Gaga returning to her roots

[imogen2133 368]

So I noticed that during the marketing for Joanne, Chromatica and Mayhem all 3 were marketed as and said by critics to be Gaga returning to her roots in different ways. Joanne was about her returning to who she was before she became Lady Gaga and before the fame and her showing her vulnerable side without the wigs and outfits, Chromatica was her big return to dance pop and about returning to her electro pop roots musically after her Joanne and ASIB career shift and Mayhem is about her returning to dark pop sounds that were present on TFM and BTW and even the sounds like disco and funk that are on The Fame to an extent. So which album do you think achieved the idea of Gaga "returning to her roots" the best and which is the best of the 3 overall? Discuss sistrens

[MountainMonster 2,312]

MAYHEM is a return to form. ARTPOP, Joanne, and Chromatica were the (mostly unfortunate) detours. 

[Lucas 30,389]

Definitely Mayhem.

[Noah 27,332]

Mayhem 100%. It features every side of her. 

[onTheBrink 169]

Chromatica felt like a return to roots after seven years of being away from electronic music

[HotLikeMexico 6,266]

Mayhem. It’s probably the album that embodies what Gaga started her career ask. 
 

There are so many nods to the disco aspect of The Fame, the dark imagery and sound of TFM and BTW. 

Edited 7 hours ago by HotLikeMexico

[SleepingSun 1,013]

Chromatica was an attempt, Mayhem the accomplishment.

[Omegahedron 311]

It's definitely Mayhem. And you can hear it, she sounds so comfortable in herself. I guess in that way it's not only about the music itself as an output but herself as an artist and the confidence she had in her early career, which took various knocks. There was always an air of tentativeness about Joanne and Chromatica that doesn't fully speak to that. I do enjoy all three albums mind.

[REALITY 79,828]

MAYHEM feels the most authentic. It's an amalgamation of a ton of different sounds that feel genuinely her. It includes many inspirations that were present in her early work: Bowie, Prince, MJ, funk, disco, electro, dance, synth, glam rock, etc.

I don't doubt Joanne was supposed to be a "return" to the music she listened to before becoming Gaga, but it felt more like a tribute to her dad and family than anything internal. 

I've said this before, but Chromatica always felt like someone cosplaying as Gaga. A lot was going on at the time, between the pandemic, her mental state, and the public pressure to return to something more closely aligned to TFM/BTW after Joanne & ASIB. I don't hate Chromatica, but the album felt safe and diluted compared to what she's done in the past (and especially compared to MAYHEM). It's like she wanted to return to the earlier days, but just wasn't ready yet. MAYHEM accomplishes that in spades.

[DESTROY UR DISEASE 18,426]

the answer is in my avi

[elijahfan 27,344]

Goes out to show how unoriginal and uninspired those marketing strategies are... There's no going back to anything, really, just an artist growing older and evolving.

[warhol killah 8,931]

I see Chromatica as her return (a reclamation) to the dancefloor, (since it has been 3 albums since her last dance pop album - Cheek to Cheek, Joanne, A Star Is Born Soundtrack) maybe that's what they meant with her returning to her roots with this one.

MAYHEM is definitely the return of that trademark Gaga sound, present in her earlier works. It has the spirit of her first 3 albums and also some of her 2007 work.

Edited 6 hours ago by warhol killah

[TheMontebello 1,009]

It's Mayhem.

And what she has expressed about Joanne and Chromatica prove it.

Edited 6 hours ago by TheMontebello

[imogen2133 368]

52 minutes ago, MountainMonster said:

MAYHEM is a return to form. ARTPOP, Joanne, and Chromatica were the (mostly unfortunate) detours. 

Why do you think that? I'm not saying I disagree persay just curious what is it about ARTPOP, Joanne and Chromatica that feel like detours from who Gaga is/was or less like Gaga overall?

[imogen2133 368]

Also for everyone here who has said Mayhem you have said so because it contains sounds from Gaga's previous albums which makes sense and also because it contains music from her influences (Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie etc) but I assume another reason people would say Mayhem is because people see lots of "Gagaisms" present that were also in her earlier work. So my question to people who have said Mayhem is what "Gagaisms" on Mayhem make it feel more like her previous work like TF, TFM and BTW and more like a Gaga album overall compared to ARTPOP, Joanne and Chromatica?

Edited 6 hours ago by imogen2133