Why was the BTW era dubbed a flop but not the Prism era?

[PG lol 277]

It was her second studio album.

If you say so

 

[Hamlet 67]

Born This Way was only called a flop by haters (other fan bases) and Gaga fans who expected Gaga to sell 1000000 million copies of the album and have 4 #1 singles

[codymonster 8,006]

Because Gaga literally slayed with her first two albums. It was iconic. So when she branched out into more controversial and GP unfriendly stuff that didn't completely destroy the charts, people said it flopped. It's not that it was bad, it's just that Gaga is held, musically and artistically, above other pop artists. Which, in itself, is a compliment.

[Psychedelic 1,098]

Because Gaga isn't a basic b---h

How long did you take to elaborate? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the grammar and question mark, it's not an actual question!

[Burke 0]

It sold a lot of copy's because it was right after TFM and right at Gaga's peak. People bought it because Gaga was the "thing" at the time and they were expecting TFM type music.

I know many people and 5 of my friends in particular listened to her music daily and saw the monster ball 6 times with me. When BTW came out they lost interest. They haven't listened to her since.

Katy Perry is consistent with her music. When you buy a Katy Perry album, you're getting what you expected. Not the case with Gaga

[geopang 4,831]

Born This Way was anything but a flop.

[ryhanna 3,507]

Born This Way was only called a flop by haters (other fan bases) and Gaga fans who expected Gaga to sell 1000000 million copies of the album and have 4 #1 singles

She did. In the first week, actually.

[Mills 446]

Out of this world expectations. Everything would have been considered as "flops" back then because the success Adele was having at that time was just enormous. In addition to that, BTW's huge first-week sales only highlighted the drop during the second week - which was unfair since there's no way an album of anyone could move a million units for two consecutive weeks. It was bound to drop because it was the only way to go. 

 

As for PRISM, it's the opposite thing - lowered expectations. With the album sales continuing to decrease annually, pulling 3 million units at this time is already considered a huge success. Same thing has happened to the latest albums from Beyonce, Bruno Mars, and Justin Timberlake. While the numbers these albums have pulled are nowhere near to BTW's, they're considered as a commercial success because there are tons of albums out there which couldn't even pull half of their sales. Demand has changed, and so did the expectation of the market. 

 

And lastly, neither of these albums are "flops", especially Born This Way, which is probably the last released album which have moved more than 7 million worldwide and be publicly presented as an 8-million seller. Since 2008, BTW remains as the sole album from UMG to have reported sales exceeding 6.8 million in a particular year. That says a lot. 

[PopBitch 1,218]

Born This Way was never branded a flop even taking into consideration the 99 cent deal for a portion.   What, fan wars and gossip sites are now fact?  It was always considered a highly successful album, with some controversy during that period, sure.  

 

ARTPOP isn't called a flop if you look at remarks across the board by critics who reviewed it and average them, but it has been considered to be not as good as previous work and it is a fact that it undersold compared to what was predicted, which was already lowered expectations than BTW, but she hasn't really been called a flop, except by a few, because her sales were decent.   Christina Aguilera's album was a flop.  Now her singles, besides Applause, not so good.  That can't be denied and where the real disappointment probably was because I don't think that was expected.

[Ladey Gagz 2,512]

Born this way wasn't considered a flop. The singles were. But, the Prism era is full of hits. And the radio plays the singles and not the "albums" so

She did. In the first week, actually.

[tokyodisko 0]

There are many factors, especially relating to the GP. People just like Katy better, because she is personable and not melodramatic most of the time. Can't people just accept that instead of comparing and reaching for every way to justify it? smh.

 

BTW wasn't even a flop... more of a disappointment to the GP/she became so preachy/her looks go too ugly. It's just the unfortunate truth. Even I was annoyed with Gaga during a lot of BTW, except a few interviews and most performances. If BTW was a flop then ARTPOP is a local band in a town of 2,000 pushing their album at a bowling alley. 

[ryhanna 3,507]

Born this way wasn't considered a flop. The singles were. But, the Prism era is full of hits. And the radio plays the singles and not the "albums" so

Actually, now that you mention it, it's kind of weird how Born This Way had 4 top 10 singles and they're considered flops, but 2 of Prism's 4 singles have failed to hit the top 10 in the US.

[Ladey Gagz 2,512]

Actually, now that you mention it, it's kind of weird how Born This Way had 4 top 10 singles and they're considered flops, but 2 of Prism's 4 singles have failed to hit the top 10 in the US.

Well that's true now that I think about it Maybe cause 2 of Prism's singles were monster hits whereas BTW only had moderate hits (well Born This Way (the song) might be considered a big hit but not as big as Prism's 2 hits)

[Elizabeth 450]

It's down to bias and what people expect from each artist. Without sounding rude towards Katy, people expect a lot more from Gaga than they do from her. 

Although now ARTPOP is out, it will be pretty hard to find someone who will call Born This Way a 'flop' because they're calling ARTPOP a 'flop' now. 

[GagaDragon 10]

Everyone and their dog loves Katy Perry.