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It's hard to believe, but as of September 30th this year living legend Britney Spears will have been driving us crazy, loving rock and roll and seeking Amy for exactly twenty years - and what a wild ride it's been. Apart from all the personal crises (think that Justin Timberlake break-up, the whole K-Fed saga and the infamous umbrella incident), Britney has also consistently wowed us with hit single after hit single, from 'Me Against the Music' to 'Make Me'. But amidst all the brilliant releases (Britney's last single 'Slumber Party' was her forty-first), there was a multitude of songs that didn't quite make the cut. Some of them (like Gaga's 'Telephone') were recorded by Britney before being scrapped at the last minute; while others (like Rihanna's 'Umbrella') were offered to Britney but rejected for recording for one reason or another. While some of these songs would have contributed absolutely nothing to Britney's legacy and are no loss whatsoever, its interesting to see just how many more hits she could have had if she'd played her cards right, especially in the last decade. In this list we'll be looking at twenty-five such songs which Britney decided to pass on. Keep in mind that in this list we're including only tracks that were officially released by an artist in some capacity jthat we're able to listen to, although other confirmed demos for Britney that are still stashed away in the vault (such as ones written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Sky Ferreira, Dev Hynes and Danja) would undoubtedly be equally amazing. 25. Lady Gaga - Telephone (Feat. Beyoncé) The story of Britney passing on 'Telephone' is at this point legendary, but just in case you've forgotten about the whole saga we'll give a brief recap here. 'Telephone' was originally written by a pre-fame Gaga alongside a song called 'Quicksand' to be considered for inclusion on Britney's sixth studio album and official comeback, Circus. But while 'Quicksand' was included as a bonus track on the album, 'Telephone' was scrapped due to the presence of another similiarly themed song, the Bloodshy & Avant produced 'Phonography'. Later, the song was reworked as a duet between the two artists; but conflict arose when Gaga wanted the track to be on the tracklist of her re-release The Fame Monster while Britney's team wanted the song on her greatest hits The Singles Collection. Ultimately, Gaga took the song back and replaced Britney's part on the duet with a new verse by Beyoncé, and the Britney version was never released either as a solo song or as a duet. Thankfully, her version went on to leak in 2010 and we got a fan-made version of the duet soon after. 24. The Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 'When I Grow Up' was the song of the summer back in 2008, and was a huge hit for the newly reformed Pussycat Dolls minus Carmit Bachar. The song was written by Darkchild (who also worked on 'Telephone') and Rock City, but we had no idea it was meant for Britney until a demo sent to her leaked in 2011. When it was originally written for Brit, the lyrics were tailor made to her situation, opening with, "My name is Britney and I don’t care what you say," before continuing "I swear at first that I was flippin'/When they said I looked like Debbie Gibson/And then I tried to dance like Michael Jackson/But people saw me and started laughing." It's unknown why Brit passed on the song that would go on to be a huge hit, but it's interesting to note that she was originally confirmed to have a short cameo appearance in the music video. Originally, Britney was meant to have a blink and you'll miss it appearance in the traffic jam at the beginning of the video, waving at the Dolls before driving away. Like her version of the song, however, the cameo was scrapped for unknown reasons. 23. Charli XCX - Secret (Shh) 'Secret' is one of Charli XCX's more experimental songs, which is why it may be surprising to hear that it was originally intended for the princess of pop herself. The song's co-writer, Jesse Saint John spilled the tea when discussing another song he wrote for Britney's latest album 'Love Me Down'. "I did [a] song for Charli XCX called 'Secret'' that Karen [Kwak, Britney's A&R] really liked, and for a second she thought it could be for Britney Spears." Sadly, Britney never got around to recording the demo and Charli ended up releasing it on her own EP Vroom Vroom, but it was the strength of 'Secret' that allowed Saint John to pitch 'Love Me Down' in the first place. 'Secret' is actually the second Charli song to be considered by Britney, after she wrote a song specifically for the popstar back in 2013; but we're unsure exactly what that song was, or if it has since been released by anyone other than Brit. 22. Girls Aloud - Graffiti My Soul If you don't live in the UK, you may not have heard of Girls Aloud. Manufactured on an English television show called Popstars: The Rivals, the group soon became a mainstay of the UK charts for over a decade until their break up in 2013. While its release as the fifth single from their album What Will The Neighbours Say? was scrapped, the song 'Graffiti My Soul' nevertheless became one of their most well known tracks, with group member Cheryl Cole later stating in 2008 that if she'd had the chance to release she song as a single she would have. Interestingly though, the song was originally written for Britney, who recorded her own version of it for inclusion on In The Zone. "The record company loved it, but Britney's people said 'Where's the chorus? Why are there no repetitive parts?'," said Bryan Higgins, who produced the song as part of Xenomania. While we've never heard even a snippet of Britney's version of the song, we may not be missing out on that much. Whether it's jealousy or honesty, Cole stated that Britney's version was "strange" and that she sang it "in that really strange voice and it freaked me out"; although she later admitted that the source of her nervousness may have come from the fact that the version she heard was unmixed. 21. Enrique Iglesias - Maybe 'Maybe' is a song written by Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, Kara DioGuardi and David Siegel which was first released on his Escape album in 2001. The track was later reworked as an uptempo number for the album's reissue and released as the project's fifth single in May of 2002. What's bizarre is that a month prior to the song's single release, Britney started introducing the track under the title 'My Love Was Always There' and performing it live at her Dream Within A Dream Tour shows, even going so far as to say that she wrote the song. 'Maybe' was far from a flop, hitting #12 in the US and #3 in the UK, so it's unknown exactly why Britney thought she could get away with claiming the track as her own. 20. Jennifer Lopez - Brave 'Brave' is the title track of Jennifer Lopez's sixth album, produced by frequent Britney collaborators Bloodshy & Avant and The Clutch. Originally, the song was actually written for Britney's album Blackout, but it was rejected from the final tracklisting before release. That said, I can't say that I'm too disappointed about not hearing Britney's version - while the tracks lyrics stating "I'm not afraid/Because I am brave" definitely fit into Britney's narrative, the song is pretty typically generic R&B and doesn't really offer anything new to the pop music genre like the rest of Blackout did. 19. Momoiro Clover Z - Rock The Boat Momoiro Clover Z released 'Rock The Boat' on the album Hakkin no Yoake in 2016; but as any true Britney stan will know, the track has been in the works for much longer than that. Britney fans first heard the song in late 2011 as part of the semi-annual Britmas leaks tradition, when it was heard under it's working title 'Dangerous'. Recorded for the Circus album, 'Dangerous' has the same songwriters as bonus track 'Rock Me In' of Greg Kurstin and Coco Morier, and apart from the translated lyrics not much changed at all between it's recording and it's reinterpretation as 'Rock The Boat'. 18. LIZ - When I Rule The World LIZ has been open about her love for Britney, from her confession that Brit taught her "how to be a popstar" to her obsession over every stan's favourite unreleased track, 'Mona Lisa'. But she got closer to Britney than she ever could have expected with her PC Music-inspired single 'When I Rule The World'. "I heard she wanted 'When I Rule'," she told The Guardian, apparently astounded that Britney even knew who she was. LIZ was ultimately so attached to the song that she had to fight for it to be her own release; and although the track definitely would have fit in with the 'Pretty Girls' vibe and aesthetic, we can't say we're sad that she won. 17. Kelis - Milkshake Britney fell into step with The Neptunes crew as early as 2001, when they produced Britney stand-outs 'I'm A Slave 4 U' and 'Boys'. Choosing them to produce songs for her next record In The Zone then seemed like a natural choice, and so the group wrote several songs for the project back in 2003 - one of them being a track called 'Milkshake'. Ultimately, the track never made the album and it was sent later that year to an up-and-coming singer named Kelis, who turned it into her biggest hit to date and an endlessly quotable banger. Although there's no proof that Britney ever recorded a demo of this track, a Brit version of 'Milkshake' would definitely be something to behold, and would work brilliantly on an album next to 'Me Against the Music' and 'Early Mornin''. We can practically hear Britney's breathy vocals all over that iconic chorus already. 16. Leah McFall - Home (Feat. will.i.am) Leah McFall was a runner-up on the second series of The Voice UK, where she was mentored by the infamous will.i.am - a man who was at the same time taking Britney under his wing on the other side of the pond. That's why it makes total sense for any record will worked on around that time to have been shopped around to both Brit and Leah, as happened with 'Home'. The track is typical will.i.am, complete with nonsensical lyrics, an overused sample and a tacky lyric video, so we can't say we're sad that Britney never jumped on this one; although with that said it would definitely be an improvement over 'It Should Be Easy'. 13. Jordin Sparks - Shy Boy/14. Jordin Sparks - Young and In Love/15. Jordin Sparks - See My Side It might be hard to imagine winner of the sixth season of American Idol Jordin Sparks and Queen of the Lip Sync Britney Spears being offered the same tracks, but believe it or not it happened back in 2007. 'Shy Boy', 'Young and In Love' & 'See My Side' are a handful of tracks which were originally worked on by production team Bloodshy & Avant for Britney's long-awaited Blackout album; but after they didn't make it onto that album, they were passed on to label-mate Jordin Sparks for her self-titled debut. 'Shy Boy' and 'Young and In Love' aren't much of a loss: they both sound like the typical messy 2007 R&B demo that sprouted up in the wake of Timbaland's success, although undoubtedly they would have been improved by some of Britney's vocal stylings. But 'See My Side', which like 'Piece Of Me' was worked on by pop's fairy godmother Robyn, would have worked nicely alongside 'Why Should I Be Sad?' as a lullaby end to the Blackout album. 12. Jamie Lynn Spears - Follow Me Remember Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's little sister who made a name for herself on Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 before being fired for her unexpected teenage pregnancy? Well, she also sang the theme song for that show, titled 'Follow Me', which just so happened to be written by her big sister Brit and frequent collaborators Bloodshy & Avant. Weirdly the song was never officially released in full on any soundtrack album, although we did get an official instrumental as well as dozens of snippets of the song played throughout the show which has allowed fans to compile their own versions of the song. A demo also leaked in 2014, but it wasn't sung by either Britney or Jamie Lynn which makes Britney's writing credits and the original intent for the song a total mystery. 11. Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex A reunion of 'Toxic' producers Bloodshy & Avant and songwriter Cathy Dennis, 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' was actually a pretty big hit for English popstar Rachel Stevens back in 2003, hitting #2 in the UK charts and selling 210 000 copies that year. Originally, like 'Everytime', the track was intended to be a response to Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me A River', which was long rumoured to be about Britney; but when Stevens sang it, it was to break out from her role as a singer in S Club 7. Britney apparently passed on the track because she found the lyrics just a little too obvious, which is a real shame because the western R&B sound in the song would have worked perfectly on In The Zone. 10. f(x) - Chocolate Love/Girls' Generation - Chocolate Love Another K-Pop convert, 'Chocolate Love' was first heard back in 2009 as a dual release for K-Pop supergroups f(x) and Girls' Generation. The song was used to promote the LG Cyon Chcolate phone in commercials, with f(x) jumping on the 'Electronic Pop Version' and Girls' Generation singing the 'Retro Pop Version'. Also worth noting is that f(x) alone recorded an English version of the song entitled 'Topbillin' Love', which was performed live during their international tour in 2010. What's interesting is that this version of 'Topbillin' Love' was actually a throwaway track that had been written years before by Karen Poole as a demo for Britney which got rejected. Poole tried her hand at writing to the instrumental after Cathy Dennis's attempt, called at that point 'Phony Lullaby', was also rejected due to it's inclusion of lyrics Britney apparently found objectionable. Britney even tried her hand at writing to this instrumental alongside Michelle Bell, which resulted in the unreleased track 'Take Off', a song which discussed Brit's anti-war and anti-discrimination views. Cathy Dennis would later reclaim the song and morph it's instrumental into 'Sweet Dreams My LA EX', the Rachel Stevens hit mentioned above; but that didn't stop the K-Pop groups from reusing it's demo years later. 9. BoA - Look Who's Talkin' 'Look Who's Talkin'' is a song originally written by Britney alongside Bloodshy & Avant, Henrik Jonback and Michelle Bell in 2003 during the same sessions that produced songs like 'Chaotic' and 'I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)'. Later, it resurfaced on Korean superstar BoA's debut English album, also titled BoA, as the second single from the R&B-pop project. The Britney demo leaked just a little later on as 'Look Who's Talking Now', and features almost exactly the same lyrics and production; although the words are a little more meaningful coming from a popstar who spent a lot of her early life silenced by her record label or management. Britney's version of the song was probably never strong enough to be a single, but it could have worked well as an an additional track for the Chaotic EP. 8. Pitbull & J Balvin - Hey Ma (Feat. Camila Cabello) 'Hey Ma' was released last year for the The Fate of The Furious soundtrack album as a collaboration between Pitbull, J Balvin and Camila Cabello; but if things had gone differently, the song could have had a twist from the Holy Spearit. When it was originally recorded, 'Hey Ma' featured Romeo Santos and Britney in the Balvin and Cabello parts, with Britney cooing "If you touch me right, I might stay the night" over a Latin-inspired beat. But when the song was pitched for The Fate of The Furious, the producers requested that they be replaced, presumably to appeal to a younger audience and capitalise on the Latin American vibe of the film. While we'd generally cringe at the idea of Pitbull releasing a song with with Britney (or Pitbull releasing any song full stop), we have to admit that 'Hey Ma' featuring Britney is an absolute bop, thanks to the fact that her version was leaked as a Christmas present to the fans. We can only imagine how great this song would have sounded in a mash-up with 'Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortés)' on the Piece of Me shows. 7. