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Well it's over

Voting has closed! Thank you so much for sending in your scores. Hopefully I'll see you for the artRATE: the ARTPOP rate ceremony, tomorrow (Saturday 11/11) at 2PM (PT) / 5PM (ET) / 10PM (GMT)!

I know Stefani read how y'all were complaining about the pink calendar and said "lemme give these phagots something to talk about" But honestly what a day, it was exciting, then disappointing, then disappointing again, then midly exciting, then disappointing once more, then excting again, a whole ass mess, it's like reliving the whole era in a single day.

The fact that people are much more excited over these demos than the official “announcement” shows how out of touch her team are!

we ended up getting ARTPOP 0.5 are you all happy?

I hope that you always remember this time in our lives together, when we painted each other’s faces, & called each other monsters. & talked about love, & art, all night long. Every year when I travel around the world, I always wonder if things will be different. Maybe one year you won’t come to the show, or you’ll be less festive or not dressed up or… something different. But what I realised during ARTPOP is that we belong together, & some stories have no end. I will follow you around the world, as long as you’ll have me. Because I love making music, I love making art, & I love LOVE meeting all you beautiful creative people. When this song is over, the clock will start ticking, until the next time. —Lady Gaga (2014) Welcome to the artRATE: The ARTPOP Rate ceremony! Unmatched in ambition & energy, 2013’s ARTPOP saw Lady Gaga’s artistry rise to new heights as she explored the interconnected spheres of art & music. Across 15 tracks of frenzied, roof-raising EDM, the world of ARTPOP encompasses classical mythology & cutting-edge rappers, meditating on sex, celebrity & self-empowerment. This is an album without any skips, bolstered by crisp, future-facing productions from hitmakers including Zedd, Madeon & executive producer DJ White Shadow. The ninth best selling album of 2013 worldwide, today marks 10 years since ARTPOP’s US release – so join us on this reverse Warholian expedition, as we celebrate an era like no other. For the past month, you’ve been rating all of ARTPOP (plus a handful of officially released bonus tracks from the era). From ‘Aura’ to ‘Applause’, ‘MJH’ to ‘MANiCURE’, ‘Dope’ to ‘Donatella’, these songs have been battling to be crowned Gagadaily’s Favourite ARTPOP Song. & now it’s time to find out which track is your winner! Here’s your reminder of the competitors: We’ll be counting down the 18 songs over the course of around 2 hours. Along the way I’ll be sharing a selection of your amazing commentary (there were so many comments that the FULL commentary will be coming in a separate post after the ceremony), as well as some information on these songs’ backstories & my own thoughts on the tracks. Stay tuned for an extra surprise near the end too! The ceremony starts in an hour – 2PM PT / 5PM ET / 10PM UK. I have THREE little surprises to keep you entertained while you wait! First of all, if you need a drink for the ceremony, here’s the recipe for an Absolut ARTPOP, one of the cocktails crafted by Absolut to be served at the artRAVE tour! Second of all, here’s my exclusive mashup of ‘Venus’ with ARTPOP producer Madeon’s track ‘Imperium’: And lastly… let’s have a Fashion! contest! Show us your best ARTPOP-era looks on the red carpet below!

Nov 4 — 41,759 Nov 5 — 45,038 Nov 6 — 58,568 Nov 7 — 64,114 Nov 8 — 71,707 Nov 9 — 82,383 Nov 10 — 88,591 *Biggest day EVER It is reaching a new peak on Spotify daily streams every day. Do we have another viral smash on our hands?

Not me clicking on a fake Onion Girl link

If You remember this, you deserve the demos:

omg that ARTPOP demo finally has been leaked the way this 10th anniversay feels underwhelming, overwhelming, shocking, chaotic disappointing at the same time truly ARTPOP-esque

Before we go any further, it’s time for a little surprise… A few months ago when I was working on this rate, I decided to get in contact with some of the figures involved in making ARTPOP, to see if they had any treasured memories to share from the making of the album. To my surprise & delight, I got a reply! So here is ARTPOP producer Madeon’s exclusive message for Gagadaily!

