CEREMONY | Rate. On. Me: The Chromatica 5 Rate

[RebeldeFaith 5,333]

1 minute ago, Cruelty said:

I've got Replay as your 11 - if it helps, it doesn't change the order 

Okay. That's what I thought. I was starting to doubt my taste. I could listen to both songs every day and never get tired. 

[Cruelty 6,172]

4 RAIN ON ME – average 8.49

11 x 15 [ @Blackout19 @Guille @South Blonde @MountainMonster @ManMan @OliviaRodrigoStan @ChrisGaga @King Targaryen @Zombiecat @Dramatica @FinallyFree @Lady Gaga 2009 @JustJackWhatever plus the cute Twitter top & his friend]; 10 x 37

The lows: 3 x 2 [ @Elderflower @Ayoherewego]

Well, this is lowkey a surprise. First, that ‘Rain on Me’ – Gaga’s fifth Billboard number 1 & the seventh most streamed song of summer 2020 – falls at the final hurdle before a podium finish. & second – that although a respectable 15 of you gave this your 11/10, not many of those people commented on it (see below).

I think the crux of it is that ‘Rain on Me’ is just an unbelievably competent pop song. It nicely fuses 90s house influences with a brim-full yet crisp production. It benefits enormously from a really smart choice of collaborator. I’ll confidently predict that it will never sound dated. ‘Rain on Me’ doesn’t particularly push the envelope, but that’s not the point of… anything on Chromatica, to be honest. As @ChrisGaga said, “Gaga & Ari on one dancepop song?! I mean, that’s perfection! Such a timeless classic!” ‘Rain on Me’ knew that its one assignment was to come here & serve c*nt, & it does that brilliantly.

Robert Rodriguez’s post-apocalyptic dance video is a really nice treatment of the song, but even better are the behind-the-scenes videos, where Ari follows Gaga around like an adoring younger sister or a competition winner. The song itself clearly has its fair share of fans, although just not enough to make it to the podium.

 

Comments:

@Blackout19 “her best song!”

@Guille “Truly one of Gaga's best songs ever. I can remember when I first heard the rumors she was going to collab with Ariana (other of my fav artists) I almost fain! & then the snippets came & they were THAT good. & then the song came out. A real, iconic & legendary hit. Top 5 Gaga song ever! Aged like fine wine”

@OliviaRodrigoStan “It changed lives.”

@ChrisGaga “Gaga & Ari on one dancepop song?! I mean, that’s perfection! Such a timeless classic!”

@Zombiecat “I mean ROM is obvious surely? :air:”

@JustJackWhatever “The amount of times I replayed this song & music video says enough. I lived everything about this whole album. I was not a fan of Joanne so this album was so special to me since ARTPOP”

[PartySick 157,329]

Oh wow only #4?  

I remember finding out about "a Gaga/Ariana collab" and being terrified to visit GGD in fear of spilling accidentally  

[RebeldeFaith 5,333]

2 minutes ago, Cruelty said:

4 RAIN ON ME – average 8.49

11 x 15 [ @Blackout19 @Guille @South Blonde @MountainMonster @ManMan @OliviaRodrigoStan @ChrisGaga @King Targaryen @Zombiecat @Dramatica @FinallyFree @Lady Gaga 2009 @JustJackWhatever plus the cute Twitter top & his friend]; 10 x 37

The lows: 3 x 2 [ @Elderflower @Ayoherewego]

Well, this is lowkey a surprise. First, that ‘Rain on Me’ – Gaga’s fifth Billboard number 1 & the seventh most streamed song of summer 2020 – falls at the final hurdle before a podium finish. & second – that although a respectable 15 of you gave this your 11/10, not many of those people commented on it (see below).

I think the crux of it is that ‘Rain on Me’ is just an unbelievably competent pop song. It nicely fuses 90s house influences with a brim-full yet crisp production. It benefits enormously from a really smart choice of collaborator. I’ll confidently predict that it will never sound dated. ‘Rain on Me’ doesn’t particularly push the envelope, but that’s not the point of… anything on Chromatica, to be honest. As @ChrisGaga said, “Gaga & Ari on one dancepop song?! I mean, that’s perfection! Such a timeless classic!” ‘Rain on Me’ knew that its one assignment was to come here & serve c*nt, & it does that brilliantly.

