The "Joanne/Super Bowl" Theory

[ApplauseftAdele 4,679]

So there is clear evidence that Gaga originally wanted to make Lg5 a dark pop album. She hinted at it a lot, saying it was inspired by AHS and that after the "Lady" has had her time in the C2C era, the "Gaga" would return for LG5.She also created 8 songs with RedOne that were scrapped, however knowing what she's done with him in the past it's safe to say that they were pretty iconic bops, one of them allegedly being "Frankenstein". 

However, instead she decided to change direction before her Grammy performance, and allegedly switched from debuting Frankenstein to a controversial tribute. She then stripped down her image from the techy high fashion of the Intel commercials to her Joanne self. She began writing Joanne, and then released it later that year. 2 weeks after Perfect illusion, she announced that she would be headlining the halftime show. 

So here is the theory : Gaga was promised a halftime show slot if she made a more stripped down album to be less polarizing to viewers, resulting in Joanne.

 

I really do believe this theory, it explains a lot about Joanne. For example, it explains why she scrapped the Grammys opportunity last minute (Intel collab and a "revolutionary" performance). It explains why Joanne feels ... incomplete? Like the music is great but it doesn't feel as cohesive (DIC and John Wayne dont feel like they necessarily belong, plus many mistakes like the PI fart and the extra words at the end of diamond heart), and Perfect Illusion feels like an underwhelming lead single and it wasn't promoted. Promoting a stripped down image for the super bowl explains the heavy promo of Million reasons. 

I could go on about the inconsistencies of Joanne. Why did Gaga suddenly become obsessed with her dead aunt? In a way it could be a backstory for her fans so they would understand why she went such a strange route with lg5. 

It answers questions too : Gaga says she knows what her fans want, and it was strange because we all wanted a pop LG5, nobody was "asking" for a Joanne. But by giving us Joanne she also was able to give us the Halftime show, and as an LM all I wanted was a Lady Gaga halftime show.

Finally, that brings me back to the scrapped RedOne songs. Clearly she didn't scrap them due to not liking them because she sang Frankenstein and was talking about releasing it. So it all makes sense - she thought the songs were good enough to release, but made a smarter career move to give us joanne and the halftime show at the expense for making us wait longer for the iconic bops. 

So, what do you guys think? Did Gaga write Joanne so she could secure the halftime slot? Does it make sense? Disqus ladies

[Decodekid 25,029]

THE GOOD SIS HAS A POINT

THO I DON'T FULLY AGREE

[lxdygxga 3,138]

She said she played the Super Bowl committee the album, so I think i‎t is the other way around. Hearing a more Americana sound in her album convinced the committee that she could put on a good show that would be family friendly. (And before anyone says, oh she only played one Joanne song, she always said she wanted to play one or two Joanne songs. The album itself just convinced them she was in a good period) 

I really don’t think she set out to make the album just for a Super Bowl spot. She said that this is an album she’s always wanted to make, and her friends told her to just make it. So she decided to do that. 

[Drin Lon 7,875]

If we believe this theory we believe Gaga exploited a family tragedy for her career and that's just not true. Joanne has been in the picture since the beginning and there are many evidence.

I don't know the reason why she changed direction, but my guess would be Bowie's death / her breakup.

 

[Pray4FameGa 3,141]

I'm gonna say excuse me no to most of this.

Joanne doesn't feel incomplete and is, in my view, actually her most cohesive, complete work.

I agree she probably decided to delay the original LG5 in favour of an image overhaul, but I don't think she was given the superbowl conditionally on her making a stripped back album.

The album was her choice and she was passionate about it, and the music is great.

[TheRoof 21,600]

a thread that is not about Frankenstein

this is groundbreaking

ot:  i think it was David Bowie's death the reason why she changes her direction

[Pray4FameGa 3,141]

Just now, Drin Lon said:

If we believe this theory we believe Gaga exploited a family tragedy for her career and that's just not true. Joanne has been in the picture since the beginning and there are many evidence.

I don't know the reason why she changed direction, but my guess would be Bowie's death / her breakup.

 

This. The theory left me with a bad taste and this is why. The album was extremely personal for her and she made it for her family, I'd hate to think she was using her family in this way just for a half time show.

[PartTimeCatdad 588]

U think Gaga is the type to do what people tells her to do?????? (esp when it comes to music) 

[GAGASLAYME 2,415]

I still want to know what the hell the original Grammy  Intel performance was!!

[PunkTheFunk 122,121]

1 minute ago, PartTimeCatdad said:

U think Gaga is the type to do what people tells her to do?????? (esp when it comes to music) 

"I know what my fans want"

[gag 22,449]

1. Grammys part doesn’t make sense because it was confirmed that no new music would be performed as soon as they announced the Intel collab. It was probably going to be a tribute for someone else.

2. We saw in 5F2 where Bobby was still in the process of confirming the Super Bowl slot.

3. Joanne does not feel incomplete  It was just created with analogue instruments, Mark is kinda known for the imperfect/authentic sound.

I guess you can explain all of these some way or another but I think it’s more likely that she just wanted a stripped down era that was more personal to her. Occam’s razor or whatever.

[Sorcerer 10,642]

1 hour ago, ApplauseftAdele said:

It explains why Joanne feels ... incomplete? Like the music is great but it doesn't feel as cohesive

I stopped here

[PartTimeCatdad 588]

Just now, PunkTheFunk said:

"I know what my fans want"

So that’s why she made Joanne

[Reality 66,931]

There are a lot of holes in this theory, in my opinion.

1) If I remember correctly, while she did say that LG5 was going to be "traditional Pop Gaga," she decided to change it after the Oscar's performance, which would have been after her tribute performance to Bowie.

2) The "many mistakes" in Joanne are probably purposeful. Gaga is a perfectionist, and we know that. Perhaps she wanted to leave inconsistencies within the music to create and emphasize the rawness we get from the album. The album has little to no autotune and most of the instrumentals were done live, not just by a computer. Having those inconsistencies provides more character, and that's probably what she thought.

3) Million Reasons was probably promoted more because it was definitely one of the most GP, if not, the most GP-friendly song on the album. Plus, after Perfect Illusion died out, she and her team needed to promote a new single. That's why it was so heavily promoted.

4) She just didn't "suddenly" become obsessed with her aunt. Her aunt has always been someone who's been very important to Gaga and the history of her family. Even during TFM (at least, I'm pretty sure it's that era), backstage before a performance, she and her dancers would shout "Joanne!"

5) Why would she sacrifice an entire era for one performance? Yeah, I get it, it's the Super Bowl, and that's massive, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't make sense. Why sacrifice a bunch of "Dark Gaga bops" for one 12 minute performance? Even though it was fabulous and amazing, I'm sure much more people would have preferred an era fully dedicated to those "Dark Gaga bops" than one performance.

[PunkTheFunk 122,121]

Just now, PartTimeCatdad said:

So that’s why she made Joanne

If the majority of her fan base was middle-aged white women living in the Midwestern United States, maybe