Lady Gaga debuted her new music video for Applause yesterday – I updated yesterday’s post with it in case you wanted to discuss it, but I really didn’t feel like getting into it yesterday. I don’t feel like getting into to it today either, mostly because I’m in denial about how crazy Gaga’s promotional tour is going to be this time around. Seriously, it’s going to be constant, daily stunts, interviews, outfits, etc. We need to prepare ourselves. Anyway, here’s the video for Applause:
I have a for-real question: why do so many of Gaga’s videos seem so budget these days? I’m sure this video cost a lot to make – the makeup and wig wranglers alone probably cost a fortune – but it still LOOKS cheap. Same with her “Born This Way” video last time around, and with the video for “The Edge of Glory” (which looked like it was shot on a backlot in the 1980s). This video just seems like it’s desperately trying to seem fun and super-artsy. And it fails at both.
Other stuff… Gaga is going to “open” the VMAs again this year, which will probably be awful. And Gaga was on Good Morning America yesterday – you can read about it here, and here’s the video:
Blah. She sounds so self-satisfied here. Smug. I get that her monsters think she’s being so incredibly genuine, but I find her so false, and such a terrible “actress” in life.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I cannot stand Gaga. She’s such a mean girl, hiding under the guise of being an ‘artiste’.
What a poser. All style, no substance (though she is a very good musician) but she needs to take heed of Public Enemy’s advice and “Don’t believe the hype!” 😉
She has become a caricature of herself.
Amen.
And this video is a mirror of her on tour. She has a cheap looking set, many costume changes and is half naked.
Can someone please explain why she had barely there outfits? The seashells?
you get a thumbs up for Public Enemy reference, I miss those days..
Anyway, there’s nothing real about this woman. she’s fake and full of herself, two of my biggest pet peeves.
“She has become a caricature of herself.” = EXACTLY
This song is so lame compared to her old music. I went to see her “Monster Ball” tour and she was amazing live, but I wouldn’t go to a show where she was playing her new music (born this way onwards) because I just don’t care for it.
I’ll only go to listen to Telephone, Monster, Just Dance, Bad Romance, Fashion, Alejandro and Love Games (if ahe played any old songs)
Wait are you saying this is not the new Thriller? How dare you! 😀
To me, she hasn’t done anything half decent since Poker Face. There, I said it.
She’s doing decent pop stuff, dance music. It’s bouncy. But she’s no icon. I am remembering three years back when everyone was crazy about her and some doubters said she wouldn’t have the staying power of people like Madonna. It seemed like heresy at the time – now it just sounds true. Pop + art doesn’t = Gaga.
Have you read the lyrics to this song? Don’t because it makes it seem even lamer, if that is possible.
“Pop culture was in art, now art’s in pop culture in me” She has a high opinion of herself, no?
UGH yeah I looked up the lyrics last night after watching the video (why did I do that to myself before bed…)because when I heard that part of the song, my brain went “WTF???” and I had to see for myself if she actually declared that she is the definition of pop culture + art … BARF
My theory it looks budget because she is a too sef centered try hard, and probably she sourrounds herself with an army of “yesmen”.
Do people even spend a lot of money on music videos in general nowadays?
A hot mess.
Seconded. I tried to watch, but mostly found it laughable and gave up.
Reminds me 100% of Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. (she might end up the same way too….)
http://youtu.be/IasCZL072fQ
Oh I loved Missing Persons! Dale was awesome “Words” is a great song! Whatever happened to her?
Damn I never snapped to how much Gaga copied Dale Bozzio look I’m the 80s and I thought she just ripped off Madonna and Bowie. But poor Dale now she is a animal hoarder and seems a little wacky. 🙁
First of i just want to say CeleBitchy YOU ROCK!!! always so early with the tea. Meh she is a phony and her mask is slowly coming off, and her antics are not shocking or entertaining anymore. And very convenient for her to ignore Perez ‘bullying’ all this time and speak out a couple of days before her promo begins.
