chromatica ball/chromatica world not cohesive

[Edonis 25,998]

I disagree. Its been discussed ad nauseam at this point, but you have to remember that the album campaign pretty much died as soon as the album dropped due to real world circumstances and was never really picked up again sans the VMAs and 911 video release. We never really got a chance to explore that part of the album that explored the darker side she kept referencing in interviews. Sure the “brutalist” architecture isn’t in line with the science fiction aesthetic seen in the first two videos, but it does share the thematic elements of the album and its focus on pain. 
 

I remember so many fans were up in arms with the album cover leak and eventual photoshoot reveal because they felt the artwork did not match the aesthetic of Stupid Love. But so much of Chromatica was rooted in darkness, you could see that in the majority of the lyrics and album visuals but we never really got to see that explored in depth. For all we know, the rest of the singles/MVs would have followed that pattern, and that is where the darker, more minimalistic imagery for the tour is drawn from. 
 

 

[Edonis 25,998]

33 minutes ago, Monstermilo said:

the visuals are very generic not at all gaga 

but tbh none of her tours have had strong visuals idk why cuz shes the visuals queen

Hard disagree with all of this lol. But I’m curious why you think this way? Both for the tour and her other tours? 

[marrytheminogue 119]

I gotta say I do like the brutalist imagery and thought it was a nice surprise. But saying that I do agree in that it didn’t really feel like the Chromatica Ball and was quite generic. It felt too stripped back from all the previous imagery. I think it would have been a nice idea for one act (like Alice-Monster) having the original concept imagery which then went darker later through the set. A more complex stage would have done wonders too, but I do like how the focus was always on Gaga.

One thing I didn’t really get was the ‘tree’ piano on the B-stage. Not only did it block my view of her from the left side  but it just didn’t match anything and looked odd on its own. I sort of wish they had a concept of the B-stage being another “place” inside her mind and had some sort of props or theming.

The merch was also extremely disappointing.

[lolitamuse 261]

36 minutes ago, OMonster said:

I argued in this thread (if you're interested) that TCB represents 'Chromatica' in a more accurate and truthful way to what it's actually about than the visual direction of the era to begin with.

Let's be real: Chromatica is about Gaga struggling immensely with fame, pain, her mental health and the status she has in the world. It's a very dark album that 'sounds' quite light and breezy but obviously isn't. Everything about the tour - the stage, interludes, costumes, setlist - represent the darkness of the album; the core of what 'Chromatica' is saying: that Gaga was in a dark place but was able to heal by making music and reconciling with her fame.

I personally feel that the earlier visuals for the album did not capture the essence of Chromatica in the right way. Especially the Stupid Love video and the choice of that as a lead single. I would've loved to have seen a darker vision to begin with, so I love the creative direction of TCB, which - for me - properly (and for the first time in the era) reflects the brutality and darkness of what the album is all about. 

I guess here is my qualm - she described Chromatica as a world, and imo, we didn't get a world. I would argue that the tour/show is just a personification or visualization of her pain, but it's not a world. At least, I don't see it. I see the metaphorical made real, and I do see a personal journey unfolding through the interludes. But, Chromatica ITSELF (the world/concept/idea/etc) was not brought to life by the show.  Even if the original intention was to have Chromatica be more barren and dark, the concept wasn't executed enough to be immersive and to create that transportation to Chromatica, as she may have implied. It's a visualization of the meanings behind the songs, but not really much more. 

[OMonster 14,213]

1 minute ago, lolitamuse said:

I guess here is my qualm - she described Chromatica as a world, and imo, we didn't get a world. I would argue that the tour/show is just a personification or visualization of her pain, but it's not a world. At least, I don't see it. I see the metaphorical made real, and I do see a personal journey unfolding through the interludes. But, Chromatica ITSELF (the world/concept/idea/etc) was not brought to life by the show.  Even if the original intention was to have Chromatica be more barren and dark, the concept wasn't executed enough to be immersive and to create that transportation to Chromatica, as she may have implied. It's a visualization of the meanings behind the songs, but not really much more. 

My interpretation of Chromatica is that it is a mental healing space reached by processing and dealing with trauma. The tour itself shows the journey to Chromatica - the processing of trauma. It doesn't start 'in' Chromatica, it ends there... hence the lack of world-building in the tour. In fact, the only time we physically 'see' Chromatica (pink mountains etc) is at the very end for Stupid Love and Rain On Me, which are songs sung from the perspective of having processed trauma and overcoming darkness. That's why the tour doesn't 'feel like' Chromatica as a place because it doesn't get there until the very end. That's my understanding anyway.

[AnglerfishbraBENUS 4,825]

48 minutes ago, OMonster said:

I argued in this thread (if you're interested) that TCB represents 'Chromatica' in a more accurate and truthful way to what it's actually about than the visual direction of the era to begin with.

Let's be real: Chromatica is about Gaga struggling immensely with fame, pain, her mental health and the status she has in the world. It's a very dark album that 'sounds' quite light and breezy but obviously isn't. Everything about the tour - the stage, interludes, costumes, setlist - represent the darkness of the album; the core of what 'Chromatica' is saying: that Gaga was in a dark place but was able to heal by making music and reconciling with her fame.

I personally feel that the earlier visuals for the album did not capture the essence of Chromatica in the right way. Especially the Stupid Love video and the choice of that as a lead single. I would've loved to have seen a darker vision to begin with, so I love the creative direction of TCB, which - for me - properly (and for the first time in the era) reflects the brutality and darkness of what the album is all about. 

this lol did people really think Gaga was gonna just dance and be an alien and traverse chromatica and find kindness like it was dragon balls or something ? 

