It’s been a long and slow ascend to the top for newcomer Lady GaGa’s debut single ‘Just Dance’, (indeed the song was officially released last May). This week, however, the song finally clenched the coveted #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, jumping #2-#1 knocking off Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ in the process. What’s more, mid-week sales show the song to be on course to land the top spot here in the UK this week as well. {Source}

I’m real glad to see this young talent finally garnering the recognition she deserves. It kinda has me hopeful about the future of the industry; as in the face of the samey uniformity of many of the artists/acts that populate the music scene, a genuinely unique talent can emerge and be successful.

In a recent interview with the LA Times, Christina Aguilera got the claws out, albeit subliminally, when questioned about the murmurings in many circles that she is ‘borrowing’ newcomer Lady Gaga’s style for her latest ‘look’:

As you may have noticed, new tracks from Ne-Yo’s sophomore CD ‘Because of You’ have been leaking pretty quickly. Having now listened to the album in full, I can say that he has definitely managed to avoid the ’sophomore slump’ by delivering a pretty solid album. After listening to the earlier leaked tracks and snippets, I felt that Ne-Yo hadn’t really pushed himself creatively and was just dishing out more of the same. However, the album has proven me wrong as there are quite a few great songs that aren’t typically his style. Though I’m unsure whether this tops his fantasitc debut, ‘Because of You’ (due May 1st) is definitely worth a buy. Check out some of my highlights from the album (which I haven’t posted already)…