Hell Hath No Fury Like Cher Scorned

It's a Woman's World and Warner Brothers better Take It Like a Man as Cher spoke out against her label, getting Closer to the Truth. Billboard reported two days ago:

Cher says her record label "hasn't got a great deal of interest in my CD" and that the "decision makers" at the company "don't seem to care that much."

Cher released her most recent album, "Closer to the Truth," last September on Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the diva's highest charting solo album ever.

Cher took to Twitter on Thursday, February 6, to gripe about her label, but noted that "not all" of the folks at the company are unsupportive, adding that "there (are) hard working adorable" people there, too.

Cher has been with Warner Brothers since 1996. Perhaps sensing the discrimination against older artists, especially the female of the species, Cher lashed out on Twitter: 

Just read mean TILAM review. The video had nothing 2 do with me. I was told it would only be shown in gay bars. It’s true WB’s hasn’t got a Great Deal of Interest In My CD. Not ALL,THERE R HARD WORKING ADORABLE PPL.,But Decision Makers Don’t Seem 2CareThat Much. It’s Ok YHSTLOM

YHMSTLOM means You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me in Cher shorthand. And the video in question is not available on the Internet as of yet.

Closer to the Truth, released last September, sold 285,000 copies in the U.S. alone. It is the superstar's 25th studio album. It's possible that the dance-music-friendly tracks are something Warner brass are not all that investing in promoting. "Woman's World" did go to #1 while "Take It Like a Man" stalled at #2, with My Crazy Girlfriend's "Go F***k Yourself" catapulting to the top spot like a slap in the face.

So far, Warner Brothers hasn't issued a comment regarding the diva's accusations nor said a word on its behalf in this matter.

Billboard in Brief

Happy Labor Day to all my fellow Americans! Have a safe and happy three-day holiday weekend. Here's news from the Billboard Top 20, skipping through selectively, for the week ended September 7.

Kylie Minogue's "Skirt" is lifted to second place. Expect it to be next week's # 1. (Go, Kylie!) Pet Shop Boys' "Vocal" is # 3 and upwardly mobile. Yoko Ono's doing a good job "Walking on Thin Ice," now up at # 9. Expect her to skate ever higher with the new remixes of her '80s hit.

Lady Bunny sings "Take Me Up High" and the universe grants her request, landing her in the 18th spot while Cazwell and Luciana -- "Guess What?" -- are at #20.

Thanks and big kisses to my readers abroad, this week especially in France, Germany, U.K., Russia, Poland, Mexico. China, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Mauritius and Romania.

Unite on the dancefloor! Dance music is about peace, acceptance and love!

Below, the video for the Wayne Numan remix of Lady Bunny's "Take Me Up High." Disco down y'all!

Dj Buddy B's Billboard News ~ week ending 8/24/13

Interesting developments on the Dance/Club music top-25 on Billboard (week ending August 24, 2013), especially at top and bottom where our focus will be today.

Cher's "A Woman's World," which peaked at #1 two weeks ago, holds steady in 10th place this outing. Kat DeLuna's "Stars" heavenly at #2; Kylie's "Skirt" swirling in third place. Plumb's "Need You Now" upwardly mobile at #5.

The great UK groups from the '80s, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boy, have survived and even flourished through the ensuing decades and, may I add, they are as musically relevant today as they've ever been. At #7, "Soothe My Soul" by Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys at #8 with "Vocal," both tunes seeming to be headed upward still.

At #22, the 2013 remixes of the John Lennon-produced "Walking on Thin Ice" (another echo of the '80s), sung by Yoko Ono, are skating upward. Ms Ono turned 80 this past February. Disco divas are forever! Excellent remix work, especially by Dave Aude and Ralphi Rosario.

All hail Lady Bunny as she cracks the Top 25, in the 25th spot but upwardly mobile, with producer Wayne Numan's "Take Me Up High."

That's it for this week; we'll revisit next. To my friends and readers all over the world, it's all about love, peace and disco. Boycott the Russian Olympics! We love our gay Russian comrades. Unite on the dancefloor!

Billboard's Dance/Club Hits of August 10

For the Billboard magazine week ending August 10, Cher's new single (with remixes), "Woman's World," usurps the #1 spot on the Dance/Club chart, as anticipated! It's really Cher's world; we just live in it.

Inaya Day will "Make Some Noise" if she damn well pleases. The perennial house music diva is back, up at #4 with Dj Escape on that number.

