Do you agree with Gaga about Cher's "The Greatest Thing"?

[ReidOne 12,427]

Salty opinions ahead... you've been warned. 

DISCLAIMER: I'm a huge supporter of Cher and love many of her songs from the 60's - today. But.... I want to ask:

Do you agree with Gaga's decision to block the release of "The Greatest Thing"? 

As a reminder, Gaga went on record to say: 

"To be fair, if I was writing a song for Cher now, I would want to hear her album and I want to know where she is in her life. I would want to talk to her about where's she is going musically, and I didn't get to do any of those things. So I didn't want to put out something that wasn't up to par with what Cher has put out before. It's not really about me, it's more about her. Because it's Cher!"
 

But, let's be honest... "The Greatest Thing" is 100% up to par with what Cher has been releasing since the early 2000's! The truth, if you ask me, is that Gaga was not going to risk her brand by performing on a run-of-the-mill cheap-gay-dance-sounding Cher tune. And I applaud her for that. If she's going to collaborate with Cher on an official release, it should be an A-list, mega-hit worthy song. And "The Greatest Thing," while great, was just your standard gay-cliche 2000's Cher sound. Hardly classic Cher. 

My personal opinion: It's a ****ing BOP. And thank god it saw the light of day as a leak. But, at the end of the day... it's only amazing BECAUSE it's a leak. If this were formally released, it would make me cringe a little. Especially considering the heights Gaga was at during 2011. This would have just been a huge misstep. 

Do you agree? Or do you think that Gaga was being too selfish in deciding what was worthy of release? 

 

[Sid 6,755]

I LOVE Cher, I look up to her in so many ways but I can see why Gaga didn't want to release that song. I don't think it ended up suiting Cher's voice very well at all. Maybe in a different key with some more of her signature vocoder effects, but the mix that was leaked just didn't sound like anything worth releasing to me. I actually prefer Gaga's solo version of TGT! 

This thread reminded me how much I miss Cher tho, i hope she releases another album like she said she'd like to or at least post some b-sides. I need some new Cher bops!!! 

[Lord Temptation 11,209]

I agree with everything Gaga says.

Why would I listen to anybody else?

[Seeka 12,372]

I wish that Changing Skies saw the light of day honestly. I love it but it is autotuned to death.

As for this, I just don't think Gaga likes commercially releasing stuff that has been leaked. And it was originally written in 2008 so she probably didn't think it was up to par with her current repertoire.

[crisTEAne 21,059]

why do you keep saying it's gay? what's gay about the song? 

[ReidOne 12,427]

8 minutes ago, T E A said:

why do you keep saying it's gay? what's gay about the song? 

Oooooo, I knew someone was going to mention this. Thank you! 

I am a die-hard fan of EDM. I've been to countless raves and even been to EDC Las Vegas 3 years in a row (2012-2014). Not so much any more, because the genre has become completely overrun with bedroom DJ's and trend-chasing headliners and idiot scene-following "fans". And the real "music" has taken a backseat. 

But back in the late 90's and early 2000's, I was absolutely EDM's biggest fan. But, the truth is, at that time, the primary audience for that music in the United States was gay folks. 

But, beyond that, there was a clearly discernible difference between club music that was made for the international dance music scene vs. dance music that was made for US gay club audiences. And Cher was the epitome of the US gay-dance-pop audience at that time. 

"The Greatest Thing" is a masterful pop tune. But it's also entirely built around the same sound that defined the early 2000's gay nightclub scene. This is not an Ibiza club jam. This is not an Australian Top 40 hit. It's not even a UK top 10. But it's 100% US gay nightclub fare. 

AKA, "gay dance music." 

This is not meant to be derogatory (I love that music!! I have spent thousands buying it up). But it's simply an honest look at the genre. 

[crisTEAne 21,059]

2 minutes ago, ReidOne said:

Oooooo, I knew someone was going to mention this. Thank you! 

I am a die-hard fan of EDM. I've been to countless raves and even been to EDC Las Vegas 3 years in a row (2012-2014). Not so much any more, because the genre has become completely overrun with bedroom DJ's and trend-chasing headliners and idiot scene-following "fans". And the real "music" has taken a backseat. 

