Why didn’t ‘Disease’ click with the GP?

[nATAH 43,067]

3 hours ago, princedeeblebleble said:

Yea because everyone and their mothers was shitting on her for working with dr luke again, even big headlines on the topic. Besides I'd imagine if the music was any good she'd do better numbers, on the other hand,  had she done what Gagz is doing.. even bigger floppery.

that was before any of katy's big gigs lol

so really no, big performances didn't help unless it's a major gig like coachella or the superbowl or you're an up and coming act

[SHALLOW 15,763]

I dont' think the song in particular is the problem since we literally got Dark Gaga back, which most people have been asking for ages. I feel like even Gen Z could enjoy it so it's not even a demographical problem.

I think the reason is that it was just overshadowed by Joker's bad press and the general lack of promo. 

[Reality 72,281]

I truly don't think "lack of promo" is a valid reason. You cannot say that when we have DWAS smashing everywhere and there was virtually no promo for that thing. It just organically caught on.

If I had to pinpoint the reasons, I'd say:

1. The sound
2. DWAS + Joker + Harlequin exposure

The sound is unlike anything else on the radio, so releasing a song like that as the lead for LG7 was a risk. It would either naturally catch on (with the hopes that it'd go viral on TikTok or something) or people wouldn't pay much attention to it. Clearly, it was the latter.

DWAS was an unexpected hit. I think they had high hopes for it, but they probably didn't expect the insane reception it got. Had they known it'd be this successful, they probably would've pushed Disease's release and focused more on DWAS. Also, Joker's flop was historic; that cannot be understated. For as big as the DWAS success was, Joker's flop was equally as bad.

That + Harlequin—which I think some people thought was her next solo album—probably confused people. Like, "Ok, so she has DWAS, which has similar aesthetics to Joker (and also whose title sounds like it'd be something Joker-related). But then she also has Harlequin, but it's not an original album, it's an album full of covers and it's not her next solo album, it's only for the movie. But then they also wanted to push Happy Mistake, but DWAS is smashing and they're releasing Disease in a couple of weeks, so how much should they push it? etc., etc., etc."

[27monster27 11,491]

7 hours ago, 4BLAiNE said:

One needs to remember that Charli XCX, who unquestionably had the biggest album of 2024, didn’t have a single song even come close to what would be called chart success before the release of brat. Yet still, the album as a whole was a massive success.

I think in the days of streaming, having a single hit the big leagues chart-wise isn’t as important, and feels at least, far more random than before. Yes, it worked for Sabrina, yes it can make a huge difference to the momentum of an album release. But it’s very different these days, and it often relies on either being super viral on Tik Tok, or, just random organic success (DWAS) - which, if you look at the charts these days, feels impossible to predict. I love DWAS but I NEVER saw it doing that well, and honestly I don’t think anyone did. 

Disease ticks every box for what most of us wanted from a Gaga track these days. I think the album is going to do the same. As for its chart success? Who knows - it could’ve gone either way, but it just never found the right trend / influencer to kick it off, and may be too abrasive for the GP. 
 

 

Yeah. Brat (as far as I know) hasn't had a top 10, yet it undeniably has been a defining album of 2024 (if not the defining album).

[AnglerfishbraBENUS 5,627]

it seems to be a grower not a shower … it actually gets better with time and it reentering the hot 100 again is pretty substantial i think. 

[Siena 5,841]

Like people have been saying I think the GP just genuinely didn’t know it’s out, and especially bc DWAS is so popular that’s kinda what they think of when they hear there’s a new Gaga song.  
 

Also while I'm OBSESSED with Disease, the sound is undeniable very aggressive and not at all what’s popular atm. Cute and carefree music seems to be in, it’s apparent when Disease comes on the radio and it’s sandwiched between Espresso and Bird of a Feather lol 

[Yaaaas Gaga 829]

The most important thing is Disease is a great song, and that's more important than any chart success.

I would much prefer Gaga releases music that tanks in the charts but is actually great music that resonates with her fans, than for her to become a sell-out for the sole purpose of having a hit.

[ceminay 546]

It’s loud. It’s a great song, but on the first listen, you need to adjust. It’s not too loud like PI that makes it unlistenable, it has pretty good radio callout scores, people really do like it with time.

Other main reasons are really bad timing and lacking promo. If she released it in early August, with no DWAS, Joker or Harlequin, with good promo, it would have grown on people and smashed with Halloween. Gaga managed to make non radio friendly songs popular by believing in her projects and doing everything in her way to make it well know.

I do believe the negativity on Joker also added to this. Staying under the radar to get it forgotten and avoid questions about it may be a part of the promo. I still believe the song will have its moment tho, it hasn’t died like her other singles, it’s still sticking around.

[Edonis 28,788]

People still do not know it exists, end of thread. Radio callouts were solid (unlike most of her singles in the last half decade), streams are stable (at one point getting more than some number 1 songs released earlier this year ahem, Texas Hold Em), and critical reception is near universally acclaimed. The timing was god-awful and the writing was on the wall with such a lowkey release (OP, you seriously don't remember the roll-out that had only fans paying attention through obscure website links and a music video that dropped on a random Tuesday?). 

If Gaga wants ANY SONG of hers to smash that isn't a high-profile collab, then she and her team need to PUSH stuff, HARD. Go all out and stop holding back because you have "bigger songs on the album" that you can push later. It's a god-awful marketing tactic that music labels keep doing and needs to die lol. 

[Concertaholic 5,477]

Sorry but it never clicked for this fan. It’s too hard and heavy, I wanted something light and upbeat that I could dance to. And I find the spoken vocals layered under her singing to be grating.

[Whigney Houstan 1,191]

I just can't believe they never put out physicals. She must be against it bc why else wouldn't they?

[Kaevin95 81]

Disease has great production but nothing more. Repetitive af, the chorus is just too noisy and not catchy as other songs she has made. If a song is catchy and you actually feel good listening to it, that will 99% be a hit. Bloody Mary for example would have been a hit even with no Wednesday **** cause that song is just a eargasm from start to finish. Production, verses, chorus, bridge. Everything. That's a well done dark song, not Disease.

[Schwerk 7,002]

The timing was off.

It was released too close to Halloween to be a Halloween hit. And after Halloween everyone was in the mood for holiday/christmas songs.

[RochestrMonstr 2,475]

10 hours ago, Starmie25 said:

I still think it'll end up having solid longevity. Peaks aren't everything, just saiyan

This

[MonsterPaws 2,652]

10 hours ago, King of the Fall said:

Combination of not being the right sound for a mainstream hit and overshadowed by DWAS. Some people say she should have promoted it better but I doubt it would have made much of a difference.

And even sound-wise, I think it would have done a bit better if released earlier.

It would have been perfect for Halloween season, but they released the song towards the end of October and the MV a day before Halloween. That's already way too late.