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Pulse 'Pulse' was published on the ASCAP registry back during the In The Zone era as a potential candidate for Britney's album, but it didn't end up making the cut there. Instead, it was released in 2010 on the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album History of Modern. While we're unsure if anything was changed over that seven year period, we can definitely imagine Britney's vocals on the current version of the track, which has the same breakbeat R&B kind of style she explored on ITZ tracks such as '(I Got That) Boom Boom' and 'Me Against the Music'. 5. Kylie Minogue - Nu-Di-Ty/6. Kylie Minogue - Speakerphone Britney and Kylie have a long history of working with the same producers and thus swapping tracks, with Kylie even turning down the demo that would go on to be a hit for Britney with 'Toxic'. "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her," she said of the track. "It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." Let's hope the feeling is mutual, because Kylie took two tracks that Britney worked on for Blackout for her own album X, both of which were produced by longtime collaborators Bloodshy & Avant. 'Nu-Di-Ty' is a quirky, fragmented pop song with a hint of R&B and tropicana which plays out like a more light-hearted version of Britney's own 'Freakshow'. While we don't have a Britney version of the track, she definitely did record one as some of her background vocals can be heard in the final version, and are even clearer when filtered out from the other vocals. Then there's 'Speakerphone', a precursor to 'Telephone' with a dreamy Euro-pop production which was definitely an album highlight. We've never heard anything of the Britney version of this one but it's safe to say she would slay it. 4. Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way 'Get Outta My Way' is not just one of Kylie Minogue's best songs: it's one of the best pop songs of this decade full-stop. The perfect slice of dance-pop for the summer season, 'Get Outta My Way' was originally shopped around to several artists including Britney, Alexandra Burke and Pixie Lott, and Wynter Gordon also wrote a song to the Cutfather-produced instrumental. But ultimately it was Kylie who nabbed the song, apparently due to the fact that the other potential candidates were too slow to respond. This is one of the few times where we're happy the song went to it's original artist: Britney's version of the track would probably have worked well on Femme Fatale, but Kylie needed the hit desperately and she put way more energy into the choreography than Brit could have at that point. 3. Nelly - Tilt Ya Head Back (Feat. Christina Aguilera) The rivalry between Britney and Christina is basically a tale as old as time at this point, so it's no surprise that they'd both be put up for the same part on Nelly's 'Tilt Ya Head Back', which was a moderate hit when it was released back in 2004. Britney actually recorded vocals for this song, some of which were leaked in 2016; but according to producer Dorian Moore, her label nixed the idea of Britney collaborating with Nelly, finding the song "too urban". Janet Jackson was also considered before XTina took the final spot. It's not entirely surprising given that in 2004 Brit was still fighting for creative control with her record label, leading to the Original Doll saga that would begin her downwards spiral in 2007. 2. Selena Gomez - Whiplash 'Whiplash' is definitely not one of Selena's better known songs, and at the end of the day it is just album filler; but for a non-single track, it's surprisingly fun. Alternating between a silly metaphor-ridden chorus and a bouncy rap part spoken with an English accent, 'Whiplash' was highlighted as a standout track from When The Sun Goes Down and was performed on tour alongside a medley of Britney's own hits. But if things had gone differently, the song may actually have ended up on Brit's comeback vehicle Circus. Britney wrote and recorded the song alongside Coco Morier and Greg Kurstin at the same time as she worked on 'Mmm Papi' and 'Rock Me In', but it failed to make the cut for unknown reasons. So far we haven't heard the demo of the song, which is a shame because I'm dying to know if the English accent was a Selena addition or if it was present in the original version as well. Judging by Englishney's raps in 'Scream & Shout', I wouldn't be surprised if that was something Brit came up with all on her own. 1. Rihanna - Umbrella What more needs to be said about 'Umbrella', the monster hit which launched Rihanna's career properly and transitioned her from Bajan Princess to Bad Girl? Tricky Stewart, who had previously worked on 'Me Against The Music', wrote the track alongside The-Dream intending for it to be a comeback single for the troubled Spears; but when they sent the track to her label, it was rejected without Britney even hearing the track. After Mary J. Blige passed on it too, the song ended up in Rihanna's lap, at which time she utilised her accent to create that signature "ella ella eh eh eh" chorus which made the song such a hit. It's a credit to Rih that her stamp on the song is so huge that we can't even imagine Britney singing this one. Which of these songs would you most like to hear Britney's vocals on? Let us know in the comments down below! Editor's Note: This is an updated version of an article that was originally posted on 04/01/2018.

Watch the video version of this article here! Lady Gaga is well known for making promises to her fans which she doesn't always come through on. Between a handful of unreleased music videos and an entire scrapped album, Little Monsters have gotten used to taking every announcement with a grain of salt and waiting for concrete releases before jumping on the hype bandwagon. But out of all of her broken promises, most likely the hardest for Gaga's fans to digest are the failed collaborations which she's teased before their ultimate cancellation. There are endless reasons for such cancellations, but it's safe to say that many stem from Gaga's own pickiness when it comes to her musical output. Although Gaga has worked with legends like Cher, Elton John and Britney Spears, none of these collaborations were ultimately released due to Gaga's displeasure with the material; while songs featuring rent-a-rappers such as Flo Rida and Too $hort and alleged child molester R. Kelly have been pushed by Gaga as potential hits. In other cases, behind the scenes dramas seem to have been the major contributing factor to cancellations, while yet others appear to simply be a case of bad timing. In this list, we'll be looking at eighteen of Gaga's most high-profile features which have remained unheard. Is anyone else as excited as I am to hear #9? 1. T.I. - Lick It (Feat. Lady Gaga) T.I. and Gaga worked together on the infamous 'Jewels and Drugs' for Gaga's ill-fated ARTPOP album, but if T.I. had had his way they would have done so a lot sooner. Back in 2010, T.I. teased that he and Gaga had worked together on a song called 'Lick It', intended at that point for his album No Mercy. "The one we have right now is entitled 'Lick It'," he stated, teasing, "I think we both have a tendency to shock the world in a lot of different ways." He further hinted that the two may continue to work together, saying "[We're] gonna go back in [the studio] and record some more songs." Ultimately, any collaboration they worked on for the album remained unreleased. According to former RadioARTPOP host Derek, who had ties to Gaga's team, Gaga found the song too "raunchy" and had never truly intended to release it with her vocals, even sending it to other singers to feature on. 2. T.I. - New National Anthem (Feat. Lady Gaga) Following the release of 'Jewels and Drugs', T.I. later mentioned that he was in the "final stages" of having Gaga record the chorus vocals for 'New National Anthem', a song later released as a single off Paperwork. Originally featuring demo vocals from Victoria Monet, the song would later go on to feature frequent collaborator Skylar Grey, with T.I. stating that Gaga was too "busy with her current project" to record vocals for the song. 3. Britney Spears - Telephone (Feat. Lady Gaga) You may remember that 'Telephone' was one of many hits offered to Britney that she eventually turned down for the Circus album, apparently because of the presence of another phone-themed song 'Phonography' on the project. But what you may not realise is that 'Telephone' was eventually reworked in duet form for Gaga and Britney, before debate over who owned the song halted it's release. At the time, Britney's team wanted the track for her upcoming greatest hits compilation The Singles Collection, while Gaga wanted it for The Fame Monster. After failing to come to a compromise over who the song belonged to, Gaga ended up taking it back and adding Beyoncé as a featured artist instead, leading to the hit we all know and love today. 4. Lady Gaga - TBA (Feat. Britney Spears) It was later hinted that Gaga and Britney may have had something in the works following the release of ARTPOP. When asked who she would like to work with next, Britney stated, "I would do a duet with Lady Gaga. I think that would be a lot of fun," continuing, "I think she's very different and interesting and intricate." Gaga then took to Twitter to publicly support the duet, stating: Although it was never officially confirmed that they worked on anything together, Gaga did attend Britney's Piece of Me show soon after, which may have been a way for them to further discuss the duet. Sadly, nothing ever eventuated. 5. Elton John & Lady Gaga - Hello Hello 'Hello Hello' was the first of many Elton and Gaga duets, and was recorded for the release of the 2011 Elton-funded musical animation Gnomeo & Juliet. Originally, the duet was meant to be included on the official soundtrack to the film; but possibly due to label disputes, the duet version was cut from the soundtrack and can now only be heard in the full film. While Elton's solo version appears on the album, the duet did leak several months later. 6. Lady Gaga - Room In My Heart (Feat. Elton John) In an interview with Zane Lowe prior to the release of Joanne, Elton confirmed that he had a writing session with Gaga scheduled for the next day, saying "I'm writing with Lady Gaga tomorrow". He stated that while he wasn't a fan of ARTPOP, he had heard several songs from Joanne and found them to be a return to form. Several months later, a title named 'Room In My Heart' was registered to publishing sites, with the writers listed as Gaga and Elton and the performer as Gaga alone. A song with the same title, but this time written by Diane Warren, was also registered at the same time. Unfortunately, any Elton collaboration that may have existed remains unreleased, despite the fact that it doubtless would have worked well on the rockabilly-inspired album. 7. Kendrick Lamar - PARTYNAUSEOUS (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'PARTYNAUSEOUS' was originally conceived as a song by Kendrick Lamar featuring Gaga back in 2012. It was planned to be released as a single on September 6th of that year from Lamar's album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, but was cut due to creative differences on which direction the song should take. This led to two different versions of the song existing: one, a slow R&B version which leaked in 2015; and another, an EDM-styled rave track which Gaga reworked as an interlude for the ARTPOP Ball tour. The song, from Gaga's perspective, details her efforts to make peace with the country of Indonesia, which banned her from performing during The Born This Way Ball Tour in 2012. 8. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe' was another Kendrick Lamar collaboration which Gaga sang the chorus for. After their creative relationship ended, Kendrick released a solo version of the track on his album (later recruiting Jay-Z for the single release), while Gaga later leaked her contribution to the song online. "We had a date, but we had to meet the deadline for the pre-order date," Kendrick explained when asked why the song went unreleased. "That’s just the business side coming through and messing things up. But you know it’s God’s plan. I’m not really too tight about it because I know we have something special." 9. Paul McCartney - TBA (Feat. Lady Gaga) Paul McCartney has had a song with Gaga in the can since 2015, when Gaga announced via Instagram that they had been in a session alongside instrumentalists such as Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. It was later revealed that the track, described as a "rollicking tune", was in fact a soundtrack selection for McCartney's long-awaited film High in the Clouds. An adaptation of his 2005 book on capitalism, High in the Clouds has been in the works since 2009 and has only just gotten a writer, so it's unlikely to be released anytime soon; but as far as we know, this duet is still planned for release at some point in the future. 10. The Midway State - Don't Give Up (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'Don't Give Up' is a cover of a duet originally recorded by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. The idea for the collaboration came from Gaga's producer Martin Kierszenbaum, who introduced The Midway State and Gaga in 2008. "When we finished [recording], we were both super into it so shortly thereafter we recorded a video for the song [in L.A.]," said the band's Nathan Ferraro. The video itself was a homage to the original video by Gabriel and Bush, and features a still shot of Gaga and Ferraro embracing as the camera moves around them. The video, along with the song, leaked in 2008. "I didn't cry but I was disappointed," said Ferraro. "In this business you get used to that, it's just a snap of the fingers. It was just a matter of she was blowing up at the time and they can't put a huge push or millions of dollars behind every single artistic thing she does". 11. Cher - The Greatest Thing (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'The Greatest Thing' is a song originally recorded in 2007 by Gaga and longtime producer RedOne under the name 'Greatest'. "I wrote that song a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason," Gaga said in an MTV interview. "I always write these concept records, and it just didn't fit in. But it's always been, like, this big, massive, beautiful hit record and everyone always says, 'Why don't you put that on your album?' And I said, 'I don't know, it just doesn't fit with everything else.'" Later, in 2011, when RedOne and Cher were collaborating, he pitched her the song for potential inclusion on her 25th studio album Closer To The Truth. Originally, the song was meant to be a solo track; but it was later revealed that Gaga wanted to appear on a remix "for the gays", before being convinced by RedOne to appear on the original. While the song was at one point intended to be the second single from the album, Gaga ultimately decided that she didn't like her vocals on the song, and Cher ended up axing it entirely after RedOne failed to get in contact with her in time. The song would later leak in 2013. 12. Trina - Let Dem Hoes Fight (Feat. Lady Gaga & Kalenna) 'Let Dem Hoes Fight' was one of three songs Gaga worked on alongside Kalenna, Jim Jonsin and The JAM in 2008. "We started writing a song called 'Freezer Burn' and that song turned out really good, so we did another song called 'Kaboom.'," explained Jonsin. "We were playing the songs back, trying to figure out who to give them to. So I said, ‘As far as the labels are concerned, just let them hoes fight over who gets the song.’ Everyone was like, 'Jim, that’s a great song title!' And in like 20 minutes, we had that song with Lady Gaga." A year later, when Trina was working on her album Amazin, Jonsin suggested that she rework the track for herself featuring Gaga for release on the album. While Gaga was featured on the song when the album was sent out for review, she was removed from the track by the time the album was officially released, possibly due to label conflicts. However, her version did later leak. 13. Barbra Streisand - TBA (Feat. Lady Gaga) Barbra Streisand's thirty fourth album Partners, an all-male duet album, was in the works for over two years before it was ultimately released. When it was first announced in 2012, producer Walter Afanasieff teased that the album would include collaborations with Robin Thicke, Usher, Yo Yo Ma, Willie Nelson and Babyface - although ultimately, only the Babyface duet would make the cut. Two years later he teased that "Lionel Richie, [...] Blake Shelton, Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, Michael Bublè, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, Andrea Bocelli, Beyoncè, Billy Joel [and] John Mayer" would all appear on the album, but ultimately the three females made mention of were not included on the final tracklisting. It's unknown if a duet was ever recorded, but it's possible that Barbra and Gaga recorded a song together which was scrapped when she decided to go with an all-male list of partners. 14. Lady Gaga - Ratchet (Feat. Azealia Banks) 'Ratchet' was a collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks, intended for the ARTPOP project. Ultimately, after some untimely Twitter beefs on Banks's part, the song was cut from ARTPOP with Gaga stating that Banks had a "bad attitude". We have a small snippet of Gaga performing the track live, and an official instrumental was later released by producer DJ White Shadow on his Clock Is Ticking EP in 2013; but as of yet, the full version of the song has yet to be heard. 15. Lady Gaga - Red Flame (Feat. Azealia Banks) 'Red Flame' was another collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks for ARTPOP, which was cut for the same reason as 'Ratchet'. A sister song to 'Mary Jane Holland', the song explores the 'Princess High' persona Gaga was embodying at the time. A watermarked version of the song went on to leak in 2016, but it seemed to be in an unfinished state. 16. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - Paradise 'Paradise' was initially announced for Gaga's collaborative album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek, as one of several original songs on the album. Like much of Joanne after it, the song was a dedication to Gaga's aunt who passed away of lupus, and was intended to mark the conversation she had with her brother before she passed. Ultimately, the song went unreleased due to Gaga's nervousness over her jazz composition abilities, although she hinted that she may release the song in the future. It's unknown if Gaga was the sole artist to feature on the song or if Bennett was also involved. 17. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - TBA When Cheek to Cheek was first announced, it was initially only going to include songs by one songwriter. "I can't mention the composer because I don't want anybody to do it before we do it, but there's a great composer that's very underrated, very famous, but not as famous as Gershwin or Porter," Bennett stated. "But he did as many hit songs as anybody, and so we're gonna do a big swinging album." Ultimately, the album featured a collection of songs from the Great American Songbook (including cuts from Gershwin and Porter), and only a few of them were written by the same composers. Given that recording for Cheek to Cheek occured quite a while after it's announcement, it's unlikely that a full album of songs by just one songwriter was ever recorded. 18. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - TBA Immediately after the release of Cheek to Cheek, Bennett announced that he and Gaga were planning a potential sequel to the album inspired by Cole Porter's musical Red, Hot and Blue, a statement he echoed a year later when he revealed that they were releasing an album full of Porter renditions. According to Bennett, Gaga wanted to record a follow-up "right away". While giving a performance in Idaho in 2015, Bennett announced that the album would drop in 2016; and a year later, Bennett stated that the two had continued discussions regarding a second album, and that they would begin recording in 2017. In late 2017, he stated that he and Gaga had a duet that would drop on New Year's Eve, but this also did not occur. It's currently unknown if the two have recorded anything beyond their first album together. Which of Lady Gaga's unreleased collaborations do you most want to hear? Who are you most interested in hearing her collaborate with next? Let us know in the comments down below!

Watch the video version of this article here: Unkept promises are hardly a new trend in Lady Gaga's fanbase of Little Monsters. Between cancelled tours such as the co-headlining Fame Kills with Kanye West, scrapped documentaries such as the one promised for ARTPOP, failed collaborations with Britney Spears, Elton John, Cher and Kendrick Lamar, and a variety of random merchandises such as Polaroid photo printers, dog accessories and perfumes, fans have gotten quite used to taking everything Gaga says with a grain of salt and waiting for concrete release dates before they get excited. But it hasn't always been this way. Back in 2012, when Gaga's third studio album ARTPOP was first announced, she confirmed that the album would have two parts to it, with each having a staggered release. ARTPOP was released, but it's sequel, the long-awaited Act II, was nowhere to be found. And every time fans were prepared to give up on their dreams of a sequel, Gaga would string them along for another few months with the vague promise of "soon" in an obscure radio interview. So on the eve of what will surely be a career-defining Super Bowl performance, we've decided to look back at one of Gaga's biggest unkept promises, ARTPOP: Act II, and revel in the little concrete information we know about it. What was ARTPOP: Act II? When Gaga initially envisioned the concept for ARTPOP, it was always as a double album. Originally, side A was to be filled with the more commercial pop sounds she was known for, while side B was intended to feature the songs designated as "experimental". As time went on, however, this seemed less feasible as Gaga realised that separating the album into these two dichotomies was contradicting the very concept of the project which was meant to bring them together. Despite this, there was a huge amount of material that had been recorded during Gaga's fifth album sessions for the public to consume. Writing had started right after the release of Born This Way in May 2011, and by the time the Born This Way Ball tour had come to an unexpectedly early end due to a hip injury, up to fifty songs had been considered for inclusion. Even more songs were written during Gaga's six month recovery time, which meant that by the time ARTPOP was released in November 2013, over ninety tracks in various stages of development had been written for the album. Some of these were to be released on the ill-fated ARTPOP app that accompanied the projects release, but others were special enough to have their own place on a physical album. By the album release date, Gaga had teased that she had plans to release another volume of ARTPOP before its accompanying tour, saying "it could be nice to play both acts on the tour". And ARTPOP: Act II was still a possibility back in March of 2014, when Gaga discussed it in a post-show keynote at the SXSW Festival. "There's many volumes of work over a long period of time that have just not been released to the public because I've chosen to not put it into the system," she said. "Sometimes it's just fun to have records that me and my friends listen to. We love it. We don't care what everybody else thinks. Maybe one day I'll release them. And I have a whole second act of ARTPOP." In April of that year, Gaga stated "there's a strong possibility I will release another volume of ARTPOP". And then: nothing. Radio silence on the subject. Gaga has never spoken about ARTPOP: Act II publicly again. Why did ARTPOP: Act II go unreleased? While we don't know what officially dealt the final blow to ARTPOP: Act II, it's a strong possibility that a mixed reception to the albums predecessor and the perception of it as a "flop" brought an end to any plans Gaga or her label had for a follow up: especially with the low chart positions of the albums last single 'G.U.Y.', which despite a big budget music video hit only #76 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ironically, ARTPOP as an album did relatively well, hitting #1 and going on to become the ninth best-selling album of the year, despite only having two properly marketed singles. In August of 2014, Gaga confirmed that we would never receive any music through the ARTPOP app following months of waiting. Her statement that she had "moved" on from anything to do with her old management bore an ill omen for the album release, too. Gaga went on to reinvent her image with 2014's collaborative jazz album Cheek To Cheek with Tony Bennett, before becoming a country chanteuse with last years Joanne, and ARTPOP: Act II became just another project to add to the list of Gaga's unkept promises. A selection of fan-made covers for the fabled ARTPOP: Act II. What songs could have made the ARTPOP: Act II tracklist? In an interview with KISS 92.5, Gaga stated that she had recorded around ninety songs for the original album, with only fifteen of them making the final cut. This leaves around seventy-five unreleased tracks that we haven't heard, out of which we have concrete titles for thirteen - a full albums worth. The tracks that were considered for Act II include: 'Brooklyn Nights': Co-written by the team of DJ White Shadow, Nick Monson and Dino Zisis that made 'Applause' happen, 'Brooklyn Nights' is a nostalgic ode the love of Gaga's life, most likely Lüc Carl. 'Brooklyn Nights' was a contender for the original ARTPOP album until late in the game, with Gaga teasing it in September of 2013 via a Twitter post and rumours swirling that the track was competing with 'Mary Jane Holland' for a place on the album. Legal documents that leaked in 2020 show that the song was still scheduled to be on the album in early October. Later that month, when asked why the song didn't make the cut, Gaga replied, "I wanted to spend more time on it. It will come out [via] the app sometime during the album cycle". While we were eventually left high and dry with the app, which had no exclusive songs on it, the song was leaked in early 2014. 'Maren': This is a title registered onto Gaga's BMI in November of 2012. It's produced by Gaga newcomers Dreamlab (famous for their work with Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato) and John Nation, and possibly references the picturesque coastal county north of San Francisco. 'Nothin' On But The Radio': 'Nothin' On But The Radio' leaked in 2010, but there was doubt over whether it was really Gaga singing until she was spotted blasting the track out of her car in 2012. While fans were initially unsure which era the song belonged to, legal documents that leaked in 2020 show that the song was at one point in consideration for ARTPOP, further confirming the writers as Gaga, Billy Steinberg, Josh Alexander and Paul Blair. 'Onion Girl': Gaga revealed this title in an interview with KISS 92.5 in November of 2013. Produced by Zedd, this song could possibly a reference to Charles De Lint's 2001 novel The Onion Girl, which is named so for the peeling back of layers that occurs to the main character over the course of the book. 'PARTYNAUSEOUS': 'PARTYNAUSEOUS' was originally conceived as a song by Kendrick Lamar featuring Gaga back in 2012. It was planned to be released as a single from Lamar's album but was cut due to creative differences on which direction the song should take. This slow R&B version of the song leaked in 2015. Later, Gaga reworked the track as an EDM-styled interlude for the ARTPOP Ball tour. The song, from Gaga's perspective, details her efforts to make peace with the country of Indonesia, which banned her from performing during The Born This Way Ball Tour in 2012. 'Princess Die': One of the earliest titles written for ARTPOP, 'Princess Die' was first performed on an Australian date of the Born This Way Ball tour in June of 2012, and later became a mainstay of the show. Writing in January of that year, Vanity Fair had described Gaga playing the song for them during their interview: "Gaga went to the piano to play us [...] a song about fame and celebrity death. Even in its rough stages, it has her trademark catchy chorus, and she sang the sad slightly bitter lyrics in full voice." Gaga later teased that the song would be released through the ARTPOP app, but this did not come to be. 'Ratchet': This was a collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks, but was cut from the original record because Gaga found Banks to have a "bad attitude"; it's possible that it could have been rerecorded as a solo venture. We have a small snippet of Gaga performing it live and an official instrumental released by producer DJ White Shadow. 'Red Flame': This was a collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks, but was cut from the original record because Gaga found Banks to have a "bad attitude"; it's possible that it could have been rerecorded as a solo venture. A watermarked version of this song leaked in 2016. 'Sire': 'Sire' is a song written in 2012 and produced by DJ White Shadow. Gaga sang it backstage for fans at The Born This Way Ball Tour in February of 2013, and mentioned that it was inspired by Michael Jackson, who is possibly the revered "sire" spoken about in the title. 'Tinnitus': Gaga revealed this title in an interview with KISS 92.5 in November of 2013. Produced by EDM producer Madeon, the songs title refers to a condition where one hears ringing in their airs, particularly after hearing loud noises on repeat. 'TEA': Written in 2012, this song was initially confirmed for ARTPOP but failed to make the cut. Gaga teased some lyrics on Twitter which went, "It's been oolong/Since I've had a sip and/I get this feeling I need a green detox/The truth will be the winner tonight." 'Temple': 'Temple' was announced in 2013 and was apparently about her love for then-boyfriend Taylor Kinney. "It's about feeling safe with someone so beautiful on the inside and out. The song is about him being able to love somebody who has a fast pace life, and is always on the road." The song was written solely by Gaga and Zedd, as legal documents that leaked in 2020 showed. 'In Like With You': Gaga revealed this title in an interview with KISS 92.5 in November of 2013. The song was proudced by frequent Gaga collaborator DJ White Shadow, who also worked on songs such as ARTPOP single 'Do What U Want'. There are several other songs recorded during the ARTPOP section which most likely wouldn't make the cut. 'Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe' was another Kendrick Lamar collaboration which Gaga sang the chorus for. After their creative relationship ended, Kendrick released a solo version of the track on his album, while Gaga later leaked her contribution to the song online. 'Cake Like Lady Gaga' is a joking trap track which was produced by DJ White Shadow and released online for fans. 'I Wanna Be With You' was performed once at the iTunes Festival, and is an early version of the ARTPOP track 'Dope' with completely different lyrics. 'Posh Life' was a demo recorded for TLC and produced by Dallas Austin, written for a dancer named Posh! The Prince who played himself during the 2010 dates of Gaga's Monster Ball tour. 'Stache' is a remix of the Zedd instrumental of the same name which Gaga released for free for her fans online. Will we ever hear ARTPOP: Act II? Sadly, given that four years have passed since the release of the original ARTPOP, it's doubtful that we'll ever hear the album as it was initially intended. Thanks to ongoing leaks, we've had enough choice selections released to form a small EP of demos that might have made the cut; but most of the truly intriguing tracks like 'Onion Girl' and 'TEA' have gone unheard of for the most part. Early last year, Gaga mentioned in an interview that she had heard her fans opinions and considered releasing a compilation album of unreleased and rare tracks, but we've heard nothing more about any such project since. All we can hope is that Gaga's team is smart and prepared enough to release anniversary editions of each of her albums, and that we'll receive a special edition of ARTPOP for it's tenth anniversary in 2023. Until then, we'll have to listen to that live 'Ratchet' snippet on repeat and be content with wondering what could have been.

