You finished with the whole Yuyi the Mermaid thing by now? You done? Okay good, me too.

Lady Gaga might still be unleashing her ceaseless series of art-haus mini-clips in support of her latest Top 10 single “You And I,” but she’s already preparing to release a brand new single from the Born This Way era according to GagaDaily (as well as fan interactions with Gaga stylist Nicola Formichetti): “Marry the Night.”

The Fernando Garibay-produced (“Dance In The Dark”) song is one of the better cuts from Gaga’s second LP. Originally released via GagaVille, Lady Gaga’s FarmVille expansion on Facebook, the song was penned as an open love letter to New York City (did you know Lady Gaga grew up there? You didn’t either?! She never talks about it! I KNOW, RIGHT?!) and features an explosive Whitney Houston-esque chorus, pounding synthesizers, church organs and plenty of that leather wearin’, whiskey drankin rock ‘n’ roll lyricism that Gaga loves ever so dearly.

While I myself remain staunchly Team “Heavy Metal Lover” (my favorite from BTW), I can’t be too mad at this selection for Single #5–it’s a fire track, and I’m always up for supporting a Garibay production.

Still no word on a video just yet, but here’s hoping she straps on a full white Galliano wedding dress and starts rampaging down the streets of NYC, jumping on cars, making out with bikers and eventually jumping down into Brit Brit‘s manhole for a brief “Till The World Ends” dance interlude–now that’s a video I could get behind.

Born This Way was released on May 23. (iTunes)

My name is Natalia Kills. Tonight, you are all getting killed.

On Wednesday night, Cherrytree Records’ Natalia Kills headlined the PopJustice/High Rise CMJ showcase at The Bell House in Brooklyn.

For faithful Muusers, it’s no secret I’ve always had a soft spot for Miss Kills. She kind of embodies everything I love in film, fashion and music: Dark, macabre style, carnal sexuality, and of course…killer beats.

But taking my own personal taste of the equation (which is sort of silly as this is a review, I digress), it’s clear to see that noise is starting to quickly build around Natalia’s name amongst trendy art magazines and music blogs across the globe, and she proved exactly why tonight.

Read More…

So, this is something new and interesting.

The night before my interview with Sky Ferreira, I received a vaguely mysterious e-mail from MuuMuse reader Sam Lansky with an attachment entitled “Fame Fatale.” The e-mail suggested that the attached may assist me in preparing for my interview.

As soon as I began reading, I already knew: This had to be published immediately.

“Fame Fatale” is not only a remarkably in-depth analysis (and personal account) of Ferreira’s curious rise to fame, but a thoughtful contemplation of the manufacturing of the modern pop star and the very conventions of the music industry itself. It’s extremely well-researched, poses tough questions, and deserves your full attention.

With his permission, I’ve asked Sam to feature his article on MuuMuse. It’s an incredible piece, and I do highly recommend that all of my Muusers give it a thorough reading–even if it’s “tl;dr” territory.

I do, after all, hope to keep a literate company.

Click “Read More…” to read Sam Lansky’s “Fame Fatale: The Rise of Sky Ferreira.”

Read More…

How can you become the best at anything? The way you do it is you just try to kill it every time.

Natalia Kills is a very new kind of radio killer.

Starting with the release of her murderously good buzz single at the end of 2009, “Zombie,” the soon-to-be superstar began capturing new fans left and right with her noir-gone-glam style and urban-meets-dance sound, immediately awarding herself the title of “Most Anticipated of 2010″ here at MuuMuse.

Now, with her self-produced, self-directed “Love, Kills XX” web series (check out the fifth installment, which just premiered yesterday), the singer has prepared herself a unique platform to introduce herself, her creative vision, and her music to the world.

As one of Cherrytree/Interscope’s newest artists on the brink of debut (with an album to be released in the fall), Kills was nice enough to chat with me on the phone last Friday about her background, as well as providing plenty of hints for what’s to come.

Check out our full conversation below to learn more about Natalia’s influences, ambitions, and plans for world domination. And yes–she’s deadly serious about all of it.

Hey Natalia! How are you?

I’m fine, thank you. How are you?

