Where did Perfect Illusion go wrong?

[TimotheeChalamet 3,910]

It's one of Gaga's best songs but most of her fans wanted a pop anthem about riding **** so... Still I will never understand why people hate it so much (especially on this site) when during the release and promo week everyone was headbanging to the chorus and losing their mind for how fun it was

Edited 4 hours ago by TimotheeChalamet

[Agunimon 21,104]

Perfect Illusion is my favorite lead single and I truly cannot comprehend anyone's problem with it. I think it's among her best songs and even though I have went through each of these replies and read them, it is like some of you guys are speaking another language to me. I said HOW or WHY so many times I felt like a 4 year old. You can put a 10 page thesis in front of me for why this song was not single material and I still wouldn't understand. She should have sent this song to rock radio, I guess. It would have smashed on those stations.

I want to fight anyone who says its a bad song! Including you @Massive Monster! I bet you aren't that massive. How dare you say Dancing In Circles is better.

Edited 4 hours ago by Agunimon

[RochestrMonstr 2,329]

I love the song. It didnt seem like it was really intended for radio, and was questionable as the lead single compared to something like Diamond Heart, or even putting Million Reasons out first. 
 

edited to add: It’s true Joanne as a whole didn’t cater to radio, but there were choices that would have been less abrasive to non-fans. 

Edited 3 hours ago by RochestrMonstr

[bowlsofbrett 264]

I vividly remember driving home late at night and pulling up the song to listen. I was extremely disappointed in its production. I found it to be clunky and I didn’t care for the vocal delivery. My other friends agreed and thought it was too harsh on the ears. It’s just a meh song in my opinion. John Wayne would’ve been a better lead single. 

[killme89 707]

I remember the locals saying the song was so aggressive and angry. 

[NATAH 37,895]

i love the amount of people considering PI to be "harsh" and "aggressive"

[vanus 6,034]

41 minutes ago, TimotheeChalamet said:

It's one of Gaga's best songs but most of her fans wanted a pop anthem about riding **** so... Still I will never understand why people hate it so much (especially on this site) when during the release and promo week everyone was headbanging to the chorus and losing their mind for how fun it was

PI is one of my fav Gaga songs, but i was here on the release week and thats far from what happened, everyone hated it

[NATAH 37,895]

3 minutes ago, vanus said:

PI is one of my fav Gaga songs, but i was here on the release week and thats far from what happened, everyone hated it

i remember staying up for the premiere and being obsessed with it and then coming on here to see everybody hating it

[Noir 13,244]

Amazing song. Terrible single. Far too abstract to succeed in a mainstream capacity. 

[Chromatislaps 34,698]

The Tame Impala/Kevin Parker demo would have been a better approach for the song, more psychedelic instrumental, softer vocals. Louder =/= better

 

it always gave me Lenny Kravitz Are You Gonna Go My Way vibes too, I think that would have been a great direction to propel the song into as well:

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Chromatislaps

[weed 69,707]

The people weren’t feeling it… I used to always equate chart peak to how many people heard a song, but usually they know of it and just don’t care for it 

[ThisGuyTony 26,736]

It would’ve been top 10 if the MV was released same day.

Unfortunately the song isn’t generic pop so it bombed on the charts.

[buzzkill 4,507]

the perfect lead for an album that had so little potencial. 

[OliviaRodrigoStan 2,778]

I mean, it did well for what the song is. Is not that catchy or memorable. 

It'a a good song, but it wouldn't have touched the charts at all if it was released by any other artist. It's an enjoyable song, with a forgettable music video, carried by her star power. 

Not to mention that the entire album alienated her core fanbase, and pandered to a new demographic. Joanne was a gamble, and it honestly did well all things considered. 

It was a #1 album, it had top 10 hit on Billboard, etc. It did fine. 

"Perfect Illusion" simply is not that remarkable as a song. It did as well as it could, and that's about it. 

[TEANUS 11,527]

Lack of music video on release day. Probably would’ve grazed the top 10 for a week