 

[Ultimecia 3,504]

Judging by her speech before 1000 Doves, I would not be suprised if the Chromatica ball we ended up having was Gaga's truest vision for Chromatica, brutal, honest, and not sugar-coated.

(I'm a bit sad the album visuals got shafted as well)

[lolitamuse 261]

13 minutes ago, OMonster said:

My interpretation of Chromatica is that it is a mental healing space reached by processing and dealing with trauma. The tour itself shows the journey to Chromatica - the processing of trauma. It doesn't start 'in' Chromatica, it ends there... hence the lack of world-building in the tour. In fact, the only time we physically 'see' Chromatica (pink mountains etc) is at the very end for Stupid Love and Rain On Me, which are songs sung from the perspective of having processed trauma and overcoming darkness. That's why the tour doesn't 'feel like' Chromatica as a place because it doesn't get there until the very end. That's my understanding anyway.

That's an interesting perspective, for sure, and would be cool if that was the case. I just didn't see that reflected in the show itself for me to latch onto that as a proper explanation. But I appreciate your analysis!

[OMonster 14,213]

11 minutes ago, lolitamuse said:

That's an interesting perspective, for sure, and would be cool if that was the case. I just didn't see that reflected in the show itself for me to latch onto that as a proper explanation. But I appreciate your analysis!

I'm pretty sure that is the intended 'narrative'. We start by going into Gaga's mind, as she battles her demons throughout the show to ultimately overcome them. At the point of overcoming those demons, she is in Chromatica, surrounded by pink mountains and positivity as she sings two of the album's most triumphant songs about wanting love and being prepared to confront and face up to darkness. 

[KORG 4,756]

Originally I think the idea was this huge rollout with a music video for each of the tribes & then each act of the show would see her change into corresponding outfits to suit each tribe.

Since the pandemic, they didn't get to do the huge rollout so the whole idea went out the window  I also don't think she started planning the tour until tickets went on sale this year.

I ALSO think love game's spot was stolen from Scheiße due to... everything. Outfit, vibe, running order.

[ALittleMonsta 1,427]

1 hour ago, OMonster said:

I argued in this thread (if you're interested) that TCB represents 'Chromatica' in a more accurate and truthful way to what it's actually about than the visual direction of the era to begin with.

Let's be real: Chromatica is about Gaga struggling immensely with fame, pain, her mental health and the status she has in the world. It's a very dark album that 'sounds' quite light and breezy but obviously isn't. Everything about the tour - the stage, interludes, costumes, setlist - represent the darkness of the album; the core of what 'Chromatica' is saying: that Gaga was in a dark place but was able to heal by making music and reconciling with her fame.

I personally feel that the earlier visuals for the album did not capture the essence of Chromatica in the right way. Especially the Stupid Love video and the choice of that as a lead single. I would've loved to have seen a darker vision to begin with, so I love the creative direction of TCB, which - for me - properly (and for the first time in the era) reflects the brutality and darkness of what the album is all about. 

EXACTLY!

[Edonis 25,998]

1 hour ago, OMonster said:

I argued in this thread (if you're interested) that TCB represents 'Chromatica' in a more accurate and truthful way to what it's actually about than the visual direction of the era to begin with.

Let's be real: Chromatica is about Gaga struggling immensely with fame, pain, her mental health and the status she has in the world. It's a very dark album that 'sounds' quite light and breezy but obviously isn't. Everything about the tour - the stage, interludes, costumes, setlist - represent the darkness of the album; the core of what 'Chromatica' is saying: that Gaga was in a dark place but was able to heal by making music and reconciling with her fame.

I personally feel that the earlier visuals for the album did not capture the essence of Chromatica in the right way. Especially the Stupid Love video and the choice of that as a lead single. I would've loved to have seen a darker vision to begin with, so I love the creative direction of TCB, which - for me - properly (and for the first time in the era) reflects the brutality and darkness of what the album is all about. 

100% this, especially with the Stupid Love concept. The song is a bop and a half, but to have it be the lead for a concept album like Chromatica? It gave an entirely wrong impression to fans and casual listeners that still resonates to this day lol.

[Ladle Ghoulash 11,340]

1 hour ago, OMonster said:

I argued in this thread (if you're interested) that TCB represents 'Chromatica' in a more accurate and truthful way to what it's actually about than the visual direction of the era to begin with.

Let's be real: Chromatica is about Gaga struggling immensely with fame, pain, her mental health and the status she has in the world. It's a very dark album that 'sounds' quite light and breezy but obviously isn't. Everything about the tour - the stage, interludes, costumes, setlist - represent the darkness of the album; the core of what 'Chromatica' is saying: that Gaga was in a dark place but was able to heal by making music and reconciling with her fame.

I personally feel that the earlier visuals for the album did not capture the essence of Chromatica in the right way. Especially the Stupid Love video and the choice of that as a lead single. I would've loved to have seen a darker vision to begin with, so I love the creative direction of TCB, which - for me - properly (and for the first time in the era) reflects the brutality and darkness of what the album is all about. 

I agree completely with this. 

[holy scheisse 20,327]

Maybe y’all need to drop your expectations of “what chromatica is” since the creator of chromatica is showing us what it actually is

[Edonis 25,998]

1 hour ago, lolitamuse said:

she described Chromatica as a world

A world in her mind though...she was actually very explicit about Chromatica not being a planet but rather a state of mind, a real place but one that isn't physically tangible when she did the initial interview with Zane Lowe after the album title and pre-order was announced in March.

Like another member mentioned in this thread, I feel like the darker, more "brutal" reality of the album is truer to her vision.