I’m doing great. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m getting over a bit of a cold, so my throat’s kind of scratchy today.

No problem! I hope you feel better.

Oh, thank you! So, you are, of course a very new artist under Cherrytree. I was wondering how you ended up under the label?

Actually, it was quite a while ago. Basically, I’m from England and I made a demo and put it on the internet in 2008. Perez Hilton blogged about me and I got all of this buzz. One of my songs got two million plays in a very short period of time. So, I went to L.A. and had kind of been going for a while hoping to make some contacts and follow my dreams–you know how a lot of people go to Hollywood to make it and such. So I went back to L.A. and I met a lot of people, but it wasn’t that hard to know if you go with Will [Will.I.Am].

I met with labels and a lot of other producers and artists: Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and just many people that had a really creative connection with Will. He signed me to Interscope. He has a label at Interscope and one of the labels I had actually met with that I was very excited about was Cherrytree at Interscope. So, once I signed with Will to Interscope, he has a really good relationship with Martin Kieszenbaum, who runs Cherrytree and is the head A&R of Interscope International and we kind of navigated my project back to there while Will was on the road with the Black Eyed Peas

Would you say that the image or narrative that you’re projecting right now is something that you started out with when you were searching for labels–the whole persona of Natalia Kills?

No, it’s definitely been an evolution. It’s definitely been a growing process. When I made my demo, it was actually called Wommanequin. It was under my real name, Natalia Cappuccini, and the whole thing was about searching for perfection. Being a girl; a mannequin being the perfect female form as a woman. So, I definitely started with the idea. My album is called Perfectionist. It’s literally the next step up from that demo; that idea. So, that idea hasn’t changed.

Developing who I am and making it more obvious was the first thing I was really encouraged to do once I was signed. You know, “Black Eyed Peas”–it says something. It’s a group. There are groups out there like The Knife, and certain words are very easy and invoke a certain feeling so that fans immediately identify. I thought to myself, in this quest for perfection and this great life and everything, “What do I want to do? How can you become the best at anything?” The way you do it is you just try to kill it every time. So, the label said “Maybe that’s what your name should be,” and I stuck with Natalia Kills.

I can see all of the influence that channel into the image because you have a sort of Tumblr style website with different pictures and quotes that inspire you and there’s of course the “Love, Kills XX” series. What sort of influences or references inspired the series?

I’ll give you a really small background of how I got into the film making. Basically, before I decided to do music, when I was quite a bit younger I was 14, I was doing a lot of acting. And you know a lot of creative people slide in and out of music, acting, and theater because it’s all a kind of system of being an expressionist. You have to express. You have to perform. So, I was doing that before I realized that music was what I really wanted to pursue.

I was on all of these sets learning lines and seeing how it was really done for years, and I have learned to a certain degree how it works. You write the script, you write the characters, you find locations, you find a director, you find a producer. and you make the show. So, when I was actually signed to the label they said “Look, I know you’re into all of this [Alfred] Hitchcock, [Stanley] Kubrick sort of stuff. But how are you going to translate that to people? What you need to do is be on the internet and make a diary or talk to the camera while going to the studio.” And I said that was silly to me, because I didn’t really want to be talking to the camera like “Yo, guys! I’m in the studio!” That’s not who I am. That’s not what I like.

So, I said “Well, how about the fans really get to know me through film?” They get to see me being me, but in almost imaginary and extraordinary situations. I’m writing, producing and co-directing it, so really, they’re getting a full-on take of my imagination, and that’s how they get to know me. Not just by seeing this Natalia Kills running around being a femme fatale maniac. They also get to see exactly what I think about, exactly how I feel by me writing all of this and actually directing it and making it real.

So, that’s kind of the general idea of the show, and we’re going to have twenty episodes. I’ve done most of them, but obviously you have to wait until they come out once a week. I’m very glad people are responding to it because it basically brings a very direct and visual impact to show people what it’s about instead of just pictures and interviews or whatever. It’s a different level of entertainment.

Are they leading up to something? Will there be a single or album release when they’re all said and done?

Yes, absolutely. We finished the album and it’s been wonderful. The single will hopefully be going on air in the summer and building from there.

