Lady Gaga's Career More Like Cher Than Madonna

[mynunno 4]

Based on the CPSC analisys Madonna had at least 10 songs more successful worldwide than any Lady Gaga song. And Gaga biggest song is "Poker Face" not "Bad Romance" despite being quite close. Madonna numbers are from 2017 while Gaga numbers are from 2019 (so some Madonna songs that are strong catalog sellers and/or streamed  may be a bit higher than shown bellow - especially  "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "La Isla Bonita" or "Material Girl"). Gaga Top 5 songs are also strong catalog songs. "Shallow" will climb on the list for sure as the song is still selling and having good stream numbers.

The CPSC method takes into account single sales, downloads, album sales, songs audio streams and songs video streams. It's pretty fair.  The only things missing here are radio airplay and tv plays but if they were included i'm sure Madonna songs would rise even higher comparing to Gaga songs though there is not enough data from the 80's and 90's from most of the countries.

https://chartmasters.org/2017/08/cspc-madonna-popularity-analysis-2/55/

1. 1989 – Like A Prayer [Like A Prayer] – 18,550,000
2. 1984 – Like A Virgin [Like A Virgin] – 15,210,000
3. 1986 – La Isla Bonita [True Blue] – 14,160,000
4. 1984 – Material Girl [Like A Virgin] – 12,550,000
5. 1990 – Vogue [I’m Breathless] – 11,790,000
6. 1983 – Holiday [Madonna] – 9,310,000
7. 1984 – Into The Groove [Like A Virgin] – 8,860,000
8. 1986 – Papa Don’t Preach [True Blue] – 8,460,000
9. 1998 – Frozen [Ray Of Light] – 8,340,000
10. 2005 – Hung Up [Confessions On A Dance Floor] – 7,470,000
11. 2000 – Music [Music] – 6,470,000
12. 1986 – Live To Tell [True Blue] – 6,440,000
13. 1998 – Ray Of Light [Ray Of Light] – 5,720,000
14. 1994 – Take A Bow [Bedtime Stories] – 5,420,000
15. 1985 – Crazy for You [Orphan] – 4,660,000
16. 1987 – Who’s That Girl [Who’s That Girl] – 4,620,000
17. 1986 – Open Your Heart [True Blue] – 4,440,000
18. 1983 – Borderline [Madonna] – 3,670,000
19. 2008 – 4 Minutes [Hard Candy] – 3,570,000
20. 1989 – Express Yourself [Like A Prayer] – 3,450,000
21. 1983 – Lucky Star [Madonna] – 3,010,000
22. 1992 – Erotica [Erotica] – 2,960,000
23. 2000 – Don’t Tell Me [Music] – 2,930,000
24. 1998 – The Power of Good-Bye [Ray Of Light] – 2,920,000
25. 1996 – Don’t Cry For Me Argentina [Evita] – 2,740,000
26. 1994 – Secret [Bedtime Stories] – 2,690,000
27. 1992 – Rain [Erotica] – 2,530,000
28. 1986 – True Blue [True Blue] – 2,400,000
29. 2000 – American Pie [Music] – 2,310,000
30. 2002 – Die Another Day [American Life] – 1,880,000
31. 1994 – Human Nature [Bedtime Stories] – 1,790,000
32. 1989 – Cherish [Like A Prayer] – 1,710,000
33. 2005 – Sorry [Confessions On A Dance Floor] – 1,610,000
34. 1984 – Dress You Up [Like A Virgin] – 1,380,000
35. 1987 – Causing A Commotion [Who’s That Girl] – 1,260,000
36. 1990 – Justify My Love [Orphan] – 1,240,000
37. 1992 – Deeper And Deeper [Erotica] – 1,230,000
38. 1982 – Everybody [Madonna] – 1,110,000
39. 1998 – Nothing Really Matters [Ray Of Light] – 1,060,000
40. 2000 – What It Feels Like For A Girl [Music] – 960,000


