My Thoughts on Why Some Fans Care (Too Much?) About Charting

[PoshLife 16,841]

I'm sorry if this isn't posted in the right place, or if people are sick to death of this issue, but I've been thinking a lot about the charts and why some of Gaga's fans care so much about them. I hope you'll read what I've written and respond if you are so inclined.

 

Because for a lot of people on here, it's not simply about being on the charts - it's about topping the charts. Number two isn't enough for these people: she must be on top, she must be number one, she must be The Queen.

 

So I've been finding myself asking: why? Why does it matter if Gaga is 1, 2, 3... or even 200? If the music is good, the message is positive, and she's making enough to fund future albums, does it really matter? Can the charts be that important to us? In asking myself these questions, I've come to the following conclusions:

 

The thing is, a lot of Gaga's fans, to put it delicately, aren't used to being on the winning team. We're the Bad Kids, the Monsters, the "Freaks" and the "Geeks" - Gaga's own words spanning the eras. We connect with Lady Gaga so strongly because she gets us; she gets that we aren't just nameless, faceless fans, but real people with real problems and real emotions. Self-esteem issues. Body image problems. Trouble in school and trouble at home.

 

We see Lady Gaga not just as a pop star, not just as a singer, but one of us. One of the others. Somehow, this crazy chick with a brain and an odd fashion sense - someone a lot of us would naturally be friends with in another time and place - became super popular and now it's like she's our own cheerleader, our mascot, our beacon. She's the one in the industry who stands up for us, tells us it's okay to be gay or of a different race or Sexy Ugly and MEANS IT. So we root for her because when she succeeds, we do. And we come to view Madonna, Katy, Britney, et al as the Populars, the Mean Girls - we find any reason to hate them because we see them as being in direct competition with Gaga, with our star. We see it as a zero-sum game: when they win, Gaga loses.

 

So when Gaga comes out with a new song, we want it to be the best because it means that we're the best. It means we're validated in this world that frowns upon so much of who we are and what we do (and, in many cases, who we love). Gaga winning is like the goth chick going out for the cheerleading squad, or the geek getting picked first for the soccer team, or the fat girl being named Prom Queen. It flies in the face of everything the media has told us and showed us about starving ourselves, hiding parts of ourselves from the world, and dumbing ourselves down to fit in. Gaga topping the charts is like a big Middle Finger to every jock and pretty b---h who ever told us we weren't cool.

 

That's what I've concluded when I challenged myself to think about why the charts might matter so much to some of Gaga's fans. So now, when I see people freaking out over the charts, or expressing disappointment in not being #1 on the iTunes US/UK charts yet, that's what I see. I see people who have a deep, personal stake in Gaga winning, people who have invested money, time, and a little piece of themselves into helping Gaga take that top spot for all of us. Nobody's trying to be annoying, nobody's trying to put the weight of the world on Gaga's shoulders - they just want Gaga to dominate because it would mean that much. It would mean we were the cool ones.

 

We just have to remember one thing: regardless of what anyone in the media or in the blogosphere or in another fanbase would have us believe, we already are.

[LStephens11 15]

SPILL THAT HOT EVERYWHERE. That's almost gospel right there.

[THING 1]

[Princess Die 1,864]

Seriously, IDGAF about topping the charts. She will ALWAYS be my #1.

[ThomastheMonster 288]

WOW. BEAUTIFULLY SAID. SO TRUE. I AGREE 100% THIS IS WHY WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR GAGA BC SHE FIGHTS FOR US.

[Haus 152]

It's nice to think that charts don't matter but they do. There was a lot of anticipation surround Applause, many people (including me) saying it would have no trouble outshining Roar but the rush release ruined everything. It was an idiotic choice and now they're paying for it. Roar has too strong of a lead in the US so now we have to take the embarrassment of being BEHIND Katy Perry.

[Dayman 5,903]

They want validation. Not for themselves but so they can brag and say "I believed in this song and now it's number one"

[Mast 980]

I'm sorry, I get that you're getting annoyed by this, but:

 

She's a ****ing pop star. If she can't even score a #1 on her first single then that pretty much sums up how much star power she has left. I don't doubt that shell topple Katy by next week, but the fact that she's already dwindling in sales>>>>>>>>>

[SteCola 0]

I think the problem is that most of fans are shocked seeing her fave not being the number one like she was in 2009/2010

[Mast 980]

It's nice to think that charts don't matter but they do. There was a lot of anticipation surround Applause, many people (including me) saying it would have no trouble outshining Roar but the rush release ruined everything. It was an idiotic choice and now they're paying for it. Roar has too strong of a lead in the US so now we have to take the embarrassment of being BEHIND Katy Perry.

This too

[Aaliyah 41]

I don't follow the charts but this is beautifully said :clap:

I'm sorry, I get that you're getting annoyed by this, but:

 

She's a ****ing pop star. If she can't even score a #1 on her first single then that pretty much sums up how much star power she has left. I don't doubt that shell topple Katy by next week, but the fact that she's already dwindling in sales>>>>>>>>>

Did you even read the OP it was in support of chart followers, not against them

[sexy 3,100]

It's not like charting is unimportant as people make it out to to be. Charting is an accurate of a representation of a song's popularity as we have, and Gaga hitting that #1 spot exercises her dominance, her relevance, her success... the biggest stars that achieve longevity are remembered along with their blowout hits, which is why I think charting matters. Nobody's going to remember a #29 single as significant.

[Vernier 3,786]

It's nice to think that charts don't matter but they do. There was a lot of anticipation surround Applause, many people (including me) saying it would have no trouble outshining Roar but the rush release ruined everything. It was an idiotic choice and now they're paying for it. Roar has too strong of a lead in the US so now we have to take the embarrassment of being BEHIND Katy Perry.

Maybe I don't know a lot about this, but did she have any other option but to rush release it when it all started leaking? Especially since it was leaking about 8 days before the official release compared to 2 days for Katy Perry

[PoshLife 16,841]

I don't follow the charts but this is beautifully said :clap:

 

 

Did you even read the OP it was in support of chart followers, not against them

 

 

Thanks. Yeah, I'm not one of the people who's getting annoyed about the chart-watchers. I'm definitely watching the charts, too.

[ABOVETHETREND 2]

But Applause is about the complete opposite. Applause is about the relationship between the fans and her. It's not about the charts it drama. It's just our little celebration.