Plumb's "Need You Now" is now nestled in the top ten at 10th place with Kylie close behind as "Skirt" shakes it way to #11.  And "Soothe My Soul," by the UK's very durable band over the decades, Depeche Mode, is up at #12 . UK's equally durable Pet Shop Boys this week find their "Vocal" in 14th place and rising.

Upwardly mobile, though currently much lower on the Club chart, are the new Lady Bunny song (who was a Lady long before Gaga), "Take Me Up High" by an unfunny, serious Bunny as house music diva; Yoko Ono's "Walking on Thin Ice" 2013 driven by top-notch remixes from Dave Aude and Ralphi Rosario; and the 2013 remixes of Sylvester's "Mighty Real."

Madonna's First Album: Now 30 Years Old

Madonna has maintained her dominance in pop/dance music now for three decades! Which is an astounding success for any artist. She is, as I have pronounced previously, the Joan Crawford of Disco, reinventing herself for longevity in a youth-crazy culture.

"Queen of Pop is a term that is thrown around loosely nowadays with this latest bumper crop of female singers. The artist who first inserted that honor into the music vernacular, Madonna, undoubtedly still wears that crown proudly," wrote the UK's Examiner. 

Released July 27, 1983, the self-titled "Madonna" album "debuted at No. 190 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Sept. 3, 1983, and eventually climbed all the way No. 8 the following year. The Sire/Warner Bros. Records release spent a staggering 168 weeks on the chart -- the longest run of any Madonna album," according to Billboard. "It spun off three top 20 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and four entries on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs tally."

"Everybody" was the first single that was released from this eight-track album, and it became an immediate sensation. "Holiday," "Burning Up," "Borderline," "Physical Attraction," "Lucky Star," the Madonna album launched many hits and turned the vocalist into a multi-media star who dominated MTV at one time, and into a savvy businesswoman and entrepreneur as well. She became an industry as well as a legend.

Madonna has also co-opted other female artists' images to suit own, most notably Debbie Harry and Cyndi Lauper. Said Ms Harry in an interview today with UK's The Sun: At one of my lowest points, Madonna started her career and everyone said she stepped into my shoes. I was kind of shocked and not very happy in the long run. But she has been complimentary over the years. That compensates."

Madonna's feuded publicly with many other divas, including Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Lady GaGa. Still, she was a major inspiration for many female pop artists and remains so today.

The Madonna album was produced by her then-lover at the time, Jellybean Benitez.  Asked by Dick Clark, on American Bandstand,  where she sang "Holiday" from the debut album, what she considered her goal to be, Madonna snapped: "To rule the world."

She's nearly succeeded.

Billboard Beefs Up

Finally, there's some hope on Billboard's dance-music horizon now that "A Woman's World" by Cher is in the #2 position for the club chart ending August 3. It's poised to top the chart next week.

The always remarkable Inaya Day and Dj Escape's "Make Some Noise," is a true floor-filler, up at 6th place this week, while Jennifer Lopez's "Live It Up" is down at #8. The JLo tune peaked in first place, and was at #5 last outing. Fading but still strong.

Ciara's "Body Party," also a previous #1 (last week, in fact), steeply fell to 11th place but it was nice to find the girl charting for the dancefloors again.

"Need You Now" by Christian Contemporary singer, Plumb (nee Tiffany Arbuckle Lee), features strong remixes by RedTop, WaWa and Dave Aude. It's upwardly mobile on the dance/club chart at #15, as is venerable Depeche Mode's "Save My Soul," now in the current 16th spot.

Kylie Minogue works her "Skirt" into the 17th spot, and she's always a welcome presence on the gay club scene, this being no exception.  In the 18th spot, we have Anton Clamaran's "This Is My Goodbye" featuring diva Fenja. It's a pop-friendly high-NRG, trancey number that will seduce you to the dancefloor. Unfortunately, it peaked on Billboard at #13 last week, so it's falling now. Still, it's recommended. (Radio edit posted below.)

Dance/ Soul music idol Chaka Khan's "It's Not Over" truly deserved to be a #1. It peaked at a respectable #7 and is now at  #20.

And "Vocal" by Pet Shop Boys just cracks the Top 25 this week in the 25th spot, but moving up for sure.

