Original ARTPOP Vision Would Have Ruined Gaga's Career

[Ladle Ghoulash 16,503]

1 hour ago, AnglerfishbraBENUS said:

she didn’t need to do this though - that’s the thing. she got attention just by having amazing songs and great looks / ideas. We didn’t need the first X rated music video to cement her legacy

I guess, but you could make that argument about any number of other iconic things she did.

[Ladle Ghoulash 16,503]

@Ronnie I’ll be charitable and assume the laugh react is because you’re feeling defensive or something because it’s pretty unnecessarily rude. 

[Ronnie 5,437]

11 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

@Ronnie I’ll be charitable and assume the laugh react is because you’re feeling defensive or something because it’s pretty unnecessarily rude. 

Definitely didn’t mean it to be rude. I just love how passionate we all are about this woman that I have to laugh at how ridiculous we get at times over the most unserious of topics. I love this site and all of its members. It keeps us sane. Or can literally drive us crazy lol

[Edonis 28,712]

Collaborating with one of the most infamous sex predators in the music industry is one thing, making a pastiche music video spoofing America’s obsession with sex snd violence in pop culture is another. I don’t think ARTPOP 2012 would’ve impacted her career in the long run. Y’all are soft. 

[Illuminati 15,791]

I don't think it was that deep. The Manicure script seemed like a rough draft at best, they probably had a bunch of those, considering that at one point she wanted Aura as a lead single. GUY had a pretty unhinged video too if you think about it

[TEANUS 12,842]

32 minutes ago, Illuminati said:

GUY had a pretty unhinged video too if you think about it

This. Imagine if we only had a leaked script saying “Gaga in Lego form” “actors dressed as Michael Jackson, Jesus, etc. rise out of the white ‘coffins’” “Gaga and dancers praise the welcome of their “God” figure played by Andy Cohen” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills pretend to play various instruments”. The MANiCURE one is certainly more explicit and camp, but some of these would’ve sounded just as bonkers on paper

[TEANUS 12,842]

OT: I disagree. I think Gaga was on the right track with exactly how she could avoid a slump with her then upcoming era: dial back the intricacy and seriousness of the lyrics and subject but keep it visually high art and meaningful. The music was to be more accessible to pop radio and clubs for a simple party atmosphere but you could still do massive think pieces on the visuals. Songs like Red Flame, MANiCURE, DWUW, Hallelujah, etc. would command the clubs and the party circuit. Applause, G.U.Y., Gypsy, etc. would dominate pop radio. Not to mention hip-hop, rap, and trap were beginning a mid-2010s chart domination while she was preparing tracks like JND, Red Flame, Ratchet, and PARTYNAUSEOUS. All while she brought in visual references from Andy Warhol and popart, Jeff Koons, the American celebrity, Greek mythology, and The Birth of Venus. DWUW and MANiCURE were to be more overtly sexual and the former suffered from association with multiple criminals, but other than that I think she would’ve been more than fine. Imagine pop culture fanatics always being able to reminisce on a video that featured Gaga, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears in a choreographed dance scene together? Iconic. And had her management/“friends” never left her she probably wouldn’t have been as scarred

[VOLANTIS 16,316]

4 hours ago, Tyler1992 said:

Comparing Bangerz and ARTPOP is disingenuous. Miley had two smash hits, and the timing of her going “good girl gone bad” allowed her to express herself, people were infatuated with what she was doing.

Anything Gaga put out post BTW was going to be scrutinized, critics and listeners were more than ready to see her fall from grace. 

It also feels like revisionism that Gaga was playing it safe with ARTPOP. Because she DID in fact double down on a lot of things that critics and listeners no longer wanted. There’s a step to far that Gaga didn’t want to go for. 

ARTPOP very much was supposed to be controversial though. As far as what she was posting on LM.com and the little bits of live chats she was doing on the site, the swinefest puke statement was supposed to tame in comparison. She had big calculated ideas that never happened because people wanted her to be safe. And safe she was. It literally was Gaga's safest played era by far up until that point. Which goes against the commercialization of pop culture Gaga dreamed for the album. 

And had the era been what she wanted, she had already decided to use all the generated noise from the era to cement herself as a GP loved superstar by starting C2C era just after. 

[VOLANTIS 16,316]

5 hours ago, AnglerfishbraBENUS said:

she didn’t need to do this though - that’s the thing. she got attention just by having amazing songs and great looks / ideas. We didn’t need the first X rated music video to cement her legacy

In our eyes yes. But ARTPOP is generally the slept on Gaga album, by the public. 

[AnglerfishbraBENUS 5,611]

33 minutes ago, VOLANTIS said:

In our eyes yes. But ARTPOP is generally the slept on Gaga album, by the public. 

because she didn’t film an x rated video lol

[Magneto 13,302]

Fully agree with OP and also Aura (original mix of even Burqa) as opening single?! I mean I love that song, but that would never get any airplay. I'm morbidly curious though to see the alternate timeline where all of this did happen

[VOLANTIS 16,316]

4 hours ago, AnglerfishbraBENUS said:

because she didn’t film an x rated video lol

Because we saw what it tried to do but fail. Which was be wildly shocking. Had the era started with something daring (not agreeing with the premise of the film script no) imo it would have done the era good. Because we know Gaga had the shock factor attempts like perform in space. Fly a dress. Have a girl throw up on her and such, but it never really made that much noise because they started the era relatively safe. I just feel like it could have started with a bang. Maybe not this particular choice no but I hope you know what I'm trying to say idk 

[Starmie25 13,641]

13 minutes ago, VOLANTIS said:

Have a girl throw up on her and such,

This one tends to make the rounds here and there tbh, even more than DWYW 

[RodeckDanny 2,235]

was thre a manicure video? is there a concept?

[27monster27 11,438]

9 hours ago, TEANUS said:

OT: I disagree. I think Gaga was on the right track with exactly how she could avoid a slump with her then upcoming era: dial back the intricacy and seriousness of the lyrics and subject but keep it visually high art and meaningful. The music was to be more accessible to pop radio and clubs for a simple party atmosphere but you could still do massive think pieces on the visuals. Songs like Red Flame, MANiCURE, DWUW, Hallelujah, etc. would command the clubs and the party circuit. Applause, G.U.Y., Gypsy, etc. would dominate pop radio. Not to mention hip-hop, rap, and trap were beginning a mid-2010s chart domination while she was preparing tracks like JND, Red Flame, Ratchet, and PARTYNAUSEOUS. All while she brought in visual references from Andy Warhol and popart, Jeff Koons, the American celebrity, Greek mythology, and The Birth of Venus. DWUW and MANiCURE were to be more overtly sexual and the former suffered from association with multiple criminals, but other than that I think she would’ve been more than fine. Imagine pop culture fanatics always being able to reminisce on a video that featured Gaga, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears in a choreographed dance scene together? Iconic. And had her management/“friends” never left her she probably wouldn’t have been as scarred

This might sadden some people, but truthfully this should have been done with Born This Way. Lady Gaga herself wanted a more stripped down era (ala The Edge of Glory video and Born This Way country road) but Troy Carter didn't allow it. That way ARTPOP could have been viewed as a "return to form".