Why did Gaga change the key for Paparazzi live performances (2009-2013)?

[27monster27 12,375]

1 hour ago, Emigrante said:

SHe isnt losing any abilities anymore. Xd her voice got drastically lower at the start of the fame era. She recorded paparazzi around her red and blue days. Just watch her live performances as stefani germanotta and you’ll see that she’s had that girlie voice back then. Her voice is more mature now and is in different scale. She’s growing vocally more and more throughout recent years and she can hit a lot of high notes, but that doesn’t mean that she can go back to her girlie voice  back when she was 17 and her high notes will not sound like paparazzi studio version.

 

In late 2008 and early 2009 Lady Gaga did cocaine which had an EXTREMELY negative effect on her voice.

[crisTEAne 21,059]

because she can't sing at all  

[glamour show 103]

Probably for multiple reasons ONE  largely due to the fact that she’s a smoker as well and was smoking heavily for a while when it was in a lower tone. also she may have done it to give the song a more ominous dark vibe 

[Glamourpuss 29,062]

On 1/2/2019 at 10:21 PM, TeenIdle said:

Her best vocal delivery remains this imo. Her high notes are something else.

Truly shows the song works perfectly as a theatrical number and a stripped down ballad.

I would love for her to sing it like this every time now. 

[TeenIdle 123,899]

2 hours ago, Glamourpuss said:

I would love for her to sing it like this every time now. 

Same. But that jazz version is also heavenly.

[Pop Art 1,773]

On 1/21/2019 at 11:41 AM, theARTVampire said:

OMG, I thought I was the only one  You should watch the Paparazzi performance from January 21 2010 (Radio City Hall) It was the only Monsterball 1.0 date where she went for the "Superstar you know that I'll be!!" adlib in the final chorus

Omg you're right. 😱 I feel like I knew this, I just completely forgot about it, thanks for the reminder! This is the only decent quality video I can find of it though. 😞

 

[Negev 75]

To add to what was written before, this is technically the last song she's completed with Rob Fusari in 2007 (if you don't count the song "New York"), the main vocal on the track is autotuned and had been processed to a degree. When Rob went through to explain the creation of the song he noted that his original demo had her singing the chorus on two full takes overlapping as the lead. On those two takes her voice sounds very thin so I wouldn't rule out the possibility she couldn't comfortably sing this song even in the studio at the time. 

First performances of the song (including the début of the song on Armani Exchange event in early 2008) were in the original key but the song was the full album track rather than the TV track:

In 03:03 for example she's using her head voice but it's barely audible due to the mix of the track. 

Starting with the NKOTB tour and other promo she lowered the song by one semi tone and you could hear she's a lot more comfortable:

However, she still occasionally misses a note. She even cracked on the last chorus, beautifully if I may add.

By mid-late 2009 she lowered the song a semi tone further:

Of course she did do the original key on the VMAs and SNL but on both she struggled very much especially when compared to "everyday" tour performances months prior, her voice felt thin and nasally, shouty, and often out of breath. Compare the VMAs performance to the one in Washington DC on the last Fame Ball show. Days apart but she still did a much better job when she was comfortable a semi tone lower.

On MB1 after several dates of playing the album track she introduced a cut of the song with the pitch on the backing tracks of the song lowered, to I guess compensate for her singing the melody as the lead vocal rather than the album version. 

Of course from MB2 to first artRAVE dates she did the original key but it wasn't exceptional or well done excluding several times when she felt like killing it. 

Thankfully the song's been redeemed the past few years. It's one of those songs that are simply a career highlight and timeless for her. 

[Pop Art 1,773]

On 1/27/2019 at 5:22 PM, Negev said:

On MB1 after several dates of playing the album track she introduced a cut of the song with the pitch on the backing tracks of the song lowered, to I guess compensate for her singing the melody as the lead vocal rather than the album version.

Wait what? I don't remember this, can you elaborate please (with examples if possible)?

[Gracious Gaga 17,163]

Because when Lady Gaga died in 2013, the replacement they found was a better singer so they could finally do it in the original key 

[Sid 6,755]

On 1/21/2019 at 12:47 PM, MonsterSexual said:

Omg what if the paparazzi chorus is not her voice or summer boy?? What if there lina morgana 

morgana devacelli strikes again

[derpmonster 22,412]

On 1/21/2019 at 11:58 AM, T E A said:

because she can't sing at all  

[derpmonster 22,412]

On 1/21/2019 at 10:06 AM, boyfromnowhere said:

how is this valid, cause Shallow and INLA have much higher keys than paparazzi

She has objectively improved her abilities significantly since the Fame era, especially ARTPOP and on. 

She never used to do head voice for extended periods of time like she did on The Cure and INLA. Even her chest voice belting has become much better. Lot less shouty, better placed. 

[Negev 75]

On 2/2/2019 at 7:22 PM, E r o s said:

Wait what? I don't remember this, can you elaborate please (with examples if possible)?

Of course. GagaFrontRow has a MB1 recording from Camden NJ. listen to Paparazzi there. She's singing one of the backing melodies and the backing track is lower. 

[Twitter 14]

On 2/2/2019 at 8:22 PM, E r o s said:

Wait what? I don't remember this, can you elaborate please (with examples if possible)?

Detroit Show: January 13, 2010 is a good example. Listen to the ending verse and chorus. 

 

[Twitter 14]

Lowering the key is better for her vocals, opens chances to belting, builds style and character to how she executes the song. 

Paparazzi is one of my favorites and I love when she goes low pitch. It brings a darker sense to the performance especially when she makes this the song of death/violence.