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Is Lady Gaga as big as the Beatles?

So you're admitting that you're here solely to troll and attack me, then? Hell of a thing for a staff-member to be doing on the open forums, isn't it?
He admitted nothing of the sort, nor did he say anything that could remotely be construed as trolling. However, accusing a member of trolling is trolling, so you now have a warning. Comments to PM.
 
I don't disagree with that certainly. But it is pretty remarkable that Adele is being so successful, biggest selling album in the world this year, when you consider how atypical for a major pop star she is. I think people have really connected with her music in a way we haven't seen for a while.

Also, it kind of makes a mockery of the question is Lady Gaga as big as the Beatles, when she isn't even the biggest selling artist of the moment. Despite a huge opening week in the US, the week by week figures show a precipitous drop off for Gaga, 84% in week two and that has only continued, in stark contrast to the performance of 21 which hasn't been out of the top 3 since its release in February.

Not that any of this really matters of course, but I do find the recording industry quite interesting as a whole, and people's perceptions of fame, and fan culture.

Further to that, Adele's debut album 19, which has been out for two years, is currently outselling Gaga's Born This Way. Part of that is the hype that 21 has caused, but it's held on ever since 21 was released and hasn't dropped off like these things do most of the time.

Gaga sold a load on her opening week, but even that wasn't the highest weekly sales of the year, that was 21, on it's 10th week (for Mother's Day), and now Gaga's dropping off really quickly for an album of that hype. It's definitely not been as big an album as her first one (I'm counting the Fame Monster as an EP to The Fame, because our chart company combines them). Higher first week sales, but less sales overall, which is what tends to happen with sophomore records.

I agree with you on the recording industry thing. I really enjoy looking at these things.
 
Britney's done well for herself in the last couple years, but that's overstating the case a bit.

Perhaps. :whistle:

But what about a fellow relatively new artist? Katy Perry has a song at #4 and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. I personally wouldn't consider Lady Gaga bigger than Katy Perry. :shrug:

My gut - which is a terrible thing to use in an argument I know - is that they're about equal right now. Katy's had "Firework" and "E.T" this year, while Gaga's had "Born This Way" and "Edge of Glory." But Gaga is, I think, much more talented... just a little stranger.

I don't disagree with that certainly. But it is pretty remarkable that Adele is being so successful, biggest selling album in the world this year, when you consider how atypical for a major pop star she is. I think people have really connected with her music in a way we haven't seen for a while.

Personally I'm really glad for it. I don't really know any Adele songs other than "Rolling in the Deep" off the top of my head, but that one is so, so good. :mallory:
 
I don't disagree with that certainly. But it is pretty remarkable that Adele is being so successful, biggest selling album in the world this year, when you consider how atypical for a major pop star she is. I think people have really connected with her music in a way we haven't seen for a while.

Personally I'm really glad for it. I don't really know any Adele songs other than "Rolling in the Deep" off the top of my head, but that one is so, so good. :mallory:

You'll probably like Set Fire to the Rain if you like Rolling in the Deep (which I think is fantastic too).
 
Which one does "Friday?" That's the one with the real talent. Roll over, Beatles. She's the one who will stand the test of time.
 
Which one does "Friday?" That's the one with the real talent. Roll over, Beatles. She's the one who will stand the test of time.

Rebecca Black, and I feel sorry for her. She quickly became the target of much vitriol and baseless hatred, all for producing a song that would be relevant to girls her age.
 
Britney's done well for herself in the last couple years, but that's overstating the case a bit.

Perhaps. :whistle:

But what about a fellow relatively new artist? Katy Perry has a song at #4 and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. I personally wouldn't consider Lady Gaga bigger than Katy Perry. :shrug:

My gut - which is a terrible thing to use in an argument I know - is that they're about equal right now. Katy's had "Firework" and "E.T" this year, while Gaga's had "Born This Way" and "Edge of Glory." But Gaga is, I think, much more talented... just a little stranger.

Katy's been huge in the US recently, with 5 iTunes #1s off a single album, and 4 official ones. And E.T being the biggest seller of the year over there, last I checked (or has Rolling In The Deep overtaken it now?)

I'd kind of forgotten that Judas had flopped worldwide, with the Edge Of Glory being so much bigger. It is a much better song.

I'd probably say that Gaga has a bigger fanbase at the moment, but more people are buying Katy's songs.

I don't disagree with that certainly. But it is pretty remarkable that Adele is being so successful, biggest selling album in the world this year, when you consider how atypical for a major pop star she is. I think people have really connected with her music in a way we haven't seen for a while.

Personally I'm really glad for it. I don't really know any Adele songs other than "Rolling in the Deep" off the top of my head, but that one is so, so good. :mallory:

You'll probably like Set Fire to the Rain if you like Rolling in the Deep (which I think is fantastic too).

Set Fire To The Rain is amaze! :adore: She has a lot of good songs on her albums, even though it's not normally my style of music. Someone Like You, the album closer on 21, had a stunning performance over here at this years BRITS and is now our #1 seller of the decade so far. And it is a pretty good song as well.