Robert Rodriguez’s post-apocalyptic dance video is a really nice treatment of the song, but even better are the behind-the-scenes videos, where Ari follows Gaga around like an adoring younger sister or a competition winner. The song itself clearly has its fair share of fans, although just not enough to make it to the podium.

 

Comments:

@Blackout19 “her best song!”

@Guille “Truly one of Gaga's best songs ever. I can remember when I first heard the rumors she was going to collab with Ariana (other of my fav artists) I almost fain! & then the snippets came & they were THAT good. & then the song came out. A real, iconic & legendary hit. Top 5 Gaga song ever! Aged like fine wine”

@OliviaRodrigoStan “It changed lives.”

@ChrisGaga “Gaga & Ari on one dancepop song?! I mean, that’s perfection! Such a timeless classic!”

@Zombiecat “I mean ROM is obvious surely? :air:”

@JustJackWhatever “The amount of times I replayed this song & music video says enough. I lived everything about this whole album. I was not a fan of Joanne so this album was so special to me since ARTPOP”

[Cruelty 6,172]

3 911 – average 8.63

11 x 12 [ @Celloo Deng @domixwodix @Kayi @Jessica Germ @BertGlamGa @phantasmas @HausofGabo @actsleazy @Cruelty @Freezie03 @elijahfan @13VictorC]; 10 x 45

The lows: 1 x 1 [ @Ayoherewego]

In a sea of competent yet slightly flavourless Eurodance bops, ‘911’ is the proud island on which I find solace. It’s the perfect distillation of Chromatica’s themes of depression & healing, yet it also finds room to respect the inherent weirdness of a 10/10 Lady Gaga track. 

For a start, the production is impeccable: a chilling robo-thump, complex without overwhelming, that builds & builds with 808 drums, building, building… But of course, we don’t get the explosive chorus that we’d expect, don’t get the blowout. Instead, we have an icy, resigned confession that ‘my biggest enemy is me’. We pop a 911, & we carry on.

Madeon’s one of Gaga’s most competent producers & always understands the assignment, so it’s no surprise that this is the album’s most skilful production. The lyric is unambiguous but still interesting, an out-of-body experience peppered with Gagaisms about ‘emotional faders’ & ‘dolls inside diamond boxes’. This is the nadir of Gaga’s journey through the album, a desperate cry for help from a woman whose hatred of the ‘Lady Gaga’ concept has started to make her hate Stefani as a result (BloodPop recalls ‘she wore a wig to the studio that day, hoping it would make it a little bit easier to feel like someone else’).

The package was topped off with a career-best music video courtesy of veteran filmmaker Tarsem, which really felt like the moment when Gaga broke free of her 4-year creative rut & remembered just who Lady Gaga is, & who she can be. I saw a few comments saying that ‘Replay’ is where Mayhem was born, but I’d argue that ‘911’ holds the key.

You might have noticed that 911 is, well, my 11. For me, ‘911’ comfortably clears anything released for around 4 years either side (with the possible exceptions of ‘Perfect Illusion’ & ‘Chromatica I’). & it feels like I’m in good company – with a dozen 11s & a staggering 45 tens, ‘911’ lands as your bronze medallist tonight.

 

Comments:

@Kayi “911 has a great production & new classic. I mean the robotic voice express how mecanical is her routine. She has to take her meds to feel better otherwise she feels very bad. The part of "come & see me cry" is theatrical & tragical Gaga like in her MTV Paparazzi performance. There's some moments in which we can hear her moments of relapse in the instrumental. Honestly I wish there were more theatrical songs like this one on Chromatica. I love her vocal performance. Madeon is a great producer.”

@Jessica Germ “It just has to be 911. Iconic moment for the era”

@phantasmas “I had a dream last night where I met God like Gaga might have in the music video. Except God was Hunter Schafer. So if I don't give 911 my 11 then I would be betraying God.”

@HausofGabo “A perfect embodiment of the album accompanied with one the most creative videos we’ve received from Gaga”

@actsleazy “Wow. What a standout! As always, Gaga tells us her story through her conceptual lyrics. & it really is a work of art! I don’t know what much else to say other than she wows me so bad with this song. I love funky euro-techno-dance!”

