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Hit Picks: “Starstruck” - Lady GaGaBona fide Hit
“Starstruck” by Lady GaGa featuring Flo Rida and Space Cowboy has all the trappings of a hit record:
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Dance floor vibe complete with sexy swagger and banging beat? Check.
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Catchy, easy to sing-along-to vocal melody throughout? Check.
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Sick breakdowns and other attention-grabbing elements? Check.
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And let’s not forget one of the most important of them all – a great hook? Check.When you hear this song it immediately sticks out in your mind and its grip will not let go. “Starstruck” begs to be repeated. Often. If that’s not a hit record I don’t know what is.This song is such a bona fide hit in every way that its not even like the labels have to do anything toocomplicated with marketing if they release “Starstruck” as a single.
YouTube plays = 5 million plus
The public response to this song has already been overwhelmingly positive, just look at the number of  plays it has racked up on YouTube. A quick search yields one “music video” with over 4 million plays(which is actually just a GaGa pic with music since there is no official music video) and another onewith over  1 million plays, not to mention the many other “videos” of this song with hundreds of  thousands of plays.Keep in mind that these YouTube numbers reflect interest in a song that has received virtually no promotional push from the record labels and people STILL love it and play it to death.Consider: how huge would “Starstruck” be if it was marketed right?
“Starstruck” – Suggested release strategy as a single
First of all this song needs to be addressed by Streamline Records,Interscope Records, Cherrytree Records, and Kon Live Distribution (Lady GaGa’s record labels) as a strong candidate for Lady Gaga’snext official single. This would be a wise business decision for all parties involved since it is likely thatit wouldn’t take long for Top 40 radio to put “Starstruck” in heavy rotation nationwide (U.S.)But to get to that point I think that first the song should be released exclusively to night clubs and radiostations using a “dance music” format. The song should target night clubs that play mainlydance/techno music, clubs that are big on dance remixes of international pop hits, and maybe a fewmixed urban/pop clubs for good measure.If the labels were to allow “Starstruck” the time it needs to build a grassroots following in the nightclubs, eventually the song’s popularity would lead to it charting on the Hot Dance Airplay and/or Hot
 
Dance Club PlayBillboard charts. From there it could be released as a single to pop radio and urbanradio (thanks to Flo Rida) and the song’s entry into theBillboard Hot 100main chart would be soon tofollow.Of course, this is all speculation on my part but it’s speculation from an
informed 
 position, whichmakes all the difference in the world. I don’t take my marketing recommendations lightly so I do myresearch before I recommend
anything 
.“
Starstruck” – chart predictions
The current #1 song on the Hot Dance Airplay chart (issue date/week ending May 16, 2009) is “Poker Face” so Lady GaGa already has that one covered. The current #1 song on the Hot Dance Club Playchart (issue date/week ending May 16, 2009) is “Bottle Pop” by the Pussycat Dolls featuring SnoopDogg. Nothing against “Bottle Pop” (which I’m a fan of) but in my humble opinion “Starstruck” couldeasily de-throne the current Hot Dance Club Play chart leader. It’s just a matter of the song actually being released.If “Starstruck” is released as a single and the record labels handle the promotions right it holds the potential to be another Lady GaGa international chart topper.
 I predict that “Starstruck” will make it inside the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart IF the song isreleased as an official single by Lady GaGa’s record labels.
Trust me—I know a hit song when I hear one.
Lady GaGa – Past/current chart performance
As of March 24, 2009 Lady GaGa has released three singles in the U.S. – “Just Dance”, “Poker Face”,and “LoveGame.” Her first two singles, “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” both peaked at #1 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100 and on several international charts. “Poker Face” has done particularly well, toppingthe charts in almost all the major music markets worldwide including the U.S., the U.K., Australia,Canada, Ireland, Germany and many more.“
LoveGame” needs context marketing to be successful
Although “LoveGame” (released: March 24, 2009) is oneof my favorite GaGa tracks from her album
The Fame
andan excellent choice for her third U.S. single
 ,
I’m skepticalabout how well it’s going to perform on the Billboardcharts. Honestly, I think that Lady GaGa’s record labelsand marketing team have yet to figure out the mosteffective way to promote the song. It’s arguably just ascatchy as her previous #1 singles but in my opinion thesong isn’t attention-grabbing enough on its own to hook most people’s attention without a strong contextsurrounding it. What that means is that radio play alone isnot going to drive this song up to the top of the charts. This song needs to be experienced by listeners in the context of something relevant to the subject matter of the song.Listeners need a reason for the song to stick out in their minds long after they hear it.It would be appropriate to play “LoveGame” during dating shows (like
 For the Love of Ray J 
), gameshows, dance competition shows (like
 America’s Best Dance Crew
 
), sporting events, and in-store atSpencer’s Gifts(or on their website!) and in other stores with adult-themed toys and games. There are
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