vanessa hudgens: innocent pleasure thursdays.

VANESSA ANNE HUDGENS is a star of the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical, an actress and pop star on the rise.

Two of my friends happened to attend the live tour of High School Musical and reported back that they stood in a sea of six year-olds. They called Ms. Hudgens' performance boring, mentioning a certain ugly gold dress. While I can't deny the ugliness of that dress and I didn't see the performance, I've been charmed by the Hudge. Her music has gained a spot as one of my newest innocent pleasures.

So that settles it. The Hudge's demographic is composed of six year-olds and me. Oh, and apparently she's kind of a big deal in Uruguay? No offense to your six year-old child, Uruguayans, or myself...but this album is not good. Pure pop fluff. It's so wrong, not even so right.

But I like it. Something about the song "Say OK" has me hooked the same way I was hooked to Hilary Duff's "Come Clean"--- neither of them make much sense, but they make my ears happy. The Hudge's video for "Say OK" also has remarkable similarities to the Duff's video for "Fly" (see wikipedia page). Fans of the Duff have developed conspiracy theories that these similarities are no coincidence, implying that the Disney Channel made this video to spite Hilary for leaving the channel in 2004 (to pursue the lifestyles of the rich and famous).

Arguably, the Hudge is the multiracial equivalent of the Duff (minus the veneers) She's squeaky-clean, held on a pedestal above her "partying peers". But is it a coincidence that she's a real-life version of the "homeschooled hottie" depicted by Lindsay Lohan in the hit movie Mean Girls? Perhaps there's a girl gone wild that is yet to be unleashed. Hell, one of her songs has a *GASP* cuss word in it! Hell, she's edgy! Hell, she was in Thirteen before her Disney days.

We'll have to wait until Vanessa's contract with Disney is done to see whether she'll go to the dark side...or the Duff side (as I like to call it). Until then, I recommend that you just "let go" and get yo' Hudge on.

WATCH: VANESSA HUDGENS- Say OK
- buy it - site it - space it -

BLOGGER NOTE: I realize that she's 18, but any sickos who are looking for a "money shot" of Vanessa Hudgens need to move on. You'll have to wait for the Hudge to have a serious career low before you get to see High School Cumsicle. Just sayin'.
BLOGWATCH: Toya, another one of my favorite innocent pleasure blogs, is on hiatus. I'll miss her. Sneakmove shows love for Salt 'N' Pepa's "Spinderella's Not a Fella". Fluxblog has a new song by Yoko Ono featuring Le Tigre.

the cagle family: never get enough love.

THE CAGLE FAMILY brings you the best family music you've heard since The Jackson 5, with less abusive father and more cuteness.

In fact, the Cagle Family excel beyond cute. Their goal is to spread love through the world-- "love to be concerned and aware of what is going on the world today, to want to make a difference in our communities, cities, countries and continents." This family of 12 travels the world doing volunteer work and hope to make the world a better place.

Recently, I was lucky enough to catch the family performing in Penn Station while I was waiting for a train on the LIRR. Normally I ignore performers at the station, but I was drawn in by their sound and the crowd of people watching. The father, Monte Cagle, spouted out announcements in at least 4 of the 6 languages he knows. Of course, little Pocahontas Cagle was certainly a highlight, as she bounced around on stage and sang her tiny heart out with an energy that rivals Animal from the Muppets. Because of their charismatic nature, I stayed until the end of their show, nearly missing my train as I bought a CD from the fam.

Their CD is just as cute as the live performance. Sure, their sound may get a little Sesame Street at times, but when you got an 8 year old on vocals that can happen. Overall, their fusion of the pop, latin, R&B, reggae, gospel and hip-hop genres is irresistable. Don't act like you're too cool for love. Because you're not.

DOWNLOAD: THE CAGLE FAMILY- I Got a Feeling
DOWNLOAD: THE CAGLE FAMILY- I Believe in Love

BUY their music, support their cause

BLOGWATCH: Popbytes leaked a track with Beyonce not letting the haters stop her from doin' her thang on the Dreamgirls soundtrack, as well as a remix. It's totally going to be a gay anthem...I mean, it already has a club mix! Discobelle has a nice remix of Cassie's "Me & U" as well as an unmastered version of her next single "Long Way 2 Go". Palms Out Sounds has some hot remixes including Lily Allen, The Knife, Ratatat, Rick Ross, The Streets, Young Jeezy, M.I.A., and more.

blast from the past: cleopatra comin' atcha.

Cleopatra's single for "Cleopatra's Theme" (1998) was the first CD that I tried to play off as being purchased ironically. My sister and I thought the music video was hilarious, so I bought this single for $1.99 in order to hop on my bed and make fun of the three braid-headed sisters. I wouldn't admit it back then, but deep inside...I loved this song. And I still love it to this day.

You see, Ms. Cleopatra Madonna Higgins actually had a huge voice for a 16 year old. Even if it was incredibly screechy and she wasn't singing about anything important, the sista had SOUL. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought this...as Madonna signed them to her record label, Maverick, and brought their music from the UK to the US. While Cleopatra scored four top five hits in a row and had their own sit-com overseas, their music failed to perform as well in the states. They weren't a complete failure though. They toured with the likes of Jessica Simpson, Next, and Brian McKnight. Later they became spokeswomen for Covergirl, as well as staples of the Disney Channel's music video line-up.

But enough about history...What really makes me love this song? Obviously, I am a sucker for self-referential songs. (This is evident in the fact that I love Kelis' mediocre single "Bossy" simply because she states, "That's right, I brought all the boys to the yard".) In "Cleopatra's Theme", the confident statement that their own group is "gonna blow the roof" is a main selling point for me. I mean, the fact that their first single is a theme song about themselves?...That's sheer brilliance! Subliminal self-promotion was clearly the future of music, and Cleopatra must have just been way ahead of the times. America wasn't ready for that until we heard Mike Jones.

WATCH: Their 2005 performance on ITV's Hit Me Baby One More Time

DOWNLOAD: CLEOPATRA- Cleopatra's Theme

NOTE: I no longer own the single. It was destroyed when I used it as a frisbee after my friend made fun of me for owning it. I was 13 at the time, so peer pressure was at an all-time high.

BUY Comin' Atcha!

BLOGWATCH: Head over to Republicum for a rarity by The Knife. Check out Beyonce's new single "Deja Vu" at Stars are Blind. Lastly, get a great remix of Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" at childish gambino.