For the first time in seven years the music industry has seen a surge in album sales that included both digital purchases and track sales (up 20% and 9% respectively). You have powerhouses like Adele, Rihanna, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez and our girl Britney Spears.

These women put out top albums that dominated the radio play of stations as well as touring and television performances (think award shows for sure).

Adele's very first album 21,sold 5 million copies. Katy Perry's Teenage Dream album has seen 5 singles top the charts which ties Michael Jackson's record. Total downloads for Katy: 15 million downloads. I'm not sure how much an artist earns but I'm thinking she's pretty filthy rich at this point.

Her BFF Rihanna put out two albums in the year, racking up 1.9 million in sales and then of course there are her very creative concert performances that seemed to make headlines of their own.

Jim Donio, president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (they are responsible for tracking the market) says:

"These girls have become brands on a global scale," says Donio. "They're all dominant in their own way and bring with them an interesting cross-section of fans."

Not to mention music that is worth listening to! To think that the music industry has been in a 'slump' since 2004 and because of these incredibly talented women the industry is starting to turn it around! This is just the beginning. Imagine what 2012 brings us?

That's not to say men didn't contribute to the surge in the industry. Of course they did without question, but in an industry that hasn't really seen female domination of this size, I'd say this is the beginning of some very big things for women in music.

According to iTunes the top selling albums and songs:

ITUNES' TOP SELLERS

ALBUMS

1. 21: Adele
2. Sigh No More: Mumford & Sons
3. Tha Carter IV: Lil Wayne
4. Watch the Throne: Kanye West/Jay-Z
5. Mylo Xyloto: Coldplay
6. Born This Way: Lady Gaga
7. Loud: Rihanna
8. Take Care: Drake
9. Teenage Dream: Katy Perry
10. Doo-Wops & Hooligans: Bruno Mars

SONGS

1. "Rolling in the Deep": Adele
2. "Party Rock Anthem": LMFAO
3. "Firework": Katy Perry
4. "Grenade": Bruno Mars
5. "Forget You": Cee Lo Green
6. "Give Me Everything": Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
7. "E.T.": Katy Perry feat. Kanye West
8. "Moves Like Jagger": Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera
9. "Pumped Up Kicks" Foster the People
10. "Super Bass" Nicki Minaj

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Lady GaGa has outdone herself again in this 14 minute video that starts with her being wheeled into the crazy house and later sees her covered in Cheerios. It starts out like a little movie and then it breaks into the music portion. She's topless and nude in a lot of it with black bars strategically placed. 

The video is supposed to replicate the worst day in her life when she was dropped by her record label (she's getting the last laugh now, isn't she?) and tells E!:

"It was one of the worst days of my life and it happened quite quickly, but in my mind, when I think back on that period of my life, it all happened very slow."

"That's probably the most honest moment in that video of everything I've ever done. My directorial decision was for them to just f***ing roll the cameras, because I couldn't go in and out of the moment."
She added: "It is my personal way of seeing things. If you give up after something like that, you were never destined to be an entertainer."

This video only further clarifies that I know nothing about art and I'm perfectly content with that. More importantly I dreamt about George Clooney last night. In a hotel room. 

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While it makes perfectly good sense to hear of Tony Bennett and Lady GaGa doing a duet together, him sketching her nude is something even my perverted mind would never dream of but it happened kittens.

It seems that the sketches are part of a layout for Vanity Fair and was the brain child of famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. 

And if that isn't shocking enough, Lady GaGa was actually NERVOUS about it. Her Thanksgiving Special aired Thursday night and in which she revealed:

"True to form, as me giving my all to my work (sic), I walked in and I said, 'Well, Tony, here we are…' and he started laughing and I dropped my robe and I got into my position. It was very, very nerve-wracking.

"I felt shy; it's Tony Bennett. Why am I naked…? The first thing that Tony said to me when I saw him (afterwards) was, 'Wait 'til you see this sketch I did. It's amazing. You look beautiful.'"

That position appears to be on all fours bitches. I can think of a few men I would pose for in that position and Tony Bennett isn't one of them nyuk nyuk.

Lady GaGa is a huge fan of Tony Bennett (the two recorded The Lady is a Tramp for his Duets II album) and the feeling is totally mutual:

"She is the most beautiful person I ever met but there is something very special about her."

We'll get to see all of the nude sketches in the January 2012 issue of Vanity Fair. 

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Last night the stars came out to attend the Decade of Difference 10th Anniversary Gala of the William J. Clinton Foundation where the likes of  Lady GaGa and Usher took to the stage to honor President Clinton.

Usher ripped his pants during his performance but unfortunately it didn't reveal any wardrobe malfunction of a penis kind. 

But then there's Lady GaGa who performed for him and afterwards said to Clinton while on stage:

“If someone had told me so many years ago that I’d be doing that right in front of you, I just would not have believed them. I would have given them a good American 'fuck you.'”

That's keeping it classy Lady GaGa.

Source & Source

Photo: RHS/WENN

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Photo: C. Smith/WENN

Lady GaGa 25, has a new love and his name is Taylor Kinney 30. You may recognize that name if you are a viewer of Vampire Diaries where he played Mason Lockwood. But he also appeared in Lady GaGa’s video You And I which is where the two first met.

Radar Online is reporting the romance exclusively saying the two met in July and have been dating ever since with a source saying:

“It was just casual at first, but things are getting pretty hot and heavy,”

On Sunday September 4th another ‘source’ claims that Lady GaGa and Taylor were making out at Mission Viejo’s The Sneak Joint:

“I couldn’t tell it was her at first,” “It just looked like some hot couple making out, but then I realized it was Lady GaGa! Everyone went nuts! She was so sweet too — she even signed some autographs.

Did anyone in the joint own a fugging phone? Where are the pictures of momma monster dining with the former vampire (I don’t watch Vampire Diaries…does he play a vampire?). Apparently Taylor lives in Mission Viejo and is a major surfer.

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Photo: Nikki Nelson/WENN