirit ) who stresses the merits and commercial prowess of the songs, and questions the validity of the review. (Steve )
On then comes another person (Curtains ) who jumps to the defence of the review and waxes lyrical about the brilliance of Chartblog. (Fraser )
This goes on for a while and other people (Jax , Glove compartment and Danny ) all make excellent points.
Danny even produces a picture of Katy Perry in a bath with a pizza !! )
It makes entertaining reading for everyone (The Chartblog massive ) and before you know ,it we have hit 38 comments and Chartblog is on fire and producing the goods in terms of constructive , friendly debate !
And the moral of the story is....
The review by Steve Perkins did it's job to a brilliant degree !
And that's why we love this site !
Where's the next review ?

ummmm... this song is kind of boring? (yeah, this is me squeaking from a corner while everyone else is sort of shouting at each other)

Hate to spoil your view of events Fluffy , but I was actually singing all my comments in the style of Beyonce ! lol
It obviously never came across in the typed word. Darnit !

Shouting?!

HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!

RAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!!! HULK SMASH!!!

spirit, i am now experimenting with singing your comments in the style of beyonce (they dont really have flow, if you see what I mean)

curtainjerker, thanks for keeping it down. i do appreciate it.

I'm doing my comments in the style of Neil Tennant, very suave and cool and unpop. And with small animals in black leather dancing behind me.

WHY DID MY COMMENT BREAK THE HOUSE RULES?!

was it too sarcastic?

Well Fluffy , I read it earlier and it made me smile , so I don't know what the problem was . I took it in good humour.

Whoa there, wait just a minute. What's the problem with my name?

I mean I guess if you tried hard enough, you could contrive something a bit rude (which is not why I chose it, incidentally), but it's a bit of a leap. Get your minds out of the gutter, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ;o)

As a serious point though, the "House Rules" (or the way they're enforced) do seem incredibly strict at times. You see a LOT of posts on other blogs removed because they've broken the rules. I've had a couple cut in the past which weren't particularly insulting, myself. I think the Blog overlords should loosen the boundaries a bit.

Fraser , I have a few questions for you, that I hope may get some answers as until now , I have been waiting like Robert De Niro in the title of a top ten hit by Bananarama.
I have showed a lot of patience , in the style of Take That , but I hope you can answer my questions .
1) Poor old Eurovision winner Alexander Ryback is the destination, where we all place a lot of information and opinions about new releases and breaking news, but a lot of people may miss all this because they may feel the comments , may all be about this gorgeous violinist , so they do not visit. Personally , I post it here because there is not a more suitable place to put it , at the moment. ( I have a lot more juicy information to share , but I don't think Alexander Ryback is the right place, and people may miss it here . )
This could be solved by the creation of a new link , news , new releases , breaking news etc where we could all give each other info about bands and artists we love , keeping us all up to date and ahead of a lot of other places.
This is Radio 1 after all. The greatest radio station in the world , and I believe this would be a fantastic idea. We could start a news , new releases , link each month , it would be great . What do you think ?
2)As we unfortunately missed the reviews of Daniel by Bat for Lashes , and Rubber Lover by Marmaduke Duke , I hope you will be reviewing their new singles Pearl's dream and Silouettes , respectively.
Also as you brought Frankmusik to my attention ,( thanks ! ) , I look forward to your review of Confusion Girl.
3) Will you be producing another How to Destroy , or , as it has been months since the last one , has Jimmysavillescigar destroyed you with his second hand smoke ? lol
I think you have a lot of fans of this , but to me it's the controversy that previous How TO Destroys have caused , that have given it cult status !
I think you generally know by now , how much I respect your work , and everything and everyone connected to this site ,(it's sometimes the constructive debates that bring this site to life ! ) and want to see this brilliant site get even better, ( Of all the points above, Number 1 is the one I care most about, and the one I think most people will enjoy. )

I hope you are well. R.S.V.P

Sorry about the layout above.
It looked perfect in the preview , then when I posted it , all the spaces of paragraphs had gone !
Sorry.

Yeah , I sorta thought of that idea , but like with the Mr Hudson Supernova single , which I bigged up , months ago , I now can't remember, or find where I first posted this ! ( I know some people may think I blog too much and it's my own fault. lol )
I should personally keep a record , and that way I could keep track, and refer to it when it's relevant.
I haven't done new releases etc on the current songs , as I didn't want to detract from the song that you had reviewed . I sometimes pull YOUR leg for this , when if truth be told , I am just as bad . lol

It's great to be on a site with so many forward thinking people, and the future hits idea , sounds great . I would think a lot of people would be interested in this , and it would keep all of us up to date.
Thanks for replying and keep up the excellent management of this site.

I see no reason why we couldn't have a couple of sticky posts, along the lines of reader reviews, chart news etc.

For the time being, I am quite happy to encourage the world wide domination of Alexander Rybak and his violin. I guess his is the largest Chartblog entry by now and I feed it every day like some bizarre pet.

huh? yeah! why don't we have a forum?

i hate reviewers with there big fat opinions...this guy is probably sitting at home listening to barry manilow...give me a break....paparazzi kills lady gaga first two singles...

yeah well you are sitting at home typing a comment about how you hate reviewers on a review blog... listening to Boney M.

At which point Harry Hill would say, "I like sitting at home listening to Barry Manilow... or Boney M... but which one is better?...."

Reminds me of Madonna's Bad Girl. Which is a very good thing...."Smoked too many cigarettes today, not happy when I feel this way"

Only 3 stars . What ?

lol lol :)

It's tragic.