Joanne x MAYHEM

[Sneaky Oliver 22,067]

Hi guys! I need to get this thought out of my head and hopefully discuss it with you guys. Sorry for the long text in advance 

One of the most insightful statements from Gaga during Mayhem release week was actually about Joanne for them magazine. To quote her exact words: "it’s the most stripped-away that people feel that they’ve ever seen me, but I know how far away from me I was". 

I think many fans had a sense of strangeness when Joanne came out because the whole country/americana thing felt kinda inauthentic, especially because the whole point of that era was removing all the Lady Gaga aura so she(Stefani) could be her most authentic self. Country music was nowhere to be found when it came to her musical influences which she was always very open about. 

I think she succeeded at creating an album heavily influenced by her old references and musical repertoire with MAYHEM and that makes me think she kinda failed to craft a similar album back then which ended up being Joanne. I’m not saying she wasn't capable of doing it at that time but we know the final result it’s not completely up to her alone. 

Gaga has also shared with us this week a sentiment of anger she had nurtured for herself because of how ambitious she was and how it ultimately led her to leave her community behind during Zane Lowe interview. Maybe back in 2015-2016, she couldn’t admit that to herself so openly and she went for the narrative that if she hadn’t become Lady Gaga, she would still be making music in a smaller scale but that’s not the truth. She would still have tried with all her heart to become the “notorious being” she is today and perhaps it took her these many years to reflect on that and own the ambition she had in the past as she does now.

So, I don’t want this to turn into a Joanne hate thread of any sort, I love the album and I don’t want to discredit the whole experience that Gaga herself said it was much needed, but I find it so interesting how she was able to share this deep level of reflection and self-criticism.

[NickiMinajStan 6,752]

1 hour ago, Sneaky Oliver said:

"it’s the most stripped-away that people feel that they’ve ever seen me, but I know how far away from me I was". 

Well, maybe the general audience perceived it as "stripped down", but I'm positive the #1 reason why it wasn't a well-received project within the fandom, it's because it didn't felt like herself at all. Like, we all could tell, that's why most don't like that album .

I understood from the let go that she was adopting a new persona, as she did on her previous projects. Which, great, she was also playing a character on The Fame and Born This Way; but those characters were noticeably more connected to her true self, than her Joanne character was. 

Yes, all of it is theatre at the end of the day, it's all performance. But the Joanne role was simply not the best for her, that's all there is to it. I don't judge her for trying anyways, it's all a part of the journey, whatever. 

Mayhem seems to find her in a place that is much more comfortable for her, while still trying new things. 

[JustJames 950]

1 hour ago, Sneaky Oliver said:

Hi guys! I need to get this thought out of my head and hopefully discuss it with you guys. Sorry for the long text in advance 

One of the most insightful statements from Gaga during Mayhem release week was actually about Joanne for them magazine. To quote her exact words: "it’s the most stripped-away that people feel that they’ve ever seen me, but I know how far away from me I was". 

I think many fans had a sense of strangeness when Joanne came out because the whole country/americana thing felt kinda inauthentic, especially because the whole point of that era was removing all the Lady Gaga aura so she(Stefani) could be her most authentic self. Country music was nowhere to be found when it came to her musical influences which she was always very open about. 

I think she succeeded at creating an album heavily influenced by her old references and musical repertoire with MAYHEM and that makes me think she kinda failed to craft a similar album back then which ended up being Joanne. I’m not saying she wasn't capable of doing it at that time but we know the final result it’s not completely up to her alone. 

Gaga has also shared with us this week a sentiment of anger she had nurtured for herself because of how ambitious she was and how it ultimately led her to leave her community behind during Zane Lowe interview. Maybe back in 2015-2016, she couldn’t admit that to herself so openly and she went for the narrative that if she hadn’t become Lady Gaga, she would still be making music in a smaller scale but that’s not the truth. She would still have tried with all her heart to become the “notorious being” she is today and perhaps it took her these many years to reflect on that and own the ambition she had in the past as she does now.

So, I don’t want this to turn into a Joanne hate thread of any sort, I love the album and I don’t want to discredit the whole experience that Gaga herself said it was much needed, but I find it so interesting how she was able to share this deep level of reflection and self-criticism.

I think she feeds into this type of rewriting fans tend to do each time she promotes an album since her default way of hyping has always been to imply - or even outright claim - the project at hand is somehow more authentic and past ones were less so.

But, I wish she wouldn’t because it’s kind of deflating as a fan of her entire discography to watch this shift happen every single time. Regardless, she NEVER once claimed Joanne was “about stripping away the aura of Lady Gaga.” The album is also in no way country or Americana; songs like Diamond Heart, Million Reasons, and Grigio Girls may have some sonic influences from those genres, but like every single Gaga album, it’s a pop album that draws inspiration from a wide variety of sounds to form what was and very much still is a VERY “Gaga” record. 

Her ability to dive deep into character and commit herself as a student of music has always been a double edged sword; it’s the reason she adapted some of those affected vocals, which in audition to some visual cues, could be seen as inauthentic I suppose. But, like, she’s been saying, she loves being a student of music, and this “changing of outfits” has been what she’s done amazingly well from the start. 

There’s nothing more or less authentic about what she did on Joanne vs. any other 1 of her albums, which have given us a discography that includes Just Dance, Paper Gangsta, Summerboy; Speechless, Teeth, DITD; Heavy Metal Lover, Scheisse, You and I; Jewels N Drugs, MANiCURE, Donatella; Sour Candy, 1000 Doves, Babylon.

 

[Sneaky Oliver 22,067]

3 hours ago, JustJames said:

But, I wish she wouldn’t because it’s kind of deflating as a fan of her entire discography to watch this shift happen every single time.

I don’t think she has ever referred to any of her past projects with the same sense of “failure”. She has stated before that failed at trying to heal her dad/family trauma about Joanne’s passing and now how that persona didn’t feel authentic to her. I don’t think it takes the sparkle away from the album but, as I said, I appreciate the level of honesty and self-criticism!

3 hours ago, JustJames said:

Regardless, she NEVER once claimed Joanne was “about stripping away the aura of Lady Gaga.”

She did though. Remember when she said she would like to bring back some elements of her past persona but not enough to become Lady Gaga again on Five Foot Two and then years later during Chromatica promo she expressed how she hated to be Lady Gaga for the past couple of years. I think she felt so much untethered to the Lady Gaga persona, she couldn’t simply go back and that’s what Mayhem is all about