Where did Perfect Illusion go wrong?

[Borisapillar 9,387]

The song is a bit irritating, it overwhelms the ears. Diamond Heart is a masterpiece.

[southpaw773 3,555]

I liked it, still remember awaiting it and the…

Muh muh muh muh perfect illusion 

[DrKindnessKunt1999 6,119]

At the time quiet and minimalistic music was trendy. It was all about tropical house, trap, and ballads. A loud pop-rock song would have not done well no matter who made it. 

Also, at the time it was trendy to be more stripped back and to look very “no effort”, which aren’t exactly things that the GP would describe Gaga as. 

[bionic 50,107]

In the studio. I personally find it quite unlistenable and maybe Gaga's second worst song 

[Reject False Icons 4,777]

Well clearly the monsters are not that big of a fan base to make a song chart. So Gaga needs a lot of momentum, hype and good reputation from the general public  

[Melodean 8,330]

It should have made it in the same style as tame impala’s version, and then had Kevin as a featured vocalist. The final product was too noisy and too short for my liking, it could have been so good it had so much potential!!

[Lucas 27,277]

The song & video were extremely different from what Gaga had done before, it was alienating for a lot of people, I think it's as simple as that.

[swakby 4,100]

it’s just not a good song, which is fine. you can’t always hit when you want to develop yourself as an artist.

[LateToCult 40,917]

No hype leading to the release + poor fan response + no industry support 

[Ladle Ghoulash 26,660]

It’s purposefully incredibly abrasive, which I love, but because of that, it’s not particularly radio friendly. It’s basically like anti pop song lmao 

[liamgaga 516]

I think it’s one of her strongest songs and vocally it’s brilliant. Joanne is my least favourite album but PI is a banger. The gap has no taste 

it also didn’t really resonate with what was on the radio at the time which is why it probably didn’t do as well as it could’ve done 

[djBuffoon 12,125]

It's a decent song on paper, but it feels unpolished and unfinished, which is surprising considering that Ronson, Kevin, Blood, and Gaga all produced it. I think that lack of radio-friendly shimmer is partly why it didn't catch.

Something like "Diamond Heart" or "Million Reasons", both of which feel more fully realized, would have done better as a lead.

[Guest]

It's a great song. I actually think it's a good lead single. I think the problem with the song for me, is Gaga's belting overshadowed the amazing instrumental. 

I've listened to the instrumental many times and it's brilliant. Gaga's vocals are so loud and almost shoutey during the song it can be distracting. She just has a powerful voice. 

[SevenWonder 4,404]

All she had to do was release Diamond Heart as the lead and she'd have another top ten. 

It's so much more commercial and GP friendly, but with the same rock vibe she clearly wanted. 

Btw, I like PI. It's a great song. But it's too repetitive for a rock song (as opposed to a pop song where that's fine) and I think that hurt it's replay (re-re-re-replay) value. 

[River 117,683]

Same thing that happened to Radical Optimism, Kevin Parker, he's a genius, but he didn't break the barrier between his psychedelic sound and the GP and when he works with out pop girls, he's not "radio friendlying" his sound so the end product is a bit of a mess.

 

Like take his song with the Gorillaz, New Gold, it's amazing and works perfectly with the band.