Ready to see us all change our profile pics

Thirteen late demos of six official songs - No ACT II stuff. Demos sound pretty similar to the finals but there’s new melodies and lyrics on em!! Don’t flood my DMs Go find it!! (In expected places) Happy 10th anniversary EDIT: Got em. They’re real and not AI (like 99% sure lmao) Tracklist: EDIT 2: ARTPOP Scrapped Cover/Booklet Art:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/djws/3234013085040062787/

More than 250 photos from the Inez and Vinoodh ARTPOP photoshoot have leaked. I dont know if I can post that here, but they are everywhere now

Lastly I just need to say thank you! It was really fun seeing how Gagadaily feels about this especially divisive album ten years on, & to get over 150 votes was amazing – this has been one of Gagadaily’s biggest megarates EVER! Special thanks to the people who left comments – they’re a brilliant historical record of how GGD felt about ARTPOP in 2023, & I’ll post the FULL version of everyone’s comments as my next post. & a massive thanks to Madeon for contributing a special message! I hope you’ve enjoyed taking this trip down memory lane with me. & if you were here for the ceremony, thanks for sticking around! Until the next time! Cruelty

Everyone be nice to this man. I can't tell you how hard he tried to make stuff happen for you guys.

There is no way she didn't know that.

CAKE LIKE LADY GAGA – average 5.99 The highs: 10 x 8 [ @littlepotter @Onlygaga @artdoll @phantasmas @maymay @TXNNXTUS @sillynate @leedeegaga] The lows: 1 x 7 [ @Bronco @The Fame Monster @ImMatt @Jose Alberto @nodandsmile @Gorehound @bionic] Something that gets lost a little when we talk about ARTPOP is just how fun it was. ‘Fun’ is a word that comes up a lot in Gaga & DJ White Shadow’s interviews from 2013, with the latter describing the album as “just supposed to be fun music with meaning”. The featherweight frolic of ‘Cake’, which sees Gaga stunting over a rough-n-ready trap beat, is a great example of this. As DJWS explained, the track was created as a birthday present for Gaga, inspired by the hip-hop & trap music they liked listening to on the tour bus. ‘Cake’ was then subject to a curious release strategy, whereby DJWS announced an entirely illegitimate contest to record a verse over his instrumental, & then Little Monsters immediately pitched up the ‘winning entry’ to discover that the rapper was Gaga herself. ‘Cake’ clearly isn’t album-worthy, & feels distinctly unlike a typical Gaga song—I tend to agree with @JazzGa's assessment that “Gaga is not ‘posted in the trap, strap with the AK’ nor does she need to be”. But as a little side project that doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s a tasty enough morsel. Comments:

I need a Nurtec®

I really hope her team, who forced her to drop this sh*tty merch to grab cash, is reading GGD this week and they see us not liking it and wanting the music instead

