CTV News.ca Staff
Months after young Winnipeg songstress Maria Aragon shot to fame on the wings of a YouTube cover of a Lady Gaga song, the 11-year-old has landed a big two-album record deal in the Philippines.
Aragon has sung with Lady Gaga and performed before Prince William and Kate, so she's had some big brushes with fame, but in her parents' home country of the Philippines, she's a superstar.
Last week, she did the talk-show circuit in the Philippines, appearing on entertainment shows with the country's biggest stars.
Star Records, a big label in the Philippines, has signed Aragon to a two-year, two-record deal. Her father, Veni Aragon, says he will know the exact worth of the deal when he flies there at the end of the month.
Aragon has developed a rabid fan base in the southeastern Asian country, a country that counts 40 million teenagers among its population.
"It's just a really big opportunity and I feel so blessed," she said in an interview in the country.
According to Hua Lee, a music producer, the deal probably isn't worth a lot in comparison to a record deal in the West. However, Asia's massive growing market could make her popularity too much to ignore.
"If they do the right songs for her, perhaps if they even do covers of the right songs, it could all eventually come back to the West," he told CTV News.
But the reality is, after Aragon finishes up her album and a song for a Philippine movie, she's back to being a normal Canadian kid.
She starts Grade 6 in September.
Meanwhile, the "hits" keep coming. Aragon's cover of Gaga's "Born this Way" has reached nearly 40 million hits on YouTube.
With a report from CTV Winnipeg's Jill Macyshon
Source is http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110725/gaga-aragon-110726/20110726/?hub=EdmontonHome
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Lady GaGa: "Amy Changed Pop Music Forever"
Lady GaGa has issued a heartfelt tribute to the late Amy Winehouse, stating that the Love Is A Losing Game singer "changed pop music forever."
As we previously reported, Winehouse was found dead in her Camden flat on Saturday, with her death still being treated as "unexplained."
Following tributes from the likes of Rihanna, Mark Ronson and Kelly Osbourne, GaGa paid homage to Amy, crediting her for giving her "hope" as a jazz singer.
Speaking on Twitter, Lady G wrote: "Amy changed pop music forever. I remember knowing there was hope, and feeling not alone because of her. She lived jazz, she lived the blues."
The 25-year old has previously expressed her admiration of Winehouse to The Sun back in 2009, telling the tabloid: "Amy is a real artist. I get frustrated when I tour so much that my voice is messed up."
"But I always say to myself that I watch performances from Amy where I swear she didn't hit a note, and she was shot and shot deep on something, but I can't take my eyes off that beautiful girl. There's something about her that's so honest."
SEE WHY MTV LOVES LADY GAGA HERE!!
She added: "That was what the '70s and '80s were about, and what women were about then, and that's why legends were created. It wasn't about manicures."
In the same year, Lady G also told PopEater: "I will always have a very deep love for Amy Winehouse. Because of Amy, very strange girls like me go to prom with very good-looking guys. She's a different kind of woman…"
"I don't believe that what I do is very digestible, and somehow Amy was the flu for pop music. Everybody got a little bit of the flu and got over it, and fell in love with Amy Winehouse. And now, when more flu comes along, it's not so unbearable."
Amy's family have since released a statement addressing the Back To Black hitmakers death, claiming she has left "a gaping hole" in their lives.
Source: http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/amy-winehouse/325316-lady-gaga-amy-winehouse-dead-tribute
As we previously reported, Winehouse was found dead in her Camden flat on Saturday, with her death still being treated as "unexplained."
Following tributes from the likes of Rihanna, Mark Ronson and Kelly Osbourne, GaGa paid homage to Amy, crediting her for giving her "hope" as a jazz singer.
Speaking on Twitter, Lady G wrote: "Amy changed pop music forever. I remember knowing there was hope, and feeling not alone because of her. She lived jazz, she lived the blues."
The 25-year old has previously expressed her admiration of Winehouse to The Sun back in 2009, telling the tabloid: "Amy is a real artist. I get frustrated when I tour so much that my voice is messed up."
"But I always say to myself that I watch performances from Amy where I swear she didn't hit a note, and she was shot and shot deep on something, but I can't take my eyes off that beautiful girl. There's something about her that's so honest."
SEE WHY MTV LOVES LADY GAGA HERE!!
She added: "That was what the '70s and '80s were about, and what women were about then, and that's why legends were created. It wasn't about manicures."
