Introducing Viennie V

This video, "Nightmare or Dream," has been one of the most-watched on YouTube for a couple of days now. The video description lists the petite Asian-American chanteuse, Viennie V, as a "Lady Gaga protege." While others might disagree with me, I don't see much of Gaga's influence in the video. It's a fairly straightforward, Twilight-esque vampire-slash-bondage fantasy. (I particularly thought the image of V writhing around in a morgue locker was original and interesting.) The tune is catchy, though the lyrics are a little trite. Where it went wrong, I thought, was V's voice. I know there's a sultry Roxie Hart in there somewhere - you can hear her trying to break out when V croons "I wanna be abused" while chained to a metal chair. That's what made Gaga popular - she really and truly has a good voice. And while "breathy and innocent" may work for singers like Katy Perry, I think a little bit of vamping it up is never a bad thing.