MUSIC:

Breakout — The sounds of 22-year-old Lady GaGa are infectious. She sets the tone of her album, “Fame” with her blonde wig-wearing persona and her first hit single “Just Dance,” featuring Colby O’ Donis. Lyrics like, “Where are my keys/ I lost my phone” and “What’s the name of this club?/ I can’t remember/ But it’s all right, just dance” are familiar and relatable to the 18 to 25 year old crowd. Television shows like “The Hills,” “Gossip Girl” and commercials for “Dirty Sexy Money” all promote her album, which was released in stores in October. Her next singles will be “Beautiful Dirty Rich,” “Poker Face” and “Starstruck.”

Mainstream — I am one of Kanye West’s biggest fans, so listening to his new album “808s ‘ Heartbreak” was supposed to be a treat. But of course, the album focuses on just the heartbreak and is rather depressing. The heartbreak is based on the death of West’s mother, Donda, in November 2007 and the end of his relationship with his long-time fianc’eacute;e, Alexis Phifer.

Since “Graduation” (2007), West has been experimenting with different sounds that other rappers would not dare to touch. On this album he uses Auto-Tune, a pitch-correcting audio processor (made popular by T-Pain). If you are a super fan of the self-proclaimed “voice of the generation” — that is, Kanye West — you should pick it up in stores but this is not a holiday necessity. With song titles such as “Heartless” and “Bad News,” one can see how it may not bring a jolly holiday. You could always wait until 2009 when his fifth album is projected to be released.

TRENDS:

Fad — If vampires do not ring a bell, then you have not caught on to the sensation highlighted by movies such as “Twilight” and shows such as “True Blood.” With “Twilight” grossing over $70 million, it is not a surprise that a sequel has been given the green light. I would like to believe with fads like this one, teenagers will eventually grow out of it. But then again, young children will continue to keep today’s fads alive.

“True Blood” focuses on vampire cultivation in the South and how the locals fear them because they’re outcasts. Vampires appear to be today’s way of expressing prejudice and segregation, since interracial relationships in movies like “Save the Last Dance” are outdated and no longer taboo. I can see “True Blood” winning an Emmy or two, but if it cannot find fresh new topics to stay with the edginess it offers, then it will meet the fates of other acclaimed HBO series like “Rome” and “Deadwood” — cancellation.

Fashion — The green movement has been taking great strides to reduce mans carbon footprint, but it has also been harvesting self-righteous style with t-shirts made of a gentle biodegradable material bearing the phrases such as “Keeping it Green” and “100% Recyclable.” It’s a nice thought, even as people wear them with their harshly non-biodegradable blue jeans. I wonder, if saving the environment only took wearing a burlap sack, would people do it?

MOVIES:

Sleeper hit — “Slumdog Millionaire” is about a poor uneducated boy who wins the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” and is accused of cheating. Distributed by Fox Searchlight, this is not its only runway indie hit, it has won awards with movies such as “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) and “Juno” (2007). A contention for an Oscar is very likely for director Danny Boyle.

Mainstream — “Notorious” is a biopic of the slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. The film is guaranteed to create buzz among our generation. The actors who play Puff Daddy, Tupac and Eve are ill-fitting when compared to their real life counterparts, but were a good choice made by the casting director. The parts appear to be characterizations and not parodies of the real life musicians.

Predictions and Suggestions: I believe once the middle of January nears, people will be talking about how freaky the movie “Unborn” is, or how confusing “Push,” starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning, is. Some music fans will talk about how underappreciated the new album by The Killers, “Day ‘ Age,” was. Others will be humming the catchy tunes of Santogold’s “Lights Out,” maybe because of poorly-timed Bud Light Lime commercials.