I agree the timing is very suspicious. And jeez Gaga, leaving baby P. Hilton and his abuela alone!! Come on, lady, who mean girls a grandma and a baby with great hair??!
Most of her videos are disturbing.
Too bad, i really liked her earlier stuff like bad romance. This song doesnt even come close.
I couldn’t bring myself to watch it, but I’m going to go with budget and boring, just like her.
Okay, I watched. Budget and boring. Confirmed.
What look do you think she will go with for the VMA’s?
I don’t know – probably that weird face paint thing she has going on. I know what she’s going for, but it just looks budget.
You never know with her. After seeing her with the pregnant belly / faux birth on SNL, I’m sure she’ll wear something provocative – and cheap. 😀
She’s going to show up in a Jabberwocky mask riding a pterodactyl. Then she’ll rip it off and they’re be another one under it showing that all masks are the same and that she wears one for YOU lovely Monsters. Then she’ll stab the pterodactyl because it represents “outdated ideas” and then dance around like an epileptic that has to the bathroom. At the end, she’ll rip off her last mask to reveal some kind of faceless Silently Hill nurse thing to show “we’re all a blank slate”. Oh and she’ll be naked so “she has nothing to hide”.
I think that sounds about right.
OMG – MonicaQ
That might just be the best post I’ve ever read. That is totally what she would do. TOTALLY.
MonicaQ you win the internetz! That is absolutely what she’ll do if she sees your post. And you won’t get any credit at all, but the “critics” will tout her a visionary!
She looks like a cross between Katy Perry and Dita von Teese in the plaid shirt picture.
Probably the only time ever that the words “plaid shirt” and “Dita von Teese” will appear in the same sentence.
Was she just ripping off different artists with this (the most obvious being Madonna, as usual), or was she poking fun at them? I admit, I’m not enough of an artiste to tell.
Let’s see, she called her last album “the album of the decade.” I thought this time she had learned and would let other people praise her album if it deserved it, but Gaga couldn’t resist, could she? Guess what she said about her new album.
Gaga presented “ARTPOP” as a “groundbreaking invention that is going to change the history of music.” Her words.
(Rolls eyes.)
Lol reminds me of Kanye, who called himself “the voice of a generation”. Waste of space, both of them.
Well, it’s going to change the history of music from having 3 Gaga albums in it to having 4 Gaga albums in it, so in a sense she’s entirely correct.
Good point jayna; if she actually said that, she’s pathetically delusional;
While i’m not a madonna fan, does this poser realize how big madonna was especially from 85 to the 90s – filling stadiums like any major rock band; and Madonna’s various styles were imitated and copied by fans and in the pop culture;
WHo adopts gaga’s “fashion” (if she has one); And her music is too self-referential, in a bad way, exemplifying the narcissism of much of today’s generation. Musicians like Jimi Hendrix did this, but she’s not hendrix and she’s not madonna.
Can someone please elaborate on this “sealed document?”
@TheOneAndOnlyOnly, Yes. She takes herself far too seriously beyond what/how anyone else takes her. Hendrix was groundbreaking, other artists took his work seriously. Madonna started trends. Gaga is a legend in her own mind. And it’s too bad, because I want to like her, and her costumes, but she takes all the fun out of it.
My eyes are rolling too. It should be called ‘Artflop’ [How original Gaga, just reverse ‘pop art’ and have art pop – it’s pitiful]
Forget the decade, this album could be the album of the millisecond.
Try hard to the max! This isn’t about “applause” it’s about clapping. We get it – you can wear costumes.
Seriously WTH did i just watch? That video made no sense! I prefer the lyrics video and that should have been her official music video – not this crap.
Don’t everyone jump on me all at once, but I actually kind of like the dress/shirt and Gaga’s styling in the above photos.
The song, meh. It doesn’t feel new or fresh; it’s all been done before. I think the 80’s want their music back (although I have felt like that about a number of popular songs that have come out lately).
