What was ARTPOP era like for you guys?

[gemein3 1,255]

Tbh it was weird, because Katy Perry was everywhere. There was this constant reminder. I sang along everyday to ARTPOP on way to and from college. It was new Gaga music — I was happy no matter what. But I skipped half of the songs each play (I now appreciate them far more) thinking “some of this is really garbage music.”

[JgHaus78 1,936]

I’ve seen the Chromatica Ball and I saw the artRAVE front row, and I have to say that artRAVE Is her BEST tour of all time. Amazing set list, amazing album, costumes galore, beastly stage presence and overall more of a “Gaga” show. Everything else after ARTPOP has felt like shes been intentionally paving the way to be a legendary act and less of a forward thinking rebellious artist. I still love her regardless and I’m happy to see whatever she does with full support. 

[tomsches 17,364]

The best thing about the ARTPOP era was the pre era from summer 2012 to its release. All the rumors and speculations were so much fun. Do y’all remember the red lipstick, the F(r)ame, the alleged album cover in Gaga’s backstage area during the btwb. Gaga would also chat with little monsters on lm.com and drop hints, element of crime, private in public. Then the black out during her injury. Every tweet was analyzed and interpreted to find out the name and release date. There was just soooo much mystery and speculation. When it eventually came out people were disappointed because everybody was expecting it to be a Björk-like experimental masterpiece when it ended up being more pop than anything else and it was overshadowed by Prism a bit. The media turned against her and her management issues emerged. So during the era being a fan was not as fun but the pre era was everything. 

[Bobina 2,005]

It was crazy but amazing for me. ARTPOP era was the peak of my obsession and interest in gaga. From all the looks, to her kinda acting wild in interviews and going naked in random places, to all the hype and leaks that lead to its release. She was just coming back from going dark after breaking her hip... the hype was real. And stan wars were at it's wildest peaks during that time too. It's her most memorable era for me. 

[thatfoxyfeeling 12,926]

Was it a mess and my 20 year old self was disappointed? Yes. BUT! I appreciate how chaotic the era was because it ignited a fire in Gaga to fight and change how the general public viewed her. She took risks that paid off and made her achieve career defining moments that never would’ve happened. 

 

[amourssauvages 74]

Do you remember Angela Chen and the invention of fake news with the "25 million loss for the record label" because of ARTPOP?

[LUCARTPOP 5,921]

I was 13 & 14 years old during that era, I didn't have Twitter or a GagaDaily account, I got all my info from Instagram fan accounts and I was one of those fan accounts myself. It honestly was the best era to be a Gaga fan for me - visually and aesthetically wise. I was aware she felt awful behind the scenes, but things like "flop", "she's over", "ARTPOP her worst album" was never apparent to me which made me like the era so much 'cause I wasn't exposed to negativity, if that makes sense. 

[Darcklighter22 2,350]

I've always found her album releases reflective of stages in my life. For ARTPOP I had just moved to a new city to kind of start fresh. I was in my early 20's and love the harsh EDM filled tracks and loved the adrenaline she mentioned wanting to have fans get when they experience the album.

I was meeting MJ Holland a lot more during those days as well. As much as there was chaos behind the scenes I still like it visually for what she was able to give. I just wish for her she was in a better place mentally but if so she probably wouldn't have used music and her art as an outlet like she did. Her eccentricities have tamed down ever since that time IMO. We all grow and evolve.

I'd consider Chromatica's campaign more messy the ARTPOP as I feel we should of visually seen more to fully grasp her vision for it.

[TimotheeChalamet 5,454]

21 hours ago, Sir Bride said:

I always hear about how messy it was, when I look at threads from that time, when people speculated about what ARTPOP would be, I cant help but feel sad.. I wasnt a fan during that time so I dont have first hand experience from then..

What was it like for those of you that were tho? Did you ever consider unstanning? what made you decide not to? What was your first reaction to the music on ARTPOP?

Trust me, it really wasn't that deep like people make it to be. It had some ups and downs because of things out of Gaga's control going on behind the scenes (scrapped releases etc) and the concepts were a little all over the place, but it wasn't a catastrophic album cycle. Never considered unstanning and even if the album itself is certainly not my favorite, I still value it as remarkable 

[Benji 20,113]

18 minutes ago, TimotheeChalamet said:

Trust me, it really wasn't that deep like people make it to be. It had some ups and downs because of things out of Gaga's control going on behind the scenes (scrapped releases etc) and the concepts were a little all over the place, but it wasn't a catastrophic album cycle. Never considered unstanning and even if the album itself is certainly not my favorite, I still value it as remarkable 

All of this I agree to.  It might be my least favourite Gaga album and a bit of a messy era BUT if we’re comparing it to other artist’s pop albums, it’s still a good album and she put more effort and thought into promo than many would.

[Panchecco 17,500]

I remember the pre-ARTPOP Era being painfully long when in fact it probably is relatively shorter compared to the pre-Joanne/LG5 Era or pre-Chromatica. Despite all the frustration and sympathy we must have all felt for her during this period of time, I honestly mostly remember the hype and excitement leading to the album's release. Applause was phenomenal, loved the meaning and visuals and it felt so exciting to watch the premiere live and all its early performances. The ITunes Fest truly felt like a special concert for super fans and today we still love all the early versions of the songs that she decided to perform that night. I kinda wish she had more events like this for other Eras but the fact that she didn't makes the Swine Fest even more special as an introduction to an album (she kinda did the Dive Bar Tour but it being a small tour already makes it feel a bit different - still loved it!). 

 

To this day I still believe ARTPOP was such a promising concept and it will always sadden me that it never got to reach its true potential as an album and experience. There are a few highlights though from the era that I believe captured the true essence of this project. The collaboration with Bob Wilson that led Gaga to being displayed at the Louvre, the friendship with Marina Abramovic and her approval of Gaga as a true contemporary artist and obviously Koons being the mastermind behind the cover of the album were all truly incredible moments not only in this era but also in Gaga's career.

