What about ARTPOP makes you think the label "watered it down?"

[Guest]

it's obvious that none of the singles were decided by her

I agree. I think Venus was probably the only one she truly wanted, and then she probably got crushed when her label pulled the DWUW switch. You could tell she cared a lot about that song and loved it a lot since she produced it. I feel like she may have had a lot of say when G.U.Y. was chosen as the third single though. But I agree with you completely.

[Cher 15]

I agree. I think Venus was probably the only one she truly wanted, and then she probably got crushed when her label pulled the DWUW switch. You could tell she cared a lot about that song and loved it a lot since she produced it. I feel like she may have had a lot of say when G.U.Y. was chosen as the third single though. But I agree with you completely.

She was so excited about Venus, like from what she'd say on twitter and stuff. I can't believe the label just made the switch because DWUW was doing well on the iTunes charts - like, wasn't it obvious to them that those sales were mainly from fans who had pre-ordered the album on iTunes? It's ridiculous. 

[antpats2 4,200]

I feel like Gaga felt really free in late 2011 and upto around the end of 2012. She was writing and writing and writing and she knew what she wanted for ARTPOP and started teasing songs like Ratchet, Red Flame, Tea, Burqa etc. But around early 2013 there was this sudden change. Fernando Garibay's songs were scrapped, she changed Burqa to Aura and songs like Tea never made it. ALso, remember CLLG? Yeah it wasnt supposed to be on ARTPOP, they made it for fun. BUT They made a new, better version of it and were going to release it for free obviously like the first version. BUT INterscope got in and copyrighted the song, even though it wasnt going to be officially released. Gaga just wanted te music, but the label added the bling. (Music not the bling) 

 

idk  

[Tokyo Rose 1,475]

She wrote hundreds of songs for ARTPOP! She even admitted the label forced her to release Applause.

 

Who knows what else on the album was forced

[aaronyoji 2,054]

Uh for starters, songs like partynauseous and onion girl not being on there, auras terrible verse change, the fact that song like Donatella, Jewels N' Drugs feat. Every rapper that no one cares about, and fashion and just super inconsequential songs that are on this record, the fact that r Kelly was featured on dwuw (I refuse to believe gaga after writing a song like swine would want him of all pple on her record) the fact that gaga once stated she was sprinting from the sameness and then saying "every dog is designed to be a hit" those are fundamentally different things especially considering how awful top 40 has been....

[ASTROVEGA 109]

Uh for starters, songs like partynauseous and onion girl not being on there, auras terrible verse change, the fact that song like Donatella, Jewels N' Drugs feat. Every rapper that no one cares about, and fashion and just super inconsequential songs that are on this record, the fact that r Kelly was featured on dwuw (I refuse to believe gaga after writing a song like swine would want him of all pple on her record) the fact that gaga once stated she was sprinting from the sameness and then saying "every dog is designed to be a hit" those are fundamentally different things especially considering how awful top 40 has been....

yeah fans tend to underestimate how much power a record label has over an artist.

[disneyhigh 43]

I don't know if watered down would be my choice of words. but I do think not releasing Venus as the lead or the second single of the album had to be one of the biggest mistakes of her career. Not speaking just out of personal preference but I played the song for numerous people (people who don't keep with gaga, don't care for her, don't like her, straight guys and girls, gay guys, music producers and djs) and everyone loves that song. Yeah its hard to predict the GP taste but I honestly think that song would have reignited her position in the industry and with fans. it would have been the biggest F U to Roar and would have brought a lot of the attention back on her. Venus just slays so much and I don't know how I will forgive her or interscope for not releasing it. so much potential. definitely a grower but everyone I play it for is always singing that chorus afterwards "when you touch me I die"

[ELECTRAHEARTPOP 93]

Well, she wanted Aura for first single, and she wanted Venus for second single, and she didn't get either. We can also hear what she wanted from the album from songs like Stache, and Partynauseous, as well as all her LM posts in 2012 about how it was a techno-EDM-rave album.

Fast forward to 2013 and suddenly Zedd is saying it's not a techno album but it is a techno album. It just seemed like post-hip she got directed a lot by the label.

[eifulien 2,969]

ARTPOPists unite.

Did I read ARTPOPISTS?    

 

Guys, this thread has confused me A LOT. I'm a monster after the Swinefest and I have no idea whatsoever about the things you mentioned in the early stage of development of ARTPOP. I love this album more than anything and it's my favourite one. Could you explain in more detail about whatever info there was before the ARTPOP we got last year. Decay of the blonde? Night at a club? 

Ever since Gaga said that ACT II would be the more experimental counterpart of ARTPOP I can't help seeing it as an unfinished project. Maybe it's because she wrote too many songs for it? And also hearing tracks like Partynauseous, Ratchet, Cake Like LG, Brooklyn Nights makes me feel regretful of all the lost jewels we won't probably see released officially.