Watch the video version of this article here! In theory, Nicole Scherzinger has everything it takes to be the world's biggest popstar. She's undeniably stunning, has a versatile voice that can belt out Whitney just as well as it can lilt over opera or spit out raps, is well known for her provocative dance skills and judging by the sheer volume of reality shows she appears on seems to have a strong work ethic. And yet since her start in the entertainment industry back in 1999, it seems as though Nicole has suffered through setback after setback. From the short-lived girl groups Eden's Crush and The Pussycat Dolls; to the three different attempts at a debut solo album; to the continuous record label contracts signed, scrapped and switched, it seems as though the stars have never quite aligned for her. And yet, Scherzinger seems to be one of those people who has a good name in the industry; for try as they might, she just won't seem to go away. Whether she's popping up on one of her many editions of The X Factor, filling in as musical talent on Neil Patrick Harris's variety show or cameoing in Men In Black, Nicole always finds a way to maintain her public presence even when her record label fails her - and apparently, it does so regularly. For since she's debuted as a solo artist, Scherzy has had at least six hits that we know of that she or her label have let slip through her fingers. Whether she was simply too "busy" to record them, was suffering from endless album delays thanks to her label or because she had crises with her public image, Nicole has regularly passed on tracks only to have them go on to be successful releases at the hands of other artists. Check our list after the jump to see just what we could be missing out on! And keep in mind that excluded from this list are all the hits Nicole could have had if she'd joined The Black Eyed Peas - it goes without saying that her versions of 'My Humps' or 'I Gotta Feeling' would have been amazing. 6. Lady Gaga - Just Dance (Feat. Colby O'Donis) Nicole and Lady Gaga were often linked both through their involvement with Interscope Records and their ongoing work with RedOne, with Gaga even opening for the Pussycat Dolls on their Doll Domination Tour in 2009. But Gaga might not have even made it that far had it not been for the success of her lead single 'Just Dance' which propelled her into worldwide superstardom. Weirdly, the song was originally offered to Nicole and the rest of the Dolls back when it was first written, but was turned down for unknown reasons. While we're sure the Dolls could have slayed the track, the possibility of a Gaga-less world is just too much for us to deal with. 5. Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor (Feat. Pitbull) This one was never officially confirmed by Scherzy herself, but around the time 'On The Floor' was released it was rumoured that it had originally been recorded as a demo by Nicole - not a totally crazy piece of gossip given how regularly she was working with producer RedOne around that time. In a weird twist, it was later rumoured that J. Lo had recorded a version of Nicole's single 'Right There', but that an issue with gaining the rights of the song had stopped her from releasing the track at the last minute. While we can't 100% vouch for the veracity of this missed opportunity, it's safe to say that Nicole could have slayed 'On The Floor' and nailed the chemistry between herself and Pitbull. 4. Christina Aguilera - The Beautiful People (From Burlesque) One song you may not have heard of is Christina Aguilera's 'The Beautiful People', a track recorded for the soundtrack to her film Burlesque back in 2010. The song itself was never released as a single, but it's accompanying soundtrack album did manage to hit #18 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Soundtrack Albums chart, constituting a minor success. Nicole recorded her own version of the song for her debut album which later leaked, but like the rest of that album, it ultimately remained unreleased. It's not all bad, though: Nicole ended up with writing credits on the finished version of the song (along with Ester Dean and Marilyn Manson thanks to a sample oddity), so she at least would have made some coin every time the movie played in theatres or on TV. 3. Dave Audé - I'm Gonna (Feat. J Sutta) 'I'm Gonna' is a cover version of 'I'm Gonna Get You', a 1992 track released by Bizarre Inc alongside vocalist Angie Brown. Nicole recorded her version of the track in 2011 alongside DJ and producer Dave Audé, but the song was never officially released. In a strange turn of events, Audé later reworked his production of the track for release with Nicole's former Pussycat Dolls bandmate J Sutta (known during her time in the group as Jessica). While the song was hardly a commercial success, it did hit #1 on the Hot Dance Club Songs; an ironic feat given that during her time in the group Sutta often played second fiddle to Scherzinger, who later in her career was struggling to even get her album released while Sutta scored #1 hits. 2. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy Possibly the strangest of all the songs Scherzinger has turned down, 'Crazy' was the Gnarls Barkley song which won a Grammy Award in 2007 and which was at one point so successful and overplayed that the band decided to remove the single from music stores so that people would "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it." Nicole was offered the song during sessions with Cee-Lo which also spawned 'Don't Cha', but refused the song for unknown reasons. While the song was a huge hit at Gnarls Barkley's hands, we have to wonder whether a Nicole version would have been as successful: it doesn't quite fit her sex kitten image and we're not quite sure she could pull off the mysterious persona that made the song popular. 1. Rihanna - We Found Love (Feat. Calvin Harris) In an interview with Notion magazine, Nicole confessed the most sinful of all sins: that she'd passed on one of the biggest songs of 2011 and an iconic hit for Rihanna, the Calvin Harris produced 'We Found Love'. "I've got the demo of that song and I was busy at the time [it was sent to me]", she mentioned in the interview. "They'd sent me a few dance tracks and I wasn't able to get to them and I was like, 'Oh there's so much dance and I want to take a break from it.' That was my fault. I slept on it." Of course, she's not entirely alone with her regrets on passing on the track - fellow The X Factor UK star Leona Lewis can keep her company, after she scrapped her recorded version of the song due to a desire to release her Avicii collaboration 'Collide' as the lead single from her Glassheart album instead. It's a shame given just how badly both of these girls needed the hit. Which of these songs do you think Nicole would have slayed the most? Would they even have been as successful if she'd released them as singles? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Watch the video version of this article here: Over the course of her career, Lady Gaga has often been praised for her relentlessly unique aesthetic and her almost single-handed elevation of the standard four minute film clip into a work of video art. While most popstars opt to put their music at the forefront, with their music videos nothing but stylised afterthoughts, a classic Gaga music video will act as a pop culture event, with the song and the visuals working hand in hand to reflect a grander vision. Standard Gaga videos can often run for over five minutes, feature fully developed plots and character arcs, and present new meanings for what might otherwise constitute typical pop songs. Yet as with so many of her grand ideas, many of Gaga’s music videos have gone unrealised or unreleased. Some, like the infamous ‘Do What U Want’, were completely filmed and edited before being scrapped at the last minute; while others, such as the one for ‘Government Hooker’, remained foggy concepts with no apparent direction; but since she debuted in 2008, Gaga has consistently promised videos to her fans for each era that never went on to eventuate. Today we’ll explore each of these videos in turn, examining why they went unreleased, and just what we could be missing out on. Some of Gaga's videos were filmed, edited and ready for release before being cancelled. The most notorious of all of Gaga’s unreleased music videos, ‘Do What U Want’ was confirmed shortly after the singles announcement at her artRAVE album release party on November 10th 2013. It was here that Gaga confirmed that Terry Richardson would direct, making it the latest in a long line of Gaga and Richardson collaborations which included the Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson coffee table art book, the short music video snippet for ‘Cake Like Lady Gaga’ and the single cover for ‘Do What U Want’. The music video was to be the third in Richardson’s foray into music, leading on from his directorial efforts with Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’ and Beyonce’s ‘XO’. Ten days after the announcement, Gaga tried to make the word "quelped" a thing: A few weeks later, Interscope announced that the video would be released through the file sharing service Bit Torrent and the online publication Vice in December of that year. In an unfortunate comparison, the video followed the same release formula as Madonna’s “secretprojectrevolution”, a seventeen minute short film directed by frequent Gaga collaborator Steven Klein aiming to promote artistic expression. According to Interscope, Gaga’s release was intended to "explore the link between open expression and open technology; providing an inside look at the creative process”, and would include the music video, still photographs, a behind the scenes video and interviews with both Gaga and Richardson. In early December, Gaga explained that the video had been delayed because she wanted to make it “perfect” due to its “very personal” nature. Sadly, December came and went without any release of the music video. In a dramatic post on her social media website LittleMonsters.com, Gaga blamed her former management for the delay, saying that "just like with the 'Applause' video unfortunately, I was given a week to plan and execute it." Despite this, in June of 2014, TMZ posited a different explanation for why the video had gone unreleased, along with some snippets of the video itself. According to them, Gaga “feared blow back since her co-star was once on trial for kiddie porn and her director is in a swirl of controversy over allegedly sexually assaulting or harassing his models”. Allegedly, Gaga had been unaware of R. Kelly’s leaked sex tape in which he urinated on an underage girl; along with the multiple charges of sexual harassment against Terry Richardson. After she learned of the allegations, Gaga scrapped the music video. If the snippets TMZ leaked are anything to go by, it was probably a good call. Along with the obvious PR nightmares that are inherent when somebody convicted of statutory rape is being told to “do what you want with my body”, the video itself seems to feature images of what many would call rape. Gaga lies in a hospital bed with Kelly playing doctor and standing over her as he touches her under the covers and administers her with anaesthetic. Half-naked nurses soon begin to start twerking on top of Gaga’s passed out body, and in another scene Richardson is spotted snapping photos of a half-naked Gaga as she mimes having sex on the floor. The fact that reporters at TMZ have what seems to be a fully edited HQ version of the video suggests that a final cut does exist and has been shared in some circles, but sadly it has yet to be released to fans. Given the controversial nature of the video, it’s unlikely that this one will ever get released, which means that all we can hope for is a leak. Other Gaga videos were set up and ready to film before being scrapped at the last minute. At the BMI Pop Music Awards on May 17th, 2011, Gaga's longtime choreographer and creative partner Laurieann Gibson confirmed that she and Gaga would be filming the ‘The Edge of Glory’ music video soon and that they had a concept for it established, hinting “we’ll be feeling very fishy”. Joseph Kahn, who has worked on videos such as Britney’s ‘Womanizer’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’, was set to direct, making it his third collaboration with Gaga after music videos for 'LoveGame' and 'Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)'. He began casting for the video in May, seeking a Hispanic-looking “badass” love interest, “couture doctors who will wear smocks and black gloves”, an on-air news reporter, and a band of soldiers for scenes involving rifles. Elaborate sets were also created, including one for a hospital, one for Brooklyn Bridge, one underwater set for the Brooklyn River, and the fire escape set which ended up dominating the finished product. Filming began on the fire escape set, with Clarence Clemons appearing alongside Gaga to perform his saxophone solo as Gaga danced around the set. Sadly, the rest of the shoot did not proceed smoothly. According to Chancler Hayes, Kahn’s longtime editor, two days of filming had already been completed when Gaga changed her mind about the entire video concept. Hayes said that Gaga wanted to simplify the music video which Kahn had spent months working on, leading to a disagreement between the two and the ultimate cancellation of the project. Gaga herself later stated in 2017 that her disagreements with Kahn were over "real philosophies about life". Following the videos release, an angry Kahn tweeted “I did NOT direct Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge of Glory’ video. Lady Gaga did — I don’t co-direct. One canvas, one paintbrush. Respect the art. Very simple rule with me.” Gaga did indeed go on to take on the role of director herself, piecing together a music video from the two day of filmings that had already occurred under Kahn’s directorial supervision. During a press conference in Singapore, she confirmed "I had this whole elaborate setup for ‘The Edge of Glory’, but once I got on that fire escape in that one outfit, I realized that it was time to just have a moment of acknowledgement for myself as a 25-year-old who has been working so hard from the bottom up my whole life." While it’s true that fans missed out on what was sure to be an epic video with the Kahn-directed ‘The Edge of Glory’, it may have been a blessing in disguise. According to Hayes, the music video concept was essentially the same as the one she explored on France’s Le Grand Journal TV show, in which she performed as a mermaid in a hospital setting. This mermaid concept was not abandoned entirely but was reused for the ‘You And I’ music video, in which Gaga’s Hispanic love interest was replaced by Taylor Kinney, who went on to propose to her in February of 2015. And other concepts in the music video, such as those “couture doctors” who were meant to be examining Gaga and her tail, were repurposed for the semi-autobiographical ‘Marry the Night’ music video, which Gaga once again directed herself. Finally, if nothing else, the music video cancellation was worth it thanks to the brilliant Tweets we got from Laurieann Gibson, who flew into a rage when Little Monsters accused her of misleading them in her initial hints. There were many Gaga videos that were conceptualised but never officially sent to pre-production. 