Unless you’ve been living underneath a rock or in a small cave for the last three years then you’ve definitely endured the bid for world domination by one miss Lady Gaga. She has enjoyed huge success with sell out tours, platinum records galore and has every gay within a 50 mile radius of her falling to the ground in a Gaga induced mess. But doesn’t she just get on your nerves?
Now I, like most, am guilty of being drawn in by the perfectly crafted pop songs she’s launched over the past few years, and I am most definitely guilty of trying to emulate the Born This Way dance (that kind of resembles a chicken jumping over hot coals) on a drunken night out.
But amongst this plethora of songs, dance routines and bat shit crazy outfits you have to admit that she is quite possibly one of the most annoying people to hit the pop charts in recent years.
Originality seems to be one of the main words that follows Gaga around, and this association is one thing that really annoys me about her, so lets look at this shall we? First of all lets just get something out of the way, Madonna did it first and Madonna did it better, way better!! The way she has crafted her huge theatre-esque stage shows are a complete rip off of what Madonna started way back in 1990 with the Blonde Ambition tour, the way that she uses sex and sexuality and juxtaposes it with religious themes was something the Queen of Pop herself started way back in the 1980s before Gaga was even born, does anyone recall the Like A Prayer video, the one that was almost banned by MTV? Yeah thought so. Well without this we wouldn’t have Lady Gaga because to be perfectly honest nothing that she has come up with has been totally original it has all been rehashed from someone who did it years before.To be honest we could probably detect where her career is going next by just looking at what Madonna did next.
Her original fashion isn’t even original. Yes I know she has worn a number of shocking outfits, the meat dress is the first that springs to mind and yes in her defence this was very original, but the attempt to shock with an outfit wasn’t. She recently dressed as a man for the MTV awards something else that was done back in the 1980s by Annie Lennox and then again a few years later by Cher, and I believe Madonna did something along the same lines in her 1989 music video for Express Yourself. Another musical icon she has ripped off is musical psycho Grace Jones, who even denied Gaga the chance of a duet due to her ‘copying her style’ you only have to look at photos on Google to see where she’s coming from.
Now I can’t spend forever looking at how Lady Gaga’s originality is anything but original, otherwise I would probably be here for a pretty long time, and I mean pretty long. So I’m going to look at one more thing about her that really annoys me, her self riotousness, lets be honest she pretty much thinks she’s god, and why wouldn’t she with everyone putting her on a pedestal and bowing down at everything she does. The woman could probably release an album filled with noises her body makes while she sleeps and it would probably sell a million copies, but I digress.
The woman is catering for the gay market, which is good there’s nothing wrong with that, look at Cher she’s done pretty well out of it. But Gaga has aimed everything towards gay fans, almost pigeon holing herself as a gay artist but to be perfectly honest this just appears to be some form of cleverly crafted PR, because if she appeals to the gays in every way possible, whether it be musically or politically, she’s tapped into an extremely lucrative market with quite a lot of disposable income who will buy her records. She does deserve a round of applause for that in all fairness.
But at the end of the day, when you watch her on TV or a video of her concert you just want to grab her, slap her and tell her that this isn’t a political rally, we don’t care about what you have to say, just shut up and do your job which is singing. This is one of the reasons I am yet to see her live, although I would probably enjoy two hours of listening to her music performed live I would have to resist the temptation to crash the stage and slap her when she decided to give some speech to the audience mid way through a song. It’s almost like she thinks she’s is some modern day Martin Luther King JR, Mother Theresa or even Jesus.
Yes I do love me some Gaga, but I just wish the woman would disappear for a while and come back with her own look and just sing and perform, instead of just rehashing someone else’s career whether it be a political career she’s rehashing or a pop career.
Is there really an argument here? If we are speaking solely about music, then sure, it’s quite possible we do. But if we are talking about a an outlandishly creative, inspiring and fully dedicated to her fans, top of the charts, activist artist, then no, no we don’t.
I love me some Lady Gaga. I’ll tell you why. But before I do, let me just get this off my chest. She is not Madonna. She is not trying to be Madonna. And yes, everyone samples from everyone. It’s how music evolves and we never critique other artists who have been copying or sampling. The only reason people are so adamant about Gaga trying to be the next Madonna is because she is the first artist in a LONG time to actually have the power behind her to be the next great legend. I’m a huge Madge fan but let’s face it, her time was up in the late 90’s. I appreciate her efforts and attempts to stay current, and she will always be an eternal diva and icon, but what’s wrong with loving someone else?
