Remember the dance-pop act The Vengaboys? Well, they are back and filming a new video for a new song! Apparently the song will be a cover of a Dead or Alive song and will even feature a cameo by Dead or Alive’s lead singer turned tranny, Pete Burns.

Check out the trannicious pic of Pete giving his best Cher impresonation on the set of the video… Kinda creepy!

Sia is gearing up to release a new album called We Are Born and has revealed to Pop Justice that the album will include a cover of Madonna’s “Oh Father“. There are very few artists that I could see covering this song and doing it justice, but Sia could actually pull it off!

Lady Gaga recently announced new tour dates that she added to the European leg of her Monster Ball Tour but fans who are planning on seeing her second go-round can also look forward to forking out twice as much money to see the “Bad Romance” singer. Ticket prices for the show have literally doubled which has some fans “dancing in the dark” over the price hike. Some disgruntled fans have even taken to Gaga’s official forum to voice their outrage;

“I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THE PRICES HAVE GONE UP FROM £35 TO £75! I LIVE IN THE UK AND I THINK IT’S ABSOLOUTLEY DISGUSTING – WE MADE BOTH ALBUMS NO.1 – WE GOT HER 3 UK NO.1S, 2 BRIT AWARDS! AND THIS IS HOW SHE REPAYS US! DISGUSTING – I WAS GONNA LOOK OUT FOR THIS BUT FUCK IT NOW!”

However, Lady Gaga’s tour promoter is defending the new steep ticket prices and says that Gaga extended the tour due to an “overwhelming response”.

“Ticket prices for the previous dates were set long before the current Monster Ball show was developed. Ticket prices are comparable and fair.”

Whatever happened to the Lady Gaga that use to preach about “honoring” her fans in “this economy” by offering affordable prices?! Oh well, they all sell out at some point…

First the bad news… Earlier this week, Britney Spears’ record label shot down rumors that Brit will be releasing an album by June. Today however, fans where treated to a nice little surprise when Britney Spears herself took to her official website to confirm that she is in fact in the studio working on a new album!!! Here is what Brit posted;

“Y’all have been bombarding me with questions about Britney’s mysterious seventh studio album… but I don’t really blame you. I CAN’T WAIT EITHER! Rest assured that an album IS in the process of being recorded, and it’s going to be sick. But a release date has not been confirmed or officially announced. As I always say, if it’s not on Britney.com or BritneySpears.com, take it with a grain of salt. I’ll give you new music details as soon as I can. For now… I’m dying to hear your thoughts. What would you like to see/hear on B’s next album? xx♥”

One of my personal favorite dance music producers, Wayne G, is featured on a new album series entitled, Remixxer. This new dance series released from Centaur will feature a set of original productions and remixes by a different international DJ/producer with each release. Wayne G has the prestigious honor of being the very first featured artist on this new series. I must say that I couldn’t have picked a better opening act… His very distinct hi-energy sound definitely lights up the dancefloor and has been a staple in my sets since I first started DJing! Check out the stellar tracklisting for his new release;

1. Wayne G vs Darren Hayes – Love Hangover (Original Mix)
2. Wayne G Featuring Shauna Jensen – RESPECT (Original Mix)
3. Jason Dottley & Debby Holiday – Party Round The World (Wayne G & Andy Allder XXL London Mix)
4. Pagano & Wayne G Featuring Peyton – Trapped (Wayne G Betty & Ford Mix)
5. Wayne G – Jus Cum (Wayne G & Andy Allder Original Mix)
6. Wayne G Featuring Michael Wheatley – When Doves Cry (Wayne G & Andy Allder Afterhours Mix)
7. Levi Kreis – Gonna Be Alright (Wayne G & Andy Allder Atlantis Anthem Mix)
8. Erasure – A Little Respect (Wayne G & Andy Allder After
Hours Dub)
9. Simone Denny & Barry Harris – Drama Queen (Texting U) (Wayne G & Andy Allder Atlantis Anthem Mix)
10. Therese – Time (Wayne G & Andy Allder XXL Club Mix)
11. Wayne G Featuring Jonathan Hellyer – I Promised Myself (Wayne G Classic Mix)
12. Richard Thomas Featuring Alison Jier – I Just Wanna Dance (Wayne G Lady Botox Anthem)

You can purchase this album from OUT CLUB, Amazon or Itunes.

