This past Thursday, the West Coast was given a gift of epic proportions. The Veronicas, Australia’s superstar female twin pop duo, performed a one-night only exclusive event at The Viper Room in Los Angeles to showcase songs from their eagerly anticipated upcoming album.

Best known in the United States for their singles “Untouched” and “4Ever,” The Veronicas played to a sold out crowd of fans dying for a taste of the girls’ new material.

While I was unable to attend the show (due to a rude case of “I live in New York and can’t afford airfare”), watching fan videos posted online after the concert got me hyped for the new record in borderline unhealthy ways.

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A few years ago, you could take a walk down to Bleecker Street and catch a show at a small venue called The Bitter End featuring back to back performances from two of Manhattan’s most up-and-coming artists: Stefani Germanotta and Lelia Broussard.

One would ultimately ask Cher to hold her meat purse and get blasted by Bette Midler for coming out on stage dressed as a mermaid in a wheelchair, while the other would be a final contender to be the first unsigned artist to grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

On August 2nd, Rolling Stone will announce which unsigned artist will be the first to make the magazine’s cover – and the contest has narrowed its way down to two finalists. Will alt-rock quartet The Sheepdogs win or will the quirky Lelia flash her signature facial-warpaint on the most esteemed music journal in the biz?

If anyone is close to stealing Florence Welch’s crown as queen of the indie chanteuses, it’s Lelia Broussard. Ever since her most recent album, Masquerade, came out in November of last year, Lelia has exploded onto the scene. No, really. I challenge you to find a coffee shop, book store, or Forever 21 that doesn’t have her song “Satellite” (written about “a sad robot in love”) on constant loop.

On August 24th, Lelia will be performing a very special one-stop show at the Highline Ballroom in New York. I caught up with Lelia to talk about what to expect from the show, how the Rolling Stone contest has impacted her life, which one of the Spice Girls she most identifies with, and more.

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Well, Madonna may not be working with RedOne anytime soon…but Cher is.

The legendary entertainer took to Twitter early Thursday morning to announce an exciting “secret” she’d been waiting all of forever to tell her fans:

Just walked in from studio ! I Finished 1st track on new cd &……..”GAGA ” ” YOU ARE THE GREATEST THING TO ME “

Naturally, the general response was universal: WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN, CHER.

After a few more minutes, the icon regained consciousness/someone on Team Cher took control of the bejeweled Blackberry clenched between her hands and finished the thought:

It’s not a duet ! Who knows ? I Did Hold her “Meat Purse” haha! One can wish! It’s one of her songs & she & Redone gave it to me 4 my cd ! Wait ! I would love duet with GaGa, but She Gave Me GREAT Song & I’m beyond Grateful!!!! It’s called ” The Greatest Thing “

So there you have it: Cher has recorded a song with RedOne. Penned by Lady Gaga. And guess what? You can already hear it now.

This Lady Gaga demo–originally dubbed “The Greatest”–first leaked on the web over a year ago. And as Cher originally tweeted, the song contains the phrase “You are the greatest thing to me.”

Admittedly it does sound very post-1998 Cher, what with the overly Auto-tuned vocals and all. But…is this a good enough song for Cher? Is this real life? What is love? (Baby, don’t hurt me.) Okay, so…but…

Like Lily said: I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore.

The legend, the superstar, the icon that is CHER took to Twitter to answer some fan questions last night.

And although most of her tweets are unintelligible combinations of exclamation marks, excessive spaces, and a dialect of internet speak known only by Cher, she tweeted loud and clear in regards to upcoming music:

New album ( So Old school) is WAY DANCE !

She went on to doubly confirm that she is recording both a new single and album, as well as a duet with her mother. (!)

Cher’s tweet Q&A negates prior rumors of a country or rock-tinged album (thank you baby Jesus), clearing the way for a brand new takeover of the dance floor.

Are you ready? Because I’m literally not. I mean, “Believe.” “A Song For The Lonely.” “The Music’s No Good Without You.” Nope. Not even slightly emotionally prepared.

FOLLOW THIS, YOU BITCHES.

Having already provided her songwriting skills to artists including LL Cool J, Musiq Soulchild, Teddy Riley and Deborah Cox, Harlem-born singer-songwriter Talia Coles is no stranger to the music industry.