'Venus' was at one point the second official single from Gaga’s ARTPOP album, but was sidelined due to the overwhelmingly positive reception towards promotional single 'Do What U Want'. Despite this, Gaga confirmed that even as a promotional single the song would still receive its own music video, set to be directed by Ruth Hogben who had recently shot her for her ELLE cover story. Interestingly, the multiple album artworks released for the song were actually shot by Steven Klein, breaking the trend of each ARTPOP single having cover art shot by its video director. Unfortunately, this version of the 'Venus' video ultimately went unfilmed, and it’s unknown how much work was actually done on the concept. The closest we got to a music video for ‘Venus’ was a snippet of the song that was used in the self-directed music video for ‘G.U.Y.’, which was released almost a year later. Following the same trend, ‘A-Yo’ was also intended to be released as the second single from Joanne, but was scrapped due to the positive reception towards promotional single Million Reasons. It’s unknown how much of a video concept, if any, Gaga had come up with for the song. Similiarly, 'Dance in the Dark' was originally chosen by Gaga’s label as the third single from The Fame Monster, and was even sent to radio and released as a fourth single in certain territories. However, Gaga’s own desire to release 'Alejandro' meant that a music video was never filmed. It’s unknown if she ever conceptualised a video for the track. When asked in a Born This Way era interview which track she’d most like to film a music video for, Gaga brought up the fact that she had several ideas for a 'Government Hooker' music video. While we never got the video she teased, it’s possible that some of the ideas went to Gaga’s promotional video for the MTV VMAs which included 'Government Hooker' as a background track. Furthermore, Gaga often mentioned in interviews that she conceptualised ARTPOP as a fully visual album, with music videos for each track. At one point, Gaga even began a competition on LittleMonsters.com asking her fans to send in concepts for music videos, with her favourite idea being turned into a fully funded music video for the album. However, it’s unknown how much work was actually put into developing ideas for what each music video would look like, or if Gaga looked at the contest submissions at all. And, finally, Gaga has teased the existence of a sequel to the ‘Paparazzi’ and ‘Telephone’ videos for years. The ending to the 'Telephone' video features a To Be Continued credit, and Gaga confirmed in a 2013 interview that the song featured in the sequel would be included in her iTunes Festival set to promote ARTPOP. This means that the song chosen must have been 'Aura', 'Manicure', 'ARTPOP', 'Jewels n Drugs', 'Sexxx Dreams', or less likely, 'I Wanna Be With You'. In an interview with KISS FM, Gaga stated that she had already written the treatment along with Jonas Akerlund, saying “to finish the trilogy will be great”. Gaga continued to tease the sequel throughout the ARTPOP era without explicitly saying what song it was for, jokingly telling Andy Cohen “blank will be coming out soon”. But when she was asked whether ‘G.U.Y.’ was the ‘Telephone’ continuation on Twitter, she dismissed the claims with no further information, stating: To this day, no one knows for sure which song was chosen as the 'Telephone' sequel, or what the video may have looked like. And there were several Gaga videos with significant deleted scenes. ‘Paparazzi’ originally featured an entirely new setup showing Gaga on a polka dotted, purple haired horse wearing an aquatic themed outfit. Rumour has it that the scene was cut to avoid criticism from animal rights organisations such as PETA, who have often criticised dying the fur of any animal. ‘Perfect Illusion’ features several unreleased scenes, including some which feature her at a piano - a strange idea given that the track has no piano part in it at all. Gaga teased on social media that ‘Cake Like Lady Gaga’, a Terry Richardson music video snippet which she released in November of 2012, had a full music video, although this went unreleased. The original version of 'G.U.Y.' featured a lookalike of John Lennon being resurrected alongside the lookalikes of Jesus, Michael Jackson and Ghandi, but this was apparently cut due to copyright issues with his estate. Andy Cohen reacted to an early version of the video which still featured Lennon here. And while not quite a deleted scene, there was a fully rendered 3D version of the ‘Telephone’ music video which went unreleased and which was later leaked by iLeaks, solving the riddle of why Gaga included 3D glasses in the super deluxe edition of her The Fame Monster album. Which of Lady Gaga's unreleased music videos do you most want to see? What song do you think would have made the best 'Telephone' sequel? Let us know in the comments down below!

Earlier this week, Lady Gaga officially farewelled the ARTPOP era with the last show of her 'artRAVE' tour in an emotionally charged, high energy performance which many believe bested even her highly acclaimed 'The Monster Ball'. Love it or hate it, Gaga's latest era has certainly been a bumpy ride, even more marred by controversy than her first couple of projects. From early song leaks by Gaga herself, to emotional onstage breakdowns over the loss of her manager, to confessions of both drug and sexual abuse, to scrapped duets and music videos, and some of the whackiest outfits that have ever been rocked, the one thing that can be said for the era was that it was never dull. And yet, ARTPOP was always marked - even pre-emptively - as the first time in Gaga's career that she'd truly "flopped". Despite the fact that the album hit #1, featured an early hit in the form of 'Applause' as well as two moderate successes in 'Do What U Want' and 'Dope', and emitted more "YASSS"'s than had ever been heard in pop music before, critics were quick to bash the album as underwhelming, criticizing the "bizarre album of squelchy disco" and describing it as "sexual but not sexy". And they may have had a point. We couldn't help but feel slightly let down when, after promising a third part to the trilogy established with 'Paparazzi' and 'Telephone', Gaga delivered a pretty basic music video in the form of 'Applause'; when, after the amazing, energetic new sound she debuted with a remix of Zedd's 'Stache', she returned to safer electro-pop with her lead single; and when the ARTPOP app, which had always been promised as a key part of the album experience, turned out to have about ten minutes of excitement in the whole thing. But how does ARTPOP live up to the hype a year later on? Detached from the excessive fan anticipation, the ridiculous bandwagon of negative criticism, and the endless publicity stunts, what is ARTPOP? A pretty good album, if you look at it as a whole. With ARTPOP, Gaga traded in the fresh-faced enthusiasm of The Fame, the dark industrialism of The Fame Monster and the synth-pop cheesiness of Born This Way for a sound which, if not revolutionary, was new and exciting for her. There may be a few sprouts of genericism in songs like 'Donatella' (which, if it fails at everything else, always managed to get an audience on their feet at artRAVE) and 'G.U.Y.' (whose rather interesting lyrics and a fantastic headbanging section at the end was overshadowed by a somewhat lacklustre chorus), but the majority of the album does a pretty good job of offering something fresh yet still mainstream. 'Applause', our first taste of the album, was an electro-pop stomper, but the synths and effects used were different to anything else on the radio at the time; and 'Do What U Want' (which we maintain is probably the best song of the year) offered a throwback vibe that no one had heard in a Gaga album, or on pop music charts, before. Then there's the relentless experimentation in one of the album's highlights 'Aura', whose absolute flawlessness was dulled somewhat by an early leak and some last minute vocal changes; and the rousing, yet creepily detached screams of 'Swine', an angry rejection of rape culture. 'Dope' provided us with a twist on the classic Gaga ballad, with a haunting, raw production and intensely personal lyrics; while it's counterpart 'Mary Jane Holland' worked as a nevertheless somewhat uncomfortable ode to marijuana given Gaga's current circumstances. There's an absolute plethora of experiments with genre and sounds on the album, which explains in part why everyone's favourite song is completely different. So why didn't the album work? Part of it almost definitely has to do with the impossible amount of hype placed on the project - with a lot of it, in all fairness, coming from Gaga herself. Promising a "lack of maturity and responsibility" on the album confirmed, for a lot of fans, a return to the The Fame era, as did the blonde bob Gaga brought back for the album - yet the majority of the album lacked that carefree nature, trading it for a colder, more detached comment on a variety of social issues. The album was also under an insane amount of pressure to sell better than her past masterpiece Born This Way, which controversially shipped a pretty incredible six million copies and set up an almost impossible standard. The majority of the songs were also released, in one way or another, before the album, which destroyed some of the fun of hearing them all on release day; with 'Applause', 'Venus', 'Do What U Want' and 'Dope' understandably released as (promo) singles before the album's release, but other songs, such as 'MANiCURE', 'Jewels 'N' Drugs', 'ARTPOP', 'Sexxx Dreams' and 'Swine' being played live, and 'Aura' leaking way before it should have. Even 'Dope' was precursed by 'I Wanna Be With You', which turned out for a lot of fans to be a better song; and the final version of 'ARTPOP' lacked a few qualities that made the live version truly pop. But the main issue with ARTPOP was it's initial concept: one which, while at first sight appearing to be all-encompassing and broad enough to build a project around, turned out to be a little too simplistically pretentious for the tastes of many fans. Gaga claims that everything she's done in her career has been ARTPOP, and it's probably true; but the album had a little too much pop, and not quite enough art; and those art projects promised to revolutionize, like Volantis, failed and sank quicker than a Mariah Carey album on the charts. Gaga's personality, too, was a turn-off for much of the general public; with the fun-loving girl of yesteryear replaced by an intensely serious, often stoned, drunk or high musician who waxed lyrical about an album that possibly didn't quite deserve the praise she herself was bestowing on it. Luckily, the album seems to have had little of a lasting impact on Gaga's career. The majority of her core fanbase appears to have stuck by her, and she's tapped into a new market with her top-selling Cheek To Cheek album with Tony Bennett, which provided a much-needed reiteration of her natural vocal prowess. While some of the general public may have jumped ship, we can tell by past comebacks from artists like Rihanna (post-Rated R) and Britney (post-Femme Fatale) that all they really need is a catchy hook to get them excited again. And if it was good for anything, ARTPOP seems to have pushed Gaga to try harder and strive for more, in a more determined, direct way; the meticulously planned 'artRAVE' album launch party has now been replaced by spontaneous, fun live performances with much less anticipation building up for them. Maybe it's true that ARTPOP was a disappointment, as it could never have been the album that Gaga promised; but maybe, just maybe, it was the one she needed. Here's hoping for that long-promised Act 2.