Meanwhile, bubbling up in the Top 50, Lady Bunny gets even higher (#43) with the fabulous, ascending "Take Me Up High." New, 2013 remixes of Yoko Ono's "Walking on Thin Ice" (#47) and Sylvester's perennial disco classic and gay anthem, "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real," is at #50, rounding out the chart.

Getting Higher with Lady Bunny

Drag icon Lady Bunny, whose appearance is inspired by Dusty Springfield, has been around since gay pre-history. I think I recall seeing her pass me by while we were riding our disco dinosaurs. She organized NYC's Wigstock in 1985, an event that lasted 20 years (and deserves to be brought back). It was pretty much a victim of its own success.

Bunny is truly a drag legend, out of Atlanta, starting her career there along with RuPaul and Larry Tee. She was in the movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.  She is a star!

I loved her dj work as she often spun dance music close to my own heart. I often danced to her appearances at New York City's LGBT Center. (http://www.gaycenter.org/)

I've also been a big fan of her dance cd singles; her covers of "Shame, Shame, Shame" and, especially, "The Pussycat Song" were marvelous. ("Pussycat" video posted below.)

But now, she returns with a new, original number that puts some adrenaline back in dance music, "Take Me Up High." The Lybra Records release will feature remixes by Subgroover, Wayne Numan, Timmy Loop, Sweet Team, Edwin Reyes, True2life, Tocco, Edson Pride, Klubjumpers and Julian Marsh.

It is #1 this week on Billboard's Dance/Club Breakouts chart and has cracked the bottom of the  official Dance/Club chart. Let's see how high she can take it! Hop to it, Bunny!

Hear the sample:



2013 version of "Pussycat Song" as a country number:

Retro Is the New New on Billboard

Dj Buddy B in a groovy space

I'm in a real groovy space right now as I write this, sipping on a little wine (as Gloria Gaynor, I believe, once put it), and listening to the Joey Negro/Sean P compilation double-cd set, "The Soul of Disco: Volume Two." It opens with the funky "Disco Party" by The Escorts, in which gritty, bass-heavy beats and guitar give way to soaring strings and vocals, bringing us back to a bygone musical era . This is followed by the rare Gladys Knight and the Pips' "It's a Better than Good Time," 12" Walter Gibbons mix, which is just disco-heavenly.

I am checking out, in the meanwhile, Billboard's latest top-25 Dance/Club chart, surprised to find it, too, embracing classic dance-music styles, particularly New Wave '80s and '90s House music.

Adele has risen with the remixed pop theme song, "Skyfall," to #10 (from #13 last week), which is more a throwback to the '60s and early '70s as remixed for the Teens. The sublime Oscar-nominated number has several solid dancefloor remixes though it is, no doubt, buoyed on Billboard by the latest re-work by Peter Rauhofer.

"Gold," the Spandau Ballet 1980s classic, has been remixed and remains at #8, more evidence that there is a current popular gravitation to the melodic songs of the 1960s through the 1980s, generally. '90s rock star Lenny Kravitz' "Superlove" peaked at #2, and still remains at 15th place while, at #16, The Pet Shop Boys (who have been with us since the '80s), jumped up three notches since last week with "Leaving" from their current album. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/10/audio-beaverhausen-pet-shop-boys-elysium.html

Ciara is "Sorry" at #17 but, seriously,  it's nice to have her back. And it's simply awesome to have another song by '90s diva, Crystal Waters -- still going strong on the international club scene-- up and rising at #20 with the superb, energetic Italo-houser, "A Love to Call My Own." Hope to watch it soar!

How come, when I dance in the street, people think I'm a freak? I was hoping this question would be answered on the great new number by Stereo Missile, "Freak," featuring the vocals of another great '90s diva with powerful pipes, Carlotta Chadwick. The question, as posed by Ms Chadwick, is, however, academic, as it turns out. The electro style by Stereo Missile is coolly retro, and it is currently #22.

Revenge of the '90s House Music continues with  Euro-trance producers Delirium returning with a new hit, "Days Turn Into Nights" (#24). And, to round things off, '90s girl, Tori Amos, returns to the Billboard Dance Chart with her new song, "Flavor," remixed by Rauhofer once again, and up at 23rd place. Retro is the Flavor of Today.

But it's even more retro at the Beaverhausen residence tonight as Janice McClain belts out the mid-temp disco number, "Giving My Love" on my aforementioned cd. Retro is the new New! Or so, at least, it seems tonight.