 

I don't know what ARTPOP was supposed to be in the first place, but for me the way it is now - an album that was meant to set Gaga free. Thematically it's a return to superficial topics about love, s-x, d--gs. Sonically it's genius, a perfection. From start to end the album flows very well - it is indeed a journey! By setting herself free - I mean getting rid of all expectation for her art. The result - a party album that is light, immature, uplifiting and very youthful and refreshing.

 

For me it's definitely not radio-friendly considering what's on the radio now. So I don't know what she meant by saying that.

 

On the OP - actually I never complain about the prodution of the album (well 70% of my posts are fiercely defending ARTPOP anyway  ). I've said it - listening to the instrumentals is a whole new experience... When it comes to vocals - for me she gave us her best so far but I'm also well aware of the changes that were made to Aura, Swine etc. Sung live, the album sounds better for me. Her voice awakes a spirit that is somewhat oppressed on the album versions of the songs.

 

Does anyone know when the song ARTPOP was written - prior to the hip injury or after that? Because it could explain a lot about the changes of the concept.

 

It became all messy in my head - please enlighten me!

 

And let's all pray for ACT II. That's all I want - The ARTPOP mission fulfilled.

[LilVenusian 579]

Musically, I think they definitely influenced her to make more EDM heavy productions, specifically working with a well known mainstream  DJ like Zedd. It was apparently Jimmy Iovines idea that she collaborate with Zedd (their also both signed to Interscope), so it wasn't really the most natural of collaborations and does come off as a kind of calculated, record label decision. Like lets just throw them together  and see if they can pump out a trendy sounding EDM hit (their plan obviously didn't work in hindsight)

 

I think they also told her to lighten up with the subject matter, especially since people generally thought gaga got to preachy and serious after BTW.  Just looking at the transition from BTW to ARTPOP the change in the lyrical subject matter is vast i.e, alot of controversial religious themes that were all over BTW are pretty much gone now. I mean the fact that the label was to scared to even keep the original title of Aura (Burqa) is very telling. 

 

It was also generally thought that the original concept for ARTPOP was supposed to be a whole lot more darker (i.e  Princess Die). The phrase "the decay of the superstar" was also being thrown around by gaga  and then all of sudden a big 180 happened and all gaga was talking about raving and smoking weed    . Its very likely that she had entirely different project planned but it didn't get ok'd by the label, so she decided to go down a more "fun" route so to speak, and packaged it in some artsy "we could belong together" message so her fans wouldn't question it.

 

Overall, it will be interesting to see what happens after ARTPOP. I generally feel it is a very conflicted album. Some songs feel very free, complex and boundary pushing whilst others feel kind of basic and formulaic in comparison (which is were I think some of the labels influence seeped in). I hope she is more sure of herself by the time of her next release, because the period between BTW and ARTPOP seemed like a damn mess for Gaga and it definitely came through in the music. 

[Hexxx 2,244]

The album wasn't that bold like her other album. It sounds like a mixtape because every song is about something different and they don't fit into the same theme

[Schwerk 7,246]

Aura vocals

 

This is the first thing that came to mind. The rest I honestly can't tell, maybe if we'd have more demo's and stuff. 

I just hope things go more smoothly in the future.

[VforVendetta 2,024]

I don't theink there are big changed to awter it down. All albums have these kind of chanmges, especially when it comes to commercial music.

[PopBitch 1,218]

I don't.  She seemed to make an album she was proud of and has said so.  Things always change from demos to the album.  Sometimes fans feel the changes weren't for the better on a particular song, but that's 20/20 hindsight.  

[XoXoJoanneGaga 629]

Guys, this thread has confused me A LOT. I'm a monster after the Swinefest and I have no idea whatsoever about the things you mentioned in the early stage of development of ARTPOP. I love this album more than anything and it's my favourite one. Could you explain in more detail about whatever info there was before the ARTPOP we got last year. Decay of the blonde? Night at a club? 

Sure. I think what a lot of members forget, even the ones who've been here for years, is the fact that the album was actually done in the summer of 2012. Throughout the first half of 2012, she was constantly referring to the 'decay of the superstar' and the media. She said this in an interview in early 2012:

 

"I'm fascinated with the decay of the blonde pop icon and how culture loves to build and give birth to fantasies and then destroy them and what that means, it's something I want to explore on my next album.â€

 

She seemed to be exploring these themes visually, by going brunette for pretty much the entire year and smoking a lot. It seemed like she was acting out the part of a decaying superstar.

 

She announced that she played the album for the label in June 2012 (https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/211001922537271297), then a few weeks later she performed Princess Die. Then in July, her sound engineer announced that they were putting the finishing touches on the lead single. 

 

Then we didn't hear anything about the album for the rest of the year, and she broke her hip in early 2013. When she came back from the injury she started describing the album as a fun rave record, "The Fame Monster's techno rave little sister". But then she kept working on the album during the summer and it seemed to get downgraded again, from a rave album to just a "long night at the club". 

 

So clearly the album went through many iterations and was very different in the summer of 2012. I think she was originally going for a darker, more Michael Jackson-esque album about the decay of the superstar and paranoia over the media. And then when it was changed to a full-on rave record, I think it was supposed to be a lot crazier (with songs like Partynauseous).