Nicola Roberts is a different kind of pop star.

There’s just no getting around it, really: Ever since her name was called as one-fifth of the band that went on to become Girls Aloud during the finale of the 2002 reality series Pop Stars: The Rivals, the Lincolnshire-born redhead with porcelain skin stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the pristine pop quintet. There was something special about Nicola, something different–dare say “alternative” about the then 17-year-old songstress.

Roberts made her mark in the Aloud as the quiet, quirky vocalist responsible for some of the band’s most memorable moments–the opening seconds of “Untouchable,” the second verse of “Whole Lotta History,” the show-stopping bridge of “Call The Shots.” More often than not, it was Roberts’ shaky, vulnerable vocals that placed an ice-coated cherry on top of some of the Aloud’s finest work.

But being “different” can often be problematic, and for Nicola, induction into the Almighty Aloud was nearly a curse: From the get go, Roberts was relentlessly teased and bullied in the British tabloids for her appearance, as well as an apparent bad attitude: “Ginger.” “Pale.” “Ugly.” In 2003, Busted‘s Matt Willis pronounced her a “rude ginger bitch,” a nickname that the press fondly appropriated for years. And despite the best efforts made by her fellow bandmates to protect her against seeing the stories, Roberts was still well aware of the continuous public mockery, leading to several years of excessive drinking and an unhealthy obsession with tanning.

Lest anyone be confused and think she simply stood there and dealt with the criticism however, it’s simply not true: Nicola Roberts has always found ways to fight back.

During a performance at G-A-Y in London in 2003 for instance, the quiet crooner took a cheeky stab at Matt Willis’ attack by donning a black skirt with the words “RUDE GINGER BITCH…BOTHERD?!” painted on the back. Later on in her career, as Roberts slowly grew confident in her natural appearance, she would tackle her tanorexia head-on in an eye-opening BBC special, Nicola Roberts: The Truth About Tanning.

Now, with the release of debut record out on September 26, Cinderella’s Eyes, Roberts has gone one step further and turned the tables on her detractors completely with one loud, defiant rallying call: “TEAM GINGE.”

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As Aaliyah would say: Age ain’t nothing but a number.

THIS is Liza* FUCKING Minnelli, age 65, posing for acclaimed photographer and full-time creeper Terry Richardson for a feature in an upcoming issue of the UK’s LOVE Magazine. (Check the full set of images thanks to my good friend Michael K. at PopBytes!)

Look at her absolutely serving every other pop bitch in the game…effortlessly! Just FLAWLESS. I’m so overcome! I’m emotional. I can’t. Not even a little.

It’s just nice to see a legend shining in the spotlight yet again. Seriously, I’ve got no time whatsoever for ageism or for those who refuse to learn their pop history: Respect the divas. Know your role. (And on a slightly selfish note, these photos are giving me the faith I need to believe that Madonna can still pull it out for many years to come…)

Now get in that studio and make me a sequel to Results, Miss Thing!

*with a Z, not Lisa with a S, ’cause Lisa with an S goes “sss” not “zzz.“

Last night marked Lady Gaga‘s final sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden on The Monster Ball Tour 2011.

The show, the second of two nights taped for Gaga’s upcoming HBO special in May, was a nearly two and a half-hour extravaganza, as Lady Gaga and her friends traversed the gritty, ghoulish streets of an imagined New York City in an attempt to get to the greatest party in the world: The Monster Ball–all while battling car breakdowns in Brooklyn, bad reception and giant tentacle monster attacks (totes hate when that happens) along the way.

Follow the Glitter Way…

Meet Saint Saviour.

The London-bred vocalist is perhaps best known for lending her pipes to Groove Armada, as well as a bunch of other acts including The RGBs, The Slips, and Joe & Will Ask.

Now the singer will be taking a stab at going it solo with the release of her debut single, “Woman Scorned.”

Like a cross between a classically trained vocalist and an indie rocker begging to be unleashed, Saint Saviour delivers with a wild energy on her rollicking, rock-tinged debut.