Brace yourself, I am about to quote the one and only Oprah Winfrey. She said about Gaga, “Don’t let all of this (referring to her costumes) fool you. Underneath all of that, is a star who was meant to shine, and she’s doing it”. This is beyond true. So what if she dresses up like a lunatic and makes bizzaro videos? That’s what makes it all fun and it’s obviously a creative outlet for her. Not to mention, it’s a full on business. The Haus of Gaga is a fully functional machine with designers, artists and like minds all coming together to create what we look at with our jaws to the floor.
With regards to music, I’ll be the first to admit that not every song reaches me at first. Pop music is not for everybody. But, in these days of fully manufactured pop, rest assured, Gaga is genuine and could be the furthest thing from manufactured. She has creative say in every lyric, beat and dance move you see and hear. Her lyrics have inspired a generation. She is not only singing about love and heartbreak, she is singing about real issues affecting all of us, especially our youth.
Self-acceptance and appreciation is what she preaches. And, it’s made a pretty big difference in the life of her little monsters. Kids are learning that they don’t have to be a certain way to fit in and that they can be who they are, whatever that may be. The work within the LGBT community alone has also just propelled this woman into my superhero world. It’s a rare thing when an artist stands up and uses their star power to try and make change.
Gaga has been at the forefront of the teen bullying issue, an advocate for the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy here in America (which is finally over, fyi), and one of the biggest names standing behind Marriage Equality. She has met with President Obama for heaven’s sake! That is the power of Gaga. Even the President of the United States made time to listen to her. That’s saying something. She is currently supporting the process of introducing legislation into law that would deem bullying as a hate crime and make it punishable under Federal law.
As for credits, try this: Over 250 nominations for various awards, 130 wins from all those noms, 5 Grammy awards included, and 3 albums that have reached every musical acclimate possible. Her first single, Born This Way from her 3 rd album reached over 1,000,000 sales in it’s first week, breaking a record. Her album that followed sold over 2,000,000 in it’s first week, also breaking the record. Her countless number ones are close to breaking record as well. There is nothing Gaga hasn’t accomplished with regards to music industry statistics.
If you’re still not convinced of her all mighty greatness, read the following from an ultimate monster:
As I sit here listening to thumping beats of the empowering 'Born This Way' album, I smile and reflect on my own personal growth as well as the wonderful Lady herself, Gaga. From the very beginning of her music career she has been telling us all to 'Just Dance' and that 'It will be ok' which itself is a simple lyric but one that helped me tremendously. I've been very alone in my life, especially with learning so much in this world and dealing with how hard things are. I've had nobody to help or guide me really, in a dependable sort of way, particularly with being gay. Eventually after months of being alone and in the dark, and dying of burning curiosity I decided to do some research. I investigated where the nearest gay club was. I decided if I was going to ever learn and get a start about understanding things like where all the other gay guys were I would have to do some investigating. Riding on pure adrenaline and Gaga blasting in my iPod earphones I planned the tube journey and set off. It was so surreal, like another world I had once dreamed about a long time ago but never imagined existed. I just stood there, in the middle of the floor with everyone else moving around me, whilst I didn't know what to do. Then, as if my iPod had been put on a surround sound, the familiar tones of the 'Just Dance' intro boomed and then Gaga's voice exploded around the bar! My whole body became relaxed and my feet started tapping to the beat, the fear gone and the excitement overwhelming! Before I knew it I was part of the music, like I actually did fit in place. People were dancing around me and everyone was smiling and enjoying the whole song and it actually felt amazing to be part of that. Ever since that moment onwards Gaga has continued to be a huge source of inspiration for me. Her music empowers me because of the messages she incorporates into her songs, and the values she represents and stands for are truly awe inspiring. She gave me the courage to fight the loneliness and just go out to dance and enjoy the night, and I did, I married it! She allowed me to give myself the permission to be strong without having somebody there. Christopher Haines, London
In 2012, Lady Gaga will launch her Born This Way Foundation. For more information please visit:
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