Poor single choices sabotaging Gaga's eras

[Dorothy Gale 7,575]

Ever since Judas, Gaga's single choices have been missing the mark. The Edge of Glory would've easily been a number one song if Gaga's momentum hadn't been stalled by a minor flop that was Judas. At the time it was very rare for a new Gaga song not be played all over the radio but I rarely heard Judas and after a month or so it seemed to be completely out of rotation. Yoü and I was a hit in some areas, but wasn't the strongest contender for a fourth Born This Way single, and by the time Marry The Night came the era had lost its steam. 

The first song we heard from the ARTPOP album was the leaked demo for Aura, which is to this day one of Gaga's strongest songs. But soon after we get Applause, a predictable and unrelatable track that doesn't pick up as much traction as Gaga's past singles. The single choices after this were spot on, but Applause obviously didn't do enough to sell ARTPOP to listeners. Both DWUW and GUY were good single choices, but the bad press and DWUW music video fiasco which halted streaming led to a truncated era.

Then comes Perfect Illusion, Gaga's comeback single. After hearing it my expectations for Joanne lowered, but after hearing the album in its entirety I realized that Gaga picked one of the most middle-of-the-road and random tracks to be her lead single. So far Gaga has released two songs from Joanne and neither singles were home runs. If Gaga had chosen different lead singles for the last two eras we'd probably be in a way different predicament. 

[YeehawKylie 7,817]

Applause, Do What U Want, G.U.Y., Perfect Illusion, and Million Reasons are all great singles. Applause was in the top ten for around 20 weeks. Million Reasons isn't dead yet. The ones in between were total single material that got screwed over by poor promo, poor management...or a combination of both. It's not the single choice, it's how the single was managed. 

[REALITY 76,602]

Maybe it's not the song, but the promotion of said songs. I for one, think that songs like Perfect Illusion, Applause, Million Reasons, etc. are pretty good single choices, but things like bad press (DWUW) and sometimes uneventful promo (PI) are what keep the singles down.

I'd disagree with you by saying Perfect Illusion was a "middle-of-the-road" and "random track", I actually think it was the perfect lead single, unfortunately, it didn't have the perfect promo. 

[PopThatArt 2,193]

9 minutes ago, AntiPotCrusader said:

Ever since Judas, Gaga's single choices have been missing the mark. The Edge of Glory would've easily been a number one song if Gaga's momentum hadn't been stalled by a minor flop that was Judas. At the time it was very rare for a new Gaga song not be played all over the radio but I rarely heard Judas and after a month or so it seemed to be completely out of rotation. Yoü and I was a hit in some areas, but wasn't the strongest contender for a fourth Born This Way single, and by the time Marry The Night came the era had lost its steam. 

The first song we heard from the ARTPOP album was the leaked demo for Aura, which is to this day one of Gaga's strongest songs. But soon after we get Applause, a predictable and unrelatable track that doesn't pick up as much traction as Gaga's past singles. The single choices after this were spot on, but Applause obviously didn't do enough to sell ARTPOP to listeners. Both DWUW and GUY were good single choices, but the bad press and DWUW music video fiasco which halted streaming led to a truncated era.

Then comes Perfect Illusion, Gaga's comeback single. After hearing it my expectations for Joanne lowered, but after hearing the album in its entirety I realized that Gaga picked one of the most middle-of-the-road and random tracks to be her lead single. So far Gaga has released two songs from Joanne and neither singles were home runs. If Gaga had chosen different lead singles for the last two eras we'd probably be in a way different predicament. 

Define home run, define what a single worthy song is, define why number ones are important, define why an album shooting straight to the top should be all Gaga should be concerned about when making music. If anything is sabotaging Gaga's albums, it's Monsters who aren't as supportive of her anymore and only are supportive when Gaga does EXACTLY what they want her to do. 

[Yuuri 21,636]

Judas isn't a bad song, but radio stations like feared backlash since people have no idea what metaphors are.

[TheKillerQueen 1,983]

It wasn't so much the single choices (except GUY, totally wrong song), it's the lack of promoting and having a plan. 

 

[Pacify Him 9,073]

It was said some random fan picked Applause to be lead  when it shoulda been Venus 

[bowie1986 178]

I don't know how differently ARTPOP singles should've been done. I think it was sloppy promo meets an album that was a little too outside the box. It wasn't made for radio and that's where hits are made. 

For Joanne, I think the singles choices were abysmal. Perfect Illusion makes sense as a single, but for the lead? I'm not sure... Million Reasons was dead the minute she announced it, anyone with ears could've called that. It was a simple country ballad, lacking anything to muster up hype. An embarrassing song when held up next to "Speechless."