With more music at our fingertips than ever before, one of the biggest challenges an artist can have is to truly build intrigue around their new project. It's a challenge that's made even more difficult the longer this hype has to be sustained for - which, depending on record label scheming or personal dramas, can range anywhere from weeks to years. And the consequences that can occur for an album when that hype isn't sustained can be severe. Take Rita Ora's second album Phoenix, which landed at #2 on our Best Albums of 2018 list, but stalled at a measly #11 on the UK charts and only #79 on the US equivalent. Ora had a UK hit with the Ed Sheeran-penned 'Your Song', which hit #7 on the UK charts back when it was released in May 2017; but it took another five months for second single 'Anywhere' to be released. By the time 'Girls' came around seven months after that, fans had all but forgotten about Rita's second album, and the lukewarm reception towards that song didn't help them remember. When the album was finally released six months later, interest was at an all-time low, and even the world's greatest album would have been a flop. In this list, we'll be looking at five different albums that have managed to sustain interest, in many cases over several years. At this point, all but one of these albums has been confirmed for release in 2019: although we all know how transient Twitter confirmations can be. After all, two of the albums we were looking forward to in 2018 have still yet to be released. 5. Charli XCX - TBA The journey to Charli XCX's third album has been a long one. Immediately after her second album Sucker was released, Charli revealed she had a punk album ready to go, but this has remained unreleased. In 2017, she further revealed that she'd recorded a whole album over a 24 hour period with A.G. Cook, but this has also failed to manifest. 'After the Afterparty' and 'Boys' were both billed as singles for an upcoming album, but this seems to have been bypassed in order for Charli to focus on her mixtapes, Number #1 Angel and #Pop2. '5 in the Morning', 'Focus', 'No Angel' and 'Girls Night Out' were all released last year as stand-alone singles, but Charli confirmed that they weren't intended for any particular album. And then towards the end of 2018 Charli released Troye Sivan collab '1999', which seemed like yet another start to the era. Charli even stated that if the song hit top ten in the UK that she would confirm an album release for 2019, but she ended up with egg on her face when the song only peaked at #13. Regardless of whether we do get a full length album from Charli or not in 2019, we're sure that we'll hear from her either through official releases or leaks, and as pop's most interesting star we're sure she'll have something interesting to say. 4. Sky Ferreira - Masochism Sky Ferreira first confirmed the title of her second album in a Tweet back in 2015, and ever since then it's been a constant on lists of the most anticipated albums of the year. Sadly, it seems as though we're no closer to hearing the album now than we were four years ago. Sky takes to social media once every six months ago to give her fans a half-hearted mysterious update on the album - the latest Instagram post, released in June of last year, said that the album was "FINALLY happening" - but other than that, we've had no concrete confirmation of a release date or tracklisting. In truth, all that fans have been able to glean about the album is from assorted social media posts that they've jigsawed together into a rough estimate of what it will sound like. Ferreira has described the album as "A little heavier", saying "It's not going to be an electronic album completely - it's going to be a blend of everything." She's also confirmed at least ten songs for the album, including 'Guardian' which she debuted live and a cover of Morissey's 'Last of the Famous International Playboys'. But if Ferreira's track record is anything to go by, we wouldn't be at all surprised if all of these posts were just more red herrings. Her first album, Night Time, My Time, was fronted by at least five debut singles ranging from pop to electro to rock, and ultimately only one of them ended up on the finished product. Maybe all we can do as fans is sit back, trust the process, and wait for Sky to work her magic. 3. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell Even though we already have three official singles from Lana Del Rey's sixth studio album - 'Mariner's Apartment Complex', 'Venice Bitch' and the aptly titled 'hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but i have it' - that doesn't change the fact that the era is still shrouded in mystery. Lana first announced the title of her upcoming album during an interview with Zane Lowe, where she also confirmed that it would feature 11 tracks and a surf-rock sound. With that said, Lana is known to change her mind about album directions at the drop of a hat, and given that she's been teasing newly written songs on Instagram frequently we wouldn't be surprised if the album had completely morphed at this point. Either way, we may not have long to find out - Lana recently liked a tweet saying that the album would be out March 29th, and we'll almost definitely hear at least one more single before that. 2. Lady Gaga - TBA It seems like Lady Gaga has been in the studio every week since she released Joanne, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're any closer to getting her next album. After recording the A Star Is Born soundtrack, Gaga has possibly chosen to focus on recording her second collaborative album with Tony Bennett next, which may mean we'll have an even longer wait for her upcoming album. With that said, there has been some very slow progression towards hopefully getting a body of work together. Over the past two years, Gaga has been in the studio with electronic producers such as Boys Noize, Sophie and Umru, none of whom collaborated on ASIB and who definitely wouldn't be working on a Tony Bennett album. Given how frequently Gaga scraps songs, we wouldn't be surprised if none of these made the final album, but we can at least maintain the hope for a return to dance-pop music from the queen herself. 1. Rihanna - TBA Over the past few years, it seems as though Rihanna has been doing anything but make music. Between appearing in Ocean's 8, releasing a popular makeup line and launching a well received collaboration with Puma, Rih's had little time to head into the studio and give her fans what they really want. But that all seems set to change this year, with Rih confirming that 2019 is the year when she makes her official return to the music scene. In July of last year, we heard from multiple sources that Rih was focused on making a dancehall-inspired album as homage to her home country Barbados, along with a seperate pop album; but since then we've also heard from DJ Alesso that she's planning on taking over the dance charts with some well-timed collaborations. We wouldn't be at all surprised if all this things are true: a pop-dance record with dancehall influences sounds just like Rihanna's style, and if she plays her cards right it could be the album of the year.

2009 was only a decade ago, but it seems like the world back then was a very different place. The powers that be were still reeling after a surprise candidate beat out Hillary Clinton, kids would rush back home after school to catch the latest episode of Jersey Shore (yeah, Netflix wasn't a thing) and I was still recovering from a Christmas that left me ten pounds heavier and $500 more in debt. (Okay, so maybe things haven't changed so much after all.) But one thing that's definitely changed since then is the music we listen to. 2009 was the transitory space between the pop-rock that defined a lot of the early 2000s and the dance-pop that would blow up later on, and it led to some pretty interesting results. Spoiler alert: a good 70% of this list is totally unlistenable, and/or insanely annoying, but there are some real gems in there too. Are you excited yet? 10. Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say There may never have been a time in the history of civilisation where people actually wanted to listen to a Jason Derulo song, but in 2009 it seems as though people needed to if just to rid their head of this ridiculously catchy earworm. 'Whatcha Say' started out low on the charts, debuting at #54 in August of 2009, but it permeated people's brains to the extent that it managed to hit #1 three months later. It just goes to show that you don't need a song to be likeable for it to be a hit: all it needs to have is a killer chorus. 9. Jay Sean - Down (Feat. Lil Wayne) Continuing the trend of irritating douche-faces with passable bodies was the United Kingdom's answer to Jason Derulo, Jay Sean. His breakthrough hit 'Down' is basically the definition of manipulative, featuring the kinds of lyrics that only a needy teenage girl can fall in love with; and the music video, with it's endless lip licking and frat boy head nods, isn't much better. Still, the masses of 2009 must have enjoyed it, because it hit #1 on the 17th of October of that year. 8. Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You Kelly Clarkson is the queen of kiss-off anthems ('Since U Been Gone' and Ben & Jerry's are singularly responsible for getting me through my last breakup), and she proved that again in 2009 with the sassy 'My Life Would Suck Without You'. The song would never fly now - those beats are something straight off of Katy Perry's debut album and the music video features a relationship a little too tempestuous to be healthy - but at the time it was an instant hit. The track even broke the record for the biggest jump ever on the US charts when it bounced from #97 to #1 in the space of one week. #TeamKelly 7. Flo Rida - Right Round (Feat. Ke$ha) Like pretty much every Flo Rida song ever, 'Right Round' was the kind of guilty pleasure that you tapped your foot two even while shaking your head in dismay. Even Kesha (known back then by the very, very 2009 stage name Ke$ha) seemed to be a little embarrassed by the song - she refused to appear in the music video, being stood in for by a random black girl, and has never performed it live since it's release. Still, the song was likeable enough to hit #1 on the charts for six weeks straight, and even broke the record for first week sales when it sold 636 000 copies in January of 2009. 6. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody 'Use Somebody' wasn't quite big enough to hit #1, only managing to peak at #4 on the charts - but it sold enough copies to hit #14 on the end of year charts. A weird flash in the pan of a song, the track has a total classic rock vibe that would have equally suited a 1999 release, which means it's actually aged pretty well over the past ten years. That's more than can be said for Kings of Leon themselves, who have basically faded into complete obscurity at this point. 5. Britney Spears - Womanizer 2008 was a bad year for Britney Spears - think shaved head, umbrella bashing and crying in an English accent on the sidewalk - but she made the ultimate comeback in 2009 with 'Womanizer'. The track makes full use of Spears' - how should we say this? - distinctive voice and fun vocal stylings, and the music video is one of her best ever even if it is pretty much just a remake of 'Toxic'. The track paid off well for Spears commercially, too, becoming her first #1 on the charts since debut single '...Baby One More Time'. 4. Miley Cyrus - Party in the U.S.A She'd been building up to it for a while, but 'Party in the U.S.A.' was Miley Cyrus's first real "You're not even my real dad!" moment - and at the time it caused quite a stir. Hannah Montana was declared dead on arrival when Miley performed the song at the Teen Choice Awards by dancing around a pole in Daisy Dukes that were short enough for Disney to release an official statement, and Miley received her fair share of flack. Still, the song was popular enough to hit #2 on the charts in 2009, before climbing up the charts again in 2011 following the death of Osama Bin Laden. The reason? Murica! 3. Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys) It may be a total cheese-fest and a major misrepresentation of New York City's true gutter grime, but there's something so nostalgic and emotive about Jay and Alicia's 'Empire State of Mind' that you can't help but love it anyway. The song was a hit when it was first released too, becoming Jay-Z's first #1 on the charts over his thirteen year career and going on to win two Grammy's. I'm pretty sure this song and Gossip Girl were entirely responsible for giving every millennial ever the belief that they could make it in the city that never sleeps. 2. Lady Gaga - Poker Face If you're anywhere between the age of 18 and 25, you'll definitely remember that solid month back in 2009 where 'Poker Face' was literally the only thing being played on the radio (remember that thing you used to play in the car?). The song's popularity wasn't completely unfounded - it's still a little bit of a banger, if super dated at this stage - but it was definitely overplayed during it's ascension to the top ten, where it remained for 18 weeks with a week at #1. 1. The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling 'I Gotta Feeling' was by far the most overplayed song of 2009, and yet somehow people still wanted more. The track hit #1 in over 20 charts worldwide - including the US where it topped the charts for 14 weeks - and was the highest-selling song of the century until 2014 when Pharrell's 'Happy' robbed it of the title. Even though we can never imagine this kind of song working in a post-Trump era, it's nice to listen back to and remember when things were simpler. What's your favourite song from 2008? Let us know in the comments down below!