https://chartmasters.org/2019/08/cspc-lady-gaga-albums-and-songs-sales/

1. 2008 – Lady Gaga – Poker Face [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 6,970,000
2. 2009 – Lady Gaga – Bad Romance [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 6,830,000
3. 2009 – Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé – Telephone [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 4,610,000
4. 2008 – Lady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis – Just Dance [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 4,530,000
5. 2011 – Lady Gaga – Born This Way [Born This Way] – 3,910,000
6. 2009 – Lady Gaga – Alejandro [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 2,990,000
7. 2008 – Lady Gaga – Paparazzi [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 2,630,000
8. 2018 – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow [A Star Is Born] – 2,460,000
9. 2011 – Lady Gaga – The Edge Of Glory [Born This Way] – 2,160,000
10. 2013 – Lady Gaga – Applause [ARTPOP] – 1,800,000
11. 2011 – Lady Gaga – Judas [Born This Way] – 1,710,000
12. 2008 – Lady Gaga – LoveGame [The Fame / The Fame Monster] – 1,600,000
13. 2011 – Lady Gaga – Yoü And I [Born This Way] – 1,480,000
14. 2016 – Lady Gaga – Million Reasons [Joanne] – 1,220,000

[mynunno 4]

On 9/4/2019 at 3:07 AM, Nemo said:

Except... Madonna's very first* movie, Desperately Seeking Susan, was a smash hit, especially by its relatively low-budget standards. Madonna played the title character, but not the star -- but, she undeniably burned up the screen in her scenes. If you look really closely, the acting may be questionable; but her presence is phenomenal, and that's what they kept trying to recapture -- that's why her movie career was so hard to kill.

And then, she won a Golden Globe for Evita. It was controversial, but she did. (Gaga's GG for AHS was controversial, too.)

* Yeah, I know about A Certain Sacrifice.

Madonna's performances on other movies like "**** Tracy" , "A League of Their Own" or the independent movie with Abel Ferrara "Dangerous Games" ("Snake Eyes") were also pretty praised.

Comercial the story is different: together the 20 movies where Madonna was in made over 2 billion on box office and almost the same on video (rentals and sales). If we were talking about current money and not nominal would be over 6 billion on box office and over 4 billiion on video rentals and sales.

[mynunno 4]

On 9/2/2019 at 10:02 PM, janetjackson said:

Vogue was quite literally built off a remix of Janet Jackson's “Miss You Much” that was released a year prior.

The remixer, Shep Pettibone, used the very same track to compose “Vogue.”

That “Vogue” sound had been around since at least ‘87 ‘88. Which was, again, built off the baseline in another Janet Jackson hit, “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” Music is a continuous evolution.

While there are some tracks in Madonna’s catalog that were very ahead of its time (“Justify My Love”, “Hung Up”) this is definitely not one of them. She simply introduced a sound that was thriving in dance clubs around the world to the top 40 masses and did so with the help of a well shot video. 

Since the beggining Madonna did that. She got DJs and made them producers.
Her first album had that on almost every track.

Shep Pettibone was the biggest remixer of late 80's. He remixed Madonna remix album "You Can Dance" album in 1987. He produced "Vogue" later following that sound. He also remixed other Madonna singles as well. He also produced her "Erotica" album.

Later William Orbit produced "Ray of Light"  - he first worked with Madonna remixing her song "Erotica".

"Confessions on The Dance Floor" was also produced by a DJ.
"Hung Up" greatest quality? The amazing beat - not Madonna mellody or the Abba sample. But the melody it's good and fits well with the sampler. That's why "Hung Up" was #01 for 5 weeks in UK while Abba song peaked #03.
 

[Kulture Kiari 3,433]

Gaga's career is not more like Madonna's nor more like Cher's. Gaga's career is more like Gaga herself. Each of these three women have had things that make them iconic in their own way. I'll will focus more on Gaga rn. 

Gaga wore a meat dress. Gaga has collaborated with Beyonce. If you ask any straight person what does "Rah rah ah ah ah" means, it always comes back to Gaga. She has had a successful film. Right now she is taking a break, but you don't know what this woman has under her sleave! Maybe she will release a pop album that will change the pop world again like "The Fame". Maybe she will wear a dead corpse that has the media talking. Maybe she will star in a new movie that will get her an Oscar. She has been known in the media for like 11 years. That may seem like a long time, but her talent grows because that's what she is focusing on. So stop comparing her with anyone. Gaga is Lady Gaga and she will be Lady Gaga!

(FFS this chick surprised us with C2C, and we all thought it would flop, but it ended up winning a Grammy. So chill. Get some popcorn and enjoy the ride.)

[mynunno 4]

On 10/10/2018 at 7:13 PM, Glamourpuss said:

She's a lot more similar to Cher but also very different. I actually see Gaga as being unique. Of course I see similarities to other famous women at times but I don't compare her career to anyone else's. 