Which one does "Friday?" That's the one with the real talent. Roll over, Beatles. She's the one who will stand the test of time.

She's actually having a serious go at it, apparently, with an EP called My Moment(and she also appeared in Katy Perry's Last Friday Night video). Good for her. I thought Friday was fairly awful, but not worth the hate that people were making fun of it for.
 
I don't disagree with that certainly. But it is pretty remarkable that Adele is being so successful, biggest selling album in the world this year, when you consider how atypical for a major pop star she is. I think people have really connected with her music in a way we haven't seen for a while.

Also, it kind of makes a mockery of the question is Lady Gaga as big as the Beatles, when she isn't even the biggest selling artist of the moment. Despite a huge opening week in the US, the week by week figures show a precipitous drop off for Gaga, 84% in week two and that has only continued, in stark contrast to the performance of 21 which hasn't been out of the top 3 since its release in February.

Not that any of this really matters of course, but I do find the recording industry quite interesting as a whole, and people's perceptions of fame, and fan culture.

Further to that, Adele's debut album 19, which has been out for two years, is currently outselling Gaga's Born This Way. Part of that is the hype that 21 has caused, but it's held on ever since 21 was released and hasn't dropped off like these things do most of the time.

Gaga sold a load on her opening week, but even that wasn't the highest weekly sales of the year, that was 21, on it's 10th week (for Mother's Day), and now Gaga's dropping off really quickly for an album of that hype. It's definitely not been as big an album as her first one (I'm counting the Fame Monster as an EP to The Fame, because our chart company combines them). Higher first week sales, but less sales overall, which is what tends to happen with sophomore records.

I agree with you on the recording industry thing. I really enjoy looking at these things.

I think the incredible levels of really targeted marketing they do now has really changed the game. When all is said and done over 50% of Born This Way's total sales will have been made in the first 5 days of release, and it probably won't break 2m US sales. Which for an album that opened at no.1 with a million sold is incredible. Although apparently 450,000 of those were sold for $0.99.

So in reality it has only shifted just over 1 million full price copies in 6 weeks and has completely run out of steam already, which I imagine is actually a big disappointment for the record company given the enormous expense of marketing it.

She strikes me as the sort of artist that will be around for a while though and will have a mixture of big successes and lesser ones.
 
Lady blahblah is just a lame shock artist, meat dress, well I don't need to go any further then that, people starving in and out of our country and she wears a dress of pure meat, gross and stupid.
 
Lady blahblah is just a lame shock artist, meat dress, well I don't need to go any further then that, people starving in and out of our country and she wears a dress of pure meat, gross and stupid.

You're right but obviously this got nothing to do with the thread topic. Whether you personally like her or not has nothing to do with whether or not she's relevant.
 
But it really is awful, though.

Oh, I don't like the song either, but it was just this pure, angry white hot hatred directed at the poor girl that made me wonder if people had just gone nuts.

I've got nothing against Rebecca Black and I'd be happy if she recovered and in a few years did some good stuff, but mother of god that song makes me sooo angry and I'm not even sure why. It's like the worst of Bieber and Willow Smith stuck in a blender.

Plus, and this is such a minor complaint, the video's a complete rip-off of that Miranda Cosgrove song.

... what? :alienblush:
 
But it really is awful, though.

Oh, I don't like the song either, but it was just this pure, angry white hot hatred directed at the poor girl that made me wonder if people had just gone nuts.
Well, there shouldn't be any white hot hatred directed at her. It's just a really awful song.

But it really is awful, though.

Yeah, but the only part of it you can blame her for is singing it. She didn't write, direct, or produce it--alleged "professionals" did that!
Yeah, exactly. It amazes me that something like that can actually be produced and released.
 
Gaga, like Madonna (her idol and whose act she stole lock, stock and barrel), is a genius marketer with a much better voice, so naturally Madge hates her guts. She also doesn't seem to share Madge's nasty personality. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Gaga came off not as an airhead, but a shrewd, if somewhat immature ace marketer with a foul mouth (she does share that trait with Madge).

The Beatles (my favorite rock/pop band ever) were true musical innovators and will never be topped for musical influence alone and that doesn't even get into all the other areas they influenced. Gaga is no innovator, ripping off Madonna and other 80s dance music acts. As someone mentioned above, Katy Perry seems to be catching up to her lately. Her second album is a sleeper, having started out slowly and recently exploding almost a year after its release with a bunch of hit singles.

Even as a straight male, I have to say Gaga's embracing of gays is commendable, but how much of even that is marketing to make her seem "deep?" She even came out as bisexual herself to emphasize her connection. If she really is, that's great but, I wonder.

However, to recap, I do think she appears to really be able to sing on key and hold notes, which is a heck of a lot more than this musician sees from many acts filling huge arenas these days. Britney Spears lip synchs live and except for Fergie, the BEPs owe their career to auto-tuning.
 
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I don't think she stole Madonna's act entirely. She also took some bits from Bowie. If you listen to her talk about her musical influences, it's actually pretty diverse.
 
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