So untalented. And she seems like such an awful person. Go away.
This is a good workout song, I can def exercise to this
Yeah it makes me want to run far, far away as fast as I can, too.
Lol RosettaStoned!
It’s budget…she’s budget..blah. Anyway, found this list of “who did Gaga rip off this time” today; it’s fun http://flavorwire.com/410645/whos-lady-gaga-ripping-off-this-time-a-catalog-of-applause-video-influences
Great link. Those side by side images really prove how original Gaga is at being unoriginal.
And the song itself sounds like a big rip off of Berlin music.
In GaGa’s defense, many have been influenced by German Expressionism in videos/films. Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tim Burton, and Ridley Scott have all used German Expression in some of their videos/films. However,GaGa is unoriginal. I think she knows it, but her fans, who are very young, think she’s doing things that have never been done before.
That’s just it; many have been influenced by certain art and expressions but influence is shown in more delicate ways – when an artist is original you can sense the quotations he or she uses while creating its own, unique signature. I was really disappointed with Bowie at one point when I realized he ripped off Klaus Nomi, but again Bowie, with all his flaws, managed to make something that was in the end his own. I can understand finding yourself, and being original is not easy these days, but there is just nothing in what Gaga does that I can find interesting in any way.
She’s seriously getting her degree in F*ckery from Try Hard University. Ugh.
PhD candidate. She’s become the next Marilyn Manson.
There is something off about her…..be it that bad wig she was sporting yesterday (could see the bad glue job /hairline)
The interview seem like she was pacing her words to come out just right instead of being authentic, the poser is starting to break free.
I would love for a Hacker to get that sealed document that has the potential to derail her career and post it for the world to see.
She is coming across like Norma Desmond, the self importance, the standing poses with her crazy fans.
+ 1
I just watched the video on mute. Decent watch. I love the part where her head is on a swan…awesome..I would love that as a GIF of myself.
I also want to know if her broken hip was real because would we be sporting those heels if we had to take off a yr? because of major surgery, I would be afraid of falling and hurting myself again.
I’m starting to question the hip surgery too. My friend showed me the most recent bikini pics of Gaga and there was no scars on her hips. I would assume if you had hip surgery there’d be scars. Britney Spears got knee surgery and you could see the scar on her knee. It’s just interesting.
I think it was blind gossip that insinuated that ” hip surgery” was actually rehab and the cause of the Perez feud. That he told her she had a problem and she felt he was out of line.
I know a 60 year old that I think had the same surgery as Gaga, but months later in May. They replaced the top of her hip bone. She is already wearing heels and riding horses. They did the surgery with little tools and she only has a small, 4 inch scar.
4 inches isn’t too small to see in photos though.
I gag gag over ga ga now. over this silly girl. Yes she did have something when she 1st hit the scene but to much coke and fame have made her delusional. She is so full of her own shit her eyes are brown. This well self destruct her
I think I must be drinking the gaga koolaid because I don’t get how she seems like a “mean girl” or “awful person” at all…..what specifically is it that grates???
She’s insincere. She cares more about being famous than she does about making good music. For proof, check out her new song.
I just hate everything about her, sorry.
Not sure if you any of you noted this, but on Sunday she tweeted about getting her head blown off in all caps, and then she had a cadillac provide her the ride to the GMA studios like the one Kennedy took in 1963 on the day of his assassination. Perhaps I am reading too much into her theatrics, but she is far too obvious in her planning for that to be mere coincidence.
You are spot on–that was no accident. Everything she does is calculated to make a “statement”. UGH.
Thank you for noticing. With Gaga anything is possible. That attention crazy may even hire someone to “shoot” her. Of course he will miss and ran away, but there would be media coverage around the world. You never know with Gaga. She did arrive in that car for no reason.
budget ,boring ,and clueless ,looks like she lost track of what she wanted to convey ,those scary faces that she comes up with reminds me of the actors from70-80 horror movie like evil dead ;unrealiastic and funny
she is looking like Dita von Teese
1. I hate flash editing. Hate hate hate. fuuu whoever started the trend of shots that last two seconds apiece – they hurt my eyes and keep me from getting to see the details put into the videos.
