Justin Bieber performs on Sept. 23, 2013, in Singapore.
Will Oct. 21, 2013, go down in history as the most important day in music history?
Probably not — but it’s certainly one of the biggest days for new pop music since, well, at least last week. Justin Bieber released the latest of his “Music Mondays” series (10 singles coming out once a week between this month and the end of the year, when Believe hits theaters), a slow jam that features a rhyme about kissing and sandwich baggies.
Lady Gaga, whose album ARTPOP (coming out Nov. 11 in the U.S.), released a dance track featuring R. Kelly, “Do What U Want,” alongside single artwork that features her own rear end. She also made headlines for the lead-up to the release, during which she took to Twitter and dissed herself, calling herself a reductive Madonna copy, a hermaphrodite and a has-been…claims that she counters in the lyrics to the song, which is about how “u” can “do what u want” to her body and say what you want about her, but her mind is her own.
Finally, Taylor Swift released a song, “Sweeter Than Fiction,” written for the soundtrack to the upcoming movie One Chance (out in the U.K. on Friday), about Britain’s Got Talent phenom Paul Potts. Swift wrote the ’80s-inflected track with Jack Antonoff of the band fun.
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As of a few hours into the morning, the official Vevo audio-only video from Gaga had nearly three times as many views as Bieber’s. (Swift did not release an official video with her single.) On iTunes’ list of the top ten downloaded singles, Gaga held the top spot, Bieber came in second and Swift was in fourth. (Lorde, who also holds the album crown, was in third with “Royals.”)
Have a listen to these three new songs and see which you think will wind up winning:
Justin Bieber, “Hold Tight”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFP9AjWpNi4]
Lady Gaga, “Do What U Want” ft. R. Kelly
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3jzMyYgPQs]
Taylor Swift, “Sweeter Than Fiction”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhGp73yBwzo]
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