Honest opinion of Gaga's VMA performance

[PawsUpJago 1,956]

29 minutes ago, destructivelove said:

While I do agree Doja’s set looked incredible and had a general similarity to the themes of space, I think the world of Chromatica is meant to emulate a more camp vision of sci-fi fantasy, closer resembling cult classic retro films (think Flash Gordon, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Planet of the Apes, the original Tron, etc), focusing more on physical theatre-like sets and 80’s cyber-punk Camp (the filming style and planet landscape of the Stupid Love MV is so reminiscent of Flash Gordon),

whereas Doja’s performance was a more modern almost avatar meets synth wave-ish interpretation of deep space sci-fi.  
 

Overall I quite preferred Gaga’s (aside from some iffy mask-related vocals) because it felt like I was at a full scale broadway theater show, which is why I have always loved Gaga’s tours so much.  It felt real, it felt tangible, it felt like a set you could actually explore and adventure in -  similar to how as a kid I always wanted to explore sets like Legends of the Hidden Temple.  Doja’s performance (though amazing in its own way) felt like more like a 2nd music video and less accessible.  

Just wanted to say I absolutely love your explanation of the aesthetic of Chromatica, to me you hit the nail on the head with why the set works the way it was.

[Eddie 2,518]

My thoughts exactly. I thought she was gonna use some kind of mic effect or a vocoder to make it sound like a robot...but it was Gaga's first performance in a long long time and the first of the 3 songs, so I think they will see that and improve those points.

Another thing that bugged me were the long silence between ROM and SL, it made me feel unconfortable that they stretch 'em too much and even sounded weird with the fake applause and cheers.

But as I said they're little details from an astonishing performance, besides it's the first "live" performance we got in a long time and from 4 new Gaga songs of course it was not gonna be 100% perfect.

[Charliie 1,828]

I liked her whole performance. I personally didn't like the transition between Chromatica and  911. I  The choreography seemed rushed. Like someone stated before, it could've been performed without a choreo.. 

[kizurl 1,801]

Honestly....... the whole thing was quite bad. She isnt reinventing herself anymore and just sticking to her pop formula which is quite bland. Her vocals and dancing were also subpar. Dont come at me.

[latina twilight 2,319]

To me, 911 reminds me of Heavy Metal Lover when it was performed for the first time in the New Years Eve show. None of them sounded awful, but it didn't hit the same way the studio recording does.

In both cases, for this very first performance they didn't use major effects or backing vocals, which I believe are needed if she wants it to be accurate to the studio version, otherwise, change the melody a little bit.

When she hit the BTWB tho, there were major improvements for HML, so I expect the same for 911 in future performances.

 

But let's just say, I was way more busy enjoying the performance and hearing Chromatica songs live for the first time, rather than checking on her vocals.

[LilyLark 10,095]

Agree. Loved it, but 911 is just....odd live. Not bad, more meh...especially compared to SL and ROM (which she slayed). I think the production of 911 would make it hard to perform in general, though, and perhaps Replay or Enigma would have worked better.

Definitely one of her top performances, though, imo. I was kind of lol-ing at the handful of people accusing her and Ariana of lip synching because both, while fabulous, were clearly a bit out of breath at time.

[lgaga1fan 2,305]

Was I the only one who loved how 911 sounded or sumn... 

[socotra 3,310]

I loved the whole thing, especially Rain On Me, which I felt was perfectly executed and really couldn't have been improved upon. LOVED that she performed 911 – the transition and initial choreo absolutely slayed me. Hands down my favorite song on the album and i was so psyched she actually performed it, and I personally really liked the choreo.

that being said, I'm genuinely shocked she didn't use a vocoder. It seems like it would've been a no-brainer and pretty easy to do given she already had the mask. I don't know that it was necessarily bad, given how intense the choreo was, but it certainly was jarring considering a huge part of 911 is that it has a robotic feel. I feel like she should've either used a vocoder, or lessened the choreo so she sounded better.

And the SL piano... it really felt like she was out of breath at certain points. We all know what a phenomenal vocalist she is, and I was genuinely shocked at how sloppy the SL acoustic felt to me. I felt like she was overdoing it, but was a bit out of breath and not quite able to kill it. Given the pro that she is, it wasn't devastating, but it definitely was the low point of the performance for me.

that being said, she then absolutely killed full-fledged SL and made me love the song even more (it already being Top 3 Chromatica songs for me). What a great lead single choice. Had she been able to promote it properly, I think it could've been a bona fide hit. Performing it live made it sound so much fuller and made me realize how easily it fits in alongside Don't Start Now, Blinding Lights, Say So, etc.

[Gerrard174 685]

911 alongside Heavy Metal Lover, are just not for vocal performances. The songs are highly autotuned to make them sound robotic and the effeft cannot be reproduced during live.

Minus the vocal of 911, the overall performance is really good. One of her best

[Gerrard174 685]

4 hours ago, Postboy said:

I knew the moment I heard 911 that it would not sound good live. It’s like HML, Mary Jane Holland, and John Wayne. Bops, but her voice is too edgy and unnatural. Even Poker Face sometimes had this problem - especially in the earlier days. 

But MJH and JW were sounded perfect during live? No?

[Guest]

my only criticism is that she sang while holding a mic when there was clearly a mic in her mask.

I sort of disagree with the 911 comments. I thought it sounded great and she did a good job impersonating those vocal effects by singing them the way she did. If anything I liked it more.

[DC 25,164]

Am I the only one that liked the choreography and vocals for 911 here? What the heck? 

[Chris Thomason 963]

People are just used to hearing 911 a certain way. Honestly i don't think the choreo and mask were doing her voice any favours but to me she still slayed it. I'm actually more annoyed they added audience cheering over that live Chromatica II into 911 transition, i need an accurate recreation to have the studio version of 911 attached to it. Also a studio version of 2013 applause vma intro for applause

[petty 9,412]

the melodrama exuding out of this entire thread  pls

[Animal Claws 18,665]

2 hours ago, kizurl said:

Honestly....... the whole thing was quite bad. She isnt reinventing herself anymore and just sticking to her pop formula which is quite bland. Her vocals and dancing were also subpar. Dont come at me.

When she changes, y'all complain and want Gaga to do Pop again.

When she backs to do Pop once again, y'all complain saying she's sticking to her pop formula when she did 3 different albums consecutively about Jazz, Country and a soundtrack. 

Now you keep saying Gaga is sticking to her old sound. Pick a side.

and more, she decides what she wants to do about her career 

+ She served on the perfomance: vocals, quality and choreography.