honest opinions on Gaga's career (as a veteran monster) [take 2 lmao]

[yungpancake 574]

So yeah, Chromatica is fast appproaching, and before we celebrate the birth of Gaga's sixth baby, I wanted to take a trip down memory lane and remember the the things that I really admired (and also disliked) on her career.

I've been a Gaga stan since 2008, and I've gotta be honest there have been many things Gaga has done in many years that I actually appreciate that she has grown from. This post isn't meant to be a way to throw hate on her, but in a way to appreciate things her growth before our eyes and just celebrate these past eleven years with y'all.  

Here's some of what I've been thinking:

- I really respect how Gaga has minimized her interaction with her fans. I really think it's cute that she has maintained such a solid, super-close relationship with her fans, especially from the beginning to around 2013, but honestly it just feels like a healthier choice for Gaga to do this. Not everyone Gaga has interacted with online has had good intentions and I'm just sad that she had to experience these SO MUCH.

- I really loved Cheek to Cheek. When I was 12 and their cover of The Lady is a Tramp came out, I immediately downloaded it on my phone and I just couldn't stop singing to it. I never really felt like CTC was something that was ruining her career, it was just a way to show her versatile she was an artist, and not everyone can do that.

- AHS Hotel was a genius idea. This was a perfect start for Gaga's acting career, and I'm really glad 2015 was solely dedicated to this project (aside from other things). I remember the first time I saw the teaser, it felt like the first sign of Gaga coming back to life.

- I don't really mind any of the cosmetic procedures she's done. They were pretty weird at first, but who cares, nothing of her talents changed. 

- I never liked how she seemed to be over-promoting singles during the BTW era. I'm talking about the numerous TV show performances she used to do for You and I and Marry the Night. She just looked so tired and empty back then. She looked drained as hell.

- I really love how Gaga is not dropping any snippets or promo singles for Chromatica. What really ruined the surprise for BTW and ARTPOP for me was how by the time those albums were released, we all know what the songs sounded  like (except for BTW though, a lot of it still felt like a surprise). I still think about how ARTPOP would've sounded to me if she had never previewed some of the songs at the iTunes Festival performance. I'm glad she's building up hype in a secretive way now, because nothing feels better than pressing play on a Gaga song you know nothing about. 

- I never liked  the David Bowie tribute. It just felt out of touch. I mean it's a great performance, but it felt like it missed the mark of being a tribute to someone who passed away. I understood David's son's response toward it, but that message felt too harsh lmao. 

-I think it's okay that there are only six Chromatica dates, but I wish there were 10 max. I think these minimum number of tour dates makes me feel like she's taking care of herself a lot, making her health a top priority. But I also wish she could at least add 4 more dates around Asia, South America, Europe.

- DWUW (the original collaboration) never felt right to me. Even before I knew about that* person I just knew in my gut that this was not an okay collaboration. Even the AMAs performance made me feel in uncomfortable in some type of way. Thank god cancel culture still wasn't prevalent around that time.

- Her opening up about her mental illnesses is really the most shocking thing she has ever done. It was always ingrained to me, well especially when I was a kid, that Gaga was superhuman. It was only until she allowed herself to be vulnerable about her traumas that really made me feel like she is a human being, with immense, superior talent. 

Drop down what thoughts you guys also want to share. and Yes, this is a reupload of that post I accidentally uploaded lmao. Hope you still find these insightful  2 DAYS UNTIL CHROMATICA! 

[SCHEISSEMONTRE 2,783]

5 minutes ago, yungpancake said:

- I never liked how she seemed to be over-promoting singles during the BTW era. I'm talking about the numerous TV show performances she used to do for You and I and Marry the Night. She just looked so tired and empty back then. She looked drained as hell.

 

Blame Troy Carter 

[yungpancake 574]

Just now, SCHEISSEMONTRE said:

Blame Troy Carter 

Right? there was just something off about those performances, except the one she did for the You and I one at the VMAs. It used to be fun to watch but now looking back at them, they just look empty and soul less. 

[flyaway 15,350]

I agree with most of it 

Although I adored DWUW at the beginning. R Kelly is a great artist nonetheless, and their voices sound good together. But of course he's a terrible human being, and I think she made the right choice to delete it from streaming and new physical copies. 

[Roronoa 6,324]

I agree with everything. 

[DiskoBaby 1,929]

5 minutes ago, alicefromabove said:

I agree with most of it 

Although I adored DWUW at the beginning. R Kelly is a great artist nonetheless, and their voices sound good together. But of course he's a terrible human being, and I think she made the right choice to delete it from streaming and new physical copies. 

But I still find it hard to believe she worked with R. Kelly to begin with. His rape allegations has been going on since the beginning of the 2000s when that tape came out of him pissing on a girl. And his weird relationship with Aaliyah at the time in the 90s. This was all common knowledge but the media just brushed it to the side and just didn't care until the allegations got worse and social media got behind it. 

But was she just oblivious to it back then working with him or did she not care until it started to ruin her brand?

[flyaway 15,350]

1 minute ago, DiskoBaby said:

But I still find it hard to believe she worked with R. Kelly to begin with. His rape allegations has been going on since the beginning of the 2000s when that tape came out of him pissing on a girl. And his weird relationship with Aaliyah at the time in the 90s. This was all common knowledge but the media just brushed it to the side and just didn't care until the allegations got worse and social media got behind it. 

But was she just oblivious to it back then working with him or did she not care until it started to ruin her brand?

I know, but she believed in him. In many interviews she talked about how the press used to say untrue things about her, and she felt the same about R Kelly.

Why would she collab with someone she knew was a rapist when she herself is a survivor of sexual abuse? 