The singles off Joanne would have to be some variation of Diamond Heart, A-Yo, John Wayne, Dancin' In Cirlces, Perfect Illusion, Sinner's Prayer, or Come To Mama.

Million Reasons & Grigio Girls are country songs that fail to inspire. Just Another Day is the wrong vibe, but a gem on the album. Angel Down and the corresponding work tape are too grandiose in their lyrics and a little too dreary. Hey Girl is far too simple, despite it's amplified sultriness. Joanne is kind of a trash song without the meaning Gaga places upon it taken into account...

I mean, Million Reasons was such a waste. And Perfect Illusion was just such a let down, mainly because it was so heavily promoted as "Mark Ronson, BloodPop, Kevin Parker." So in our heads we have "Sorry" by Justin Beiber, "Uptown Funk", and Tame Impala's "Currents" (One of the best albums of the 21st century) and we get "Perfect Illusion." It was a bummer in itself that got projected onto the entire album.  

[Blahwhatever22 8,117]

Most of her choices in singles have been correct with the exception of Judas which was A terrible marketing decision especially the time of it's released. It's how she releases them that screws hers up, Constantly swapping songs every era is never a good indication that things are going to go smoothly.

[bowie1986 178]

When I listen to the album start to finish, I get so hype for PI. But on it's own as a lead it was such a bummer

 

[Yuuri 21,636]

3 minutes ago, bowie1986 said:

I don't know how differently ARTPOP singles should've been done. I think it was sloppy promo meets an album that was a little too outside the box. It wasn't made for radio and that's where hits are made. 

For Joanne, I think the singles choices were abysmal. Perfect Illusion makes sense as a single, but for the lead? I'm not sure... Million Reasons was dead the minute she announced it, anyone with ears could've called that. It was a simple country ballad, lacking anything to muster up hype. An embarrassing song when held up next to "Speechless."

The singles off Joanne would have to be some variation of Diamond Heart, A-Yo, John Wayne, Dancin' In Cirlces, Perfect Illusion, Sinner's Prayer, or Come To Mama.

Million Reasons & Grigio Girls are country songs that fail to inspire. Just Another Day is the wrong vibe, but a gem on the album. Angel Down and the corresponding work tape are too grandiose in their lyrics and a little too dreary. Hey Girl is far too simple, despite it's amplified sultriness. Joanne is kind of a trash song without the meaning Gaga places upon it taken into account...

I mean, Million Reasons was such a waste. And Perfect Illusion was just such a let down, mainly because it was so heavily promoted as "Mark Ronson, BloodPop, Kevin Parker." So in our heads we have "Sorry" by Justin Beiber, "Uptown Funk", and Tame Impala's "Currents" (One of the best albums of the 21st century) and we get "Perfect Illusion." It was a bummer in itself that got projected onto the entire album.  

It sounds to me like you dislike slow balladga and want Dance-popga back.

[Blahwhatever22 8,117]

3 minutes ago, VenusAsABoy said:

It was said some random fan picked Applause to be lead  when it shoulda been Venus 

Do you really think venus would have done well though? Applause made more sense to me, People tend to forget that Applause had longevity on the top ten and did well on radio too.  

[bowie1986 178]

1 minute ago, Misaki said:

It sounds to me like you dislike slow balladga and want Dance-popga back.

You're not wrong. Balladga doesn't do it for me, especially country balladga. I can bump speechless, brown eyes, etc. but MR is some ****. I need rock-ga, dance-ga, I'll even take jazz crooner-ga. But dance-popga would be nice (I AM SO HERE FOR JOHN WAYNE UG)

[Pacify Him 9,073]

Just now, Blahwhatever22 said:

Do you really think venus would have done well though? Applause made more sense to me, People tend to forget that Applause had longevity on the top ten and did well on radio too.  

After they receive the glory of Ruth Hogben's work 

Tbh, MVs do help in prolonging a single's life. The applause MV didn't deliver

[GunninMan 1,406]

I think a lot of it has to do with radio too. If radio isn't playing it, then it's not going to do well, no matter how great the song is. MR has proven to be one of her most impactful singles, when I see people I know and don't know praising that song, it makes me happy to know that it's reaching a much broader spectrum of people than anticipated, but alas, it's barely ever on the radio. I have asked tons of people that like the song if they have ever heard it on the radio, and only one person said yes. Now this of course is all just personal experiences, but I truly think the lack of radio airplay is what is hurting these songs the most.  

I mean the evidence is there. Whenever she performs a song it skyrockets on iTunes and stays in the top 10-20 for a few days, and then it falls, and we can't say there's been no promo for MR because there has been pretty decent promo for it. If radio isn't playing it, for the people who didn't see these performances, they won't know about the song.