Why is Lady Gaga so popular?

[FPAlpha]

She's the Madonna of the new millenium (so far that that the real Madonna is mighty pissed that Lady Gaga is starting to replace her as the iconic female pop singer pushing the boundaries ).

Her music is, as has been said here, catchy and i like to listen to her on the radio while driving but her media personality i just don't care about. However i'm not the target demographic so who cares

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I thought I heard somewhere that she's a hermaphrodite, or was at least born as one before getting some "corrective" operations. Any truth to that?

No.

 

[bigdaddy]

Did you know that Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber are one and the same person?

I didn't know Lady Gaga was black!

 

[nx1701g]

You may as well ask why any singer/celebrity is popular. Or indeed, any entity's popularity at all.

To a minor degree, there's an element of talent, but beyond that it's combination of careful packaging, appropriate marketing, and other commercially well-understood elements. And then you need an added element of luck in reaching a critical "snowball" mass beyond which the boom becomes self-sustaining.

Exactly. They had an excellent marketing team behind her. She's the living example of how careful marketing can make or break a person/product.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Exactly. They had an excellent marketing team behind her. She's the living example of how careful marketing can make or break a person/product.

She doesn't need anyone to break her if her recent fall due to her weird platform shoes are anything to go by She'll eventually break her own bones.

 

[sidious618]

'Cause she's awesome?

This.

 

[DonnyBaker]

I dunno why people dont see whats going on here. Record companies are in total control of their "artists". They find someone, it doesnt matter if they have talent or anything. But as soon as a record company decides to put themselves behind an artist they start to saturate the market.
Have you ever noticed that most single musicians whether they be male or female have a lifespan of about 3-5 years? After that the record companies have squeezed all that they can from the artist and move on, dropping their support and the artist usually ends up doing a "proactive commercial" for acne (Avril Lavine).
It doesnt matter if the artist is actually talented anymore either. As in the case of Lady Gag. Shes just so outrageous and strange that even if you dont like her music you still wanna see whats going on. Kinda like rubbernecking at the scene of a horrific car wreck.
Have you also noticed that the first thing you heard about Justin Beeber was that he was the hottest talent out there and already a Mega-Star before his first real album dropped? Thats because the record companies pay for ads and pay shows to do a peice on their new artists...telling people that this new artist is the hottest thing since sliced bread and you better learn to like it or you wont be like everyone else that does.
They infact tell you that the artist is sooo great and a bunch of dumb-a$$es go out and buy their sh!t and guess what, because of that they really do have the biggest selling album this year.
Its called artificial hype and it works really well...

 

[Unicron]

She's the Madonna of the new millenium (so far that that the real Madonna is mighty pissed that Lady Gaga is starting to replace her as the iconic female pop singer pushing the boundaries ).

I suppose it depends on whether you still consider Madonna to be pushing the boundaries or not. Certainly that's always been a part of her, but when Ray of Light came out it seemed to me like a marked transition from her earlier Material Girl style image, the one that helped establish her fame. I've always liked RoL because the vibe is about finding new directions in life and not caring as much about what your image is, but where your heart is. That's how I tend to interpret it. I think in any case she's firmly cemented her legacy as an iconic singer.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

BTW, Justin Bieber creeps the hell out of me. He kinda reminds me of Billy Mumy back when he was real young and sending people into the "corn field."

 

[McCoy]

I like her. Her music is indeed catchy, but you haven't had the GaGa experience if you haven't watched a video.

I just watched the Alejandro video tonight, and it struck me that if high fashion was music, Lady GaGa would be the leading Paris house. If you really look at all the little details in these videos you see them for what they are: high concept art.

The first time I ever heard of her was the Paparazzi video. It was so odd I thought to myself, "who is this freak"? But then I like freaks.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It doesnt matter if the artist is actually talented anymore either. As in the case of Lady Gag.

I see what you did there.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I'm amazed at how generic some of her songs are. Like they could've be released 15 years ago. (Same with Katy Perry.)

"Bad Romance" is kind catchy, though.

I attribute her success to the usual contract with Satan.