In the same year, Lady G also told PopEater: "I will always have a very deep love for Amy Winehouse. Because of Amy, very strange girls like me go to prom with very good-looking guys. She's a different kind of woman…"
"I don't believe that what I do is very digestible, and somehow Amy was the flu for pop music. Everybody got a little bit of the flu and got over it, and fell in love with Amy Winehouse. And now, when more flu comes along, it's not so unbearable."
Amy's family have since released a statement addressing the Back To Black hitmakers death, claiming she has left "a gaping hole" in their lives.
Source: http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/amy-winehouse/325316-lady-gaga-amy-winehouse-dead-tribute
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Lady Gaga Said Amy Winehouse Inspired Her
Lady Gaga is surely in mourning today for the loss of singer Amy Winehouse. The cause of death has not yet been announced. During her life Winehouse inspired many other musicians. Lady Gaga has spoken out about how she got a sense of freedom and acceptance from watching Amy Winehouse's career progress.
It is tragic that Winehouse is now dead at age 27. Musicians worldwide must be so sad at this news. She was unique and built her music career in her own way. She had an outrageous style, beloved by many people. She had a lot of talent, and now it is gone forever.
Lady Gaga previously said that Winehouse was the master at "opening the door for artists who dared to be different." She added "I will always have a very deep love for Amy Winehouse... She's a different kind of woman. notes the NY Post.
Even superstars like Lady Gaga have their heroes. It seems like Amy Winehouse was someone who inspired Lady Gaga and helped her realize that it was okay to be different. Now when listening to Gaga's hit "Born This Way" it will be a reminder of the struggle many creative people face over building self acceptance.
Amy Winehouse struggle with alcohol and drug addiction for years. Despite her musical talent, she appeared tormented and did not have control of her actions too often. And yet she also inspired others with her talent and her persona. Thus now those who admired her career must come to grips with the unfortunate truth that her inability to control her addictions may have lead to her death.
RIP Amy Winehouse. London is in mourning for your life. It seems that like the American writer Sylvia Plath, who also died in London, the world was too much for you.
Source is http://celebs.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979710720
It is tragic that Winehouse is now dead at age 27. Musicians worldwide must be so sad at this news. She was unique and built her music career in her own way. She had an outrageous style, beloved by many people. She had a lot of talent, and now it is gone forever.
Lady Gaga previously said that Winehouse was the master at "opening the door for artists who dared to be different." She added "I will always have a very deep love for Amy Winehouse... She's a different kind of woman. notes the NY Post.
Even superstars like Lady Gaga have their heroes. It seems like Amy Winehouse was someone who inspired Lady Gaga and helped her realize that it was okay to be different. Now when listening to Gaga's hit "Born This Way" it will be a reminder of the struggle many creative people face over building self acceptance.
Amy Winehouse struggle with alcohol and drug addiction for years. Despite her musical talent, she appeared tormented and did not have control of her actions too often. And yet she also inspired others with her talent and her persona. Thus now those who admired her career must come to grips with the unfortunate truth that her inability to control her addictions may have lead to her death.
RIP Amy Winehouse. London is in mourning for your life. It seems that like the American writer Sylvia Plath, who also died in London, the world was too much for you.
Source is http://celebs.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979710720
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Gaga: I didn't copy Midler stunt
Lady Gaga is adamant she did not copy Bette Midler's mermaid in a wheelchair performance, as she had "no idea" the veteran entertainer pulled a similar stunt 30 years before her.
The Poker Face hitmaker performed at a show in Australia last week wearing a mermaid tail and sitting in a wheelchair - a move which infuriated Midler, who took to Twitter.com to remind fans she came up with the gimmick way back in 1980.
Gaga has now spoken out to deny she had any idea Midler had beaten her in the originality stakes, telling Access Hollywood's Billy Bush, "I had no idea that she did that and I'm a huge Bette Midler fan.
"(It was) not (a Midler tribute) in the beginning... because I didn't know that she'd done (it), but I do now and I think it's great. Obviously I feel connected to women in theatre and women from the past.
"Maybe we're just cut from the same cloth. I couldn't hop around in that tail so I just stuck myself in a wheelchair. All I'll say is that I... admire her and find her to be one of the most brilliant and incredible performers, so that's all I'll say."
Source is http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/19/gaga-i-didnt-copy-midler-stunt
Monday, July 18, 2011
Bette Midler - Bette Midler Takes Aim At 'Copycat' Lady Gaga
Bette Midler has accused Lady Gaga of stealing her ideas, insisting the pop superstar's controversial wheelchair stunt in Australia was copied from her own stage show.
