If you had to erase one of Gaga’s Inspirations...?

[llemesm 1,648]

If you had to erase one of the artists who inspired Lady Gaga — whether musical, visual, or performative — who would it be? considering how her art would change in their eras or albums without them?
 

A few examples to set the mood:

David Bowie → No glam rock theatrics, no androgynous personas, no The Fame Monster mythos. Gaga might’ve stayed a dance-pop prodigy rather than a performance artist.

Madonna → Take her out, and the pop provocation and feminist edge in Born This Way would vanish. Fame would lose its irony, and rebellion might turn into polite ambition.

Freddie Mercury / Queen → Without Freddie, we lose the operatic drama — and even the name “Lady Gaga.” No anthemic choruses, no theatrical grandiosity.

Elton John → Without him, Gaga’s emotional piano ballads (Speechless, Million Reasons) lose their classic soul — her heart becomes all concept, no melody.

Prince → Remove him, and her playful sexuality, funk rhythms, and fearless genre-blending (Sexxx Dreams, G.U.Y.) disappear into safer pop territory.

Alexander McQueen → No McQueen, no Bad Romance mythology. The visual language of monsters, beauty, and couture rebellion dissolves into ordinary pop imagery.

Andy Warhol → Take him out, and The Fame and ARTPOP lose their conceptual backbone. No mirror between fame and art — just fame itself.

Marina Abramović → Without Marina, Gaga’s body-as-art exploration (Swine Fest, ARTPOP performances) would never have gone that far. No meditative endurance, no merging of pain and beauty, no Gaga-as-living-sculpture moments.

Michael Jackson → Without MJ, there’s no obsession with precision, no Bad Romance-level choreography, and no understanding of performance as spectacle. Her stage shows would lose that cinematic punch.

Whitney Houston → Take her out, and Gaga’s powerhouse vocals might never have blossomed that way. No I’ll Never Love Again moments — less vocal drama, less pure emotion.

And many others...

Also, If you erased one influence — which artist would you want to replace them with?

 

Edited 9 hours ago by llemesm

[NUTELLA 12,688]

Just now, llemesm said:

Marina Abramović → Without Marina, Gaga’s body-as-art exploration (Swine Fest, ARTPOP performances) would never have gone that far. No meditative endurance, no merging of pain and beauty, no Gaga-as-living-sculpture moments.

[llemesm 1,648]

I think I would remove Jeff Koons from her ARTPOP era, and put the Björk as a main inspiration for her visual concept. Like a more organic and surreal vision of art. Like art becoming a more sensory experience, less literal, with textures, dreamlike landscapes, and performance fused with technology. Videos and visual aesthetics are experimental-futuristic rather than kitsch.   iconic
 

[djfreemymind 1,141]

um idk but I think this is absolutely fascinating to think about

edit: also, we're def missing Tony on this list but maybe that's good so you tasteless ****ers can leave him be  

Edited 9 hours ago by djfreemymind

[Anderson123 39,022]

Marina Abramovic. I don’t think that inspiration is as strong as the others and she still could’ve made some great stuff with ARTPOP. 

[Ladle Ghoulash 27,667]

I’m gonna say Britney 

[AVeryGagaHolyDick 26,505]

From that list, I'd easily remove Prince  

[ANVEEROY 61,495]

1 minute ago, AVeryGagaHolyDick said:

From that list, I'd easily remove Prince  

is that you @PartySick

[calmar 22,367]

I guess Elton (bc I hate slow, emotional ballads) or Marina if I had to pick

[AVeryGagaHolyDick 26,505]

12 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

I’m gonna say Britney 

I'm not sure The Fame would've existed then, and maybe Gaga wouldn't have even a career without that album, she's too different.

She was obsessed with Britney and Paris Hilton's use of fame and lifestyle at the time, not to mention to mention the way the media treated Britney.

I believe that Gaga was extremely lucky (like most self-made celebs, there's talent and then there's luck) and The Fame had the perfect concept and sound, all the stars were aligned. It happened right after Britney's public mental breakdown and media/fan obsession with her, which I think helped The Fame being as impactful.

[Ladle Ghoulash 27,667]

2 minutes ago, AVeryGagaHolyDick said:

I'm not sure The Fame would've existed then, and maybe Gaga wouldn't have even a career without that album, she's too different.

She was obsessed with Britney and Paris Hilton's use of fame and lifestyle at the time, not to mention to mention the way the media treated Britney.

I believe that Gaga was extremely lucky (like most self-made celebs, there's talent and then there's luck) and The Fame had the perfect concept and sound, all the stars were aligned. It happened right after Britney's public mental breakdown and media/fan obsession with her, which I think helped The Fame being as impactful.

Yeah, that’s fair. But if we’re talking about whether she’d be where she is now without certain influences, you couldn’t really remove most of the folks mentioned in the OP (Bowie, Queen, Madonna, Prince, Warhol etc), so I interpreted it more as: “whose influence am I the least interested in hearing moving forward?” I don’t hate when she does the y2k pop thing, but it’s probably one of my least favorite sounds from her 

Edited 8 hours ago by Ladle Ghoulash

[TheARTPOPball 827]

Kermit the frog

[River 118,851]

Michael Polansky

[Lord Mayhem 1,538]

Terry Richardson 

https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/871/4b6/bafe3e8d4cdeb3ef8d38258b3589c4ff3a-26-terry-richardson-lady-gaga.rsocial.w1200.jpg

Edited 5 hours ago by Lord Mayhem

[monketsharona 85,240]

Marina

I can't imagine removing David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Elton, Queen. Gaga's so 80s icons coded.