 

[yungpancake 574]

6 minutes ago, DiskoBaby said:

But I still find it hard to believe she worked with R. Kelly to begin with. His rape allegations has been going on since the beginning of the 2000s when that tape came out of him pissing on a girl. And his weird relationship with Aaliyah at the time in the 90s. This was all common knowledge but the media just brushed it to the side and just didn't care until the allegations got worse and social media got behind it. 

But was she just oblivious to it back then working with him or did she not care until it started to ruin her brand?

I think cancel culture has played such an important part in making Gaga rethink that decision of adding him into a song. Or maybe she really was oblivious about it. That collaboration has just always felt weird to me. 

[yungpancake 574]

1 minute ago, alicefromabove said:

I know, but she believed in him. In many interviews she talked about how the press used to say untrue things about her, and she felt the same about R Kelly.

Why would she collab with someone she knew was a rapist when she herself is a survivor of sexual abuse? 

 

It's so confusing right?  I'm just glad that she has addressed it and I don't really want this topic to resurface into the media ever again. But still, there really is so much to unpack from DWUW. 

[DiskoBaby 1,929]

1 minute ago, alicefromabove said:

I know, but she believed in him. In many interviews she talked about how the press used to say untrue things about her, and she felt the same about R Kelly.

Why would she collab with someone she knew was a rapist when she herself is a survivor of sexual abuse? 

 

See that's what makes it weird. Either she wasn't really paying attention to the allegations and media at the time or she believed in him and thought it was media slander.

[TheSlash 14,539]

35 minutes ago, yungpancake said:

2015 was solely dedicated to this project (aside from other things)

What?  

OT: 

35 minutes ago, yungpancake said:

I still think about how ARTPOP would've sounded to me if she had never previewed some of the songs at the iTunes Festival performance

Gurl, same  . I was happy at the time of SwineFest that we got so many songs. But when the album came, nothing but 2 songs ( Donatella and Fashion! ) were surprises for me. I might have denied that feeling back then ( bc I still was in the "Gaga is flawless" mindset ), but looking back I was definitely disappointed by the outcome.

Also, the whole ACT II thing was a total mess. I know, it wasn't Gaga's fault, but it still bumps me out that she had to cancel it, with all the preparation that went into the project ( I hate Troy  ).

35 minutes ago, yungpancake said:

I never really felt like CTC was something that was ruining her career

I disagree, but solely bc from my perspective C2C was never viewed as smth bad, but rather as the first project to really showcase her abilities and versatility to the GP. Even my mom and step-dad - both so not into her music - admitted that they judged too fast and now at least appreciate what she does ( still not fans, but nobody's perfect  ).

Imho, Bobby really summoned some ancient magic with the 2014-2016 era. The way Gaga's image had been restored made my proud to be a Little Monster  . Without him and how he handled it, I think C2C would've been the last album by Gaga that would have public recognition. But thank god, everything turned out to be amazing.

We had Joanne, the Superbowl, Coachella, the ASIB-era (which kept on giving for 6 months  ), amazing photoshoots ( and countdown threads to nothing bc of them  ), a whole make-up line ( idgaf, but it makes many people happy and that counts  ) and last but not least the best album-era since BTW ( at least imo  ).

We should be thankful about all the good things and the bad things, bc both led us where we are today  .

[flyaway 15,350]

1 minute ago, yungpancake said:

It's so confusing right?  I'm just glad that she has addressed it and I don't really want this topic to resurface into the media ever again. But still, there really is so much to unpack from DWUW. 

 

1 minute ago, DiskoBaby said:

See that's what makes it weird. Either she wasn't really paying attention to the allegations and media at the time or she believed in him and thought it was media slander.

It is also well known R Kelly is a very charismatic character. Gaga has trusted some bad people in her life, and that has had some backlash.

It happens to everyone, sometimes we don't know the people around us. 

[teatree123 317]

With regards to the R. Kelly moment, men have always been notoriously harder to "cancel," and add the fact that R. Kelly was a very prominent black R&B icon, there were a lot of people who didn't want to believe the allegations to be true (see: Bill Cosby). I personally believe that the collaboration was in some part forced or at the very least encouraged by Gaga's and Kelly's management at the time to help "save face" for R. Kelly. It just never seemed like a choice Gaga would make on her own, and we know she was feeling a lot of pressure and facing severe mental struggles at the time. This would make sense to me why she hasn't been overly vocal about the whole thing, and issued a simple apology while quietly removing the song from streaming services. I am very thankful cancel culture wasn't as prominent at the time because it would have been a huge detriment to the music world (and the world periodt) to have her fade into obscurity. 

[yungpancake 574]

1 minute ago, catdiva said:

With regards to the R. Kelly moment, men have always been notoriously harder to "cancel," and add the fact that R. Kelly was a very prominent black R&B icon, there were a lot of people who didn't want to believe the allegations to be true (see: Bill Cosby). I personally believe that the collaboration was in some part forced or at the very least encouraged by Gaga's management at the time to help "save face" for R. Kelly. It just never seemed like a choice Gaga would make own her own, and we know she was feeling a lot of pressure and facing severe mental struggles at the time. This would make sense to me why she hasn't been overly vocal about the whole thing, and issued a simple apology while quietly removing the song from streaming services. I am very thankful cancel culture wasn't as prominent at the time because it would have been a huge detriment to the music world (and the world periodt) to have her fade into obscurity. 

True, I still think about how DWUW was supposed to be sung solo, according to that long list of leaked data. Gaga really was under some bad management. I'm just glad we're all at a better place now as her fans and her at how she's reaching new peaks in this decade. 

[numb the flame 7,291]

52 minutes ago, yungpancake said:

But I also wish she could at least add 4 more dates around Asia, South America, Europe.

I think she should add any one date to the European leg, 1 Tokyo date, 1 Australia date and 1 Rio date.