The Poker Face hitmaker sparked outrage among disability rights groups by taking to the stage at a show in Sydney last week (13Jul11) dressed in a mermaid's tail and sitting in a wheelchair.
Midler has now spoken out to insist she invented the routine in the 1980s and has used it at many of her own concerts.
In a series of posts on Twitter.com, she writes, "I'm not sure Lady Gaga knows that I've performed my mermaid in a wheelchair for millions of people - and many of them are still alive... Dear Lady Gaga if you think a mermaid in a wheelchair seems familiar - it's because it is! You can see it on youtube 24/7 - with ME performing it... Dear Lady Gaga I've been doing singing mermaid in a wheelchair since 1980 - You can keep the meat dress and the firecracker t**s - mermaid's mine."
The singer/actress also vowed to talk it over with Gaga when they both attend the upcoming Emmy Awards later this year (11), adding, "Let's drink this over at the Emmys in September. Fabulous mermaids can co-exist!"
Source is http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/bette-midler-takes-aim-at-copycat-lady-gaga_1233010
The Poker Face hitmaker sparked outrage among disability rights groups by taking to the stage at a show in Sydney last week (13Jul11) dressed in a mermaid's tail and sitting in a wheelchair.
Midler has now spoken out to insist she invented the routine in the 1980s and has used it at many of her own concerts.
In a series of posts on Twitter.com, she writes, "I'm not sure Lady Gaga knows that I've performed my mermaid in a wheelchair for millions of people - and many of them are still alive... Dear Lady Gaga if you think a mermaid in a wheelchair seems familiar - it's because it is! You can see it on youtube 24/7 - with ME performing it... Dear Lady Gaga I've been doing singing mermaid in a wheelchair since 1980 - You can keep the meat dress and the firecracker t**s - mermaid's mine."
The singer/actress also vowed to talk it over with Gaga when they both attend the upcoming Emmy Awards later this year (11), adding, "Let's drink this over at the Emmys in September. Fabulous mermaids can co-exist!"
Source is http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/bette-midler-takes-aim-at-copycat-lady-gaga_1233010
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Lady Gaga, Sydney 2011 - Live review, photos
BY JASONTREUEN ON JUL 15 2011, 01:00AM
Lady Gaga
Sydney Town Hall, Sydney
Wednesday 13th July 2011
For all the frenzied pre-promotion and hyperactive headlines post-show, all in all Lady Gaga’s Sydney gig was hardly as shocking as the subsequent media blitz would have you believe.
Sure, she rolled out in a wheelchair mid-set “courting controversy” as newspapers have trumpeted, but Kurt Cobain did that in a hospital gown in ‘92 after serious time in rehab (now that’s controversial). Yes, her dancers wore bondage gear but that’s pretty standard pop fare – just ask Rihanna and Christina Aguilera. And yes, she talked about her “pussy” after playing 'Hair' but she’s done it before and even dubbed her lady part her ‘portal for creativity’ in an interview.
Indeed, the most controversial—and overlooked—aspect of tonight’s performance was how much of it Lady Gaga was singing live. While it’s impossible to fully gauge, as the singer moved closer to the front it became obvious sometimes she was singing the chorus, sometimes the backing vocals and at other times, nothing at all—but still the backing track roared along. Sure, singing ‘semi-live’ is standard practice for popstars busting out complex dance routines. But the realisation did sever the connection somewhat between "Monster Mother" and her children, especially when she’s proven she can sing unaided in the past.
Of course, Gaga’s other big problem is that she’s made a career of being “shocking” and it subsequently becomes all relative. And worse yet, normal. So when she appears atop a 10-metre tower rig tonight wearing a Versace-designed bejewelled leotard and teal wig, legs spread, it’s a cracking start. But as a spectator it’s hard not to think ‘What, no coffin or giant egg?!’ Later, when she emerges in another revealing costume (one of four during the show) of black sequins and silver shoulder-spikes for ‘Edge of Glory’, you’re already comparing it to the meat dresses and blood spurting of the past.
Even the wheelchair is old news; a dancer used one while Gaga performed with a crutch at the MTV Awards in 2009. This time, she updated the stunt dressed as a widow with a mermaid’s tail in a nod to her new alter-ego Yuyi the Mermaid apparently. It’s bizarre sure, but hardly profound -- unless she was protesting the crippling impact of commercial over-fishing. Personally, given her comments on gay marriage on ACA, I hoped she’d do something truly groundbreaking and headline-worthy like marry a same-sex couple on-stage. But no, maybe next time.
