ARTPOP and the end of Lady Gaga

[Karandr 150]

Now that I have your attention... I am not saying Gaga is over. I think she's only just begun. But I think that Lady Gaga as a concept is coming to a close, or at the very least, about to change. Let me explain. 

 

LONG READ AHEAD

 
Who is Lady Gaga?
 
Hairbow, meat dress, Madonna copy, s-xy-weird, arty, gay, scary, crazy, Bad Romance, Poker Face. 
 
Everybody knows. Culturally speaking, the die has been cast and there is less room for Gaga to change than ever before. Everything she does is compared to her past endeavors -- she is a victim of her stratospheric early success. Even before ARTPOP, we all knew this -- Gaga included.
 
So let's go back to August, 2013. The very first bit of real, video promo for the new album.

 

LADY GAGA IS OVER. She stares you in the face. Boos echo. 

 

Ostensibly, she is promoting her new single while subverting the criticisms of her absence. "Ha-ha, you think I'm out of tricks. Guess again." But as with much of what Gaga does, I feel there is a subtext, and when I thought of this theory a couple of days ago, I was dumbfounded by how obvious it is. Whether or not it's true is another question, but here goes:

 

Gaga has been preparing us for "The End of Lady Gaga" since the beginning of ARTPOP. When she said "LADY GAGA IS OVER", she meant it. 

 

Consider:

 

Cheek To Cheek will be the end of the beginning of my career & artRAVE is a goodbye celebration to my past

 

Could she be any clearer? This is not just about growing and maturing as an artist -- this is about drawing a line. This is about saying "End of Chapter 1. Chapter 2..." 

 

A goodbye celebration to my past. Goodbye, indicating that one or more parties are leaving. My past, using language that separates and demarcates.

 

ARTPOP was/is, arguably, Gaga's most self-aware era. She spoke incredibly candidly about the pressures of the past two years, she draped herself in criticism for DWUW promo, she changed wigs and outfits on stage - as early as Swinefest and continuing on into the artRAVE.

Even the video for G.U.Y was incredibly self-aware, and one of only two Gaga music videos to experiment with Gaga the artist as a character -- we see her storming an office (record label?) and the narrative is directly autobiographical.

 

If you still don't believe me...

 

What was the first taste of ARTPOP we had? Aura. And who, as we eventually learned, leaked that song? Yes, the one and only.

 

Of all songs, why Aura? Sure, it's a good song, and Gaga seemed to want it as the first single, but why?

 

"Do you wanna peek underneath the cover? Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura?"

 

The cover, the aura, the curtain, the burqa. The layer above the core -- Gaga is inviting and provoking. Do you really want to see what I've got underneath, are you really ready for that? The opening song of ARTPOP is perhaps the one most indicative of Gaga's intentions for this era and The Next One.

 

ARTPOP, as a "rage of electronic passion and fury", and the title song "'...an inferno", form a cathartic experience in which Gaga strips away every preconceived notion of who Lady Gaga is and completely annihilates the illusion thereof. She is taking the focus off herself, exposing Gaga as a fantasy/concept/canvas and urging her fans to "celebrate yourselves".

 

To summarize:

 

I believe that, through the course of the ARTPOP era, Gaga has been preparing for a major change. In my opinion, this change is going to be one wherein she makes a significant departure from her past work, potentially the entire Lady Gaga name/persona/vessel, and most likely, the narrow spectrum of conventional pop music.

 

Sorry for the long read and the likely incoherent discussion. Feel free to disagree vehemently.

 

 

[LaMaisonGaga 23,884]

That gives me a whole different view What if Gaga wanted to flop this era so she slays the next one? 

[Jenniferella 2,774]

The ARTPOP era already was supposed to be a brand new thing for her... Remember when she said she scrapped every rule she had been following till then ? 

[Dunk96 2,526]

I buy it completely.

[Aldo Monster 17]

That gives me a whole different view What if Gaga wanted to flop this era so she slays the next one? 

Right, she said that her next album after CheeckToCheeck will be her best :)

[MANiDONTCURE 30]

I'll be here for gaga no matter how much she changes. Your post was very interesting to read, and gave me a new look on ARTPOP.

[Didymus 32,745]

The ARTPOP era already was supposed to be a brand new thing for her... Remember when she said she scrapped every rule she had been following till then ? 

 

This.

 

I see what you're saying and it's fun to look at it this way, but there are so many things that happened in the era that prove you wrong completely, especially the fact that almost nothing she promised us even came true The idea that she planned this era completely with such a specific goal in mind is impossible. 

 

But yeah. I can't deny that I have thought about it the same way too.