Oh, good! Because you released two buzz singles..

Well, it’s funny. They were really buzz singles. “Zombie” was the first song I even recorded for the record, but I do have a first official uptempo–could be played radio; could be played pop single.

I’m so creative that it’s hard for me to hold back and make people wait for so long, so it was really good that the label allowed me to officially leak a couple of the songs so that people could get a really good feeling. The first single won’t be either of those songs, but definitely in the same vein. Same sound, same style.

You also gave a little preview in the latest series of another song..

Yep, and that will continue to happen, actually. That will keep happening, but if it was up to me, I would want my music to go out into the world and want people to hear it. I would be playing full versions, but I definitely have to leave a bit of mystery so when people get the album there are surprises on it.

Who have you worked with on the album besides Will.I.Am?

I’ve worked with really incredible producers. I’ve worked with Jeff Bhasker. He’s done work on Kanye West’s last two records and the one that’s coming up. Alicia Keys and Jay-Z’s albums as well. He did “Zombie” and is very rhythmic, dark and creative. It’s a lot of fun.

I’ve worked with Akon, who is a wonderful person. I was kind of wondering how he’d be before I met him because I had no idea, and you see people all over TV and they have a certain sound of music. But, when I met him he was very intelligent and creative. I totally understand why he and Will.I.Am. have achieved the level of success that they have because they’re really, really, really good.

I’ve worked with Fernando Garibay and Cherry Cherry Boom Boom [Martin Kierszenbaum] who have worked with Lady Gaga on her new album that no one has heard. She’s working on it right now.

I’ve worked with Ron Feemster who worked with Dr. Dre for five years and Michael Jackson for four years. He was Michael Jackson’s protégé. Michael’s new album that no one has heard (and probably won’t hear now) was all done with Ron. He was looking for a new artist and project after the passing of Michael, and it was really wonderful to work with him. He’s phenomenal, and I believe he could probably change the world with his music. He’s excellent.

That’s a great mix of producers. It sounds like some different sounds all in one..

Yeah, but you know what? The best thing was I got into the studio with Jeff and he started playing away. I do this thing were I choose all the sounds, so we’re kind of musically creating the actual music together. Once we found the sound and all of the different synths and rhythms and stuff, I went to all of the other producers and said “The songs we make have to marry this. They have to out-do it, they have to undo it, they have to re-do it, they have to all be absolutely consistent.”

So, even though I’ve worked with a couple of people on my album, all of those sounds and all of those ideas are absolutely consistent and flowing one after the other. It doesn’t sound like a patchwork of different sound, one in pop, one in hip-hop, one is urban or whatever. It actually sounds almost like the same person might have done every song, but just taking it to another level.

Do you know at all when it will be released?

Yes. In fall, my album will be released while we’re still growing the first single over the summer. I’m very excited for my album to come out. I am.

A lot of my readers were tweeting “When does new music come out?! Finally!”

Yeah, I know! I really want everyone to hear the music! At least the through the webisodes I can kind of leak little snippets so that people are already familiar.

Final question: A lot of artists in the industry are being compared to the same artist: Lady Gaga. What would you say to critics who may try to compare you to Gaga?

I would say thank you for comparing me to someone creative and talented, and not somebody who relies on other people or other sides of the industry to manufacture who they are. That’s what I would say. Thank you very much.

Good answer!

Thank you! Feel better!

Thanks!

Bye.

Bye.

Special thanks to RJ Kozain for transcription assistance.

Click here to visit Natalia Kills’ official website. To hear more, click here to preview and purchase songs from Natalia Kills on iTunes.

Photo courtesy of Suck.com.

Year-end wrap up lists are nice and all, but it’s the “Most Anticipated” lists that are way more fun for me to read. The rumors! The possibilities! The inability to foresee a terrible album in the making! Who can resist the sweet, succulent taste of possibility?

Of course, there are dozens of albums being released, and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface as far as what to expect. Nonetheless, I wanted to run down a few of my own personally anticipated releases for the new year.

So, without further ado, let’s roll out some of the biggest releases hitting shelves sometime in the next year. This will be the year of some ‘Sweet 7′s, it appears!

