Is Lady Gaga a genius on the level of Michael Jackson?

[ReidOne 12,427]

Kind of a basic question, but just curious to get the opinion of GGD... Do you think Lady Gaga is a musical genius on par with Michael Jackson? 

 

They share many qualities: 

- They DEFINED the possibilities of music videos in their era. 

- They wrote and performed some of the most undeniably timeless pop songs of their generation.

- They were moneymaking machines, unmatched by any of their peers (at the time of their phenomenons).

- Their tours were heralded as groundbreaking compared to their peers. 

- Their fans were more devoted than any other pop act of their time.

- They suffered from incessant tabloid journalism labeling them as freaks. 

- Their ultimate "plight" as artists was simply to entertain and make people happy. 

- They transcended gender & race to become internationally recognized figures of human accomplishment.

- They devoted their life and their art to making the world better for everyone.

- They put "art" for art's sake in the highest regard, above all else.

 

I absolutely think that Lady Gaga is qualified to stand beside Michael Jackson as one of the very few "greats" of pop music (could count them all on my fingers). I honestly believe she has been gifted with a similar volume of unique talents that made MJ so acclaimed and adored. 

[nobody3089 250]

No

[Quark 7,018]

She does share many similar and great qualities to MJ. So in a sense yes. Is just that unlike MJ, she hasn't shown her full potential yet.

[Fernster7 7,842]

She probably will be a couple years from now. 

[Serendipity 7,821]

Gaga is the first Gaga.  

[kabirartfling 9,063]

YES! i have always felt the same way too but "No" in terms of popularity and success because gaga has'nt reached that level YET but i am pretty sure she will soon enough! Plus both these artist had enormus love for their fans too 

[Rino 5,094]

for me Gaga is better. 

[TheJackMonster 1,857]

Not yet... 

[pachinko 9,583]

1 minute ago, Rino said:

for me Gaga is better. 

Never.  MJ is untouchable. Gaga's discography is generic compared to MJ's. She will get there eventually.  

[Lord Temptation 11,209]

Both of them are masters at changing people's expectations of what a pop star should be.

[Rino 5,094]

Just now, pachinko said:

Never.  MJ is untouchable. Gaga's discography is generic compared to MJ's. She will get there eventually.  

I said "for me". when did you get the right to define a better artist from my point of view? 

[Adakam 2]

not yet, but way closer than her peers

[ReidOne 12,427]

7 minutes ago, Rino said:

for me Gaga is better. 

I agree. I think a key differentiator here is access to the artist. In Michael's era, he kept the masses interested by his inaccessibility. There was no internet. No streaming video. No streaming music. You had to wait to catch his videos on TV or the radio. And god bless you if you caught an interview (you probably scheduled your whole day around it or set the VCR to record it before you left the house). 

Gaga, on the other hand, has come into prominence in a time when accessibility to the artist is as far-reaching as you can ever wish for. At the click of a button (or a mouse), you can watch her interviews, videos and appearances over and over and over again. Without doing any work or investing any time or energy.

Yet, she captivated the nation in an identical way as Michael Jackson, who came decades before her. But she did it in a different time. In a time where it was much harder to retain the mystique, while also executing all the same promo.

It's Gaga all the way for me, too. 

[zakariah 11,556]

Not yet 

[Quartz 11,923]

Her genius is more comparable to Madonna than MJ. MJ was great for entertainment. For reinvention and artistry, Madonna is the icon to look up. Gaga is going the same way as Madonna. I mean, MJ had one image. Yes it was an iconic image but it's still just the one.