And yet, with all that said, Gaga turned on a truly epic modern-day pop spectacle lapped up by her little Monsters. The custom-built stage, complete with scaffolding towers at the back and spiky bridge at the front, was dwarfed only by the majestic interior of Sydney’s Town Hall, rebranded Monster Hall for tonight.
After kicking off the show with her Madonna-esque anthem for independence ‘Born This Way’, the 25-year-old performer, social media magnate and now honourary Australian citizen told the crowd, “You were one of the first places to believe in me. I broke here before anywhere else so let's celebrate”, before launching into her debut single ‘Just Dance’.
Backed by a fearsome live band and a tight troupe of dancers, Gaga roared through a greatest hits set, interrupted only by lengthy costume breaks. As the crowds waited, her guitarists failed to distract us with cheesy ‘80s guitar solos. When she was on the stage, Gaga was everywhere, strutting her stuff flanked by her doting dancers, climbing up towers, climbing down towers, playing keys on a riser, posing triumphantly atop her bridge and for the gothic closer 'Judas', dropping into the pit below.
The only thing that upstaged her tonight was her fans. From the skinny guy dressed only in ‘police caution’ tape to the girl dressed in plastic marked ‘clinical waste’ to the dude dressed in toy frogs; their genuine creativity and devotion was unquestionable. Not to mention the 14-year-old girl in fishnets and a g-string -- now that was truly shocking.
(Pics: Jakob Dezwart for Take40, Vodafone All-Time Prepaid, Today Network, GO! and Channel V.)
Source is http://www.thevine.com.au/music/live-reviews/lady-gaga,-sydney-2011-_-live-review,-photos20110715.aspx?s_rid=vine:internalstrip:5:17-Jul-2011:LadyGaga,Sydney2011-Live...?s_rid=vine:internalstrip:5:17-Jul-2011:LadyGaga,Sydney2011-Live...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Lady Gaga egged over wheelchair stunt
Singer angered disability advocacy group for Sydney performance
Rolling Stone
updated 50 minutes ago
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A group of angry fans threw eggs at Lady Gaga in response to her recent appearance on stage in Sydney, Australia rolling around in a wheelchair. Though the throwers missed Gaga herself, a few eggs hit members of her entourage.
Photos: Lady Gaga's Best Looks
The wheelchair incident occurred at Gaga's concert at the Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday. The singer came out to perform the rock ballad "Yoü and I" while dressed up as her new mermaid alter ego Yuyi. Since her legs were bound in the costume, she was able to move on stage with a wheelchair. The pop queen has previously used wheelchair imagery in her music video for "Paparazzi" and her performance of that song on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Ultimate Ranking of Lady Gaga's Catalog
The egg-tossing fans in Sydney weren't the only ones angered by Gaga's wheelchair-bound performance. Jesse Billauer, the founder of the quadriplegic advocacy group Life Rolls On told Radar "I invite [Gaga] to learn more about the 5.6 million Americans who live with paralysis. They, like me, unfortunately, don't use a wheelchair for shock value."
Source is http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43768951/ns/today-entertainment/
Rolling Stone
updated 50 minutes ago
Share Print Font:
A group of angry fans threw eggs at Lady Gaga in response to her recent appearance on stage in Sydney, Australia rolling around in a wheelchair. Though the throwers missed Gaga herself, a few eggs hit members of her entourage.
Photos: Lady Gaga's Best Looks
The wheelchair incident occurred at Gaga's concert at the Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday. The singer came out to perform the rock ballad "Yoü and I" while dressed up as her new mermaid alter ego Yuyi. Since her legs were bound in the costume, she was able to move on stage with a wheelchair. The pop queen has previously used wheelchair imagery in her music video for "Paparazzi" and her performance of that song on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Ultimate Ranking of Lady Gaga's Catalog
The egg-tossing fans in Sydney weren't the only ones angered by Gaga's wheelchair-bound performance. Jesse Billauer, the founder of the quadriplegic advocacy group Life Rolls On told Radar "I invite [Gaga] to learn more about the 5.6 million Americans who live with paralysis. They, like me, unfortunately, don't use a wheelchair for shock value."
Source is http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43768951/ns/today-entertainment/
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