Why did PI flop?

[TheJackMonster 1,857]

album song. far from lead single material.

[bambi96 1,555]

21 minutes ago, djBuffoon said:

Repetitive in a forceful way? Perhaps. Not necessarily a flaw, though. Most of Gaga's singles are forcefully repetitive. 

My issue with your post was implying that we love it only because it's Gaga. I mean, a few of the most respected contemporary musicians worked on the song. It is possible that they made something of quality that not everyone will appreciate right now.

And I'm not saying it's bad. But it's true that a lot of fans do look past flaws because they're blinded by their love for Gaga. And when I say forceful, I mean in an auditory manner; it does sound very 'shouty'. I myself love it; the 'demonic' background vocals give me life, but I'm not stupid enough to not understand why a lot of people dislike it. The production of the track is simply sublime, I think it's a club hit waiting to happen.

[Naor Daniel 937]

1. Repetive lyrics, no buildup and the vocals were too strong over the instruments

2. BAD video

3. Bad promo

i think this song could be produced as a huge hit 

still love it to death but the gp can't swallow it

[StarstruckIllusion 52,403]

Well, i didn't like it at first listen. Then I chose to hear it again. Most of the GP rarely does that tho. That's why it flopped. You could even see sooo many negative reactions on every platform the song was available too, so I know I'm not the only one. 

[Miel 15,009]

A lot of people in my general vicinity liked it, mainly for the chorus.

Other than that... it just kind of faded away. On my part, I'm gonna say lack of radio support, but I can definitely see lack of promo as being a part of it, too.

[Morphine Prince 105,519]

No proper promo, and I have still not heard it on the radio. NOT ONCE, what the ****? 

 

[display name 4,360]

So many fans hate it. Why would the GP like it?

 

[GagaTheExplorer 3,053]

1. No VMA promo

2. Not music video released in the same day

3. Not  promo at all

4. Not Gay enough for some fans

5. GP wasn't into it

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6. the song is not good enough

[XoXoJoanneGaga 629]

It's quite dated sounding, if it had been released in the 80s as a Pat Benetar single it might have done alright. But the songwriting isn't strong and the chorus is rather grating, especially when listening in headphones. It had very poor callout scores and radio hosts didn't like it either. All in all a misfire of a single and she should have just gone with Million Reasons from the start.

[Turbogirl 32]

It's a pretty generic song tbh. It's over produced. While I think Carney is a jack ass, he was right about the guitar. He did a horrible job explaining his criticisms (and was a smarmy jack ass about it). But the "layered" sound is pretty cheesy and soulless. And Josh Homme is my hero.

The hook / melody is reasonably catchy, but it's nothing special. It's just a very by the numbers single, while lacking the extra oomph that makes Gaga a spectacle. And even all personal opinions aside, it's kind of a dated sound that doesn't exactly match what is popular right now (in terms of mainstream singles that are a hit).

And that's also the thing, Gaga isn't a spectacle on this album. It's a very intimate / personal album. So that older persona wouldn't fit on this record. So you get a single that would have been for that, but is lacking.

Rest of the album is a pretty coherent vision / sound. John Wayne is a bombastic single that comes close to being a spectacle. But it totally fits the sound of the album. I think if Gaga wanted to make an over the top pop single, she should have taken on the "outlaw" persona that you kind of see on "Sinners Prayer" (that swagger) mixed with the energy of "John Wayne".

As much as I love Dancin' in Circles (it truly sounds like a TFM era song ) that + Perfect Illusion + Hey Girl + Come to Mama - do not fit with the overall sound of the album. These 4 songs stick out like a sore thumb, and feel like tracks made because she needed to make radio friendly singles that don't depart too much from the past (although I wouldn't call Hey Girl exactly a pop single).

Then again, once you add in the excellent bonus tracks like Grigio Girls and Just Another Day, that's basically 6 songs out of 13 that dont really match with the stripped down / folk sound. Without the bonus tracks it was 4 out of 11. So with the bonus tracks, that basically makes 50% of the album having a modern pop sound / writing, and 50% being a stripped down / intimate folk rock album.

So Joanne is kind of an odd record in a way. Like Gaga had a pretty clear vision, but then decided to only dip her toes in the water instead of fully committing to what she wanted (even more so with the bonus tracks added).

Perfect Illusion is by no means a bad song. It will def grow on you, and it's catchy. But regardless how you feel about it, it def is a dated sound compared to what is currently popular. And for Gaga herself, it just sounds like a by the number effort while lacking what she normally brings to the table.

 

 

[Hyperballad 4,295]

[Katie14 4,828]

Its an angry song and comes across as grating to some if you aren't in the mood for that type of thing.