That gives me a whole different view What if Gaga wanted to flop this era so she slays the next one? 

 

That's insane. I mean, that's what everyone said after Born This Way too

[aaronyoji 2,007]

The ARTPOP era already was supposed to be a brand new thing for her... Remember when she said she scrapped every rule she had been following till then ? 

yeah as much as i want to believe the op (and i do in a way, i think after C2C we will see a major evolution for her artistically) i was under the impression that ARTPOP was gonna begin the new chapter. thats why i felt a bit short changed in general this era, the whole referencing herself every 5 seconds, struggling to find a direction that either chose to evolve or stay in the same circles of her past works, etc. 

[wahkeenasitka 1,965]

makes sense. 

[Probglum 824]

Right, she said that her next album after CheeckToCheeck will be her best :)

And look what DWUW is about and then look at Gaga's ARTPOP era situation. It ties in IMO.

[wahkeenasitka 1,965]

i think she's just growing up and maturing, and looking for a way to develop her career in a long term, sustainable way.. because she realizes that the pop music industry is volatile and throws stars away within a few years of their period of fame. 

 

and i also think she wants to make the best use of her natural talent - namely her voice - and use it in a way that can be even more popular with an established mature, mainstream audience... 

 

i think it all boils down to her really becoming an adult, and beginning the slow walk away from her crazy, self-destructive, childish and immature years of being a pop star. 

[Chic 20,830]

I just think that she's very passionate and hard working as an artist, and since she is the creator of her music she feels connected to it. I feel that she's gone through a lot and wants to prove that she can be successful on her own, such as with directing the MTN video and being the main producer of Venus. At the beginning she worked with producers for The Fame and The Fame Monster, but after a while she wanted to branch out into her own artistry and experiment. Not everyone around her was so agreeable on that which has led to the numerous firings, she sees it best to work in an environment where her ideas are not directly contradicted or shot down. This is why she only works with artists who understand her vision or can more effectively bring it to life, and I think she understands that she has to submit to some expectations in order to be successful. We also see that she is vulnerable to criticism as she chose to confront on DWUW. She desires a certain level of success but wants to seem noble when achieving it, as it is part of her image. Artists are often very protective of their work and so it is no surprise that she can be upset by the criticisms she receives for it.

In retrospective, Born This Way was one of Gaga's most successful eras. It seemed that the criticisms she received for The Born This Way Ball were indeed prevalent, but in a way the ARTPOP era has done more for showing that Gaga is not invincible than anything in the Born This Way era ever did. I believe that the ARTPOP era has gone completely wrong in terms of her artistry and success, and it has visibly frustrated her not to achieve these things even though she herself is proud of her work. I don't think she's the type to lay down without coming back up fighting, as shown with her slump during December 2013 and her artistry's comeback with the G.U.Y video. I saw many things in that video that mirrored her previous videos such as Bad Romance in numerous ways. She clearly went all out for the video as there are no 'ugly' looks, as one might call them, and there's intense choreography, gorgeous imagery and stellar art direction. It is the gem of the ARTPOP era, because it is the final bang before the artRave. She finally created a piece of work that she was proud of and wanted to leave it at that, regardless of its success, after the whirlwind of the era caused her to suffer from the very criticisms she was brushing away in order to begin the era. However, like a dust storm, it overshadowed the era. She has changed her mind numerous times, saying that the ARTPOP era will continue way into the year, that G.U.Y is only the beginning of ARTPOP, that there will be an act II, etc. I don't think she has any clear direction now. I believe that after the lack of success G.U.Y has had, her lowest charting single that she put a massive amount of effort in, it is becoming increasingly clearer to her that her success is not infinite and that she has to properly plan for a diamond of an era, that which ARTPOP was meant to be.

The ARTPOP era ultimately failed its expectations due to incidental issues career-wise for Gaga and the rushing and suppression of her creative ideas (such as her VMA's performance). DWUW was rush-released. Applause was filmed without her full creative vision, and rushed as well. I feel that she really had to rush everything together during the summer because Interscope wanted to get her prepped for a VMA's performance, and the fans were becoming extremely impatient at that point. It's possible that Gaga's hip injury hurt her emotionally enough to stunt her creative process and thus she was unable to plan out a consistent and coherent era beforehand, but she had a lot of tracks to choose from and took the time to rework them as best she could.

I believe the reason that Aura was the first song from ARTPOP is because of how different it is from the rest of Gaga's material. It is one of the more experimental tracks on the album and the chorus is arguably one of the best she's ever made. It was a clear choice because of how refreshing and modern it sounded. One theory I had was that she didn't believe Applause was the best single choice but it was the most commercial song she had, and perhaps considered Aura to be a superior song and wanted to release it first because she thought Applause might be considered a bit of a let-down to some after so long and she wanted to show that there was still hope left for the album as a whole.

