GaGa and Madonna
As I told you in this morning’s post, I finally wrote my piece yesterday on Lady GaGa and Madonna and I’m still waiting for word back on it. I really worked hard on the piece and I have a good feeling about it, so we shall see!
In the meantime, I posed the question to Facebook and Twitter friends yesterday about whether or not Lady GaGa had the potential to be the next Madonna and I got answers from both sides of the fence. Here’s a sampling:
On the no side:
Kayla: Absolutely not! Madonna came and shocked the music scene with controversy but she pulled it off by appearing to not give a damn. It didnt seem intentional, it was a this is who i am and i just dont care thing. For gaga the shock value doesnt apply. Not only are we all pretty jaded, but theres no conviction behind gaga. Shes simply doing it for the attention and that kindof thing just doesnt last. I like her music at times but she will never be a madonna.
Karen: Personally I think she's a freak. To put her name in the same sentence as Madonna is almost sacrilegious. I don't think she'll ever have the charisma, longevity or reach she had and still has. In 20 years people will ask, "Who?" upon hearing her name if they hear it at all. I just realized I never typed her name either. Lol
Rose: I agree with the others. Madonna was being Madonna. Gaga is doing what she does strictly for the attention. Madonna was not acting or seeking attention. She was simply being who she is. Gaga is trying to be Madonna. I believe that within the next 5 years, Gaga will simply be gone from the spotlight with another Madonna wannabe in her place. Madonna will live on forever, but Gaga will fall out of stardom.
Reet: No. I think L G is a trendy fad that will fade out like bell bottoms did in the 70's. She's a Madonna- wanna- be.
On the positive side:
Chrissy: i think she has the capability of being the next madonna. she is an intelligent, and witty business woman. i think if she has the longevity to be around in say 20 years, she will graciously name madonna as one of the musicians that paved the way for her. i think right now in 2011, we cant compare the two. madonna is a legend. (in my book:-]) i hope gaga will have her staying power.
Sherri: Lady Gaga has something Madonna never had, a legitimate singing voice. Yes, I think she will continue to reinvent herself (ala Madonna) and stay relevant for years to come. She may be a strane bird, but she is super talented and here to stay!
And then there’s the politically correct:
Jordan: a quick thought... in this fast day and age of music with new one hit wonders daily and the lack of dollars flowing to the artists... I highly doubt that anyone can financially become iconic to continue to put out hits after hits... The music industry is evolving and until it gets a foothold on making money she is highly unlikely to make it...But in this great county anything is possible
First of all, I want to say that I appreciate all of your comments. They’re across the board just like I would’ve expected. In the piece, I played it objectively and concluded pretty much the same thing that Jordan says.
It’s funny, but there are two people in my life, my mom and my good friend Rich, who both actually guessed my topic before I could even tell them. There’s probably a couple more out there who would’ve done the same. I guess the people in my life know me pretty well, huh? LOL.
Seriously, my mom reminded me of the time way back in 1983 when I raved about this new singer who was the absolute bomb. The whole family took a day trip to Action Park in my dad’s van and I played the CD over and over again. Ever since those days, I can associate so many memories from my life with Madonna. I remember all of the controversies of her time:
-Rolling around on the floor in a wedding dress at the MTV Music Awards
-The “Like a Prayer” / Pepsi commercial ruckus
-The “Sex” book
-Flashing her boobies on “Truth or Dare”
-Faux masturbation to “Like a Virgin” on the “Blond Ambition” tour
-The steamy “Justify My Love” video
The list goes on and on. Some of the things my friends have said here about GaGa people were saying about Madonna back in the day. Madonna persevered, though, and she did it through her bread and butter: her music. GaGa’s music is the bottom line with her, too, and with that she’s on the right track, for sure.
I am a music aficionado of the biggest kind, and I try my best to keep up with the ever-changing music landscape. Lady GaGa is awesome! I’ve got her double set “Fame/Fame Monster” and I absolutely love the music! Her hits “Bad Romance”, “Poker Face” and “Just Dance”, to name a few are genuinely good, and so are some of the songs that weren’t hits. “Boys, Boys, Boys” and “Summer Boys” absolutely rock and “Teeth” is simply da’ bomb!
I do believe that of anyone out there who’s come after Mo, she’s the one with the most potential to go far, much further than Britney or Christina or any of those other Madonna wannabes. No, in all honesty I don’t think she’ll ever quite match the sphere of influence that Madonna’s had in her time, but she’ll definitely be around for a long, long time to come.
Hmm, can you spot any similarities here?
A final birthday wish for GaGa
As I also mentioned this morning, today is Lady GaGa’s 25th birthday, and so I’d like to present another video from her catalog. This is one of my favorites, and ironically it was also compared to Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” at the time it came out. Eh, who cares, right? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and it’s not so bad to be a fan of both singers.. Enjoy “Alejandro” and for one last time, Happy Birthday GaGa!
PS – Check out a piece I did last year on GaGa. It was just after I’d downloaded her album and it’s a pretty good review of the songs if I say so myself! Here’s the link:
Goo Goo Over GaGa
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