2. I listened to the song all the way through. Left my desk to pour some more coffee. By the time I got back, I couldn’t recall anything about the song. Not the tune, not a motif, not a lyric. Her previous songs all had something that grabbed me, even if I didn’t like it. Looks like she’s heading down the JT path of overblown mediocrity.
She’s just one of those people that is convinced her entire life is art and no one gets her. Doing things for shock value doesn’t make you edgy or important or artistic. I think she’s obsessed with constantly trying to take things to the more shocking level, and has become lazy in other areas.
Yes, exactly this!
Homegirl seems like such a tryhard. However I remember when she performed paparazzi for the VMA’s. WOW. At the end of the performance my boyfriend, who’s very much into rap music was left with his mouth hanging open. In a good way. I wish that she kinda recapture that kinda feel, and I guess that’s what she striving for, but like I said, she’s trying to hard. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
In this time of government spying, disparity in wealth, and upheaval in Egypt, I think a real artist might shine a light on that, instead of constantly on themselves, speaking truth to power. But what do I know?
There is nothing more beautiful to her than gazing at her own navel.
I was watching this video on my iPad while bf was having breakfast. Song started and he (bless his heart) asked: “Is that Madonna?” made my day lol!
I really son’t care at all about Gaga (she seems linda desperate these days), but I can’t see the name of her new single and not read “Applesauce” instead of “Applause”. Every single time. I don’t think that ‘s what she’s going for.
Im glad Im not the only one doing that. Every time I saw something about this I read “applesauce”..lol
The DM had some really great pics of her where she was wearing her hair normal and even a normal dress, she looked great (for GaGa). I wonder if she isnt changing up the hair and stuff to cover the plastic surgery she had? The tabs went nuts with that when other pics surfaced awhile back. Ive noticed since then she’s been really changing her hair and dressing normally. I think she’s hoping no one notices the obvious facial changes.
Her feud with Perez looked contrived just like her latest “art”. There are so many things going on in that video. Everything looks forced and artificial. There’s Alladin Sane, La Roux, Black Swan and so on. We’ve seen those dance moves before and I think it’s trying to be the next Vogue.
The song itself isn’t bad. I love her voice here. But Applause does not stand out from current pop songs. Shame coz Lady Gaga is miles better than Katy, Miley and Beyonce. I think some her gay fans have moved on to other popstars to worship like Lana del Rey.
Blind Gossip has a blip about that feud. They claim its b/c Perez was trying to get her into rehab awhile back and discussed it with a friend of hers to do an intervention or something. Apparently she’s pissed at him for discussing her habits with her friends behind her back.
i like this video. she looks interesting und there a artsy picturesque scenes i like.
But ever since Born This Way, she is way to present. I thought i might miss her, since her hip-thingy but it turns out she still annoys me. To much drama (mostly fabricated, i fear) and she is so full of herselft, i could puke.
It’s not art, it’s branding.
Brilliant comment and true. But she will have you think that the branding is a nod to Warhol who made art from brands. It’s not the same thing.
Actually Warhol was a commercial artist who drank his own kool-aid, so I think GaGa is just like him in a lot of ways.
Well to an extent, but he was extraordinarily talented at his craft.
Cannot stop reading that as ‘applesauce.’ The song is.OK, but if she’s going to copy/pay-homage-to Madonna then she needs to reinvent herself every album.
Gaga herself annoys me, but I do like this song. A lot. I loved her first two albums, her last one sucked, and this song reminds me more of the first two. I just try to ignore her personal stuff in the press. That stuff annoys me. I’ve seen her in concert and she puts on a great show and puts herself completely out there, so there’s that aspect that I do like about her.
If this is the lead single off her album, her album is a giant shitpile and is going to flop.