@elijahfan “Do I really need to explain? Pop a 911 bitch.”

@13VictorC “911 is such a great song that captures Gaga’s recurring theme of internal conflict with oneself. The music video was also poetic & beautifully strange.”

[Cruelty 6,172]

So Babylon & Replay are battling for their lives to be your favourite Chromatica track! Who are you rooting for?

[PartySick 157,329]

Replayyyyy

[PartySick 157,329]

Stream GGD's officially Gaga approved visuals for one of her best remixes

 

[RebeldeFaith 5,333]

2 minutes ago, PartySick said:

Stream GGD's officially Gaga approved visuals for one of her best remixes

 

This has been my ringtone for years! 

[Cruelty 6,172]

2 BABYLON – average 8.72

11 x 14 [ @Dutch @HIMe @rinasawachanta @Delulu Rogers @Janosch @TheMontebello @metalguru @dopega @Trxstan @Stephen @Rhiannon @Lord Axel @LG2008 @pynkri]; 10 x 51

The lows: 1 x 1 [ @Ayoherewego]

Released in March 1990, ‘Vogue’ served as the lead single from I’m Breathless, the soundtrack album accompanying Madonna’s latest movie. A disco-influenced piano house track, ‘Vogue’ tells a story about how, when ‘everywhere you turn is heartache’ & ‘you try everything you can to escape the pain of life that you know’, there’s a perfect solution: ‘it’s called a dance floor’. As the track that closes I’m Breathless, ‘Vogue’ is an iconic floor-filler that takes its influences &-

Oh. Sorry. Wrong rate.

But tell me you don’t see it.

You don’t need an essay for this one. Taking heavy inspiration from classic 90s house music, ‘Babylon’ is very explicitly designed to be the biggest party song in the world. Gaga explained how, within the album’s storyline, the sine from above ‘is what healed me to be able to dance my way out of this album singing Babylon, a song about gossip & something that used to run my life & make my feel so small & chained’. It’s a song about freedom, & release, & I think it works masterfully. ‘Babylon’ has always been a fan favourite, & tonight it’s your well-earned runner-up.

Let’s spotlight @Lord Axel's comment, because it’s particularly cute: “Of all the songs Gaga has created, it feels like Babylon is the one that was made specifically for me - I love everything about it, from the ancient city theme & lyrics, the contrast of vocal style between the verses & chorus, the heavenly 80s piano & nuanced saxophone, the gospel choir that gives it a religious vibe.. UGH. IT'S JUST PERFECTION.”

 

Comments:

@HIMe “Peak gayness”

@Janosch “Babylon is the single that got away, still sad about it”

@dopega “Truly a career highlight”

@Trxstan “Serve it ancient city style???? So camp”

@Stephen “the category is dance or die”

@Rhiannon “It was hard for me to choose between Alice, 911, Replay, Enigma & Babylon because I love them so much ! But I gave 11 to Babylon because Gaga’s fierce delivery, the saxophone & the choir make me feel like the most sophisticated woman on Earth when I listen to it haha!”

[Cruelty 6,172]

1 REPLAY – average 9.36

11 x 39 [ @candydarling @TimotheeChalamet @Ilia Malinin @angelduuh @asfittingasmcqueen @RebeldeFaith @Misha4Ever @whoresup @rocketn9 @n1kos @chromaticangel @MajorMinus @Elderflower @djfreemymind @hELXIG @Lukasson  @Delulu @ChvVolk @Bronco @Gagaloo420 @Pictures @AliceAnesthesia @Massive Monster @iamdna @Sarah H @Sestri Levante @ARTPOPe @Obobo @Haldy @pratz @kimeow @Plastic Flower @YASKALE @highongaga @AndiGaga @HeAteMyh3art @Werewoof @Cameltoe Chariot @Nirvana]; 10 x 55

The lows: 1 x 1 [ @HIMe]

In the end, what else could it have been? Your runaway winner since day 1, ‘Replay’ is an absolute monster of a pop song, & it’s clear that Gaga & her fans love it to pieces. This is an undeniable highlight, which sees producer Burrns chop up Diana Ross’s “It’s My House” into a howling melee of slamming house beats. The kinda ‘circus going off the rails’ feel to the pre-chorus gives this a characteristically Gaga brand of oddness, but the powerful chorus is just undeniably accomplished pop music that anyone would have been proud to have written.