11 DONATELLA – average 7.23 The highs: 11 x 1 [ @HIMe] The lows: 1 x 3 [ @Agunimon @nodandsmile @bionic] “I am so fab! Check out, I’m blond! I’m skinny! I’m rich! & I’m a little bit of a BITCH!” So begins ARTPOP’s tongue-in-cheek tribute to Donatella Versace and everything she represents. Over a sawtooth swagger, Gaga constructs a sonic portrait of the legendary fashion designer, who is raised up to the pantheon of the gods alongside Venus and Aphrodite who appear elsewhere on the album. In that respect, ironically it’s pop art rather than ARTPOP, the fashionista elevated to goddess status just as the Campbell’s soup can was put in the art gallery. Like The Fame, the song at once celebrates and excoriates materialist culture and the fashion industry; as did that album, ‘Donatella’ intertwines an innate campness with a sharp ability to parody the pop culture which surrounds it. Ultimately though, ‘Donatella’ is a celebration of a pioneering icon of her craft. Gaga spoke very favourably in 2013 about Versace, describing the song as “about being a fearless female & not caring what people say about you”. It’s a sister to ‘Do What U Want’ in that regard, although whilst ‘Do What U Want’ is more passive, content to let the press say what they want because it doesn’t affect her, ‘Donatella’ is more reactive, aggressive, turning the press commentary on its head & living up to this distorted version of Gaga that they expect her to be. As Gaga said, “instead of hitting back at everybody about it, I’m sort of making fun of what they say about the both of us”. Donatella represents fashion, & pop culture, but more importantly she represents “being able to turn what people say about you: your blondeness, your money, your weight, whatever that is, & turning it into something positive”. For the parody to work, it does rely on constructing quite a vapid lyric. Given its placement in the back half of the album, I’d have hoped for ‘Donatella’ to engage more critically with the impact of clothing-as-fashion & materialist culture. But the back half of ARTPOP is about descending into hedonism to mask your trauma, it’s about keeping yourself perpetually stimulated so you don’t focus on what’s really happening to you, & ‘Donatella’ works well as part of this arc. Musically, I think it’s a masterpiece. It’s no secret that the majority of ARTPOP wasn’t tailormade – ‘Donatella’ started life as a premade Zedd beat, & if you listen to Anjulie’s ‘Karma Bitch’ (which was written over the same instrumental), you’ll see how skilled a topliner Gaga is. This sassy little masterpiece lands as your 11th favourite from ARTPOP. Oh, & Donatella’s verdict? “Of course I love the song!” Comments:

15 JEWELS N’ DRUGS – average 4.88 The highs: 10 x 2 [ @phantasmas @sillynate] The lows: 1 x 21 [ @Batwings @Bronco @HIMe @Shipper @Space Cowboy @n1kos @Zed @Joshua81 @Ororo Munroe @GrandeAvenue @whoresup @monstertoronto @Jose Alberto @SpadesToStart @Zeitgeist @Scarlet Bitch @Tobcho @bionic @SpiritBunny @marrytheminogue @rinasawachanta] The rate claims its first victim, & is anyone honestly surprised? Under-loved & overlooked, ‘Jewels N’ Drugs’ settled in last place immediately, & stayed there for the duration of the voting period. I wanted to spotlight @Juliandante's comment, which really engaged with the spirit of the song. Gaga has always been a chameleon, an experimenter, dabbling in pop or rock or jazz, bringing in influences from disco or country or EDM. Under the tutelage of DJ White Shadow, ‘Jewels N’ Drugs’ sees Gaga dive headfirst into trap, & she’s bringing three of the all-time greatest rappers along for the ride. That makes the song a predictable first out, since Gaga isn’t actually on much of it. But to be fair, she does shine in her sections, her bridge lyrics “don’t want your jewels, I want your drugs, don’t want your money, want your love” reformulating the principles of ‘ARTPOP’ & ‘Mary Jane Holland’ for the rap soundscape in which she finds herself. The three rappers—T.I., Too $hort & Twista—deliver killer lines, with Gaga praising their “totally fearless” willingness to “make a record that was inclusive” & to collaborate with an artist known for her LGBTQ+ fanbase. My hot (& correct) take is that there are several worse songs on the album. DJ White Shadow’s production on ‘Jewels N’ Drugs’ is immaculate: expansive without overwhelming, clean without feeling sanitised, the instrumental tightly constructed from start to finish. Twista’s verse, in particular, is thrilling in its runaway-train loquacity. The iTunes Festival performance, beginning with the hilarious exclamation “they wouldn’t let him into the country, poor thing!” about a US-bound T.I., is an absolute scream. This is just another of Gaga’s divisive experiments, like ‘Cake’ or ‘Stache’ or no doubt countless demos sat rotting on hard drives. But the difference is that, thanks to its glossy production & famous features, this one made it onto an album – & Gagadaily has collectively decided that it just doesn’t belong. Comments:

Greetings Himeros, god of sexual desire, son of Aphrodite Lay back, & feast as this audio guides you through new & exciting positions —‘G.U.Y.’ (2013) Let’s go girls. Accessibility notice: this ceremony includes gifs with flashing text. Every effort has been made to adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 as specified at https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

i didn't vote, but I am here

Streets saying this is ARTPOP Act 0.5 ☠️☠️☠️😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Stop acting like Gaga is a puppet. She's one of the biggest artists on this earth right now. Believe me, if she wanted to do something, she could. NO, WE DO NOT WANT A MERCH. A video message from Gaga would be enough. She feels so disconnected right now. Watch how she will remember us when the Joker promo begins. That's all we are to her now I fear.