But back in the late 90' and early 2000's, I was absolutely EDM's biggest fan. But, the truth is, at that time, the primary audience for that music in the United States was gay folks. 

But, beyond that, there was a clearly discernible difference between club music that was made for the international dance music scene vs. dance music that was made for US gay club audiences. And Cher was the epitome of the US gay-dance-pop audience at that time. 

"The Greatest Thing" is a masterful pop tune. But it's also entirely built around the same sound that defined the early 2000's gay nightclub scene. This is not an Ibiza club jam. This is not an Australian Top 40 hit. It's not even a UK top 10. But it's 100% US gay nightclub fare. 

AKA, "gay dance music." 

This is not meant to be derogatory (I love that music!! I have spent thousands buying it up). But it's simply an honest look at the genre. 

MUSIC NOT THE BL... LABEL!

[VenusBlackStar 1,301]

I like the song! I do agree that maybe if she was gonna do a song with Cher it would have to be a better one than that. I'm not saying the song is bad, just maybe not at CLASSIC level that should happen when Gaga and Cher make music together.

[ReidOne 12,427]

Just now, T E A said:

MUSIC NOT THE BL... LABEL!

LOL YES!!!!

I was literally just replying with this: 

Sorry... this is not meant to rile anyone up or upset anyone around labels... that's not what I'm about at all and don't intend to offend. But I am junkie for dance music. But I also appreciate the differences that exist among EDM and hate when it all gets lumped into a single category. I only want to make the distinction between tracks that are mainstream "club" hits vs. tracks that are primarily crafted to appeal toward a gay audience. It's all dance music, but it's also very different. 

Yet... the lines blur constantly! Which is what makes it so fun to follow, as a gay man. Many of the mainstream audiences can't tell the difference and I LIVE for the times when I hear one of our "gay dance" tunes being played passionately by a DJ at the trendy clubs and festivals and people eat it up. But deep down, I know who that track was originally made for. 

Damn, I love dance music. 

[Yuuri 21,636]

29 minutes ago, IWantTheFame said:

I need some new Cher bops!!! 

Wait next decade for her next #1 album.

[crisTEAne 21,059]

2 minutes ago, ReidOne said:

LOL YES!!!!

I was literally just replying with this: 

Sorry... this is not meant to rile anyone up or upset anyone around labels... that's not what I'm about at all and don't intend to offend. But I am junkie for dance music. But I also appreciate the differences that exist among EDM and hate when it all gets lumped into a single category. I only want to make the distinction between tracks that are mainstream "club" hits vs. tracks that are primarily crafted to appeal toward a gay audience. It's all dance music, but it's also very different. 

Yet... the lines blur constantly! Which is what makes it so fun to follow, as a gay man. Many of the mainstream audiences can't tell the difference and I LIVE for the times when I hear one of our "gay dance" tunes being played passionately by a DJ at the trendy clubs and festivals and people eat it up. But deep down, I know who that track was originally made for. 

Damn, I love dance music. 

idk, i don't like labelling music. differentiating between EDM sub-genres is fine, i can understand that if someone, like you, is a music enthusiast. however, just like i don't say, and agree, that ANTi is a "black album," i don't say that a song is "gay," because WE WANT FULL EQUALITY! 

ARE YOU LISTENING, @ReidOne? 

[ReidOne 12,427]

Just now, T E A said:

idk, i don't like labelling music. differentiating between EDM sub-genres is fine, i can understand that if someone, like you, is a music enthusiast. however, just like i don't say, and agree, that ANTi is a "black album," i don't say that a song is "gay," because WE WANT FULL EQUALITY! 

ARE YOU LISTENING, @ReidOne? 

Hahaha PREACH @T E A!!!!!!!!! I am listening!!

[AlexanderLevi2 5,849]

Never was a fan of the song. So I'm not too pressed, except for the fact that I could use that collab as another reason to defend her against the haters... That's about it.

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

I also remember something about her not liking RedOne's production of the song

Cher loved it and so did RedOne, but Gaga is a perfectionist. She wanted to write a fresh and inspired song for her and instead used an old demo to give to her. Even the leak is still a demo, but it had potential. 

Why couldn't Gaga change the lyrics around and just use the same beat? Is her song, so write whatever new into the instrumental and release it...Ala IWBWY to Dope

It's possible but Gaga was having a creative fit