Bummed on Billboard

The most recent Billboard Club/Dance chart sucks, frankly, and I'm only happy about Frenchie Davis' ascent with "Love's Got a Hold on Me," at number 15, and it truly has a hold on the dance floor right now with true diva energy.

The 2012 dance chart for the year is also a huge disappointment. It's not that the year's dance music had a poor showing; it's where the better songs charted! Ok, there's Florence + the Machine at #3 with "Say My Name," but you have to scroll down to #18 to get to the first dance tune that really excites me, that being "Timebomb" by Kylie Minogue. Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild"? Number 44. "Marry the Night" by Lady Gaga? Number 47. "If It Wasn't for Love" sung by Deborah Cox? Number 50. Believe me, this lackluster listing could use a big fabulousness infusion.

So, in light of all this, will you settle right now for openly gay artist Cheyenne Jackson's very happy preview of his music video for "Don't Wanna Know"? This video looks and sounds kind of poptastic!. Have a good look and pray for dance mixes! Good ones this time.

Billboard Shake-Up

It was sad to see Kathy Griffin's fabulous "I'll Say It" drop off the top 25 Billboard Dance/Club Chart this go-round, but good to see Florence Welch (of "+ the Machine") ascend to #14 (from #20 last week) on vocals for "Sweet Nothing" by Calvin Harris. While I love listening to Harris' extended version, it offers no intro for mixing into a set. For that purpose, I recommend the Tiesto remix.

Christina Aguilera leaped into the top 25 in a major way when her quite catchy but undistinguished "Your Body" made it from last week's #26 song to the #16th. I'll refrain from any Greatest Gainer comments.

Mariah Carey's "Triumphant" is still solid at #11, having peaked at numero uno. X Factor's Melanie Amaro is rising right behind, at #12, with "Don't Fail Me Now." And, at #13, we have Beyonce, losing wind and nudging up just one spot from last week, with "I Was Here." Yeah, you was.

Pet Shop Boys peaked at #12 with "Winner" on the US chart, though Kristine W is up at #4 with the fantastic, Bimbo Jones-produced floor-filler, "Everything That I Got." Meanwhile, Yoko Ono is "Moving On" to the number 10th place.

Let me tell you, I could eat up every part of a guy like Cheyenne Jackson in a New York minute (pictured at top)! But who couldn't? Tall, dark, handsome and out (but married). The Conaire remix of the Broadway crooner's "Drive" crossed my desk recently.  Unfortunately, it doesn't quite gel for the dance floor. Good song, but not a good mix. Unlikely to peak on Billboard or end up in my mix.

More on the dance floor musique and some more Billboard club jive soon. Love ~~ Dj Buddy B!

Peace, Love & Billboard

Peace of cake as I see it!

Any week that has equal blog hits from Egypt and Israel is saying something to us. It was only this week in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY that I went down to the Arab-run deli on the ground floor of my building to see a hassidic Jew delivering lots of baked goods, with the business transaction showcasing very good feelings.

World peace is possible and, hey, dance music unites us around the world. The holidays are upon us, so let's celebrate peace and love at the discotheque! Blowing kisses for this week to Philippines, Turkey and Portugal, too, for their record number of hits.

May there also be peace between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey on American Idol.  (See poll at right and please vote.) Taking it to Billboard's Dance/Club top 25 this week, Mariah Carey's "Triumphant" is at #2, while Minaj's "Pound the Alarm" has tumbled from #1 to #6.

Pink is in the pink in the numero uno spot with "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)." The fabulos Kristine W is up in 10th place with her great new number, "Everything That I Got," done in conjunction with Bimbo Jones.

How the mighty have fallen this week, but aren't these the greatest? Florence + the Machine had a #1 club hit with "Spectrum," now #11. And "Move in the Right Direction," by Gossip, may have peaked at #17, as it's at #19 this week.
 
Upward, Pet Shop Boys are two spots ahead with "Winner," though Beyonce moved up only one spot with "I Was Here."

Till next Billboard time, PEACE! Over and out.

Hot Mess Billboard

The week that led up to Labor Day in the USA was full of hot messes. First there was that trifling Tan Mom, the tanning obsessed NJ woman who became a tabloid sensation, appearing at XL in NY mid-week. Guesting at a club night actually called "Hot Mess," her drunken, slovenly appearance ended with her being escorted offstage after she started getting nasty with her drag queen hostesses, unable to stand or spit out a coherent phrase.