If 2018's list of the best songs of the year shows us anything, it's that the ability to define pop music in the 21st century is becoming increasingly more difficult. Gone are the days when record label executives and radio DJ's defined the sound of the summer in highly organised meetings; nowadays, listeners are willing and able to seek out their own finds, creating intimate emotional bonds with their favourite discoveries that last long after their songs end. Our list of 2018's greatest albums reinforces that idea, bouncing between rock, hip-hop, R&B and dance effortlessly. What's somewhat more inexplicable is the list's focus on comebacks from female artists who haven't had hits in years. In 2018, each of these women managed to reinvent themselves for a generation that's impossible to pin down, and prove that life doesn't end for a singer once they leave the Forbes Hottest 30 Under 30 list or vanish from the cover of US Weekly. It just goes to show that while there's more choice and diversity than ever in pop music, a familiar face is sometimes all an audience wants to see in their Spotify library. Enjoy our picks for 2018's best albums down below, and for a walk down memory lane don't forget to check out our lists from 2017, 2016 and 2015! Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born A Star Is Born was the cinematic event of 2018, and with it's Academy Award hype and meme-worthy publicity stunting it's also been the unexpected project that made one-time sensation Lady Gaga cool again. The film's soundtrack had a lot to do with that, hitting the refresh button on Gaga's career while making a would-be star out of Bradley Cooper: for as difficult as it is to believe, there was still some uncultured people who were unaware of Gaga's talent, and who needed her singing over some rock instrumentals to believe it. Let's leave that in 2018, shall we? The soundtrack's success is ironic given the fact that it's probably Gaga's least impressive project overall thanks to a collection of factors. Even when you take out the dialogue tracks, the album is an impressive nineteen tracks long, but sadly it feels as though around half of the songs were just thrown onto the album as gifts for her fans who had waited so long rather than for the impeccable quality we've come to expect from Gaga. 'Heal Me', 'Before I Cry' and 'Music To My Eyes' have some of the worst lyricism we've heard all year, while the electronic duo of 'Hair Body Face' and 'Why Did You Do That' - while bops in a semi-ironic fashion - only make sense in the context of the film and seem incredibly awkward on the country-tinged album. Despite that, there's enough truly great songs on here for an EP of classics, particularly Cooper's touching 'Maybe It's Time', the rock duets 'Shallow', 'Diggin' My Grave' and 'I Don't Know What Love Is' and the holy trinity of Gaga power ballads 'Always Remember Us This Way', 'Is That Alright' and 'I'll Never Love Again'. It may not entirely work on it's own, but in tandem with it's accompanying film the A Star Is Born soundtrack hits all the marks you'd want it to. Nicki Minaj - Queen Nicki Minaj had a false start - or three - in 2017 with her trio of singles 'Changed It', 'No Frauds' and 'Regret In Your Tears', but in 2018 she proved that she was ready for her official comeback. Queen plays out exactly like Nicki's three past albums have - with a section for hard-hitting hip-hop rhymes like 'Barbie Dreams' and 'Good Form', a section for potential crossover hits like 'Bed' with Ariana Grande and 'Thought I Knew You' with The Weeknd, a section for vulnerable slow-jams with 'Ganja Burn' and 'Run & Hide', and a whole lot of random filler thrown in for good measure. And even if her schizophrenic style of putting together albums may be losing it's charm, that's not to say that there aren't any masterpieces to be found among the rubble. Both 'Chun-Li' and 'Good Form' have a frenetic energy pulsing through their beats that's physically hard not to dance to, while the Labrinth and Eminem assisted 'Majesty' and 'LLC' are both aided by the kind of rapping we wish Nicki could bring us all the time. Like all of Minaj's albums, Queen has it's ups and downs, but that doesn't stop it from highlighting her unique talents. All she needs to do now is learn to direct those talents into a cohesive project for once. Christina Aguilera - Liberation Following the commercial failure of Bionic and the generic blandness of Lotus, Christina Aguilera fans would be forgiven for thinking that the 90s queen would never release another great album again. Thankfully, she managed to prove them wrong with this year's Liberation, which successfully propelled XTincta into the mainstream even while not quite matching the brilliance of some of her past reinventions. He may have had his ups and downs in recent years, but Kanye West has to at least be given some credit for his production roles in the album's two best songs: the fiesty, kinetic lead single 'Accelerate' and the album's true opener 'Maria'. A further shoutout has to go to Demi Lovato who lends her vocals to second single 'Fall In Line'; although XTina seems perfectly capable of holding her own on classic power ballad 'Twice'. The rest of the album seems to be built around these four pillars, with high-octane danceable tracks blending with softcore R&B and retro flashbacks in a fashion that's distinctively XTina. This is the album's biggest drawback: it's four standouts are outweighed by some very interchangeable filler, when it could really use one or more two surefire hits (why is no one calling Bonnie McKee nowadays?). Even so, Liberation makes for a great listen for any XTina fan and a promising return to form for her career. Rita Ora - Phoenix Rita Ora's second album Phoenix may have been a long time in the making, but she's never been one to disappoint. Following the release of her impressive debut ORA back in 2012, Rita embarked on a Homeric odyssey for her second album, with the project undergoing at least three different variations before it's ultimate release. One version was recorded with 'I Will Never Let You Down' as the lead single under the guidance of her boyfriend Calvin Harris, but scrapped when they broke up; another was recorded with 'Poison' as the lead single, but scrapped when she left Roc Nation; and the third was recorded throughout one month in 2017 and released in November to little hype. The songs themselves reflect that odyssey, transversing Rita's current EDM bops like the song of 2016 'Anywhere' and the annoyingly catchy 'Let You Love Me', as well as collaborations with the late Avicii on 'Lonely Together', Liam Payne on Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack cut 'For You' and Rudimental on surefire hit 'Summer Love'. Like her first album, Phoenix also has a few outliers: lead single 'Your Song' is a little more poppy, controversial track 'Girls' is pure bubblegum and 'First Time High' was a misstep that should have been kept on someone's external hard drive. But even with these outliers, Phoenix has enough excellent tracks to appeal to any pop music lover, backed up by Ora's commendable vocals and winning personality. Ora has all the elements of a superstar: all she needs is for the world outside of Europe to realise it. Mariah Carey - Caution It's safe to say that Caution was one of the world's least hyped albums in 2018. Following her disastrous New Year's Eve performance back in 2016, an ill-advised reality show and the false start that was 'I Don't', even Mariah's most diehard fans were wary to see what she had up her sleeve for her fifteenth studio album. Luckily, Mariah seemed quick to snap to her senses and managed to release an album that made the world fall in love with her again. From start to finish, Caution manages to simultaneously encapsulate the 90s image of Mariah that is well known and well loved, while still sounding fresh and current. Take our first taste of the album 'GTFO', which by all accounts should have been a tryhard mess that wouldn't be astray on Me. I Am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse. But don't let the title fool you; 'GTFO' is a down-tempo, moody heartbreak song, which is only slightly offset by it's alternatively angsty or comedic chorus. 'GTFO' wasn't a hit for Mariah, but it did reach meme status, which is a step up for her in 2018; and we wouldn't be surprised if future hit 'A No No' managed to to the same. Even if she doesn't quite achieve that, Mariah has still gifted her fans with a handful of her famed heartbreak ballads to enjoy: from stirring lead single 'With You' to the intensely vulnerable 'Portrait'. Caution may not have been a smash album, but if nothing else it did what might have once been considered impossible: it changed the public's perception of one of the most misunderstood singers in music history, and set her up for future wins. Let's hope it doesn't take another four years for Mariah to bask in them. What was your favourite album of 2018? Let us know in the comments down below!

Every year around this time, the #PopHatesFlops community comes together to celebrate the year in pop music and to compile our annual list of our favourite songs of the year. While previous years lists have been microcosms of the genres that populated them - last year focused heavily on country-pop, while 2016 was big on slinky synthpop and 2015 was loving the tropical pop trend - this year's list is remarkable for it's lack of trendiness, showing that in 2018 there's no longer any such thing as an era in pop music. It's a testament to how fractured the industry is in the age of streaming apps and the dwindling importance of radio that our members have chosen such wide ranging songs as piano ballads, acoustic guitar work and 90s-styled R&B, and that all of them sound current and fresh. For the first time ever, we've included a Spotify playlist of this year's entries so you can listen along to the songs while you read our thoughts. Whether you're out partying it up at your local New Year's celebrations or spending a quiet day nursing your hangover at home, we hope that this list will bring you joy as you celebrate the coming of another year. And once again, we have to say a big thank you to the amazing members who make not only this list, but also this forum possible. We love you all and we wish you only the best in 2019! 18. Clean Bandit - Baby (Feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi) Submitted By: @Skinny Legend Little had been heard of the artist previously known as Marina and the Diamonds since 2015's experimental Froot album, which is why it was all the more surprising that she decided to make her long-awaited comeback with dance-pop sensations Clean Bandit and generic Hispanic stereotype Luis Fonsi. 'Baby' is just as generic as it's composers would imply, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best-produced and straight up fun songs of the year. Marina handles the change from squeaky sex kitten in the verse to acoustic guitar balladeer in the pre-chorus to triumphant Selena impersonator in the chorus with style, and even the typically irritating Fonsi manages to impress with his brand of Latin flair. Hopefully 'Baby' is a sign that Marina's ready to give up her pretentions of making alternative music in favour of a more laidback, carefree style. 17. Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water Submitted By: @kallumlavigne Avril Lavigne's powerful comeback after a long hiatus 'Head Above Water' - apart from the obvious green screen and body double in the video - is stunning. The song itself is quiet: a powerful, slow ballad that finds redemption towards it's last chorus, and it's a very different sound from the in your face guitar-based pop-punk tunes she's known for. But the piano delivers well, the instrumental is a euphoric experience and Avril's semi-soft vocals take the crown this year for me. Also, its low, but it's on Billboard's list of the best songs of 2018. 16. Kim Petras - Tell Me It's a Nightmare Submitted By: @Turn Ya Head Kim Petras, perhaps the most promising upcoming singer from the past three years, has released numerous buzz singles between 2017 and 2018; but in my opinion, her best work so far is one of the tracks from her Halloween-themed EP Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1. 'Tell Me It's a Nightmare' is a dark dance-oriented track which follows a remarkable instrumental song on the EP, creating an ethereal flow that some albums seem to lack these days. The ambiguous, yet intriguing lyrics, manage to convey a sense of horror and desperation that slightly contrasts with the rest of the EP. "Tell me it's a nightmare/And you ain't going nowhere/Try to save ya, warn ya, keep you alive/Try to stop ya, but you paid the price", sings Petras in a pleading manner. Who is she trying to save? What is she trying to save them from? Only her and the person who this song is dedicated to will ever know. Maybe she's trying to save them from herself. Maybe she's trying to save them from a potentially abusive relationship. The mystery allows the listener to apply the lyrics to their own personal life and therefore makes them relatable to almost anyone. The high-pitched vocals showcase Petras's singing ability and charisma. The production allows her crystal clear voice to shine and complement the haunting bass that's so prominent in the instrumental. The song ends with a haunting segment, in which she repeatedly sings non-lexical vocals in a catchy tune. What else could a pop fan ask from a song? Good lyrics, stellar production, a carefully engineered instrumental and outstanding vocals. 'Tell Me It's a Nightmare' might not be a mainstream hit or a chart topper, but it surely is a masterpiece. 15. Kacey Musgraves - Happy & Sad Submitted By: @nanapop99 I used to hate country music and I probably still do, but the good sis Kacey really did that with her latest album Golden Hour. In my opinion the album deserves to win Album of the Year at the Grammy's, but that's another subject. Anyways, country music is a genre I don't really listen to but these past few years we've seen pop divas like Gaga, Miley, Kesha and Kylie bringing their yeehaw out of nowhere, so you could say that I've gotten used to that type of music. I first heard of Kacey in a meme comparing Carly Rae Jepsen's E•MO•TION to Golden Hour and I was really wondering what was so special about that country girl. A few months after that, I heard a snippet of 'High Horse' and it was a bop at first listen so I decided to download the album while preparing for my trip to Vietnam and South Korea. I listened to the first half of the album on the plane and it really was so good! I was shook and my wig definitely flew to Texas or Tennessee or whatever yeehaw place you can think of. But the track that really stood out for me was 'Happy & Sad'. I don't think that there's anything special sonically about the track but the vibe, the lyrics, and the E•MO•TION of it that meant I couldn't stop my tears from falling while listening to the track for the first time. Unfortunately, my moment had to be cut short because the plane was about to land and I had to pretend that I was crying because of the loud noises. I was lowkey a mess back in July because I've just graduated high school and I didn't really know where I'd end up in September, study-wise. And while I was happy to travel with my family, I was kinda sad at the same time within my personal life so you could say that I was "lost.mp3". But this song and the album in general were like a warm hug for me. Golden Hour is the soundtrack to my summer 2018 and 'Happy & Sad' is definitely my song of the year! Who knew I had to become a space cowboy in order to survive this year? 14. Little Mix - Wasabi Submitted By: @Ari 2018 saw the release of LM5 from legendary iconic girl group Little Mix. After the massive success of their previous album Glory Days, they had big boots to fill but they did not disappoint! Many songs on this album are very different to their previous sound which has received some mixed reactions, but one song we can all hopefully agree on is the iconic bop that is 'Wasabi'. Penned by none other than legendary group member and LGBTQ icon Jade Thirlwall, as well as written and produced by the iconic MNEK, 'Wasabi' is the hoe anthem that we all need in our lives. From the catchy lyrics to the boppy beat and bass to even the harmonising "oh oh"'s, Little Mix show us that they will never be limited to one sound as a girl group and that each album they give us will be unique and fresh and work with all four members no matter the style of song. And that is why 'Wasabi' is one of the best songs of 2018. 13. Mariah Carey - GTFO Submitted By: @Skinny Legend Mariah Carey was never entirely gone from the music scene, with releases like the festive 'The Star' and the messy 'I Don't' holding fans over since her last album, 2014's Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse. Even so, our first offering from this year's Caution plays out just like a comeback single should, harking back to the classics that made gave Mariah her 18 #1's while propelling her unique form of balladry into the modern age. Don't let the title fool you; 'GTFO' is a down-tempo, moody heartbreak song, which is only slightly offset by it's angsty and comedic chorus of "How 'bout you get the fuck out?". While 'GTFO' was far from a hit, it did reach meme status pretty quickly and it's sound is probably the closest thing to a smash song that Mariah could get to in 2018. Fingers crossed that the next release from Caution will do a little better. 12. Ariana Grande - No Tears Left To Cry Submitted By: @Fetish My favorite song of this year has to be the gorgeous introduction to Ariana Grande's fourth album Sweetener. 