Back to the forums, no longer a Gaga fan and why

[Swine 504]

Hey everyone 

 

So yesterday I came back to Gagadaily to check some news about the tour, and I found myself missing the forum and you guys. A few years have passed  I probably don't even recognize most of you. But anyway, hey cuties. So yes, I am just going to write a lot of stuff that has happened, because it kind of saddens me, but this is not coming from a place of hate, so don't come for me, I'm very neutral at this point, when it comes to Gaga. I truly hope you guys don't think like: "yeah another bashing thread, nobody cares, leave her alone", this is not that, I'm just sharing what I feel after not being in the fanbase for some time now. Sorry if I make mistakes. I'm Portuguese, I've moved to Sweden to work as a dentist, learned Swedish and I am currently studying Norwegian, so my English became way worse than it was.

 

I found myself in the middle of the forums thinking: wow, things have changed quite a lot since my times here. I had the feeling the fanbase was not even the same. So I wondered if what happened to me, happened to most of the people that were here from the beginning.

I was (?) a Gaga fan since 2009/2010. And what a time to be a Gaga fan, tbh. We had new photos and outfits every other day, new shows, new interviews, new photoshoots, unreleased material. Like it was truly amazing, there was stuff being released almost all the time. I remember very well the promotional campaign for Born This Way. The wait for the album, when it leaked 1 week before the release and still managed to sell 1.2 million copies, the iconic cover that everybody hates. It was so prolific. It was almost too much, but everyone loved it. Then came ARTPOP, a complete turn in terms of sound, but still Gaga. Visuals, outfits, probably the best tour of her life. Even though it had some bumps here and there, it was still a pleasant ride, and while I feel sorry for Gaga (because of management issues), I still think she got a lot of nerve and drive out of it, so it made the Era even more special.

But mostly, what made Gaga stand out back then was her insane drive and will to change the game. Not just pop music, but the world. She was so "preachy" and so secure of her art back then. And the b*tch always had her talent to back it up. She didn't need to rub in everyone's face that she could sing or play the piano by releasing an acoustic album: she simply did it while playing pop music. She combined both worlds so well, it was truly amazing. And that was what made me stay, and come back to the forums everyday.

Then came Joanne. Truth be told, I was expecting a less abrasive album with happier lyrics. I was here for it. It was a side from Gaga that we still didn't know quite well. But everyone still expected a message through the album that she would repeat over and over in her interviews. Everyone expected a new sound, something different for her that proved her versatility, but still risky and fresh. Everyone expected new outfits. Maybe not as extravagant, because everyone was kind of over it, but maybe something a little less "too much", more relaxed and stripped down, but still Gaga, still conveying a message, still on brand, still polished.

And we got nothing like that. To me, Joanne is an album with barely no message (yeah, an homage to her aunt, but with songs about masturbation and guys in the middle). It didn't sound very fresh to me, and country sounded like a huge risk when it comes to every other market outside the US (maybe that's why I didn't like it). There were almost no interviews and no performances. No message at all. The promotional campaign was almost inexistent. There was nothing to follow or to discuss, really. So why stay around? Why follow someone who didn't impress me or represent me as much as she used to, at least during this fase of her career? The drive and the nerve didn't seem to be there anymore. I still appreciate a lot everything she did in the past. I have all the respect for that. But it feels like she wants to step back a little, like she wants to be more subtle and have a calmer life. And I can't blame her for it. But she can't blame me for not wanting to follow that anymore, or any other fan that does the same. In the words of wisdom by Tatianna: "Choices". Back then I thought like: "I would NEVER, EVER leave her, she represents everything that I want to be, she is fierce, she goes against everyone and she is not apologetic about it". Now it just feels sad, because that deep love for her that I had disappeared. Like now I have the money to buy the backstage pack, and I'm like: "yeah no, not now... If it was back in the BTW/ARTPOP Era, for sure, but not now". And I hope she proves me wrong in the future. I'm not salty about not loving Joanne, I knew someday there would come an album that I would like less (or not at all). I'm still here for her, anyway. Maybe not following every step, but still praying for that metal album.

[littlepotter 75,086]

Thanks for being brave enough to post this here. I don't agree but I respect your opinion  and I wish more people would follow your steps; when you lose interest in someone just leave the forum and let us be instead of being negative about everything and making the place sour.

[HOTNebraskaGuy 19,547]

Basically what @littlepotter said. I hope more people follow in your footsteps and become more mature about the whole situation, by respecting Gaga and the people here by leaving when they find out they no longer appreciate Gaga’s work anymore. 