 

[Docbrown777]

I dunno why people dont see whats going on here. Record companies are in total control of their "artists". They find someone, it doesnt matter if they have talent or anything. But as soon as a record company decides to put themselves behind an artist they start to saturate the market.
Have you ever noticed that most single musicians whether they be male or female have a lifespan of about 3-5 years? After that the record companies have squeezed all that they can from the artist and move on, dropping their support and the artist usually ends up doing a "proactive commercial" for acne (Avril Lavine).
It doesnt matter if the artist is actually talented anymore either. As in the case of Lady Gag. Shes just so outrageous and strange that even if you dont like her music you still wanna see whats going on. Kinda like rubbernecking at the scene of a horrific car wreck.
Have you also noticed that the first thing you heard about Justin Beeber was that he was the hottest talent out there and already a Mega-Star before his first real album dropped? Thats because the record companies pay for ads and pay shows to do a peice on their new artists...telling people that this new artist is the hottest thing since sliced bread and you better learn to like it or you wont be like everyone else that does.
They infact tell you that the artist is sooo great and a bunch of dumb-a$$es go out and buy their sh!t and guess what, because of that they really do have the biggest selling album this year.
Its called artificial hype and it works really well...

If marketed well enough a baked potato could have a chart topping single. I have no doubt.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I dunno why people dont see whats going on here. Record companies are in total control of their "artists". They find someone, it doesnt matter if they have talent or anything. But as soon as a record company decides to put themselves behind an artist they start to saturate the market.
Have you ever noticed that most single musicians whether they be male or female have a lifespan of about 3-5 years? After that the record companies have squeezed all that they can from the artist and move on, dropping their support and the artist usually ends up doing a "proactive commercial" for acne (Avril Lavine).
It doesnt matter if the artist is actually talented anymore either. As in the case of Lady Gag. Shes just so outrageous and strange that even if you dont like her music you still wanna see whats going on. Kinda like rubbernecking at the scene of a horrific car wreck.
Have you also noticed that the first thing you heard about Justin Beeber was that he was the hottest talent out there and already a Mega-Star before his first real album dropped? Thats because the record companies pay for ads and pay shows to do a peice on their new artists...telling people that this new artist is the hottest thing since sliced bread and you better learn to like it or you wont be like everyone else that does.
They infact tell you that the artist is sooo great and a bunch of dumb-a$$es go out and buy their sh!t and guess what, because of that they really do have the biggest selling album this year.
Its called artificial hype and it works really well...

Exactly. Well said. I couldn't have said it any better. In a few years, you won't hear of her anymore. She'll just be a faded name like dust in the wind.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'm going with people like it and she's visual.

Yep - and as T'Baio says, she's awesome.

As for "groundbreaking"...what does that have to do with musical popularity? It's novelty that gets attention in pop music, not innovation - sometimes the two go hand-in-hand, and sometimes not. Gaga is extraordinarily talented, and quite independent.

She'll just be a faded name like dust in the wind.

I'd call that a mixed metaphor, but it doesn't really aspire to that level.

 

[Rincewiend]

If marketed well enough a baked potato could have a chart topping single. I have no doubt.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsLq9rnnTCM[/yt]

 

[DeafPoet]

Her music sounds unlistenably shitty to my ears and everything else about her seems calculated to the 8th decimal place. But whatever, she's easy enough for me to avoid.

However, unlike most wildly popular crap I can't stand, I know quite a few people who have otherwise unimpeachable taste who are into her. So I'll admit the possibility that she's actually doing something brilliant and I just don't get it.

 

[Joeman]

All I know is that I'd like to poker in the face with a hot fireplace poker (two poker references in one - sweet!). The only comforting thing about it is that at least I do not have to listen to her (except when it's forced down my throat via a TV show or movie soundtrack, which is all too often).


P.S. She is the one who does that ridiculous Poker Face song that makes me want to hang myself, right? If not, then just disregard entire post (or just go ahead and do that anyway).

 

[Nerys Myk]

Did you know that Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber are one and the same person?

I didn't know Lady Gaga was black!

I didnt know Justin Bieber was black! If the kid was any whiter he'd glow.

 

[Hermiod]

^Didn't stop him being nominated for a BET award or his fans crying when he didn't win.

Up until recently, I'd never knowingly heard a Lady Gaga song. Instead, I would hear songs repeatedly and then later be told they were hers. My reaction was what's all the fuss about ? Her songs are occasionally catchy but more than a little generic and they've processed the hell out of her singing voice.