'No Tears Left To Cry' almost instantly became a hit due to its beautiful production and even dreamier music video. The track defied expectations for Ariana, as she took inspiration from the Manchester tragedy to curate both a meaningful hard-hitting track and a seemingly lighthearted dance track. The upbeat nature of the production secures the song as a beautiful track filled with the celebration of all things, as Ariana twists the idea of no longer being able to cry into a transition towards happiness. With a catchy instrumental and even catchier lyrics by Max Martin, the song has easily established itself as one of the best songs of 2018 in my books. 11. Tinashe - Ooh La La Submitted By: @Glamleska Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe is the slept on R&B up-and-comer that's been championed as an unbeatable contender for seven years running, and this year she takes the stage with my favourite song 'Ooh La La'. Though this year has been considered a difficult one for Tinashe – from being dropped by RCA to going home earlier than deserved on Dancing With The Stars to the unjustly scrapped EP project NASHE – she still delivered one of my favorite R&B tracks of this decade. Track number five, 'Ooh La La', off her sophomore album Joyride has remained at the top of my rotation since its release. Though the album was heavily criticized, I found this track to be an incredible standout. I didn’t mind the album either, with the exception of there being way too many features. Between the nostalgic squeaking sound effect reminiscent of Trillville’s 'Some Cut', the heavy pulsating 808s, and her smooth harmonies over the chorus, 'Ooh La La' was everything I needed from an R&B track in 2018. It’s a shame it wasn’t released as a single over some other questionable choices - *cough* 'Me So Bad' - but I digress. Here’s to 2019 and another year of hoping my Aquarian sister finds some success independently! STOP SLEEPING ON TINASHE 2K19. #BuyJoyrideOniTunes 10. Lady Gaga - I'll Never Love Again Submitted By: @Skinny Legend Although she's best known for her dance/pop tracks, Lady Gaga has always been an incredible balladeer, as she's shown countless times in fan favourite songs like 'Brown Eyes', 'Speechlees' and 'Angel Down'. But while she's explored rooting tooting rock ballads and unsettling acoustic work, Gaga had never lent her vocals to a straight up power ballad before the release of this year's A Star Is Born soundtrack. 'I'll Never Love Again' is the final track on that album, although it appears as the penultimate song on the tracklisting as well with a slightly different ending, and after the high energy rock and roll attitude of the soundtrack and the movie it's the perfect song to listen to as the audience reflects back on the events of the story. Although the lyrics can be slightly over-sentimental and cheesy, the beautiful orchestral work can't be faulted and Gaga's voice sounds the best it ever has, even without any hint of Autotune or post-production work. Put simply, 'I'll Never Love Again' is a masterpiece on par with Whitney's 'I Will Always Love You', Mariah's 'Without You' and Celine's 'All By Myself', and the only shame about the song is that the charts didn't revere it as such. 9. Cher - The Winner Takes It All Submitted By: @Ruthless Love Yes, the song itself is not from 2018, however Cher's rendition is and it is magically perfect. Following her role in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, the legendary Cher announced she'd be releasing an album full of ABBA covers, and the result was Dancing Queen. The album itself is flawlessly perfect from beginning to end, and the standout song for me is the second-to-last, 'The Winner Takes it All'. Originally released by ABBA in 1980 from their Super Trouper album, the song is magical in its lyrical content, and under the direction of Cher and music producer Mark Taylor, it's truly uplifting and easy-listening at its best. It's still ABBA, but with a special twist of Cher-riffic talent and gold. This song is not-to-be-missed. 8. Hailee Steinfeld & BloodPop® - Capital Letters Submitted By: @Cypher There were a lot of songs this year that were good in glimpses, but one that stood out is 'Capital Letters' by Hailee Steinfeld and BloodPop®. Coming down from his production on the Justin Bieber collaboration 'Friends', BloodPop® was able to capture the cinematics and emotions of a new romance. With Ellie Goulding thrown into the mix as a co-writer, the song comes together with some of the highest highs of 2018. 'Capital Letters' is a feel-good song about falling into the whirlwind that comes with any new relationship. After what seemed to be a melodramatic 2017 full of anticipation, this song kicked off 2018 with new goals, bright rays of light, and hope for a better tomorrow. Though the single did not become a smash hit in any region, it thrives as an underrated piece of pop perfection with a timeless sound. 7. Au/Ra - Emoji Submitted By: @Cock Destroyer 'Emoji' is underrated and one of my most played songs this year. I thought 'Panic Room' would be Au/Ra's best song but then she released this masterpiece. I love the production, the melodies, everything. It's quite different from today's pop but still a pop song. I feel like if t.A.t.U released a song today, it would sound like this. 6. Demi Lovato - Sober Submitted By: @Whoknowsmehere I have listened to a lot of my favorite songs from 2018 (and there are a quite a few of them) over the last couple of days to determine my fave; but this one particular song just kept coming back to me over and over. The fact that this song hit so close to home for me is my primary reason for choosing it. That, and I actually enjoyed listening to it very much over and over again. I have probably listened to it at least a hundred times since it came out. I will not get into a long drawn out explanation, other than to say I know what exactly Demi is talking about in this song. I know this song did not get a lot of air time. Nor much, if any, acclaim. But for me that is not what makes a great song. The message is what did it for me. 5. Rina Sawayama - Cherry Submitted By: @Skinny Legend Rina Sawayama might still be a relative unknown in the pop music scene, but in the burgeoning realm of underground queer pop artists which includes Charli XCX and Kim Petras she's a frontrunner of the genre. Like these two artists she's fully capable of self-referential and ironic hyper-pop bops, as she proved last year with 'Cyber Stockholm Syndrome'; but with 'Cherry', the Japanese-English Sawayama proves that she has more up her sleeve than just that. 'Cherry' is not only a slice of alternative pop heaven in it's production, but a vulnerable admission of sexual curiosity that's rarely heard in pop music. "Down the subway, you looked my way/With your girl gaze, with your girl gaze/That was the day everything changed/Couldn't stay the same" introduces the song, and for the most part it's the perfect introduction of Sawayama herself - soft yet strong, insecure yet confident, and enigmatic yet honest. If Rina has more "cherries" like this on the way, then we get the feeling the sky's the limit for how far she'll go. 4. Mark Ronson - Nothing Breaks Like a Heart (Feat. Miley Cyrus) Submitted By: @Tweener After taking a social media hiatus, the legendary Miley Cyrus teamed up with the amazing producer Mark Ronson (known mostly for his work with Lady Gaga) and created the song of the millennium! Miley did what other girls wished to do and what they should've done a long time ago. The song and the powerful music video convey a very important message of contemporary society mindlessly following the news about the Kardashians, and other celebrities not paying enough attention to real problems like police brutality, racism, kids running around with guns, greed in stores, and clerks' hypocrisy. The video is comprised of many LGBTQ references as well, which doesn't come as a surprise considering Miley is an LGBTQ icon who, unlike many other pop girls nowadays, fight for our rights not for publicity but because she truly believes in our cause. This is a new gay anthem which charts high all around the world. It's undeniably one of the best songs of 2018 if not of all time. 3. Robyn - Honey Submitted By: @BlackoutZone Crowned the second best song of 2018 by Pitchfork for a reason, the title track of Robyn's recent album is a joyful journey of the senses. After two years of teasing, expectations for the track reached high heavens yet Robyn effortlessly exceeded them all and delivered the masterpiece we all wished for. The song itself is so juicy and so flourishing as it builds that you can almost taste it. The sound becomes the flavour of golden honey waves that your mind surfs on while listening. Though Mariah and Katy B already showed us how seductive honey can be, it's never been done with such delicacy, and Robyn totally elevated the concept of it being a pure sexual pleasure. 2. Kim Petras - Heart To Break Submitted By: @Skinny Legend Kim Petras first hit my radar with her insanely catchy ode to consumerism 'I Don't Want It At All', but it was with 'Heart To Break' that she truly claimed her position as one to watch. 'Heart To Break' went on to become my most listened song of 2018, but it's more than just an earworm. In describing the fairytale of a girl who gives her heart away even while knowing it will soon be broken, Petras ascends to the level of lyrical mastery shown by artists such as Robyn and Utada Hikaru, both of whom pen bittersweet pop songs with danceable beats made even more brilliant by their heartbreaking lyrics. 'Heart To Break' is impressive on it's own, but when you consider it in the context of Kim's strong voice, brilliant lyricism and unique image it makes you question why she isn't already #1 on every chart. 1. Christina Aguilera - Accelerate (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign & 2 Chainz) Submitted By: @liberation Six years after the not so well received album Lotus, Christina Aguilera released 'Accelerate', the first taste of her sixth album (or eighth if you count Mi Reflejo and My Kind of Christmas). When it was revealed that the song was produced by Kanye West and featured Ty Dolla $ign and 2 Chainz, everyone knew that Urbantina was making her comeback, but I guess that we were all very surprised after our first listen, because the song is so...weird? The intro is very strange with hypnotic Ty vocals and heavy drums, and when Xtina starts with her verses there's a lot of ad libs by him. The song is pretty much a duet between two of them until the beat changes drastically and 2 Chainz joins with an iconic bridge. When the song ended I was shocked because it was the messiest thing I've ever heard, but that's the reason why I loved it. I'm pretty sure that the reason why XTina is my favorite artist is because she's not afraid of taking risks. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. When it comes to 'Accelerate', I think it's the best song off Liberation and also her best song in a very long time, so I guess it worked for me. The video is very simple and sometimes it even looks a bit low budget, but I don't mind; I think it's sexy and fits the song very well, and it shows that she still owns her sexuality and doesn't give two fucks about what people think of her. At the end of the day, 'Accelerate' is a 10/10 song that is not predictable at all and I believe that it will age very well, and that’s why it is my song of the year. What songs did we forget about in our hunt for 2018's best track? Let us know in the comments down below!

Back in June, we reported that Dr. Luke's legal team had demanded that Kesha hand over a group of select texts between herself and Lady Gaga as evidence in their ongoing defamation trial. According to Luke, the texts were proof that Kesha had defamed his name publicly by spreading three intentional lies about him: that he had raped her, that he had given her drugs against her will, and that he had also raped Katy Perry. Up until now, those texts were under lock and key. But thanks to the transparency of the New York legal system, they have now been uploaded online for anyone to view as they please. The original document is online and is probably worth a look just for the sheer bizarreness of watching two major popstars texting like twelve year old girls, but if you don't feel like scrolling through pages of digital information you can read the full transcript below. Apart from confirmation that Kesha was indeed under the apprehension that Luke raped Perry - an accusation that both Perry and Luke have both vehemently denied - the texts also brought to light the fact that both Kesha and Gaga at one point considered Perry "mean". While Gaga has always shrugged it off in interviews, the rivalry between her and Perry is well-documented, meaning her claim is pretty unsurprising. But Kesha's negative opinion is a little more confusing, because as far as we know the two were always good terms, with Kesha even appearing as a background extra in Perry's breakthrough music video for 'I Kissed A Girl'. Not long after the documents were released online, Gaga took to her social media of choice to retract her claims, countering that Perry is "truly a kind soul" and that her past opinions were a result of "differences w/ each other". And it wasn't long before Perry responded with a Tweet of her own, attesting to the fact that there was no bad blood between the two whatsoever. Conspicuously absent in the Twitter love-fest was Kesha, who kept quiet about the whole situation. Although it would be easy to suggest that Kesha still holds a grudge against Perry, it's just as likely that she's been advised by her legal team to keep quiet on the issue given that it's part of an ongoing case. Either way, we have to wonder what exactly happened in the past that would lead both Gaga and Kesha to consider Perry "mean". Was it really just the fact that Katy wasn't coming forward about her alleged rape, or was there more to it? We were always led to believe that Taylor Swift was the snake of the music industry, but maybe there was another side to the story we haven't been let in on. Your thoughts?

When it was first announced that Lady Gaga would be headlining season five of American Horror Story, sub-titled Hotel, there was a mixed reaction from fans of the show. While Gaga stans were understandably excited, others worried that she wouldn't have the acting chops to pull it off, especially with the shows lead Jessica Lange taking her leave that season. Lange infamously shrugged, laughed and played coy when asked in an interview if Gaga's presence in the show could convince her to stick around for another season. Well if new comments from Gaga's co-star and love interest in the show Matt Bomer are anything to go by, the series could have looked very different if Lange had chosen to stay. According to Bomer, season five the show was originally meant to be a Civil War period piece with Lange as the lead before Gaga's involvement was confirmed. It's an interesting twist in the story. Up until now, we had been told that Jessica Lange was always going to make her exit in season five and that Gaga's appearance had nothing to do with her choice. But it now sounds as though Lange was at one point confirmed for the season, with an entire plotline based around her character. We can't help but speculate if Gaga's casting made her decide to leave the show, or if showrunner Ryan Murphy's decision to retool the series as Hotel for Gaga encouraged Lange to jump ship. Either way, it's all getting very Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and we'd love to know more about what happened between the two superstars. Better yet, let's just get them in a series together!

The soundtrack of Bradley Cooper's directing debut, A Star Is Born, featuring Lady Gaga drops 5/10/18.

Rick Genest was far from an A-list celebrity, but he was well known enough that shock waves were sent through the world when he died of an apparent suicide last week. According to police sources, Genest was found outside of his apartment in Montreal on Wednesday after falling from his balcony. Although police initially classified his death as a suicide, there has been concern from family and business colleagues that this ruling may have been premature. "The circumstances are quite mysterious and the pieces of the puzzle just don't fit together perfectly," said Karim Leduc, Genest's manager. According to Leduc, Genest would frequently lean against his balcony to smoke, and family members believe that is what led to his fall. Lady Gaga, who had originally sent out several Tweets in sympathy with Genest, later apologised for jumping the gun when it came to her own judgements. “The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating,” she originally wrote. “We have to work harder to change the culture, bring mental health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we can’t talk about it. If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other.” Later, with those Tweets deleted, she apologised for her previous comments and sent condolences to Genest's family. Genest, also known popularly as Zombie Boy, rose to fame in the fashion world when he walked the catwalk in Paris and Berlin fashion shows, but his first introduction to the mainstream came when he starred in Gaga's 'Born This Way' music video. With later acting roles in films such as 47 Ronin and TV shows like Silent Witness, Genest would go on to recieve a Guinness World Record for most insect tattoos (he had 176), and another for most human bone tattoos (139). He was 32 years old when he died.