The comparisons that can be drawn to other vocalists are many-numbered (and all valid): From Kate Bush to Antony Hegarty to Liza Minnelli to Martha Wainwright to Beth Ditto to a touch of fellow saint, St. Vincent. Weird warblers unite!

But wait–there’s more!

As a MuuMuse Excluusive, check out Saint Saviour’s stunning take on the Depeche Mode classic, “Enjoy The Silence”–both of which are available for both stream and download.

Listen below to hear Saint Saviour’s soaring rendition of the original, which is reverent enough to be deemed a proper church hymn. Talk about a woman after my own heart!

DL: Saint Saviour – Enjoy The Silence

The singer will be performing her first ever live show in London at Bush Hall on October 23, and tickets are currently on sale now.

“Woman Scorned” will be released both digitally and as a limited edition 100-press 7″ vinyl on October 11.

To hear more from Saint Saviour, check out her MySpace.

Photo courtesy of The Grammys.

There are 109 categories of nomination for a Grammy this year. I gave them all a brief looking-over, and these are the few that sparked my interest and are therefore most relevant to MuuMuse:

• BRITNEY SPEARS GETS A NOMINATION FOR DANCE RECORD OF THE YEAR WITH “WOMANIZER”! Congrats, B! But there’s a catch–she’s battling MADONNA with “Celebration”! AND THEN IT GETS WORSE AGAIN…Lady Gaga‘s “Poker Face” and David Guetta‘s When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland! Eep.

• Speaking of, Lady Gaga’s pulled in SIX nominations, including Record of the Year (“Poker Face”) and Album of the Year (The Fame). While Beyonce proves a worthy opponent with a score of nominations in all the same categories, it’s dark horse Taylor Swift that may pull away from the two pop titans after a wave of post-Kanye guilt washes over the Grammy committee. Muusers, pray for Godga and Beysus to shine through!

• Imogen Heap scores two nominations for Best Pop Instrumental Record (“The Fire”) and quite ironically, Best Engineered Album (despite Ellipse being one of the worst mastering jobs of 2009).

• Kathy Griffin gets another go for her run at winning a Grammy! Suckin’ It for the Holidays has scored a nomination for Best Comedy Album. Competition’s tight, though: She’s up against Stephen Colbert, Patton Oswalt and George Lopez.

• The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been nominated for Best Alternative Album, though they face an equally up-hill battle: Depeche Mode, David Byrne & Brian Eno, Pheonix and Death Cab for Cutie meet them to the challenge.

• Liza Minnelli‘s Liza’s At The Palace got a nod for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album! Bitches ain’t got shit on Liza with a Z.

• Kelly Clarkson and Pink are due to duel it out for Best Pop Vocal Album.

• Pet Shop Boys get a Best Electronic Album nomination with Yes! Yes! But they’re facing Lady Gaga! No!

Let’s face it, though: This is the Grammy Awards, an honor that hasn’t been relevant since The Bodyguard. In the end, all of the awards will probably end up going to the fucking Black Eyed Peas.

Around four AM last night, having already scavenged my apartment for any and all edible morsels (before ultimately settling on a sliced tomato), I was struck with the ever-familiar numbness of boredom.

Having only the computer at my disposal and no living persons to entertain me, I did what any normal boy would do alone in the late evening hours–surf the Internet for Liza Minnelli videos.

Two years after the release of their internationally renowned smash single “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” with Dusty Springfield in 1987, the Pet Shop Boys endeavored to repeat their success in 1989 with yet another pop legend–Liza Minnelli (that’s Liza with a Z, not Lisa with an S, ’cause Lisa with an S goes “sss” not “zzz.”).

Sadly, the project never took off in most territories except the UK, where it would debut at a respectable #6 on the Albums chart and go on to spawn four singles.

“Don’t Drop Bombs” was the second single off Results, a electronica infused back-and-forth set within a relationship gone to pieces.

Fittingly, the video for this gem is simply too camp for words. Let’s face it–Liza’s a star darling, or couldn’t you already tell? The doe-eyed engagement with the camera lens, the onslaught of poses…that ridiculously fabulous mid-air wrapping action starting at 1:45?!

So silly, so right.