Yet “Never See You Again,” Coles’ first release since her 2010 Dancehall mix-tape smash “Nikki Wine,” marks a personal milestone: It’s Coles’ first solo single to chart.

“Never See You Again,” which was penned by the singer herself and produced by Teetimus, aches with a deep throb and deliciously layered vocals–a production that falls somewhere in between the dark-pop sound of a Stargate song (“S&M”) and the Euro-trance euphoria of Cher‘s Living Proof. (Calling all fans of “Music’s No Good Without You”!)

The song also contains a brief verse by up-and-coming rapper, KO Stiggity who–according to my estimations–unarguably commands one of the best names in rap that I’ve ever heard in my life. But who is he, exactly? Well, just think of him as the Colby O’Donis to Coles’ Lady Gaga. Just dance…it’ll be okay!

“Never See You Again” continues to climb on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play charts (currently sitting at #24) after having spent over 9 weeks on the chart.

A video for the song has already been shot and will be released shortly.

“Never See You Again” was released on March 1. (iTunes)

I didn’t get it at first.

My first listen to the growling alt-country-indie-electronica-whatever-you-want-to-call-it of “Ain’t Nobody,” Clare Maguire‘s debut single released in mid-October of last year, left me feeling cold.

The song’s accompanying abstract video proved even more perplexing, featuring a ghoulish looking Maguire belting out the track from a lone chair in the desert, her hair wildly whipping in the wind.

“It was all a bit too gothic for me,” the gorgeous chanteuse would later tell the BBC regarding her debut, which wound up stalling at #75 on the Singles Chart.

But upon hearing the first few seconds of “Shield and Sword” –the lead track off of Light After Dark, Maguire’s debut album released on February 28–it became almost instantly clear: The Clare Maguire experience is best served in full.

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Yesterday afternoon, my mother and I went to the movie theatre for a screening of the film Burlesque, starring Cher and Christina Aguilera.

Afterward, my mother felt compelled to write me an email with a review of the experience.

Here are her thoughts.

Dear Son –

Thanks for inviting me out for a lovely mother-son evening out. I have to say I wasn’t really too enthusiastic about seeing Burlesque – you know how I feel about Christina Aguilera and all. But I really couldn’t stand to see your mopey expression anymore, so I reluctantly agreed. OMG!! I laughed, I cried (mostly from laughing too hard). But admit it, even you laughed when I leaned over and said, “Do I smell a Razzie?” Really, have you learned nothing from the Free Willy debacle when you were four and we had to leave the theater? Quite simply, I lack the ability to suspend reality to the level required to sit quietly through two hours of bad acting and cliched storylines. Since paying attention to this trainwreck was not really an option for me, I occupied my time with random thoughts, or muusings, if you will:

1. Christina can sing like nobody’s business, but she’s a mediocre dancer – Britney would have done a much better job. (There, I finally said something nice about her). But of course since the whole point of the role was live singing, then its obvious why she wasn’t offered the role. (Mom giveth and mom taketh away!)

2. It would appear that Cher could match Chaz shot for shot in the plastic surgery department. I give the point to Chaz though because at this point he’s more believable as a man than Cher is as a 30/40/50ish femme fatale.

3. What is the point of Alan Cumming? I just don’t get it. Besides, he brings out my primal mothering instincts. I want to say, “Wipe that smirk off your face, mister!”

4. This movie was like an early Christmas present for Mariah Carey. Not only will it keep Glitter company in the bargain bin section of the video store, it’ll be great fuel if she cares to reheat her feud with Christina.

5. What are the odds someone would build luxury condos across from a ramshackle burlesque club and not take into consideration that someday it may be torn down?

6. Cam Gigandet should be in more movies.

I know you probably loved this movie more than you would admit to me. That’s OK, honey just remember what I told you when you thought you saw a snowflake as we exited the theater – “No dear, that was Liza Minelli’s frozen tears. She’s sad to see what happened to Cabaret.”

Love,
Mom

So, um…THIS HAPPENED.

From Robyn’s Twitter:

Cher is one cool lady.

I wonder what makes up a Cher/Robyn discussion. What do you think they talked about?

Boys? “Whip My Hair” video? Their ability to establish themselves as single name divas?

This has officially blown my mind.