I’ll leave you guys to read the comments below from some of the 39 (THIRTY! NINE!) voters who gave this their 11, because they’re filled with love (& many, many claims that this should have been the lead single, which I can’t disagree with). With a staggering average of 9.36, ‘Replay’ is Gagadaily’s Chromatica rate winner!

 

Comments:

@TimotheeChalamet “The most interesting track on the album along with Sine From Above”

@angelduuh “Replay is just amazing, one of her best songs.”

@asfittingasmcqueen “One of the best songs in her discography. A highlight of the album & a perfect example of how a well-used sample can elevate a song”

@RebeldeFaith “No notes. Perfect. Zero issues. She snapped. Do it again.” (although they might have been talking about Enigma )

@Misha4Ever “It's one of her best songs of her ENTIRE discography. The production is perfection, the length, the passion, everything.”

@n1kos “Best song of the album , it should be the lead single.”

@MajorMinus “Unique production; feels the most “Gaga” on this record.”

@djfreemymind “The scars on my mind are on PUTYOUR****INGHANDSUP REPLAY”

@Lukasson “Best song on the album. The performance during the tour even elevated it.”

@Bronco“Replay feels like the only production that holds up after 5 years.”

@AliceAnesthesia “Replay is THAT girl”

@iamdna “idk Alice, 911, Replay, Sine & Babylon are out of this world”

@Sestri Levante “Replay is the track that encompasses everything that I love about Chromatica. The track is the definition of dancing the pain away, healing & letting go of the monsters in us. Chromatica will never be over, because Chromatica is about healing 💗⚔️”

@Obobo “Should have been the lead single — truly deserves a music video & a place on the charts.”

@Haldy “Replay should have been the lead single. Not only is it one of the few songs on Chromatica not let down by its production, but Gaga's vocal performance & lyrics are perfect on the song, every part working to make the perfect dark, tormented pop song. One of the best in her discography.”

@pratz “EARGASM. Clever play on the sampling. Its dark, noisy, chaotic dance anthem. Gaga's vocals go hard as well. You can feel like she's being tortured, 10/10 on vocal delivery. THE entire song SOLD IT.”

@kimeow “It was my favorite song from Chromatica on day 1. It's weird, dark & fun & everything i love about Gaga. The Chromatica Ball performance elevated it from my solid 10 to an 11. Ratty kinda slayed that choreo!”

@YASKALE “Replay is the Aura / Scheiße of the album, & I think that Gaga's/everyone's thoughts about the album notwithstanding, it has the most potential to reemerge as a fan favorite deep cut.”

@highongaga "The Diana Ross sample.. the production.. the lyrics.. the theatrical vocals.. Replay is the masterpiece of Chromatica.”

@HeAteMyh3art “Sounds the most GAGA”

@Cameltoe Chariot “The song (& live performance) that was the beginning of MAYHEM.”

[PartySick 157,329]

1 minute ago, Cruelty said:

Replay is the Aura / Scheiße of the album

The accuracy

[HeAteMyh3art 347]

that was quick

[Cruelty 6,172]

Lastly I just need to thank you! It was really fun seeing how Gagadaily feels about this divisive album five years on.

To be honest, I don’t always get along so well with Chromatica. But I know that lots of you guys do, & if I’m good for one thing on this forum, it’s running a next-level album rate. Chromatica is intensely tied to a certain time in all of our lives, & it’s clear that it helped many of you through an experience that was traumatic, & scary, & seemingly endless. I’m really glad that we’ve been able to celebrate the record together after five years, & for this to be Gagadaily’s biggest ever megarate is the cherry on the cake.

Thank you to everyone who voted, especially if you left comments or attended the ceremony. I hope you’ve enjoyed taking this trip down memory lane with me, & I’ll see you next year to celebrate 15 years of Born This Way.

 

Until the next time!

Cruelty 

[RebeldeFaith 5,333]

7 minutes ago, Cruelty said:

@RebeldeFaith “No notes. Perfect. Zero issues. She snapped. Do it again.” (although they might have been talking about Enigma )

No. I probably flipped a coin and fell on Replay. Both are my #1 tbh.