​Grace McKagan is a teenager who splits her time between LA and Seattle. Her father is a regular columnist for Seattle Weekly.

By Grace McKagan

Lady Gaga, the new queen of pop, is looked upon the general public as a young starlet who is materialistic and high maintenance because of her extensive wardrobe and lifestyle. In fact, she is an advocate for expressing one's self, not caring about what others may think, and not judging others by their exterior.

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Take a back seat, Gaga!

​Waking up to a cloudy sky and chilly air this morning reminded me, all too sadly, that summer is winding down--so did Rolling Stone's recent poll asking its readers to choose the Best Song of Summer 2011. You may not have been able to escape Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" on radio waves, Lady Gaga is even more ubiquitous, Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" made chart history, and Foster the People's controversial "Pumped Up Kicks" was the dark-horse hit of the summer, but none of these worthy contenders managed to unseat pop music's biggest celebrity for the #1 spot. . .

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​Post by Litsa Dremousis

The Crocodile Café's recently launched Monday night The Office happy-hour series has proven a great antidote to the sense of futility that sometimes accompanies a new week. Each Monday, starting at 5 p.m., a different Seattle music corps (One Reel, City Arts) provides a DJ from within their ranks who'll spin your blues away (you'll see the Reverb crew there soon enough). This week, beloved local-music site Three Imaginary Girls offers their own Chris Estey, who in turn promises, "Calvin Johnson's 'Get In,' vintage Jackie Mittoo, Alton Ellis, and barely rediscovered soul sides. I'll mix that with basement proto-chillwave off Psychic TV's Allegory & Self and the best in flagrant grebo. Be warned, genre-bound."

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Photo by Kirk Tran

​Nick Carter and Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys had barely been in the DJ booth at Trinity Nightclub 10 minutes before a pair of women's underwear was flung at them.

Carter took it in stride, cooing, "Yeah, she's a baaad girl," to the offender in the crowd, making the swarm of (mostly) women squeal and giggle.

Photo by Kirk Tran

​Carter and Dorough were the only two members of the infamous boy band to show up to the club after their concert in Tacoma with New Kidz on the Block Friday night. Dorough was there to play his new single, "100 Kisses," and promote his solo album, set to release in November. Carter was there because there wouldn't have been anyone to throw underwear at without him.

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​We probably should have seen this coming. In the six years since the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" incident, Super Bowl viewers have been treated with classic, safe acts like The Who, the Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen. But back in June, over 700 million people watched the Black Eyed Peas perform at the World Cup kick-off in South Africa. Plus with Fergie's ties to the NFL--believe it or not, she's a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins--it was only a matter of time until the pop powerhouse took to a field stateside for a spectacle lamented by a good number of football fans.

But because using the bathroom, chatting up party guests, and posting to Facebook and Twitter can only take up so much time, here are some suggestions for will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap, and Tabo on how they can keep us from a beer-and-hot-wings-induced coma.

1. Since French House DJ-turned-American pop hitmaker David Guetta will be sharing the stage anyway, let him take over for a while. Say what you will, but songs like "Sexy Bitch" with Akon and "Memories" with KiD CuDi were--are--bonafide jams, and lately his Rihanna-graced "Who's That Chick" has been a bug in everyone's ear. What does it mean that his collaborations with will.i.am didn't strike that same chord?

2. Bring friends. If the Peas--particularly will.i.am.--have one underrated strength, it's clearly their knack for collaborations. Alone, Will has the hooks for tracks like Flo Rida's "In the Ayer," Usher's "OMG," and Nicki Minaj's "Check It Out" under his belt. Factor in Fergie's team-up with Ludacris for "Glamorous" and you've got a star-studded cast.

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​It's Britney, bitch! Underneath those unkempt extensions is still a pop superstar whose every effort reigns atop the charts. Since "Hold It Against Me," the first single off her yet-untitled album, was digitally released on Monday, it's already shattered all previous records for the most first-day airplay, and shot to #1 on iTunes.

Produced by Dr. Luke, it's a bass-heavy dance gem featuring Britney doing what she does best: delivering groan-worthy double entendres in her trademark sexy, nasally voice. If you've yet to hear Britney's latest, you can check it out here. Or you could just hit Neighbours' dance floor this weekend.

​Place your bets! Who would do better in a bar brawl: Lady Gaga or Betty White? The pop diva is definitely younger and fitter, but the former Golden Girl is still feisty as hell at 88.

Sadly, neither outrageous personality has plans to take on the other just yet. But they will battle it out in book sales tomorrow when Bluewater Productions releases biography comic books Fame: Lady Gaga and Female Force: Betty White. White may be more interesting to read about, given she's got more life experience under her belt, but Gaga's kooky fashion sense should make for some awesome illustrations. Whose comic would you rather read?

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If entertainment magazines could only take one lesson from 2010, it should be: Put Lady Gaga on your cover. Gaga's gun-strapping, bare-assed July Rolling Stone cover, seen at left, sold 245,000 copies by late September (these numbers come from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, who've so far only tracked sales through the fall). Gaga's April Cosmopolitan cover sold 1.7 million copies, and her covers for Vanity Fair and Elle were also huge sellers in 2010.

What other pop stars sold magazines this year?

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​Hosting an NYE house party this Friday? You can save yourself from the hassle of creating a playlist by tuning into C89.5 FM. The commercial-free dance radio station will be counting down its top 89 dance hits of the year starting at 6 p.m. and ending with the revealing of the year's no. 1 at midnight.

Is it David Guetta? Lady GaGa? Robyn? Tune in and find out. If you're hitting the town on NYE, you can catch the top 89 broadcast again on Saturday. Because nothing soothes a hangover like techno...

​Ozzy Osbourne may be sick of Lady Gaga, but the rest of the world sure isn't. The pop superstar's EP The Fame Monster was named the best selling album of 2010, according to the United World Chart, a list compiled by Media Traffic, a website that tracks worldwide sales through extensive sources. The Fame Monster, released by Interscope Records, sold 5.8 million records this year.

"THE FAME MONSTER was named the best-selling album of 2010!" GaGa tweeted upon hearing the news. "I'm so excited for the future, believe + work."

Other artists whose albums topped the list include Eminem, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, and Susan Boyle.