To give you a little taste of Wayne’s production style… Check out his recent remix of Erasure’s “Chains of Love” that has been in very high rotation in my set lately…

Erasure – Chains of Love (Wayne G & Porl Young Remix):

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A Texas federal appellate court has ruled the 22-year-old must pay a total of $27,750 for 37 copyrighted songs she downloaded through Kazaa when she was a teenager. Whitney Harper of San Antonio says she downloaded from online file-sharing networks because they advertised that they are “100% free” & “legal” which she had “no reason to doubt”.

The ruling came from a panel of three-judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who overturned a lower ruling that originally awarded five record companies $200 for each of the songs. After Harper tried to appeal and lost, the appellate court upped the fine to $750 per song. Harper’s lawyer says that the grand total with interest could exceed $40,000 and will likely force her to file for bankruptcy.

Up and comer, Ke$ha, is known for not holding back what’s on her mind… Sometimes even when it’s at the expense of someone else. Most recently, the outspoken singer has put Britney Spears on blast for her tendency to lip sync in concerts;

“I don’t think that’s fair at all for people who are going to see the show. I think if you are going to be a singer, you should sing. If you are going to be a dancer, you should dance. If you are going to do a combination of the two, you should make it very clear when you are singing and very clear when you are dancing. I would never do that to my fans. No offense to her specifically but people have asked me before to mime. I have been up at three in the morning for a television show with jet lag but I refuse to mime. It’s treating people as if they are too stupid to realize you are not actually singing. Sometimes it is hard to sing and dance at the same time but I would rather be off and be real and genuine about it to my fans. I don’t want to treat my fans like they are stupid.“

While I agree with some of Ke$ha’s reasoning… I think she’s too new of an artist to start the $hit talking. She needs to better establish her place in the music industry before she starts taking shots at other (very successful) acts. These kinds of remarks may backfire on her if she’s not careful.

Looks like Rihanna is about to come roaring back with a new album that she told MTV news will be more upbeat and lighthearted than her previous effort, Rated R. Producer Sean Garrett has contributed a song to the new project and believes that he just gave Rihanna her next radio smash!

“The record I gave her was very, very positive, very big. It’s a fucking smash! I gave her a humongous radio record. It’s just so infectious. It’s about getting past any drama and just being happy to be alive. It’s an encouraging record. It feels great and it’s got great tempo.”

Garrett also revealed that he was not a big fan of the “dark” tone of her previous effort;

“Whenever I think of Rihanna, it makes me happy. To be honest, I wasn’t really that excited about hearing her in a dark zone. I love Rihanna for being that girl… She’s like the lil’ fantasy chick—nice brown skin, beautiful woman with a Caribbean swagger that’s ridiculous.”

I think we’re all glad Rihanna’s ready to move on from her “dark” phase. Garrett believes that if Rihanna releases his contribution as a single, she will be guaranteed a sure fire hit;

“I made sure that it was bulletproof. It should be a single unless something crazy happens. It’s hot as f**k. I think it’s a record that’s gonna stay on the radio for a long time.”

The VH1 Classic show called The Music Video Exposed recently did a segment on Madonna’s “Burning Up” video where they spoke to clip’s director, Steve Barron. Steven revealed that an accident during the shoot almost took the then up-and-coming Madonna’s life. The incident happened while shooting the overhead scene of M laying in a boat in the middle of a lake. To get this shot, they were filming from above her using a “massive” crane. Apparently when they extended the crane’s arm to line up the shot perfectly, the wheels of the massive vehicle lifted off the ground and the whole thing started to tip over. Steven claims that if they had extended the crane’s arm even an inch or two further, it would have fallen on Madonna and “she definitely would have died”!!!

Swedish pop star, Robyn, is setting her sights high for 2010 and plans on releasing 3 new albums this year! She spoke to Bon Magazine about her lofty plans to release the first of the 3 albums by spring and has also confirmed collaborations with Röyksopp, Diplo as well as a rap duel with Snoop Dog! (That sounds really hot actually!) Some of the song titles on the dance-oriented release have been confirmed as “None of Dem,” “Fem Bot,” “Dance Hall Queen”  & “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do“. Love her… Can’t wait!!!