Is Lady Gaga "Judas" music video leak all part of her viral strategy?
By
Melissa Jun Rowley
/ CBS News
Lady Gaga
(CBS/What's Trending) - Avert your eyes: Lady Gaga's highly anticipated music video "Judas" leaked online. It was supposed to have its big debut later tonight on shows like "American Idol" and cable networks like "E!," but it seems someone couldn't wait and posted the video early. Although Gaga's people have been doing everything to remove the content, could the early release all be according to her viral marketing plan?
Just yesterday, the pop starlet was trying to gain buzz online by telling her followers to tweet #JudasVideoTomorrow to get talk about the music video going. Despite the popularity of the singer, the term didn't gain much traction. Then, suddenly this morning the twitterverse and the rest of the online world was talking about the "Judas" video leak. (In case you were wondering, the full video is posted on Gawker.)
It's no secret that chart-topping pop stars are competing for more than air time and album sales these days. With digital audiences being the first to set music trends, it seems that artists like Lady Gaga are leveraging their social media channels for publicity more than ever.
If social media maven Lady Gaga has proven anything other than that she knows how to hit number one, it's that everything Gaga goes viral. The new music video for the Grammy winner's controversial single "Judas" is adding to heated debate about the religious context of the song. Dressed as Mary Magdelene, Gaga sings about her undying love for Judas.
But, it's not only Gaga trying to employ this viral strategy. Nicki Minaj is letting her followers know about the premiere of her new music video "Super Bass," sparking the Twitter trend #SuperBassVideo.
In just one hour, the following tweet from the star has been retweeted more than 1,000 times.
And, country crooner Taylor Swift means business. The singer is releasing the music video for her hit single "Mean," meaning, you guessed it, the Twitter trend #MeanMusicVideo is spreading across the twitterverse. In this case, Swift's fans are letting her know they they can't wait for the new video. Meanwhile, the starlet has been tweeting about what's in her head pre-rehearsal time.