Despite loving the album as it is (exept R.kelly which will never make sense to me), I have always felt it actually lacked more experimentation. Electronic music as a tool is so fascinating and the ideas where definitely there but I guess it could have been more daring (we know that Interscope clipped Gaga's wing and original idea to have two different versions of the album - Act II being the more experimental and unconventional, but still). My biggest delusion with this album would probably be that it wasn't a visual album. I remember Gaga letting us know that she wanted to do a video for each song and this was I believe one year prior to its release when she was still active on LM.com, which definitely amplified the hype for the album, at least for me. I will never forgive her team for scrapping Venus as single and it's music video, I love the power of this song to literally transport you into a different world, it's probably the song that deserved to have its visual moment more than any other non singles from her carreer.

Despite all the drama and delusions linked to this Era we can all agree that Gaga was an absolute pro for getting through it and still being able to give us videos, looks (probably the best Era for looks hands down), amazing performances and a very fun tour where she still gave her all. ARTPOP will always be its own thing and its messages despite confusing or not that well excecuted at times, will remain Gaga's true essence as it truly feels she has been living and breathing "ARTPOP" since the day she set foot on her very first stage.

 

[JustTea 5,365]

I remember how Applause dropped out of nowhere, it was so different and the chorus DELIVERED, it was amazing! Applause MV was so good like the live performances as well, instant smash, but the whole Roar vs Applause thing was so damn tiring that the whole ARTPOP era felt like fighting all the time... 

iTunes festival was messy imo, didn't really like the new songs there. Aura (Machete Kills MV) wasn't my cup of tea really, only the second verse was cool. But then DWUW snippet from the Beats commercial aired and THAT was the best thing EVER, couldn't wait to hear the full song.

Then G.U.Y. snippet aired and it was SO damn GOOD! When DWUW dropped in full, I was totally sold and happy it was made a single (and sad about the MV mess). Still my top 5 Gaga songs ever.

After that ARTPOP snippet aired and it did nothing to me back then, it was a weird song and I actually forgot that snippet exists. Then Venus dropped and it was something else... not my cup of tea at all, way too cringe for me.

Then Mary Jane Holland snippet aired and that was yet again AMAZING. 

After that came Dope, well that was "ok'ish" but disappointed that I Wanna Be With You was scrapped for that, didn't like the aesthetics for it or Venus either.

Basically all the songs I hadn't heard before the album was released were G.U.Y., Donatella, Fashion!, MJH and Gypsy (heard the acoustic one tho) and only G.U.Y., Donatella and MJH were bops back then, so I had very mixed feelings about the whole album when I heard it the first time, but nowadays I like most of it.

So basically the whole ARTPOP era gave "mixed feelings", some amazing bops and multiple songs that I kinda disliked even if I really tried to like them.

The album had so much unused potential, messy outcome and performances. Glad we got G.U.Y. MV at least, but that was too little too late...

[Brizel 593]

I just really wish that Brooklyn Nights was a single with an amazing video (but alas we can’t even stream it) it had so much meaning to it . 😞 the era felt like it had a lot of wasted potential which still hurts to this day 

[zakariah 11,698]

it was actually pretty amazing for me, i have very fond memories of those days

i was about 13/14 years old during the ARTPOP era, and i remember being so excited when the applause music video dropped. i rewatched it about a 50 times a week i think lol. then i recall staying up late on a school night just to listen to the album immediately when it dropped, i loved every track except jewels n drugs and swine 

in hindsight, it's really quite unfortunate that the era was cut short due to underperformance and audience disinterest in the era and gaga, the ARTPOP short film blew my 15 year old mind 

i wish i could relive those days, not just ARTPOP era but also Katy's Prism era, Lana's Ultraviolence era, Taylor's 1989 era and Beyonce's self-titled era too, all very fond memories

[Noah 26,933]

ARTPOP was my first fan Era. 

I was a fan prior, but that was the first time I had Gaga-dedicated Social Media and didn‘t just get my Gaga News from local Websites. I remember in 2012 being so excited about what the Genre was, the whole concept of involving fans. The Truth in her Red lipstick. There were so many factors that already made you attached to ARTPOP as a fan, even though at the time I didn‘t really understand it. When the BTWB Cancellation happened and we didnt hear from Gaga for a long time, time was weird. Once we got that announcement post in July, we were all hyped. When Aura leaked we realized we were in for a wild ride. This Album Era I will remember by checking Twitter often, going home to new Performances and Interviews, days with no sleep by listening to Radio ARTPOP. The Fandom was so involved in this Era, the excitement was beyond. Born This Way was so huge in terms of promotions and things Gaga did. The way Gaga hyped this Album and Era, we thought we‘d experience something similar, but when the YouTube Awards happened and the plans crumbed… it was weird. I still vaguely remember her brown-wig Era when she did Ellen + that VEVO Video Review thing, when there was hope maybe another Phase of ARTPOP would happen. When she performed ARTPOP + released the G.U.Y. Video, we kind of knew this Era was over. (Especially with all the tidbits that came out). 

The artRave felt like the first glimpse into Gagas original thought behind ARTPOP. it was a true celebration. It didn‘t feel like a Poptour, but like a huge celebration of Music and Art. Yes - the stage may not have been as crazy like a castle, but you felt involved in the concert everywhere you sat. 

ARTPOP was a struggle. I will miss those moments alot tho. It was the first time, I felt really at home in the Monster Community… Looking back, it reminds me so much of Chromatica, where for different reasons, the Album cycle was tainted. Let‘s pray for LG7 out next year