Jared Braden » Lady Gaga

Single Review: Lady Gaga – “Venus”

Jared Braden — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 23:12:53 +0000

When Lady Gaga releases a single, it is bound to garner a massive amount of attention and hype, which can be perplexing at times. Case in point, her new promotional single “Venus”. Shockingly, there are no less than six writers credited for “Venus,” which serves as our latest introduction to her forthcoming album, Artpop. Not even the semi-retro sounding production can save “Venus” from its embarrassingly bad lyrics. Granted, Lady Gaga isn’t exactly known for her stellar lyrics, but these are horrifically cheesy, almost as if Gaga and her co-writers didn’t even try. “Now serve Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus – uh ha! Uranus! Don’t you know my ass is famous?” Yes, Gaga. I am aware you’re famous. I am just not sure why anymore. If a lesser-known artist released “Venus,” it would most likely go overlooked.

I honestly think that “Venus” is the product of an artist losing touch with the public at large. But it could be an indication of something much worse: an artist that has become so self-involved and consumed with fame that they lack the ability to see what is going on in the outside world. I fear that Lady Gaga has, in fact, become a fame monster. Sure, her little monsters will eat this up, but I don’t think this will have an abiding impact on the rest of us. Gaga has shown glimmers of what it takes have a lasting impact on pop music (“Bad Romance,” “Just Dance”), but I am afraid her more recent work will only tarnish what she has already achieved.

Any way you look at it, “Venus” is another insubstantial miss. All-in-all, it’s a novelty song without much novelty. Hopefully, “Venus” will be the worst thing Artpop has to offer, but I fear it isn’t. “Venus” is yet another weak introduction to Artpop.

★★

The Numbers Game: Lady Gaga’s Popularity

Jared Braden — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 03:32:16 +0000

We’ve all heard the expression, “The numbers don’t lie,” well Google Trends has some very interesting numbers surrounding Lady Gaga’s current popularity. Google Trends, a real-time index of the volume of Google searches for particular keywords, reported a noticeable decreases in searches for “Lady Gaga” recently – especially when compared to years before. Google Trends does not reveal the exact traffic numbers but rather shows this index on a scale of 0 to 100. On the chart below, Gaga peaked in March of 2010, around the time she was promoting her 2010 album, The Fame Monster. During that period, Gaga was at the apex of the chart at a very impressive 100.

What is interesting is that Lady Gaga is currently at number 17 on the scale: revealing a drastic drop in search queries. While that number is likely to rise before the end of the month, it is still a telling sign. Google Trends probably isn’t the best predictor of chart success, but it does illustrate how far away we are from the peak of public interest in all things Lady Gaga. This could explain why, despite her best efforts, “Applause,” the lead single from her forthcoming album, stalled at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100; becoming the lowest charting lead single of her career. With all of that said, Lady Gaga’s new album, Artpop, will most likely top the Billboard 200 when it is released, and I am sure she will continue to rack up hit after hit. Just remember – the numbers don’t lie.

Here are how some other well-known female pop singers are holding up on Google Trends:

Lady Gaga Announces “Artpop” Track Listing

Jared Braden — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 22:46:58 +0000

In a series of fan posts retweeted by Lady Gaga herself, the pop singer has finally revealed the tracklisting for her forthcoming studio album, Artpop. The 15-track LP, which is slated for release on November 8, 2013, features contributions from R. Kelly, T.I., Too $hort and Twista.

Tracklisting:

01. Aura
02. Venus
03. G.U.Y.
04. Sexxx Dreams
05. Jewels N’ Drugs (ft. T.I., Too $hort, and Twista)
06. MANiCURE
07. Do What U Want (ft. R. Kelly)
08. ARTPOP
09. Swine
10. Donatella
11. Fashion!
12. Mary Jane Holland
13. Dope
14. Gypsy
15. Applause

Lady Gaga Unveils “Artpop” Artwork

Jared Braden — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 01:05:55 +0000

Well, here is it: Lady Gaga has revealed the artwork for her forthcoming album, Artpop. The cover features a nude sculpture of Gaga made by Jeff Koons in front of a blue ball sculpture, and pieces of other art works in the background such as “Venus” painted by Sandro Botticelli, which inspired Gaga’s image through the new era.

“Please welcome Jeff Koons into our family +shower him with love for the talents he has shared with us. A pure and genuine collaborator,” Gaga tweeted. “I’m nervous&excited to share something that’s such a piece of my heart. Something I cherish deeply. A real depiction of my mind through his.”

While the tracklisting for Artpop hasn’t yet been revealed, the album is slated for a November 8, 2013 release date. Despite attempting to artificially increase the single’s placement on the Billboard Hot 100 chart by encouraging fans to buy multiple copies, the first single from the LP, “Applause”, peaked at a disappointing no. 4.