Was ARTPOP What Gaga Wanted?

[ryhanna 3,507]

I know that this has been discussed to death, but I find the topic very fascinating and Gaga's recent comments during the SXSW Festival performance have once again brought the topic up.

 

I'd really like to discuss our thoughts with some maturity.

 

Born This Way was a rough era for Gaga. She produced some great music, but received a fair amount of fan and public backlash. ARTPOP had a very long creative process, due to Gaga's injury sidelining her from the public eye and allowing her an opportunity to re-work the yet to be released album between February and November 2013. 

 

Upon the release of Applause, Gaga mentioned that Applause originally wasn't going to be on the album, but one of the higher ups at Interscope loved everything he heard and chose Applause as the lead single. During the SXSW performance, Gaga told the audience that she was singing Applause "because she was told to." It's easy to pass this off as a jocular comment - but her whole performance was filled with comments about the controlling nature of music corporations. 

 

Then, we have the troubles that we know for sure that Gaga has struggled with lately. Her split with her manager who "used her," the scrapped music video for Do What U Want (which was made a single at the last minute), and her unusual blackout in the middle of the era. We know that the blackout was brought on by Gaga's need to plan and organise future projects for ARTPOP and the tour. 

 

With these issues in mind, it's quite reasonable to speculate that the ARTPOP that was released wasn't the music that Gaga wanted to release. It's possible that her manager or Interscope had her change her original ideas for the album, for the sake of creating more commercial music that would have more of a chance of being a hit - such as Applause. Could this be the source of Gaga's frustration at pop music corporations? 

 

Please respectfully share your thoughts on whether or not Gaga created the music she wanted to create with ARTPOP, or if business got in the way of creating what she had originally envisioned this album as. 

[Willy Wonka 4]

 

Then, we have the troubles that we know for sure that Gaga has struggled with lately. Her split with her manager who "used her," the scrapped music video for Do What U Want (which was made a single at the last minute), and her unusual blackout in the middle of the era. We know that the blackout was brought on by Gaga's need to plan and organise future projects for ARTPOP and the tour. 

assume.

[ryhanna 3,507]

assume.

She's said quite a few times over the past couple of months that she's been working on things… And rather than pointing out my possible mistakes, why not contribute to the discussion? :) 

[tokyodisko 0]

I think the current way she is presenting it is because of the backlash and her mental health from the past few months. If Interscope had more say then the album would have had things like BN instead of Swine. I think Gaga was trying to be more commercial

[Didymus 33,953]

assume.

 

No, we do know this almost for a fact. When she confirmed the cancelled DWUW video she said she was working very hard to show us the "true meaning of ARTPOP".

 

I fully agree with you, Batmans Hooker In fact, I have been thinking this from the start, especially when she now admitted that her (probably) best music is not released because she doesn't want the "system" to ruin it.

 

It's kind of sad, though. I hope that, if she releases Act II, she will be more free to release exactly what she wants. But until she confirms any of these theories, we'll always be in the dark about it. And that's sometimes what I dislike about being a Gaga fan. You just.. yeah, sometimes you just don't know and you can ask yourself the question if any of Gaga's previously released works were truly her vision.

[Guest]

I honestly believe that the album was just how she wanted it when she turned it in to Interscope the first time in October(?) but they felt it was too experimental/not marketable enough (Aura's original vocals, who knows what else) and she had to quickly rework tracks so that Interscope would accept it (which is why she kept "finishing" the album about 5 times). I think she wanted something like Aura as the first single (which would explain the suspicion that she leaked it early).

So no, I don't think ARTPOP was anything like she wanted especially after the DWUW/Venus fiasco. I think she saw Venus as a way to gain control back and then the single was changed last minute. I think now is what she wants and how she's pictured it since the beginning, like the live performance art we got at SXSW. The original VMAs performance backs this up too because it also featured live performance art.

Hopefully everything from now on will be just what she wants with no outside interference. :flutter:

[Tokyo Rose 1,475]

I believe, the final product known as "ARTPOP" is not what she originally intended for the project.

 

When I listen to the album, I hear pre-made beats, with a vocal written after the fact on top. With her previous albums, she would always say how everything was made with her, for her, or by her. But with this album it's just not like that at all.

 

Ideas she had for the album seemed to fall through the cracks, such as ARTPOP app.

 

 

To me, this album being the way it is, is the result of two things:

 

1. Constant fan complaints in Born This Way era. Keep in mind, she used to actually read everything the fans were saying back then.

 

2. The injury (and abrupt end to the tour) stifled her inspiration and knocked her "out of her groove"

[Didymus 33,953]

I think now is what she wants and how she's pictured it since the beginning, like the live performance art we got at SXSW. The original VMAs performance backs this up too because it also featured live performance art.

Hopefully everything from now on will be just what she wants with no outside interference.