I don't want to be dramatic, but I feel this is the first time I actually feel sad about something Gaga related. I don't know how to describe it. It all feels so bittersweet and dishonest

5 G.U.Y. – average 8.43 The highs: 11 x 9 [ @Sherry @Vertisharr @Riley @n1kos @Levine @Auralegends @dimitristhe @ARTGOD @RudraCNG] The lows: 2 x 1 [ @ARTPOPe] It’s a power bottom anthem! That’s not just my opinion – let’s turn to the words of The Lady Gaga herself, who said “I’m a power-bottom, I like to be underneath… the record’s all about being comfortable being underneath, because you’re strong enough to know that you don’t have to be on top to know you’re worth it”. I’m sure we can all relate. Built on a spiky, yelping synth riff, ‘G.U.Y.’ was produced by Zedd, who remembers Gaga as “for sure the most opinionated musician I’ve ever worked with”. A tale of sexual empowerment, the track was the subject of a sumptuous, lavish video filmed at the Hearst Castle estate, which kickstarted the second half of the ARTPOP era after Gaga spent a few months off recovering from… well, the pressures of being Lady Gaga. It’s tightly constructed & packed with hooks, if just a little bit vanilla, & in the final days of voting this underrated gay anthem vaulted into the top 5! Comments:

10 SWINE – average 7.26 The highs: 11 x 4 [ @Bronco @ALittleMonsta @TheSine @LG6IsHere] The lows: 1 x 4 [ @Joshua81 @JustTea @nodandsmile @Scar97] Abrasive & electrifying, ‘Swine’ kicks off the much darker second half of ARTPOP. Written explicitly about rape, Gaga has described it as an “exorcism”, a song “about rage & fury & passion, & I had a lot of pain that I wanted to release”. ‘Swine’ translates Gaga’s pain into an intense industrial workout with prolonged dubstep breakdowns. Sexual abuse can often make the victim’s body feel not their own, but ‘Swine’ fires these feelings straight back at the abuser. Gaga’s fiery accusation “you’re just a pig inside a human body” transforms the perpetrator’s body into something common, something animal, something which notoriously likes to roll in its own sh*t, whilst also employing the vernacular senses of “pig” to lay bare her rapist’s bigotry and misogyny and ugly soul. The song is most famous for its Doritos-sponsored SXSW performance, which saw Gaga vomited on by performance artist Millie Brown atop a bucking mechanical bull (I mean, what a sentence. What an artist). Controversially, I think this was one instance where the treatment overshadowed the song itself. To me, this is symptomatic of the ARTPOP era as a whole; all the POP is in the music, all the ART is in the promo campaign, and I only rarely see them truly working cohesively. However, Gaga convincingly explained that the idea of the performance was to regain power from her abusers, illustrating how nobody “could […] ever degrade me as much as I could degrade myself, & look how beautiful it is when I do”. ‘Swine’ remains a fairly polarising track, partly because it’s the most obvious victim of Gaga going in & gutting the album’s production in its final weeks in the studio. This is perhaps the only moment where DJ White Shadow’s production doesn’t quite cut it; it’s an odd choice not to have Zedd produce the breakdowns if you’ve got him in the building anyway. & yet there’s a lot to say for ‘Swine’, the album’s clearest instance of Gaga’s mission statement of “pour[ing] my heart into electronic music that slammed harder than any drug”. When ARTPOP leans wholeheartedly into Gaga’s emotions, be they passion or fear or fury, it truly comes alive. Because those emotions are something we can all understand, rather than Botticelli or Abramović or Koons. Equal parts empowering & uncomfortable, ‘Swine’ lands just outside your ARTPOP top 10. Comments:

I'm here! Praying to ARTPOP Goddess for title track taking #1

ARTPOP means anything

You know what, this is actually a perfect thread to celebrate ARTPOPs anniversary because 10 years ago there were literally so many of the same type of threads lmao. This fanbase was in shambles as the ARTPOP era fell apart, it was awful MANY people were asking 'is this the end' back then too. But it wasn't the end then and it isn't now. I personally took a huge step back from the fanbase in 2015 because of the negativity and while I certainly followed Gaga I didn't even re-join this site until 2018 when I felt ready again. I had to be in a place where it didn't affect me personally, and that was about my own mental health to be honest. There will ALWAYS be negativity but there will ALWAYS be Monsters. If the fandom is affecting you it's okay to take a step back

I think everyone who is “leaving” will be back when she releases new music tbh, so I wouldn’t worry.

shes an adult now shes like 36 or 37 years old, nearing 40 years old its totally understandable that she isnt as close to her fans as she used to be but shes far from quitting music, in fact, we are almost certain she worked on new music with burn and other producers she started appearing publicly with paparazzi, performing live for the rolling stones and u2 she is definitely entering a new era, and definitely not gone

which one of you skanky mods changed my OP? if i wanted to use the GGD tweet, i'd have used the GGD tweet

It's kinda weird because at this point are we going to expect her to celebrate the 10 years of every album? She would have to do a 10 year celebration every few years.. and then what? The 20 years? It's actually really weird to expect an artist to celebrate the 10 years of every album. I get that BTW and ARTPOP are fan favourites and mean a lot to people but because of that she then only celebrates the 10 years of those two albums? And her debut album because that's special too right? But then we can't leave out TFM becaues Bad Romance etc come on. And then everybody will want Chromatica because it never got to be a full era because of covid but then.. the only album not celebrated is Joanne? But then her jazz albums also mean a lot to her so what then? She celebrates all her solo albums and basically shows that she knows the fans don't like her jazz eras. How does this make sense?

Incredible. This is such an amazing shoot, it would make a fantastic coffee table book or limited-edition zine. I think this photoshoot might be the one that most clearly illustrates Gaga’s mental state at the time of shooting. It’s a look directly into her mind during that time. It’s completely fascinating and a little heartbreaking too. Who knows who’s behind these leaks, but it’s the most ARTPOP thing ever that a 10th anniversary celebration is unfolding in this way. Whether it’s by design or not, it just adds to the never-ending mystery that surrounds this album and further solidifies its enigmatic status in her career. How do you even begin to define it’s standing in her discography: iconic? cult classic? fan favourite? all of the above? It’s hard to say, but the era continues to be Gaga’s greatest and longest-running performance art piece, even if it *officially* ended years ago.

i can make a thread for all the photos which im gonna remove watermark and upscale

It's finally midnight where I live, so I thought it would be appropriate to post this now, lol. Ten years ago on a day like this, Lady Gaga's fourth studio album, ARTPOP, was officially gifted to the world. Tagged as her most acid and controversial album, it still is a very popular and vexing topic among the fandom and pop culture. Honestly, I haven't seen a thing labeled as ahead of its time with the same frequency and vehemency as I have seen with ARTPOP. You could like this album, and you may love it or hate it, but something you cannot deny is how beloved and important it is for those who genuinely stan it and how remarkable it has become years after its release! Share your thoughts and feelings on this album!

This 10 year album anniversary by far outdoes the others (until we see what happens with Chromatica), and I am extremely thankful for all we've gotten. From the merch drop to the current leaks it's been one heck of a day today!

don’t pay 45 bucks!!!!

Why would she? ACT II was an idea that she didn't mention in 10 years and I'm sorry but if you were actually expecting her to release it while she haven't said or teased anything in 10 years, that's 100% on you lol. There's no reason for her to clarify something that was only happening on some people's imagination

I need a Nurtec®

Isn’t it obvious? she confirmed with that petition tweets it’s not coming in a nice and gentle way.