I mean, she had already fallen down on the red carpet, entering (and what a stunning entrance that was!) and continued to guzzle free goblets full of both white and red wine, throwing some at the crowd, reportedly including Tina Fey who was up front. Well, the whole debacle went viral internationally. This is what happens when reality stars let 15 minutes of fame go to their heads.  XL certainly is glowing in light of the publicity. I don't see much future for Tan Mom, however. Do you? I think this is her crowning achievement.

DIRTY CHAIRY

And none other than Clint Eastwood was a surprisingly hot mess when he showed up at the Republican freak show, talking to a now famously empty chair as if it were President Obama. Does Dirty Harry think black people are invisible? Or what were we to take away from that, anyhow? Prior to this, I considered Clint an Eisenhower-type Republican but his support of theTea Party agenda has sadly made me put a moratorium on all films Clint, be he star or director.

But let's move on to my take on Billboard and its Top 25 Dance, shall we?

Madonna finally takes over the #1 spot, as anticipated, with "Turn Up the Radio" club remixes.

"Let's Have a Kiki" has kicked its self up to the #3 position, God bless the Scissor Sisters.  Florence + the Machine follow with "Spectrum (Say My Name)" in 4th place.

Cyndi Lauper's "Sex Is in the Heel,"almost as much fun as turning tricks at a truck stop, is up now at a hot #6, while JLo's "Going In," which made #1 is goin' out at #11 this week. Adam Lambert's "Never Close Our Eyes," peaking at 6th place last week, is now at #15, while Rebecca Furguson -- whose voice sounds like a mix of Aretha and Winehouse -- leaps from #20 to 16.

And nothing below that is of interest of me or, believe you me, of you. They're just hot messes.

Happy Labor Day  kisses to my American readers, and to the UK and Canada for big support. Big love out to Italy, Mexico and the Ukraine this week! To Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany with much affection! Smooches, too, to Abu Dhabi and Syria! Let's remix the world with love, happiness and dance music! Peace & love, y'all! ~~ Dj Buddy Beaverhausen.

July's Hot Divas

Loving the new cd-r promo I received of "We Got Pride," a new dance number coming out of the gay-oriented Swishcraft indy label. Vocals by Diane Charlemagne. Available on Amazon.com. Give it a whirl.

As an Almighty UK club member, I get their unreleased and unofficial mixes sent to me monthly. This time, I received their exclusive mixes of Donna Summer's "That's the Way It Is," a song that reunited the diva with producer Giorgio Moroder. Very hot! (And originally written for Gwen Stefani.) Expect it to be in my upcoming sets. This is a free, promo-only cd-r, not for sale or otherwise made available.

This week's check on my Billboard Dance/Club Chart divas in the top 25:

Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" is #2 this week, right under upstart Rita Ora's "How We Do Party" in the top spot. Kylie at #3 with the gay fave, "Timebomb," while JLo's "Goin' In" goes into the fourth spot.

Kelly Clarkson's "Dark Side" is #5, up from #10 last week and Scissor Sisters' "Only the Horses" may be best in show as it hurdles from 17th place to seventh!  "Pefect World," from Gossip, displays perfection as it sails from #22 to #14 on remix magic while Nelly Furtado's "Big Hoops" buoy her from #25 to 15! Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me," which peaked at #8 now nestled in the 17th position.

And Adam Lambert's beauty, "Never Close Our Eyes," complete with several good remixes, enters the top 25 from its 29th placement last week.

* * *

Peace, love and disco! This week's blog shout-outs to the USA! We need healing, we need gun control, we need to focus on love and support nationally and turn our backs on haters. Make this a love-based nation, restore the hope and shun fear and anger. Remember what our great President, FDR, said: "There is nothing to fear but fear itself!"

Welcome, Ivory Coast! My partly Polish heart out to Poland! Russia, we love you too! And hola, Brazil! Till next time, keep dancing and uniting our world with the joy of music!

Love ya!  Peace. Out. ~~ Dj Buddy Beaverhausen

The Divas of Billboard's Dance/Club Chart

Hot as the summer itself, here are where the divas that interest me are for the week ending July 21.

Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" is up two notches, currently at third place with the #1 spot (currently occupied by The Wanted's "Chasing the Sun") well within her reach. But there's more than a Firework on its way up her butt as Kylie Minogue's at #4 with "Timebomb," perhaps the hottest song of summer so far (though it isn't summer Down Under). In any case, it's positively incendiary and is Billboard's "Greatest Gainer" pick of the week.