I’m not a fan of hers at ALL but this is NOT even close to on the level of Just Dance or Born this way. It sounds completely forced.
I’m still enjoying the song. Watch the part of the Applause video where she comes out of something with her hair bob length slicked back and tell me if I’m crazy, but it reminds me of Madonna in her 2001 Drowned World Tour with the same style hair and bleached eyebrows below. Coincidence? God, I miss this Madonna. Now I just have the getting down with the kids Madonna. Come back to me, Madonna, with a song like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWk5tmiwN5M
The song is not good. I made it 47 seconds into the video and got bored. Gaga is so over.
I can never see this performance on Madonna’s 2008 tour and not have Gaga in my mind the whole time with the Madonna impersonators out on the catwalk and the gorgeous video backdrop of Madonna in all her eras. The song was about a homewrecker, but the performance reminds me more of Gaga copying. This should be Brandi’s theme song to LeAnn and
Eddie. LOL
She’s Not Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ers82PeYLZ0
Um, that Gaga swan thing is gonna haunt me for a very long time.
I liked this video… The video kind of made the song for me. But yeah, Bad Romance and even Telephone looked more lush/expensive. Everything since Born This Way has been cheapo looking…
I like the hook, a lot. If the rest of the song was as catchy as that, I’d be super down. Oh well, I’ll just wait until someone good remixes the song.
Music video is meh, not great. Too ’80s for my taste, but that’s her go-to time period, for some reason. But I don’t really care about music vids that much, with the exception of the few, rare gems (like Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines vid… woo can’t get enough! love it!).
I would like to see her out of her ‘persona’, just being Stephanie G. some day. But I don’t think that will ever happen. She’s so deep into herself as Gaga that I don’t think she will ever come out of it, like Michael Jackson or Prince.
I know I’m in the minority here but I don’t mind the song now that I’ve heard it a few times and the video is, meh but I’ve always had a soft spot for Gaga. I can’t help but like her. I don’t read into her comments much and do thing she is a gimmick but she’s entertainment and I like her music. Not every single song ever, but I have all her albums and for the most part I enjoy them. They are poppy and fun and she CAN sing. Chances are I will get this album when it comes out too…
I really like this song too, it has really grown on me (except the begining part).
Her videos have been so budget as of late. The record label must know their former cash cow is on her way out. Hopefully Perez Hilton delivers and we get to find out the truth behind shady Gaga.
Also, the “broken hip” story is SUCH bullcrap. It does NOT take three MRIs to discover a problem in the hip, nor would she be capable of performing another 20 shows (or whatever she said it was) if her hip was really an issue. Not to mention the curious lack of surgical scars…
I’m pretty sure Grace Jones would like her song back
And her dismissed costumes.
This sounds like Girls Gone Wild by Madonna.
I was gonna say that but I’m getting sick of acknowledging everytime she copies Madonna.
The video is shot COMPLETELY in a flat angle, there are no dynamic camera shots. There’s just one real set, the rest are props. There’s no script. And above all, there’s no dance choreography. Basically this video was directed by a person with an understanding for still photography, but not for movement and editing.
People want to see music videos because they add to the story of the song. This video adds nothing, it tells nothing. It’s just Gaga being happy with seeing herself on screen. It’s such a shame that she stopped collaborating with real music video directors, because Bad Romance really gave me Thriller vibes back in the day.
IMO, the flat angle makes perfect sense. It is a proscenium, she is on a stage (ties into the “applause” thing).
It sadly also makes for very dull imagery. It also doesn’t erase the fact that there’s no story to this video. Just to give an example, here’s another video shot mostly at a flat angle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo
Sure it’s budget but it’s not BORING.
A major part of Gaga’s original appeal was the work of her choreographer, who managed to create really unique and memorable dance numbers for each of her songs. They really made Gaga stand out. Just try and imagine her earlier videos without the dance numbers.
