Lady Gaga - The Chromatica Era

Iguana said:
I think the reception to it was quite lukewarm but like every Gaga song some loved it and some didn't!
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I mean I've just checked @joanne - and over 40% of us rated it a 10, 73% rated it 8+ and no-one scored it less than a 6, so I'd say 'lukewarm' was a bit of a harsh conclusion to draw...! :D
 
I feel like Lady Gaga has skipped a chunk of Madonna's career. Joanne was her American Life and Chromatica is her Confessions. Sadly this means we're getting Hard Candy next :(
 
maybe Joanne was her Bedtime Stories and Chromatica is her Music, meaning her American Life is still to come :shock: maybe she'll make a derogatory video slamming Joe Biden. Don't worry though, he'll never remember
 
Beverley said:
i love the interludes. having listened to her talk about the point of each third of the album, i like to see the interlude as preparation for the next step of the journey :disco:
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Oh god I’m actually enjoying this album unconditionally at the moment so I’m almost afraid to ask, but what HAS she said about each section?
 
Jark said:
maybe Joanne was her Bedtime Stories and Chromatica is her Music, meaning her American Life is still to come :shock: maybe she'll make a derogatory video slamming Joe Biden. Don't worry though, he'll never remember
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Is this acknowledgement that she just doesn’t have a Ray Of Light in her? :D
 
Pingu said:
Oh god I’m actually enjoying this album unconditionally at the moment so I’m almost afraid to ask, but what HAS she said about each section?
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Chromatica I is about "growing up without an aunt figure"
Chromatica II is "the sense one gets when catching one's reflection that perhaps it's time for a fringe"
Chromatica III "doesn't mean anything at all - I just like doing things in threes"
 
Suedey said:
Err, no.
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Err, yes. Maybe if you were older and had lived through Madonna in the 80s and early 90s, she still felt relevant, but for young people just getting into pop, she was not a vital force again until 98. Citing Take A Bow or the Evita singles is kind of irrelevant. Well into 1997, 90s Karens would talk about Vogue, not Bedtime Story if you mentioned Marge.
 
Jark said:
Chromatica I is about "growing up without an aunt figure"
Chromatica II is "the sense one gets when catching one's reflection that perhaps it's time for a fringe"
Chromatica III "doesn't mean anything at all - I just like doing things in threes"
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Sometimes you have to BECOME YOUR OWN AUNT, even if it makes your father and grandmother visibly uncomfortable.
 
Shallow is fantastic, and will be one of her enduring classics, along with Born This Way, Bad Romance, Poker Face, and... dare I say it... Million Reasons.
 
Do people really remember Million Reasons? I don't feel like it's in the same category as those other songs at all. At best it's the equivalent of one of those mid-90s Madonna ballads that bought her some time between her late 80s and late 90s imperial phases.
 
Loufoque said:
Err, yes. Maybe if you were older and had lived through Madonna in the 80s and early 90s, she still felt relevant, but for young people just getting into pop, she was not a vital force again until 98. Citing Take A Bow or the Evita singles is kind of irrelevant. Well into 1997, 90s Karens would talk about Vogue, not Bedtime Story if you mentioned Marge.
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To imply that she wasn't a vital force in the mid-'90s particularly at the height of the Sex and Erotica backlash and aftermath is not only inaccurate but it's also rewriting history. She may not have sold as many records as she did in the '80s in that period, but she was still very much the biggest female pop star in the world and every move she made garnered attention. Yes, it may not have been 'cool' for the kids to like her in that period but that's almost besides the point.

This is from my own personal point of view here. I am 40 years old, so I was a teenager in that period and absolutely my peers and contemporaries knew about Madonna's releases including the Bedtime Stories singles and they were topical.

And I'm not sure about the '90s Karens' point. Where you a Karen in the '90s or were you a young person? Interesting that you seem to be able to talk on both their behalves...
 
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VoR said:
Do people really remember Million Reasons? I don't feel like it's in the same category as those other songs at all. At best it's the equivalent of one of those mid-90s Madonna ballads that bought her some time between her late 80s and late 90s imperial phases.
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Million Reasons is much more of a US thing than here, but to me it basically feels like the sole reason she was allowed to do anything after.
 
Suedey said:
To imply that she wasn't a vital force in the '90s particularly at the height of the Sex and Erotica backlash and aftermath is not only inaccurate but it's also rewriting history. She may not have sold as many records as she did in the '80s in that period, but she was still very much the biggest female pop star in the world and every move she made garnered attention. Yes, it may not have been 'cool' for the kids to like her in that period but that's almost besides the point.

This is from my own personal point of view here. I am 40 years old, so I was a teenager in that period and absolutely my peers and contemporaries knew about Madonna's releases including the Bedtime Stories singles and they were topical.

And I'm not sure about the '90s Karens' point. Where you a Karen in the '90s or were you a young person? Interesting that you seem to be able to talk on both their behalves...
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I was 8 in 94, 9 in 95, 10 in 96, and actively soaking up pop music during that time, watching TV shows, buying magazines... My first memory of Madonna being a vital pop force was 98. Gaga was also a big name who garnered media attention, tentpole promo and statement performances between 14-18, but she was largely seen as a flop, has-been and under-performer when it came to being front-and-centre of the pop universe, and was over-shadowed first by Katy, then by Taylor and Ariana. Much like Madonna was by Mariah, Céline and Alanis in the middle of the 90s. In my opinion / recollection.
 