Two of the songs, and the divas, I've been rooting for dipped this week on the chart, much to my disappointment. Because I love these songs and think these women deserve the top spot more than many who've arrived there of late. Debby Holiday's strong, beautiful "Key to Your Soul" (already a gay anthem) dips one rung to the 23rd spot. It's completely possible it could bounce back up, I tell myself. And Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me" (from the NBC-tv series, "Smash") may have peaked at #4 last time as it now has sunken to #9. Still, it had a nice, long ride upward.
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/buddy-bs-exclusive-q-with-debby-holiday.html

Jennifer Lopez's "Goin' In" goes up like a rocket, quickly following up on the success of "Dance Again," which reached #1 on the club chart, and on the pop and radio charts as well. "Goin' In" quickly snagged the 18th position last week, and is now all the way in and up at #9.

Kelly Clarkson shows off her "Dark Side" and remixes lift her from last week's #20 to this week's #10. This moved faster than Aretha Franklin devouring a cheesecake (to paraphrase Joan Rivers). Sorry, but I don't think this is anywhere near as good a dance tune as Kelly's last effort, "Stronger," which showed off her Nietzschean side. (I'm so sure Miss Clarkson pours over his philosophical treatises during her free time.)
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/12/advising-kelly-clarkson.html

Toni Braxton, who took "I Heart You" to #1, has made a graceful deflation off the chart, still nicely sitting at 18.  Carly Rae Jepsen still snug as a bug with "Call Me Maybe" (loving the Almighty UK mix), which peaked at #15. Gossip's "Perfect World" makes a grand entrance into the top 25, at #23 this week, and Scissor Sisters, with power diva Jake Shears, are now at #17, riding "Only the Horses." (I must confess I prefer "Let's Have a Kiki" but have yet to find a decent extended remix.)

Shakira may have told us "Hips Don't Lie," but Nelly Furtado arrives in 25th place with "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)." And those are the top Divas of the Top 25 of the Billboard dance/club chart this week. Till next time, peace, love and dance your ass off for happiness! Bigger the better.

Below, the video for Scissor Sisters' "Kiki." I love it!

Divas on the Dance Chart (Billboard) Update

This week's Billboard Dance chart in focus.

It's no secret that I don't like Eva Simmons' "I Don't Like You," no matter the mix. Yet the bitch hit #1 on the chart this week. So be it. Still, I love that "Touch Me," Katharine McPhee's big number from the tv series, "Smash" has reached number four. Hoping it gets up to the smashing tippy-top.

Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" has jumped from #11 to #5, as the singer's movie loses to Spiderman at the b.o. this weekend. But huge leap for Miss Kylie, armed with her "Timebomb," exploding from #21 to #9! Another American hit for the Aussie dance diva!

Toni Braxton's divine "I Heart You" settles nicely at #13, one chart step up from the dance mixes of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" (that artist cited for reckless driving this afternoon in L.A.) with Canadian pop star  Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" one rung lower.

J-Lo's going in with "Goin' In," debuting in the top 25 at #18 (remix below), while Kelly Clarkson's "Dark Side" pays off at #20. (#30 last week.) Reina reappears with "Lover Who Rocks You" (we love you, Miss Reina). And one of my all-time favorite dance divas, the divine Debby Holiday (check out our Q&A below) rises to #22 with the fantastic "Key to Your Soul." Scissor Sisters' "Only the Horses" at last cracks the top 25.

Thanks to the US, UK, Canada and Italy, German, Belgium, Brazil, Israel, Hungary, Myanmar, Australia, France, Turkey & Argentina for your blog views and support this week. Let's dance for peace, for love and for a united world with equal rights for all! We deserve it! Universal love is a possibility.

http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/buddy-bs-exclusive-q-with-debby-holiday.html

Divas of Note, Billboard 6/28

Victory for the US of A

Well, who knows where the time goes, indeed? Here we are, Pride Day over and Fourth of July practically upon us. Happy holiday to my American friends, and let's celebrate the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare as well!

Thank you, Indonesia, Turkey, Argentina and Italy, especially, for your blog support this past week.

Now let's get down to business with the divas we adore. I'm talking the latest Billboard dance chart!

