Gaga 2008-2011 vs Taylor Swift 2022-Present

[Yaaaas Gaga 823]

Who had the bigger peak, Gaga’s imperial phase from 2008 - 2011 or Taylor Swifts current domination from 2022 - present?

Experiencing Gaga’s meteoric rise to fame was like nothing I’d ever experienced before and by mid-2009 you would’ve struggled to find someone who didn’t know who she was. Despite the crazy commercial success she was achieving, I would argue that her cultural impact was even greater and was what catapulted her to global stardom.

I don’t think anyone could argue that the commercial success that Taylor is achieving at the moment is unlike anything that has been seen since peak MJ and Madonna and her touring power is pure insanity. What I would say with Taylor, however, is I don’t think her cultural impact is as great as the likes of Gaga and Beyoncé and I don’t think she has revolutionised the music industry in the way they have.

Gaga literally CHANGED the music industry when she debuted and the impact she had on other artists and their music releases was so evident.

I guess I would therefore give Taylor the win for commercial success but I would give Gaga the edge for cultural impact.

What are your thoughts?

[Bronco 6,385]

I mean tour wise, Taylor's Eras tour is undoubtedly a bigger culturally impacting moment than TMB/BTWB was. 

But as an artist Gaga definitely had the bigger impact. Taylor doesn't have anywhere near the same pull in terms of red carpet fashion etc

[Psyduck 1,088]

Gaga's imperial era left a remarkable impact in culture. She was the trendsetter in music and fashion. I believe she also set the bar high on how performance and tour stages should be done.

Taylor's imperial era now is just driving sales - economy. The media coverage then is so different to today. She wasn't the first artist to release songs to highlight her talent being a 'lyricist', Lana del Rey has always been.

Chart wise, the later is achieving a lot as she is the perfect example of how an american artist should be - white, blonde, skinny, and safe.

[River 105,876]

3 minutes ago, Bronco said:

I mean tour wise, Taylor's Eras tour is undoubtedly a bigger culturally impacting moment than TMB/BTWB was. 

tbh the impact was not that crazy, especially culturally, the tour came and left like nothing happened, especially in Europe, which was flooded by American fans anyway, but I've seen many people struggling to resell their tickets in Europe.

Like in some sense, the world move on like nothing has happened.. it's still not in the level of Queen, MJ, even the Italian singer Vasco Rossi, she and her fans stayed in their own bubble while everything else simply didn't care much (except for pop stans)

And all the fake news about how the tour is messing economies around the world was debunked by many economists.

 

[lastpopicon 4,209]

In my book 2008-2011 Gaga is still unmatched in terms of impact.

She literally changed the game for every pop girl...

And she's still not done 

[dove 513]

The way Gaga changed red carpet fashion forever ALONE is more than taylor's impact with her sales.

[LateToCult 39,852]

They’re very different and kind of hard to compare. Gaga’s peak revolved around her novelty and shock value. Taylor’s current peak is the result of her being a large and continuous fixture in American pop culture, which is the backbone of modern Western pop culture (Argue with your mama.)

I think you can make the argument that Gaga’s peak was bigger because her fingerprints are all over the late 00s/early 00s. You can also make the argument that Taylor’s is bigger because she is seemingly omnipresent in pop culture. She is tabloid fodder, a coveted asset for politicians, and a juggernaut in the entertainment world.

[faysalaaa 3,082]

Taylor gets alot of numbers, but in terms of impact, I dont think she has that effect. Just like how Katy Perry numbers were insane with zero impact.

[nATAH 42,849]

i mean it's not really that shocking that taylor is so popular considering how safe, easy and undaring her music and image is. it's appealing to any age demographic, especially young kids who have parents that'll fund their obsessions

compare that to Gaga's image during 08-11 and how globally popular that was, i personally consider that to be the more impressive peak... i mean her debut VMA performance had her bleeding and hanging herself on stage, and then she wore meat and then she sold a million records with an album about equality, bravery, immigration, human rights and feminism

[Lucas 24,340]

Taylor is the most overrated artist EVER. Her peak is not comparable to Gaga's peak in any way.

[weed 71,315]

It's very hard to determine! Very different situations but both very iconic.

[princedeeblebleble 611]

Gaga was and still is undoubtedly the most influetal artist of the 21st century.  She might have never had the numbers of Taylor or Katy but she's so social-political in her artistry which I personally consider far more important. Thought I think if she had Taylor's team she's be above the other ladies, but after BTW I feel like something in the back sort of held her back. Let it be her personal struggles or people who didn't know how to handle such a big stardoom.

[Gabi001 2,182]

Taylor's impact is mainly on her income. Gaga has real impact on pop culture 

[Taylucifer 5,073]

Taylor's impact on how people write songs and tangentially how they market themselves, specifically with how pop stars (specifically the girls) now feel they should be confessional. Taylor has shown how vulnerability can make you a star and taken it to new heights

But the tea is none of them can truely do it like her and therefore there is not another Taylor Swift despite everyone saying she is easily replicable. The closest there is and the true taydaughter is Olivia but she has been disowned 

Gaga's impact was far more visual whereas Taylor's is more on the songwriting/business side, I shall not fight over which one is more important. We all got crowns after all

[Mirrion Rizzons 10,280]

See even though Taylor is pulling massive numbers at the moment, one thing hasn’t changed - There’s many people who are obsessed with her AND there’s so many people who couldn’t care less and find her irritating/boring. I’ve had many conversations where people are like “why the hell is Taylor so massive right now? Why is everyone at the era’s tour? I haven’t heard a new song of hers in years” 
 

so in essence, her fan base is ginormous, and thus, very ‘loud’, so it feels like she’s at the centre of everything, but in reality, it’s still a Taylor Swift bubble, despite being a large one at that. 
 

Gaga on the other hand, while the aforementioned points also stand true, she managed to capture the attention of the entire world, whether people were fans of her antics or not, she caused conversations, controversy, and sparked genuine interest and intrigue. 
 

I think many stans forget just how big she was, because her imperial phase wasn’t particularly long, but she made headlines every single day, and the whole world was curious as to what she was all about. 
 

This rings true when many people associate the early 2010s with Katy Perry - because she had the numbers! But OGs remember those years belonged to Gaga. 
 

whereas with Taylor, despite being the most ‘successful’ from 2020 onwards, I think each year will be remembered as: 

2020: dua lipa 

2021: Olivia Rodrigo 

2022: Taylor 

2023: Taylor 

2024: Sabrina