Gaga wasn't overshadowed until after Born This Way, I don't think. She was THE moment in The Fame years - I can't remember a new popstar getting so much immediate attention since.
 
Loufoque said:
I was 8 in 94, 9 in 95, 10 in 96, and actively soaking up pop music during that time, watching TV shows, buying magazines... My first memory of Madonna being a vital pop force was 98. Gaga was also a big name who garnered media attention, tentpole promo and statement performances between 14-18, but she was largely seen as a flop, has-been and under-performer when it came to being front-and-centre of the pop universe, and was over-shadowed first by Katy, then by Taylor and Ariana. Much like Madonna was by Mariah, Céline and Alanis in the middle of the 90s. In my opinion / recollection.
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Madonna may not have been a vital pop force through the prism of someone
of your age then, and it's obviously clear she wasn't stacking up the big hits or all dominant like she was through the late 80s. But my point was more in response to Jark's claim that Madonna was GONE for a good two and a half years pre RoL, which is patently untrue.

I'm also not convinced about the four years between lowest commercial ebb to big comeback claim for Madonna, either. Didn't Bedtime Stories outsell Erotica? Perhaps not in the UK, but I'm fairly sure it did in the US (and therefore probably worldwide) as well.
 
lolly said:
Didn't Bedtime Stories outsell Erotica? Perhaps not in the UK, but I'm fairly sure it did in the US (and therefore probably worldwide) as well.
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Yes Bedtime Stories sold around 8 million globally (including over 2.5m in the US alone) compared to Erotica’s 6m.
 
what is this nonsense about Madge not being a vital force in the mid-90s?

Madonna, sweetie, i'm so sorry...

US 90s stats:

#1 singles:
1. Mariah: 14
2. Janet: 6
3. Madonna: 4
4. Celine: 4
5. Whitney: 3

Top 10 singles:
1. Mariah: 18
2. Madonna: 15
3. Janet: 14
4. Whitney: 11
5. Celine: 10

she was bigger in the 80s (7 #1s and 17 top singles) but she still remained consistently astronomic in the 90s. i love Gaga and bully Madge for the lols because she's morphed into a bitter middle-aged plastic doll who literally had a Brazilian buttlift to keep up with Cardi B, who was relevant for 8 months. but if we're being real here, without the Super Bowl, Bradley Cooper and Ariana Grande, Gaga's last hit would have been Applause (2013) and mega #1 hit Born This Way (2011). Gaga lost her charting appeal when she decided to go with BTW as a lead instead of The Edgy of Glory, and the idiotic whore had the guts to follow it up with the radio-garlic Judas. a 1-2 punch that ACTUALLY abolished her career and image for good.
 
For someone around 10, Madonna’s ballad era wasn’t a thing and she wasn’t as visible during that particular time compared to before or after. It makes perfect sense. Nobody said she was irrelevant to the rest of the universe.
 
I'm not even sure it even matters if Madonna was a "viral pop force" or not, when she's just been a FORCE in general her whole career. Musically or otherwise. PERIODT.
 
It was both - a huge smash (and no, not because anything would've been - Judas as first single would've been disastrous) and a turning point at which some began to find her too much. But releasing a song with a sentiment like that would always be a turn off for the bigots out there - that's why it was such a statement and easily the thing she should be proudest of in her career. Was it the correct lead single? Absolutely, and Edge of Glory should've come next.

Judas is what started to derail the train. But even then the campaign was hardly dead. People do too much. With her (over)exposure what it was then, the tipping point was always going to come sooner or later.
 
I remember thinking all the buzz singles before the album came out seemed a bit desperate/panicky. I remember we got Hair...I can't remember what else. It's a more normal marketing ploy now but it seemed like damage limitation at the time to me
 
Loufoque said:
As someone who started to actively to pay attention pop music in 94-95, I would say that both Madonna and Kylie were largely absent from the major narrative of the time (Britpop, Eurodance, Spice Girls). They were still charting, of course, and might have been names you encountered but they were absolutely not vital forces at that point. Much in the way that Gaga was around Joanne - scoring signature performances at Award shows, but light on REAL hits.
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It's definitely true for Kylie (I think after the 80s a lot of people thought that was it for her in the mainstream media), but not Madonna. I too began paying attention to pop music 94-95, and regardless of whether Madonna was having number one hits every other week she was still the biggest female celebrity in the world. Bar absolutely none. Everything she did was in Bizarre - trust me, my Dad was an avid Sun reader and it's the only section I ever read. :D
 
Penelope said:
Million Reasons is much more of a US thing than here, but to me it basically feels like the sole reason she was allowed to do anything after.
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I wouldn't even say it was in the league of those other singles in America. It skyrocketed to #4 on the Hot 100 the week after the Superbowl but fizzled shortly thereafter. (4-18-30-30) It definitely was a move in the right direction, but I don't think she truly returned as a commercial force until "Shallow"/ASIB.
 
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