Check out my Q&A with Debby Holiday

"Key to Your Soul," the Debby Holiday-fronted number by John LePage, snuggles in at #25 and is sure to rise for the multiple-Billboard-charting artist. Don't miss Dj Buddy B's EXCLUSIVE interview with Ms Holiday! It includes the hot, new video for this song.

 http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/buddy-bs-exclusive-q-with-debby-holiday.html

Kylie's got a timebomb!

Shawn Christopher ("Another Sleepless Night") is the divine diva on Ralphi Rosario's remake of "Menergy," peaking for Pride and now nestled at #24. Meanwhile, Kylie Minogue's incendiary "Timebomb" explodes at #21, making "the biggest goddamned explosion you've ever heard," as Liz Taylor said in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. That's a 10-position boost from last week's #31! (Time for some explosions with US's Independence Day and France's Bastille Day in the air.)

Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" does seem alert as it jumps from #22 to #11. Toni Braxton's "I Heart You" is at #8, fallen from the top spot last time, after its meteoric rise. (Still a hot number.)

And Katharine MacPhee ascends to #5 with remixes from Smash's "Touch Me." http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/06/smash-season-2-update.html

Kevin Scott Hall

ps: New Yorkers, don't miss good friend Kevin Scott Hall's "Golden" at  Don't Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St., on July 18 at 7pm, and July 21 at 6pm. (The show includes a song I wrote, a'la disco, "No More Mr Nice Guy!")

Till next week's Billboard review, kittens, enjoy this:

Buddy B Eyes the Billboard Dance/Club Chart

Can it truly be the very end of May already? I am eyeing the Billboard Dance/Club chart ending June 9 and feel like I'm being swept through time like a blossom on a summer breeze.

And, more like a heat-seeking missile through the hot summer's air of Cape Canaveral, Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" hits #1 on this week's Billboard, where it seemed bound by its swift trajectory up the Dance/Club chart over the past 16 weeks. Jennifer Lopez further tumbles from that perch, to #5, but still making us want to "Dance Again." At sixth place, Toni Braxton's "I Heart You" catapults from 12th, all in only six weeks. Good show, Toni, you're back!

Last week's #1 dance tune was "Brokenhearted" by Karmin, which now finds itself at 11, a rather precipitous fall. Ralphi Rosario's new version of Patrick Cowley's "Menergy," featuring the vocals of Shawn Christopher, is lifted to the 15th spot from #17 last week. I guarantee you'll be hearing this at Gay Pride festivities everywhere in the upcoming months, and it is included on my brand-new "PRIDE: NYC Anthems 2012" promo cd. Competition to win a free copy to come soon, details on this blog. (NYC's original Pride march and celebration are on Sunday, July 24, incidentally.)

And, in its second week on the chart, another track on my promo-only Pride cd makes it into the top 25. Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me," from the NBC-tv series Smash (Buddy B's favorite new series), is already a smash by leaping from 36th place (now #24) after being on the the chart a mere two weeks. (Remix also featured on my Pride promo.) (Note: my cds are for promotional use only & not for sale. Winners of my competition receive cds and postage free of charge.)

Hear Ralphi's Space Disco Club Mix 2012 on this YouTube link below, where you can download the song:

Merry Month of May's Miscellaneous Missives

A loving Judy & her dewy daughter, Liza

Like the Wicked Witch of the West, who knew how to screw up a good time, Liza Minnelli weighs in on the Broadway hit, "End of the Rainbow" which is, of course, about her mum, Judy Garland.

Writes Billboard on the matter: "Liza is back! The long-unavailable recording of Liza Minnelli's legendary Winter Garden concert in 1974 is available for the first time. The singer/actress, who charmingly still uses words like swell and grand, spoke to Billboard about 'Live at the Winter Garden' and her lasting career, being a gay icon along along with Lady Gaga, plus she takes issue with 'End of the Rainbow,' a new Broadway play about her mother, Judy Garland, that Backstage describes as a 'tabloid view of Garland's final descent into despair and self-destruction.'

"It amazes me that they can do anything they want and say anything they want that's not true," she told us about the show, which she has not seen. [Emphasis my own.] "It upsets all of us, but not to the point where you get really upset. It's more like, 'Oh please!'"

As Mother's Day is coming up, I'll give her a pass for defending the memory of her mom.  I'd do the same. But, really, do you think keeper-of-the-flame, Liza, would say:"Yes! They nailed it! Mom was a mess!" Lorna might.