Sade, Soldier of Love (Sixth studio album)

What it is: The band’s first release in about a decade.
Expected shelf date: February 8, 2010.
Produced by: Mike Pela, Sade.
What we know: The album’s title track is a stunning achievement. Could the album possibly be anything less?
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Smooth, icy vocals and warm jazz sounds.

Ellie Goulding, TBA (Debut Album)

What it is: An exciting, possibly incredible (though potentially dead-in-the-water) debut by 2009′s leading indie electro-pop up-and-comer.
Expected shelf date: According to Play.com, March 3, 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Starry Eyed,” “Under the Sheets,” “Wish I Stayed”
Production by: Starsmith, Frankmusik
What we know: It’s been in the works for a while. She’s quirky, her music is interesting and fresh, and we haven’t heard a dud from her yet. Let’s just hope this is released before the hype catches up with her first.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: “Starry Eyed” and “Under the Sheets” repeated a dozen times over.

Kylie Minogue, TBA (Eleventh studio album)

What it is: Divine intervention. (That should totally be the album title!)
Expected shelf date: Unknown, probably 3Q or 4Q 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Better Than Today”
Production by: Nerina Pallot
What we know: Hardly anything, aside from the fact that Kylie was looking to Barbarella for inspiration while recording in New York a few weeks ago.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: The slick, coquettish electronica of Body Language (“Slow”) mixed the with sophisticated, edgy dancefloor flow of X (“Speakerphone”). And a little less emphasis on the camp factor, s’il vous plait.

Girls Aloud, TBA (Sixth studio album)

What it is: A much-needed comeback album from the greatest girl group since the Spice Girls.
Production by: I mean…it has to be Xenomania, right?
Expected shelf date: Way, way later in 2010.
What we know: Nothing, aside from the fact that their official website confirmed an album slated for 2010.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A shying away from the drum-and-bass sound and a prolonged stay in the territory of “Untouchable” and “Memory of You.”

Jennifer Lopez, Love? (Seventh Studio Album)

What it is: Jennifer ‘Lola J-Lo Jenny Rudebooty’ Lopez takes it to the streets once again to prove she still has ‘flava.’
Expected shelf date: April 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Louboutins,” “Fresh Out The Oven,” Everybody’s Girl,” “What Is Love,” Starting Over,” “Beautiful,” “This Cannot Be Love,” “One Love,” “Keeper”
Production by: Mike Caren, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, D’Mile, Danja, Darkchild, The Neptunes
What we know: Rap-Up’s write-up of the album preview includes terms like “electro-pop beat,” “slick uptempo production” and “guitar driven ballad.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A return to the dancefloor a la “Waiting for Tonight” with some guilty pleasure stompers like “Louboutins.” Minimal ballads, please.

Sugababes, Sweet 7 (Seventh Studio Album)

What it is: The grand unveiling of a new Sugababes era. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jade, Amelle, and Heidi.
Expected shelf date: February 28, 2010
Confirmed tracks: “Get Sexy,” “About A Girl,” “Thank You For The Heartbreak,” “Miss Everything,” “Wear My Kiss”
Production by: RedOne, Sean Kingston, Ne-Yo, The Smeezingtons, Fernando Garibay
What we know: How half of the album sounds. The Sweet 7 album sampler featuring Keisha leaked onto the net a few months ago. However, there’s been talk of recording new tracks.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: What we’ve been hearing. Slick, modern production and a fierce new confidence never before honed by the original three line-ups: It’s time to let Sweet 7 go Vanity 6.

Röyksopp, Senior (Fourth studio album)

What it is: The ambient, down-tempo companion piece to one of 2009′s greatest albums, Junior.
Expected shelf date: Early 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “The Alcoholic,” “The Fear,” “Coming Home”
Production by: Royksopp
What we know: From TLOBF: “Senior is more withdrawn and introspective and create an atmosphere and an ambience, to sit down and if you don’t need constant loud information all the time that’s what Senior is all about.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A more sophisticated, contemplative extension of Melody AM.