Basically, in trying to prove herself beyond the Born This Way era criticisms with such a rushed ARTPOP era and numerous inconveniences along the way, she was ultimately left with an era that reflected worse on her image than Born This Way did...instead of the media caring and hating, they didn't even care anymore.

[Voltaic 25]

I don't buy this, she flopped, why would she WANT to flop? Non-sense theories that just can't accept the fact that his era is not what everyone was expecting. People we're saying the exact same thing of ARTPOP with Born This Way. 

I just think that she's very passionate and hard working as an artist, and since she is the creator of her music she feels connected to it. I feel that she's gone through a lot and wants to prove that she can be successful on her own, such as with directing the MTN video and being the main producer of Venus. At the beginning she worked with producers for The Fame and The Fame Monster, but after a while she wanted to branch out into her own artistry and experiment. Not everyone around her was so agreeable on that which has led to the numerous firings, she sees it best to work in an environment where her ideas are not directly contradicted or shot down. This is why she only works with artists who understand her vision or can more effectively bring it to life, and I think she understands that she has to submit to some expectations in order to be successful. We also see that she is vulnerable to criticism as she chose to confront on DWUW. She desires a certain level of success but wants to seem noble when achieving it, as it is part of her image. Artists are often very protective of their work and so it is no surprise that she can be upset by the criticisms she receives for it.

In retrospective, Born This Way was one of Gaga's most successful eras. It seemed that the criticisms she received for The Born This Way Ball were indeed prevalent, but in a way the ARTPOP era has done more for showing that Gaga is not invincible than anything in the Born This Way era ever did. I believe that the ARTPOP era has gone completely wrong in terms of her artistry and success, and it has visibly frustrated her not to achieve these things even though she herself is proud of her work. I don't think she's the type to lay down without coming back up fighting, as shown with her slump during December 2013 and her artistry's comeback with the G.U.Y video. I saw many things in that video that mirrored her previous videos such as Bad Romance in numerous ways. She clearly went all out for the video as there are no 'ugly' looks, as one might call them, and there's intense choreography, gorgeous imagery and stellar art direction. It is the gem of the ARTPOP era, because it is the final bang before the artRave. She finally created a piece of work that she was proud of and wanted to leave it at that, regardless of its success, after the whirlwind of the era caused her to suffer from the very criticisms she was brushing away in order to begin the era. However, like a dust storm, it overshadowed the era. She has changed her mind numerous times, saying that the ARTPOP era will continue way into the year, that G.U.Y is only the beginning of ARTPOP, that there will be an act II, etc. I don't think she has any clear direction now. I believe that after the lack of success G.U.Y has had, her lowest charting single that she put a massive amount of effort in, it is becoming increasingly clearer to her that her success is not infinite and that she has to properly plan for a diamond of an era, that which ARTPOP was meant to be.

The ARTPOP era ultimately failed its expectations due to incidental issues career-wise for Gaga and the rushing and suppression of her creative ideas (such as her VMA's performance). DWUW was rush-released. Applause was filmed without her full creative vision, and rushed as well. I feel that she really had to rush everything together during the summer because Interscope wanted to get her prepped for a VMA's performance, and the fans were becoming extremely impatient at that point. It's possible that Gaga's hip injury hurt her emotionally enough to stunt her creative process and thus she was unable to plan out a consistent and coherent era beforehand, but she had a lot of tracks to choose from and took the time to rework them as best she could.

I believe the reason that Aura was the first song from ARTPOP is because of how different it is from the rest of Gaga's material. It is one of the more experimental tracks on the album and the chorus is arguably one of the best she's ever made. It was a clear choice because of how refreshing and modern it sounded. One theory I had was that she didn't believe Applause was the best single choice but it was the most commercial song she had, and perhaps considered Aura to be a superior song and wanted to release it first because she thought Applause might be considered a bit of a let-down to some after so long and she wanted to show that there was still hope left for the album as a whole.

Shut up Meg

[RegiRey 443]

I don't buy this, she flopped, why would she WANT to flop? Non-sense theories that just can't accept the fact that his era is not what everyone was expecting. People we're saying the exact same thing of ARTPOP with Born This Way. 

Shut up Meg

 

and I thought the OP's thread was long sry chic i'll read it later baybay!!

[LordDisick 1]

That gives me a whole different view What if Gaga wanted to flop this era so she slays the next one? 

dont be delusional