Meanwhile, Ellen touchingly talked about Obama on the subject of marriage equality. (By the way, I love her smartly asexual outfits.) See what I mean about her chatter:

RuPaul as both Pres. & 1st Lady Obama, celebrating equality under the law

Lastly,  I want to share with you the outrageous 1979 disco number, "Sexy Cream," which I discovered on the latest double-cd Uk compilation, Disco Discharge: American Hot, discussed in an earlier post: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6542613724497218418#editor/target=post;postID=2194661964403374134

Dateline Florida: Beaverhausen & Billboard

It's Dj Buddy B's last night in the Florida gulf, where I have mostly blogged about aging divas and their birthdays. Afternoon showers, nice and breezy, not as hot as the past few days since I arrived. I'm seated under an Arabian-styled gazebo, me and my laptop atypically atop patio furniture, typing as the palm trees around us sway and the gazebo linens flap.

Finally looking over last Thursday's top 25 Billboard dance/club charters, below are my views and feelings on what interests moi at this time:

Gotye (featuring Kimbra) has a #1 smash on the week's Billboard Top 100. The video for their fresh hit, "Somebody That I Used to Know," was in constant rotation on my little DirecTV monitor on the Jet Blue flight down here.  The dance mixes of this Belgian/Australian indie-pop artist's song arrive at the dance chart's 4th spot.

Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild" slowly slides to #6, off its peak #1 perch, while Katy Perry jettisons two spots upward, to this week's #2 with "Part of Me."

Debby Holiday is the daughter of singer/musician Jimmy Holiday (who co-wrote Jackie DeShannon's "Put a Little Love in Your Heart").  This club diva is consistently a dance-music success, artistically and commercially, and her latest tune, "Never Give Up," will make you wanna move. It leaps to 9th place, from #14 last week.

Up from #22, Jennifer Lopez' "Dance Again" is another great contempo dance anthem that is dominating both pop and dance charts, and it's one of JLo's best efforts to date. On the latest chart, it hits lucky number 13 and looks like it could soon conquer the top spot.

Melanie Amaro's "Respect" and Beyonce's "Love on Top" nestle at numbers 15 and 16, respectively, after peaking at #3 and #1 (also respectively).

Beyond Beyonce, little of interest to me, Buddy B, on Billboard. Time now for Buddy B's banana daquiris, dahlings! Peace, love & disco for all! This week, special, much-requited love back to Brazil, Indonesia, the UK, Mexico, Germany, Russia, Spain, France and Canada! Keep dancing, everyone; and kisses out to all.

The Billboard Awards

Adele, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are four diva finalists for the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, which will be broadcast live (from Vegas) Sunday May 20, 8 pm est on ABC.

Below is the complete list of Billboard's finalists:

Top Artist: Adele,  Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry, Rihanna

Top New Artist:  Bad Meets Evil, Big Sean, Foster the People, Scotty McCreery, Wiz Khalifa

Top Male Artist:  Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Drake, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars

Top Female Artist: Adele, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Rihanna

Top Duo/Group:  The Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Lady Antebellum, LMFAO, Maroon 5

Top Billboard 200 Artist:  Adele, Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne

Top Hot 100 Artist: Adele, LMFAO, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Rihanna

Top Digital Songs Artist: Adele, LMFAO, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Rihanna

Top Radio Songs Artist:  Adele, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna

Top Touring Artist:  Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift , Take That, U2, Roger Waters

Top Social Artist:  Justin Bieber, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Shakira

Top Streaming Artist:  Lil Wayne, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, Rihanna

Top Digital Media Artist:  Adele, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Rihanna

Top Pop Artist:  Adele, Lady Gaga, LMFAO, Katy Perry, Rihanna

Top R&B Artist:  Beyonce, Chris Brown, Cee Lo Green, Miguel, Rihanna

Top Rap Artist:  Drake, Lil Wayne, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa

Top Country Artist:  Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift

Top Rock Artist:  The Black Keys, Coldplay, Foster The People, Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons

Top Alternative Artist:  The Black Keys, Coldplay, Foster The People, Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons

Top Latin Artist:  Mana, Pitbull, Prince Royce, Romeo Santos, Shakira

Top Dance Artist:  David Guetta, Lady Gaga, LMFAO, Rihanna, Britney Spears

Top Christian Artist:  Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Skillet, Laura Story, Chris Tomlin