By the way, you seem to be living a really successful and interesting life, so congratulations! 

[Phoenix 17,395]

5 minutes ago, littlepotter said:

Thanks for being brave enough to post this here. I don't agree but I respect your opinion  and I wish more people would follow your steps; when you lose interest in someone just leave the forum and let us be instead of being negative about everything and making the place sour.

True. We don't want you triggered every day 

 

[Dayman 6,170]

Wow! Long time no see! [or is it post?]. But yeah, I get what you mean. Joanne is a very personal album and is stripped back in many regards. It's not a take no prisoners and be unapologetic in it's attitude. It's an album of family and loss - and I think a lot of that is hard to translate into Gaga's usual way of doing things. Between Gaga and Taylor breaking up and Sonjas health decline and ultimate passing - I think Joanne was the right album for her personally. I think with the new tour we are seeing her come back into her old ways of doing things though. Here's hoping that LG6 will be the album for you and we'll have you as an active member again!

[Luxe Ford 3,481]

Hallå där!

I hear what you say and can relate to a bit of it, but prople change a lot over the years. You're hardly the same person you were in 2009 and neither is Gaga. She has her acting, her fiance and her bloody dogs to think about except her music and her levels of popularity and exposure will likely never get to the level they once were.

She can't satisfy all of as at all time and I hope you stick around. I'm positive Gaga still has some tricks up her sleeve to surprise us with.

After all we survived Hipgate when no one knew if she'd even be able to perform again. Those weren't the most fun months for a fan.

[Swine 504]

1 minute ago, HOTNebraskaGuy said:

Basically what @littlepotter said. I hope more people follow in your footsteps and become more mature about the whole situation, by respecting Gaga and the people here by leaving when they find out they no longer appreciate Gaga’s work anymore. 

By the way, you seem to be living a really successful and interesting life, so congratulations! 

Thank you 

It just feels kind of pointless to be sour about something that I can't change, especially when other people appreciate it. I found that by not doing it I had more time to focus on my life and other stuff.

[Pop Cult 21]

Years might have passed but SWI-IIINE!

[Swine 504]

1 minute ago, Luxe Ford said:

Hallå där!

I hear what you say and can relate to a bit of it, but prople change a lot over the years. You're hardly the same person you were in 2009 and neither is Gaga. She has her acting, her fiance and her bloody dogs to think about except her music and her levels of popularity and exposure will likely never get to the level they once were.

She can't satisfy all of as at all time and I hope you stick around. I'm positive Gaga still has some tricks up her sleeve to surprise us with.

After all we survived Hipgate when no one knew if she'd even be able to perform again. Those weren't the most fun months for a fan.

Hejsan! 

I just hope she never gets tired of making music. She has a lot of talent, and she can explore and do whatever she wants.

[hausofcy 20,325]

I experienced the same thing during ARTPOP. I liked the album and bought it and I even went to the show. However, I didn't like the looks and her interviews were very weird so I took a step back and let it be. I didnt spend hours lurking here, I never visited littlemonsters.com anymore. However when she started AHS and her performances at the Oscars etc. I just "came back".

[Gardevoir 9,822]

Nice variety from threads about bashing her and stuff. I can see your point, but one thing I cannot agree with is that this album has no message. It is about loneliness, about loss in your family, your friend dying of cancer, about what wrong happens in the world every day, not caring about people that are negative towards you, about supporting eachother, not compete with eachother, about peace in the world and what could human race achieve if it wasn't for conflicts and wars. It has multiple messages.

[Bellatrix 34,789]

I agree with you completely, although I still see myself as a fan.

Even as a fan it is fine to dislike certain eras. It happens to almost everyone at some point. All we can do is wait until the next one starts and hope that will be better. In the meantime we have her older stuff to listen to  

[ryanripley 86,575]

@AIex now this is how you do an anti-joanne thread, without bashing pointless things  

OT: it's totally fine to not be a part of an era to your liking, obviously Joanne isn't satisfying you as much as past eras which i can understand! it's nice to see someone trying not to manage gaga when making a thread like this  you can always still be a huge gaga fan and at the same time, just take a back seat if it's not your era without having to bash her, her team and the music imo

[TeenIdle 126,479]

I disagree with what you're saying but I respect your opinion. To me Joanne has much deeper meaning than Artpop (an album I LOVE) and it's a very personal album, which was something new and interesting. The era may be boring but the SB, Coachella and the JWT were unforgettable experiences even from a screen. Even the forum keeps delivering iconic moments  

[The Surrealist 27,470]

Preach.