They are all unique and can't be compared (Cher, Gaga, Madonna, Barbra...)

But Cher and Barbra had much more strong acting careers than Madonna.
Cher also had a TV show for years so that's quite different exposure and project.

I see Gaga more similar to Barbra on the acting field. It's still too early to say anything. Gaga didn't do much yet on that field. She did won an Oscar though and that will probably make her want to continue on that field.

[and i oop 1,360]

1 hour ago, mynunno said:

Based on the CPSC analisys Madonna had at least 10 songs more successful worldwide than any Lady Gaga song. And Gaga biggest song is "Poker Face" not "Bad Romance" despite being quite close. Madonna numbers are from 2017 while Gaga numbers are from 2019 (so some Madonna songs that are strong catalog sellers and/or streamed  may be a bit higher than shown bellow - especially  "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "La Isla Bonita" or "Material Girl"). Gaga Top 5 songs are also strong catalog songs. "Shallow" will climb on the list for sure as the song is still selling and having good stream numbers.

Thank you!  I absolutely LOVE both Gaga and Madonna but there is a reason Madonna is the Queen Of Pop.

[mynunno 4]

On 9/2/2019 at 10:02 PM, janetjackson said:

Vogue was quite literally built off a remix of Janet Jackson's “Miss You Much” that was released a year prior.

The remixer, Shep Pettibone, used the very same track to compose “Vogue.”

That “Vogue” sound had been around since at least ‘87 ‘88. Which was, again, built off the baseline in another Janet Jackson hit, “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” Music is a continuous evolution.

While there are some tracks in Madonna’s catalog that were very ahead of its time (“Justify My Love”, “Hung Up”) this is definitely not one of them. She simply introduced a sound that was thriving in dance clubs around the world to the top 40 masses and did so with the help of a well shot video. 

That remix is from late '89 already, it was released a few months before "Vogue" only.

On his 1987 Madonna remix for "Causing a Commotion" you already can listen to the early version of his House Bass Sound that would originate "Vogue" later - and yes that was the song that made this house sound mainstream becoming the #02 best selling single of the world in 1990.

Shep first worked with Madonna on his "True Blue" remix from 1986.
In 1987 he remixed "Into The Groove", "Where's The Party" and "Causing a Comotion".
In 1989 he remixed "Like a Prayer", "Express Yourself" and "Keep It Together"
In 1990 he co-wrote, produced and also remixed  "Vogue" that initially was supposed to be B-Side for "Keep It Together".

"Vogue" was much more than the sound and the beat.  You can see a bit the cultural impact "Vogue" had on season 2 of "Pose" TV Series.



 

[mynunno 4]

8 hours ago, and i oop said:

Thank you!  I absolutely LOVE both Gaga and Madonna but there is a reason Madonna is the Queen Of Pop.

Sure! If you check the website you can see how it's easy to have the perception Gaga has bigger hits. She indeed had bigger hits than any of her comteporary female artists during the same time frame 2008-2019 (Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus or Shakira all had half points on her biggest hits). Madonna has a huge career but during the same time frame was only able to put up 1 huge hit (4 Minutes) and even that one was half successful compared to "Poker Face" or "Bad Romance". But through out her carreer she had 7 TOP 200 Hits of all time (based on CSPC).

Adele did have 3 worldwide bigger hits than Gaga on the same time frame but she is not pop or even on the same kind of market as she always had a much mature and adult audience (I personally don't know anyone that now is under 40 yo that bough an Adele album or song but I'm sure there are a few people out there). She also has a lot less hits.

1. 2011 – Adele – Someone Like You [21] – 13,890,000
2. 2010 – Adele – Rolling In The Deep [21] – 12,780,000
3. 2015 – Adele – Hello [25] – 11,090,000
4. 2011 – Adele – Set Fire To The Rain [21] – 6,760,000
5. 2008 – Adele – Make You Feel My Love [19] – 4,890,000
6. 2015 – Adele – Send My Love (To Your New Lover) [25] – 4,510,000
7. 2015 – Adele – When We Were Young [25] – 4,260,000
8. 2008 – Adele – Chasing Pavements [19] – 2,640,000
9. 2011 – Adele – Turning Tables [21] – 2,550,000
10. 2015 – Adele – Water Under The Bridge [25] – 2,410,000