E! Online defends Gaga's Bowie tribute

[PunkTheFunk 121,549]

Was Lady Gaga's David Bowie Tribute at the Grammys Off the Mark or Pitch-Perfect: Why the Haters May Have Missed the Point

"It was almost over too soon, nine songs highlighting a four-plus-decade career in six minutes, and the frenetic pace proved too jarring for some—including, it seems, David Bowie's son.

"'overexcited or irrational, typically as a result of infatuation or excessive enthusiasm; mentally confused.' Damn it! What IS that word!?" Duncan Jonestweeted last night, the timing coinciding with Gaga's tribute to his father's artistry—and the word he referred to being gaga.

He hasn't expounded further on his reaction, though his tweet meshes with some of the other not-sure-what-they-just-witnessed reactions on the Internet last night.

However, after having had more time to drink it all in and not just label it a "hit" or a "miss," the general critical reception the morning after has been that Gaga nailed it for more nuanced reasons.

Just because the tribute wasn't weepy or an all-star extravaganza doesn't mean her one-woman show didn't work. (And, in retrospect, it wasn't a one-woman show due to the presence of Grammys musical director and Let's Dance producer Nile Rodgers on guitar.)

As Lady Gaga made poignantly clear last night, David Bowie was the opposite of a one-note artist. His divergent body of work meant so many different things to so many people, depending on (but not limited to) a variety of factors, ranging from when you were born and what type of music you may have liked in general to what stage of Bowie's career you first stumbled upon and how deep you dug into his archive.

Ultimately, no matter who was on that stage last night, there was no way to make a one-size-fits-all Bowie tribute. It was an impossibility. It's a lot easier to sing "Take It Easy," give everyone the feels, and call it a night.

So Gaga, as a true-blue fan, did her best to evince as many incarnations of the Starman himself as possible, from Ziggy Stardust to New Wave icon and always brilliant singer-songwriter and epitome of sexually fluid, androgynous appeal. There probably just wasn't time to get to time-and-space-transcending "Lazarus." "

Full article here: http://www.eonline.com/news/740677/was-lady-gaga-s-david-bowie-tribute-at-the-grammys-off-the-mark-or-pitch-perfect-why-the-haters-may-have-missed-the-point

 

EDIT: A comment on this article reads:

"Gaga was brilliant. As a very long-time Bowie fan, I felt she nailed it. It satisfied me deep down. Maybe that's a wrong expression; what she really did was peel it to the core and make me feel the pain. In my eyes, Gaga was already a fine artist. Last night she proved she's great. RIP, David."

[Wenli 826]

Very good article. I especially like the second part you bolded. 

[Swan Heart 7,382]

Gaga was brilliant indeed.

I was crying tears of joy and singing along with her, every song.

[SummerGirl21 780]

yes. this article is everything. i'm annoyed at the haters who seem to think she's not a real bowie fan or something. she put her heart and soul into that performance. In NO WAY was it about her. i've read a lot of things saying "it was all about gaga." HA. in no way. it was all about bowie. i think less songs would have been better maybe, but i understood what she was trying to do with the medley. 

[Michelle 2,056]

 excellent article. 

[LaLuna 12,732]

Let's just put it this way: there was no way in hell she was going to be able to please everyone. Bowie deserves a whole damn show dedicated to him. But since this was an awards show, Gaga did the best she could with the time she had and I think she did great. Haters can stay pressed, it was an amazing performance. 

[weed 67,227]

Yay E! 

[Slayer 9,227]

I was initially really disappointed at seeing all the hate online for this performance (it's probably just a shock because Gaga has had nothing but praise for the last year or so). But actually, a lot of people DO love the performance, and there appears to be just as many people who loved it as those who hated it. It's polarising. This is the Gaga we know and love. People either love her or hate her, but everybody has one thing in common: they're all talking about her. 

I enjoyed the 'everybody loves Gaga' era while it lasted, but let's face it, for the past couple of years she has been pretty inoffensive and dare I say, boring. Of course this era was absolutely necessary, as she had to do a lot of damage control after ARTPOP, which saw her go from being a polarising figure to just outright hated by everyone. But I think now is the right time for her to start pushing the boundaries again. It's why so many of us fell in love with her in the first place, and it's the REASON why she became a superstar in the first place. This performance, and the strong reaction to it, has made me more excited for LG5 than anything so far. It's reminded me of who she truly is, as a performer. Whatever she does, I'm sure she'll have everyone talking.

[pachinko 9,486]

24 minutes ago, Slavi said:

Gaga was brilliant indeed.

I was crying tears of joy and singing along with her, every song.

Omfg! I just re-watched the performance. Its EVERYTHING.  I must have just been annoyed at the other crappy performances last night. 

[Swan Heart 7,382]

Just now, pachinko said:

Omfg! I just re-watched the performance. Its EVERYTHING.  I must have just been annoyed at the other crappy performances last night. 

Kendrick was amazing though.

[PunkTheFunk 121,549]

1 minute ago, Slavi said:

Kendrick was amazing though.

Let's be real, Kendrick's performance was in a league of its own. Holy sh*t 

[Hola Soraya 4,349]

 I'm glad people realised that it's impossible to match Bowie. It's about honouring him not one-upping him. 

[PunkTheFunk 121,549]

11 minutes ago, etron said:

I was initially really disappointed at seeing all the hate online for this performance (it's probably just a shock because Gaga has had nothing but praise for the last year or so). But actually, a lot of people DO love the performance, and there appears to be just as many people who loved it as those who hated it. It's polarising. This is the Gaga we know and love. People either love her or hate her, but everybody has one thing in common: they're all talking about her. 

I enjoyed the 'everybody loves Gaga' era while it lasted, but let's face it, for the past couple of years she has been pretty inoffensive and dare I say, boring. Of course this era was absolutely necessary, as she had to do a lot of damage control after ARTPOP, which saw her go from being a polarising figure to just outright hated by everyone. But I think now is the right time for her to start pushing the boundaries again. It's why so many of us fell in love with her in the first place, and it's the REASON why she became a superstar in the first place. This performance, and the strong reaction to it, has made me more excited for LG5 than anything so far. It's reminded me of who she truly is, as a performer. Whatever she does, I'm sure she'll have everyone talking.

[PrinceGaga 7,246]

2 minutes ago, PunkTheFunk said:

Let's be real, Kendrick's performance was in a league of its own. Holy sh*t 

Kendrick's performance in terms of power, theatrics, story line, visuals etc is everything I hope Gaga has for performances for LG5. 

OT; yas E! stan for ha

[ShockPop 7,747]

40 minutes ago, PunkTheFunk said:

Let's be real, Kendrick's performance was in a league of its own. Holy sh*t 

Let's be real, it was garbage. Nobody could understand a word that came out of his mouth and the sound balance was off completely.

So a black man made a statement about racism. How cool and edgy and new and fresh. Such a great approach that Will change the world... If only he was audible.