An array of awards line their shelves. Millions line their bank accounts and album sales statistics.  Adoring fans line concert venues, fan pages, and front stan wars in defense of them.  Yet, interestingly, even with all the aforementioned, stars like Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, and Madonna find themselves placed in quite the pop pickle.  For, in their hey day, they revisited, revamped, and, to then contemporary music fans, replaced the divas of old.  Putting the Chers, Diana Rosses, Aretha Franklins, Barbra Streisands, and co.s ‘out to pasture’ while they dominated the pop charts.

But, insert a 20 year fast forward, and they find themselves in (or approaching) somewhat of the same jam.

Redefining the standards of pop excellence, the latter 21st century divas (unlike those before them) used the music video medium to push their agenda.   Glossy visuals, accompanied by high octane choreography, cinematic quality themes, and live performances to match.  But, now the pop queens that paved the way for Britney Spears, Beyonce, Rihanna, and more are now finding themselves in their direct competition – sonically and visually.  Some will argue that no copy will ever trump the original, while others say they’ve had their day and should step aside.

We at TGJ want to know:  when one reaches a level of legendary status…what’s to gain from continuing?  You’ve paved the way, had the fame/fortune, and the adulation.  What’s next?  As Madonna’s 12th LP ‘MDNA’ landed on shelves this week, and Janet and Mariah (amongst others 40+ year old divas) are hard at work at their latest offerings,  sales dwindle and once universal praise turns into mock.

The inescapable age/gender bias leads us to ask:

Former Glory Vs. Future Gain:  Do stars who continue to push “pass their prime” ruin their legacies?  Is the gain – at the risk of ridicule, changing one’s sound for the sake of sounding “current”, or dressing/acting much too young – worth the gain of a new generation of followers?

Your thoughts?

Since as far as anyone can remember,the amount of money an act makes holds just as much as interest as the music that brings that money in.

So, in a bid to quench the nosy thirsts of fan boys/girls the worldover, Billboard have released their list of Music’s Top 40 Money Makers.

Focusing only on US income, the list takes into account how much each act made in 2011 from publishing, touring and recorded music sales and does not  include finances made from sponsorship or endorsement deals.

It is also worth noting that the list accounts for net earnings and not gross revenue, and so to some extent differs from Forbes annual list.

Peep the top ten below…

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Controversial. Artistic. Cunning.

These are but a few of the titles Madonna has worn over the course of her illustrious career. However, the trait shining brightest these days is the singer’s “business savvy”.

Wonder what we’re on about? The answer awaits below…

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Believe it or not, since her visit to the country two years ago, Nicki Minaj has not stepped foot in the UK.

Indeed, while that might spell all kinds of trouble for any act hoping to fare well here, it doesn’t seem to have stopped  the ‘Pink Lady‘ from dominating our charts.

For, following its ascent on this week’s UK Top 40, her latest single ‘Starships‘ has exceeded all expectations digitally.

Find out how below…

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Due greatly in part to the passing of pop icon Whitney Houston, this week’s 54th Annual Grammy Awards drew in its second largest audience ever.  In such, stars slated to perform, namely Adele, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, and Nicki Minaj, have seen the showing give them considerable boosts in their own individual endeavors.  Adele, the long running Billboard champion, saw her triumphant stage return encourage album sales of 500k in the week following the show and now reports indicate her songs ‘Rolling In the Deep’, ‘Set Fire To the Rain’, and ‘Someone Like You’ are on track to sell 250k, 220k, and 170k downloads respectively.

Also, following reports of Houston’s untimely passing, the pop starlet moved over 1 million singles and albums in less than 5 days and landed her signature hit ‘I Will Always Love You’ back in the top 10. Next week will see the full download sales realized and are expected to land in the 250,000 to 300,000 range of this song alone.

Unlike Adele and Houston, Minaj, Perry, and Brown all unveiled new music this week to spearhead promotions of their forthcoming ventures.  Perry, who has already clocked 5 #1s from her ‘Teenage Dream’ album, is readying its follow-up, ‘Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” (March 26th), and may be on the road to notching her 6th!  While fans were disheartened with news, due to new Billboard ruling, that number 1s from the re-released set won’t be included in her ‘Dream’ tally, it certainly hasn’t stopped their support…

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It’s certainly been a game of musical chairs (literally) since X Factor USA’s Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger found themselves axed from the judges panel.  With rumors swirling at who would be the ladies’ replacements, no two names have been mentioned more than vocal powerhouses Mariah Carey and Beyonce.  Both of whom have made headlines in the last year for new additions to their families, the mommy musicians have had the industry abuzz with news of Cowell’s interest in their seating on the judges row.

As reports began to surface that Simon offered the ‘Upgrade U’ diva $100 million dollars (some reports claiming $500 million) just to guest the judges bench and Nick Cannon reportedly slamming suggestions of wife Mariah’s involvement, the X Factor craftsman has finally decided to come forth to set the record straight on both ladies’ potential involvement on the show.

Will we be viewing the ‘Vision of Love’ diva on X Factor or the ‘Baby Boy’ beauty? See Simon as he talks X Factor with EXTRA below (you may be surprised at the answer):

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Following the release of ‘Marry The Night’, the 5th single from Lady GaGa‘s ‘Born This Way‘, many began to just which cut from the LP would serve as its follow up.

Unfortunately, the news her fan base had been dreading was confirmed today.

No more singles are to be released from the album.

Full story below…

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Even when she’s not at her best, Nicki Minaj sits head and shoulders above the rest.

As cliche as that may sound, this is one fact that continues to be proven right time and time again. Case, point example: ‘Stupid Hoe’, the Rapper’s latest video.

Because, despite coming under heavy criticism for its ‘unique’ style, it has rewarded her with  a feat of epic proportions.

Details below…

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Your thoughts?

Nearing the end of last year, ‘Better In Time‘ songbird Leona Lewis broke the news that her long awaited album ‘Glassheart’ was to be released in 2012 and not in November 2011 as had initially been scheduled.

So now, with not long to go until the project hits stores, record executive Clive Davis has shared a number of details regarding his contributions to the LP and aired out his feelings towards her second album, ‘Echo‘.

His comments below…

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They may not share the same (or even comparable) levels of talent, but the past few years have certainly seen their careers accomplish similar feats.  Chart dominance, successful tours, and fashion icon status alike, pop princesses Rihanna and Lady Gaga have mirroring careers that are continuously uplifted by their ever-faithful fanbases.  And while the Little Monsters and Navy have worked hard to keep both pop tarts atop many-a-social media tally, it appears the Navy is the group continuously sailing its commander to the forefront.

Already besting Gaga in honors of Facebook’s most popular and number of digital downloads, Riri finds her unrelenting reign extending to yet another Internet territory – Youtube.

Details inside:

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Whether you love them or hate them, there is no escaping Pop’s latest gang of female contenders. From Lady GaGa to Alicia Keys, Beyonce to Rihanna, the last year has seen a number of the world’s most celebrated femme fatales rake in the millions from album sales, touring revenue and in some cases lucrative endorsement deals.

Now peep Forbes official list for for the music industry’s top-earning female artists in 2011, below…

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