MTV News asks pop-music experts to weigh in on the likelihood of a joint album between pop divas, à la Jay and Kanye.
By Jocelyn Vena
Britney Spears
Photo: Splash News Online
With so much talk about the epic matchup of Jay-Z and Kanye West on the just-released Watch the Throne, we wondered whether something similar could ever exist in the pop world. Sure, the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys managed to rekindle our love of boy bands with their joint tour this summer, but could two pop divas get together and drop an album in the way Hova and Yeezy have?
There have been hints of Throne-like pop collabos over the past decade thanks to ladies like Madonna and Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, but nothing as extensive as a full-length album like WTT. So, could something like that ever happen?
Well, it would take the right combination of factors.
Us Weekly Senior Music Editor Ian Drew noted that history is important. "You've got to understand that the reason this is happening is because this is a very, very long friendship — they're like brothers," Drew said of Jay and Kanye. "We've gotten tastes of this all along. This is a deep personal friendship and a labor of love between two people. I think that needs to exist first."
Perez Hilton, however, said it doesn't have to be that deep. But there does have to be a certain something between the two artists to make it work.
"I don't know if there has to be a friendship, but there definitely has to be a mutual respect, admiration and history of kind words for each other," the entertainment blogger said. "It needs to make sense and it needs to happen at the right time in their careers."
Kyle Anderson, a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, said the only obstacle to a pop version of WTT would be the logistics of getting two pop stars, like Britney and Gaga for example, in the same place at the same time.
"Hip-hop lends itself more to collaboration because it's part of the culture," Anderson said. "Jay and Kanye have known each other for quite a while. They've had a friendship that is both professional and personal," he added. "[Pop stars'] camps would also cause a weird logistical problem ... there's so many elements" needed to make this happen.
What do the critics think of Watch the Throne?
So, who would Perez like to see try their hand at a joint album? "Someone like a Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera could probably do something like that together because they're well into their careers and that collaboration would make sense," he said. "You can't just throw any two people together. Another collaboration like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga would make sense, but I don't think that Gaga is at a point in her career yet where she would want [to]."
Like Perez, Anderson thinks a Gaga/Beyoncé album is the most likely pairing. Why? "Their aesthetics sort of mesh, they both kind of work, so I would be very interested to hear that," he said. "I think they could really put a concept together. To them, it's a two-person planet and they're the only two people on it."
Which pop stars would you like to see team up for a joint album? Share your wish list in the comments!
Related Videos- Welcome To Jay-Z And Kanye West's 'Watch The Throne' Week
- Lady Gaga: Inside The Outside
- Britney Spears: I Am The Femme Fatale
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668899/watch-the-throne-britney-spears-lady-gaga.jhtml
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