 

Bless all of this.

 

 

And omg I'm still so pressed about that VMA performance :nooo: I wanna see it so bad.

[ryhanna 3,507]

I think the current way she is presenting it is because of the backlash and her mental health from the past few months. If Interscope had more say then the album would have had things like BN instead of Swine. I think Gaga was trying to be more commercial

Interesting suggestion - Gaga was the one who wanted to be more commercial. Do you think she stands by her decision now, or feels that it was a mistake?

[Willy Wonka 4]

She's said quite a few times over the past couple of months that she's been working on things… And rather than pointing out my possible mistakes, why not contribute to the discussion? :)

Ugh, this is why I hate the internet. It was more of a playful jest, rather than trying to point out errors. I'm sorry.

I must have missed that, because I was more under the impression that she was taking a mental health break to recover from things falling apart.

And I'm trying to work on a Spanish final, but I'm very intrigued by the subject./I don't want to be attacked for what I say.

[ryhanna 3,507]

Ugh, this is why I hate the internet. It was more of a playful jest, rather than trying to point out errors. I'm sorry.

I must have missed that, because I was more under the impression that she was taking a mental health break to recover from things falling apart.

And I'm trying to work on a Spanish final, but I'm very intrigued by the subject./I don't want to be attacked for what I say.

Oh god, I'm so sorry.

 

I read some hostility into your post that wasn't actually there. I guess I'm just used to seeing snarky attitudes that your post went over my head. I'm glad we're on the same page.

[Willy Wonka 4]

I'll try and make a (rather basic) comment:

Despite the lengthy blackout in 2013, I don't think Gaga was ready to come back mentally, physically, musically, etc. I think she was still upset about the injury and I think she was still in pain. I think that there was a lot of external pressure from whoever/whatever for her to return as soon as possible, and I think that meant compromising on a lot of things in terms of quality. I think there was some notion that she needed to release material in order to be able to keep going career-wise and I honestly don't think she's happy with the product. I think the "messiness" that a lot of us have been commenting on is really her trying to find her footing with the material. We've seen her embody so many personas, and while many attribute it back to her comment regarding being "all icons", I think she's really just trying to find a place where she can connect the material.

I think she was shoved in a very unfortunate situation with material she wasn't happy with. Her comeback had such high expectations and I think she's been beating herself up because she feels she wasn't able to live up to the expectations. I think she's gained a lot of bitterness directed at those who previously supported her, then pushed her back in the spotlight when she wasn't ready.

[KANEGAGA 431]

I honestly believe that the album was just how she wanted it when she turned it in to Interscope the first time in October(?) but they felt it was too experimental/not marketable enough (Aura's original vocals, who knows what else) and she had to quickly rework tracks so that Interscope would accept it (which is why she kept "finishing" the album about 5 times). I think she wanted something like Aura as the first single (which would explain the suspicion that she leaked it early).

So no, I don't think ARTPOP was anything like she wanted especially after the DWUW/Venus fiasco. I think she saw Venus as a way to gain control back and then the single was changed last minute. I think now is what she wants and how she's pictured it since the beginning, like the live performance art we got at SXSW. The original VMAs performance backs this up too because it also featured live performance art.

Hopefully everything from now on will be just what she wants with no outside interference.

 

 

totally agree with you!  I want to believe that she's in control of her career and direction of ARTPOP.  I can't wait for the artRAVE!

[Willy Wonka 4]

It's kind of sad, though. I hope that, if she releases Act II, she will be more free to release exactly what she wants. But until she confirms any of these theories, we'll always be in the dark about it. And that's sometimes what I dislike about being a Gaga fan. You just.. yeah, sometimes you just don't know and you can ask yourself the question if any of Gaga's previously released works were truly her vision.

Definitely. She speaks with such candor and honesty about so many subjects, but at the end of the day, there are still things that you know she *has* to say. You know there are lies, but she speaks so many truths that you don't know WHAT are lies or "untruths".

[Willy Wonka 4]

To me, this album being the way it is, is the result of two things:

 

1. Constant fan complaints in Born This Way era. Keep in mind, she used to actually read everything the fans were saying back then.

 

2. The injury (and abrupt end to the tour) stifled her inspiration and knocked her "out of her groove"

Agreed. Furthermore, I just view the album as a collection of external influences rather than her own work. I think she produced the album for what she thought others wanted to hear, whether it be fans, executives, the GP, etc. That's what scares me about her in a way; I think she's a people pleaser and she always wants to make others happy with her work. I think that sometimes takes precedence over her own ideas of how she wants to progress musically and artistically.

Oh god, I'm so sorry.

 

I read some hostility into your post that wasn't actually there. I guess I'm just used to seeing snarky attitudes that your post went over my head. I'm glad we're on the same page.

Don't worry about it! I don't blame you for assuming that at all.