Uffie, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (Debut album)

What it is: The incredibly overdue debut of an underground trash-pop queen in the making.
Confirmed tracks: “Pop the Glock,” “Hot Chick,” “MC’s Can Kiss”
Expected shelf date: February 14, 2010, according to The Guardian.
Production by: Mr. Oizo, Mirwais, Pharrell
What we know: “MC’s Can Kiss,” the upcoming single off of the album, is an old-school-hip-hop-meets-modern-beats orgy.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Sick beatz from some extremely talented producers…and a whole lot of trash talkin’.

Britney Spears, TBA (7th Studio Album)

What it is: Don’t even get me started…don’t even get me started.
Production by: Track submissions are pouring in from the likes of Darkchild, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, Danja, Fernando Garibay, David Guetta, and many more.
Expected shelf date: Though Digital Spy reports that Jive is looking for a May 2010 release, I can’t help but assume that we’ll see this around the same time we’ve always seen Britney releases for the past three albums–the very end of the year.
What we know: Nothing really.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Icy R&B-infused electronica. Anything by Bloodshy & Avant. Anything in the direction of “And Then We Kiss.” Less Circus, more Blackout, but with soul. By the way, can we finally call this one Original Doll, Team Spears?

Honestly, It doesn’t even matter what it sounds like in the end. Why? Because it’s Britney, bitch. That’s why.

Here we go, according to Universal Japan:

Disc 1
01. Bad Romance (Produced by RedOne)
02. Alejandro (Produced by RedOne)
03. Monster (Produced by RedOne)
04. So Happy I Could Die (Produced by RedOne)
05. Speechless (Produced by Ron Fair)
06. Dancing In The Dark (Produced by Fernando Garibay)
07. Telephone (Produced by Rodney Jerkins)
08. Teeth (Produced by Teddy Riley)

Disc 2
01. Just Dance
02. LoveGame
03. Paparazzi
05. Poker Face
05. I Like It Rough
06. Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)
07. Starstruck (Featuring Space Cowboy & Flo Rida)
08. Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
09. The Fame
10. Money Honey
11. Boys Boys Boys
12. Paper Gansta
13. Brown Eyes
14. Summerboy
15. Disco Heaven (International bonus track)
16. Again Again (UK Edition bonus track)
17. Retro, Dance, Freak (Japanese Edition bonus track)

Poor Gaga fans…looks like the original CD is staying in its original form. Even the layout of the bonus tracks remains the same! So much for those rumored acoustic tracks…and my dashed dreams of hearing mastered versions of “Rock Show” and “Shake Ur Kitty.”

As for the new, there’s a whole lot more RedOne than I was anticipating, so start warming up your lips for some more “Muh muh muh muh” moments. “So Happy I Could Die” is enough of a LOLZ-worthy track title as it is (watch out for lyrics about crying at the sight of beautiful things).

Meanwhile, “Telephone” is almost certainly the same rumored Rodney Jerkins track from Britney‘s Circus sessions that never made the light of day. I’m happy to finally be hearing the song, though I wish it were in the Spears form. Perhaps we’ll get a leak sometime soon?

Thanks to Lady-Gaga.net for catching the scoop!

Let’s play a love/hate game, baby, love/hate…

A new Lady Gaga song, presumably for The Fame‘s re-release on November 24, has just leaked entitled “No Way,” which was produced by Fernando Garibay.

For fans of Britney Spears‘ “Quicksand,” you’re in luck–this song is pretty much identical.

Appropriately, I adore it.

According to a usually reliable source on the PopJustice forums, Britney‘s management have posted a track submission request on an industry website for a seventh studio album slated for Spring 2010 (?!).

As we know, Brit’s already been spending time in the studio with Max Martin (“…Baby One More Time”; “If U Seek Amy”), and Fernando Garibay (“Quicksand”) has confirmed that he’s readying an “eerie dancefloor” track for her. The same PopJustice source has also claimed she’ll be heading in with Danja and Jim Beanz in September. Could this all be for a studio album rather than the greatest hits package as previously assumed? It isn’t so unlikely that they’ve got a half dozen previously cut tracks to slap onto that collection….

In other news, a “Best Of” collection has mysteriously cropped up on Play.com.

Hmm…could we actually hear another album within a year? Regardless, I’m already touching myself.