Really the first video without a choreography was Edge of Glory and we all know how well that played out. Seriously, go watch Bad Romance video and then compare it to Applause. What went wrong Gaga?
I agree with everything you just said!!!! I loved Bad Romance, and Poker Face and everything before “Born This Way”. I could not put my finger on it before but you nailed it: Thank You!
True, but at least it’s better than a lot of her videos from the last album where my head would spin from her throwing everything and anything in for her artsy story. LOL
Budget. Visually interesting video. Again, a Madonna comparison is necessary because Gaga is Nada compared to Madge. At least Madge took us to interesting topics with her song lyrics as well as challenging us with her video escapades. Gaga is all fluff & no substance, but clearly, the girl of her age. Having reviewed the video, she’s the ultimate recycler: Mariah, Beyonce, all the innovators she impersonates to get us to forget how eager for fame without the work she really is.
I might believe those plastic surgery rumors. Her face is not moving in interview. She looks different. Like at all.
Maybe I didn’t saw her video interviews for some time, only pictures. It’s like – I don’t even know this person in interview. Is it hair, make up? Or she really did plastic surgery? She does looks “surprised” all the time.
Now she’s written a letter about online abuse and calling for an end to it after she feels bullied and instigating a firestorm by her LMs. Where was she when her Little Monsters were bullying others and she basically never called out her Little Monsters with a letter to them even when Sharon Osbourne requested it. Why is she such a hypocrite and only does something when it affects her and that she started with her tweets and refused to really acknowledge all the abuse back when of her LMs to other celebs, except Adele when she was finally called out for keeping quiet about it.
http://blog.chron.com/celebritybuzz/2013/08/lady-gaga-calls-for-crackdown-on-internet-abuse/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ys7ugn8mDk
please.
I like that she’s looking a bit more natural in the video, but it’s the usual boring so-called “art” video that she always puts out. And the song is a disappointment. It’s forgettable. What happened to the Gaga from The Fame Monster? That Gaga at least made some decent pop songs with interesting beats.
I think the general consensus is that everyone is “over” her and her shtick. At least Madonna had the brains to change things up every few years to stay mainstream.
Alright, it’s pretty obvious that her budget is drastically declining. This video definitely looks like it was made with a much cheaper budget, according to many. Her major tactic to promote lately has been acting psychotic for attention and controversy with tweets which costs absolutely nothing. She is barely wearing a thing these days, so perhaps she just can’t afford the expensively designed costumes nowadays. The photo shoots she’s doing lately look really cheap. She even had to fake a hip injury and cancel her tour because she wasn’t selling enough tickets in the US which put a huge dent in her funding. She is fading so her investors surely don’t believe there will be a “sufficient return” on their investment. She’s also begging fans to buy multiple copies of the song. She’s so definitely going down fast.
I like Lady Gaga, but I forced myself to watch the entire video. The song is terrible–a throwaway–and the video is one hot mess. Sad really, because she is talented, but I think she feels that she feels that she has to keep getting weirder and weirder. The music is suffering.
Loves it!
I think her videos look budget now because there is a budget–and there wasn’t before.
Remember, she went temporarily bankrupt in the middle of her Monster tour, after about five number one hits in row.
I think someone on her team grabbed her and said, “WHOA! Making a mini-movie for every song is expensive. Changing clothes every eight minutes is expensive. You want to live like a star? Then get a grip on your finances.”
Her singing style on this song is not original. She has ripped it off someone from the 80s. There are echoes of Madonna in places as well.
Her film clip is a like a moving marquee of selfies.
The reason why the film clip is just frame to frame GaGa is because there is not story in the song. It’s a meaningless lot of tripe. As egomaniacal as the singer.
The only interesting part was her head on a swan(?). How much coke did she do to cone up with that?
In an interview in the Financial Times, Gaga said: ‘It’s honestly true that money means nothing to me.
‘The only big things I’ve purchased are my dad’s heart valve and a Rolls-Royce for my parents, for their anniversary.
She is truely very down to earth. I saw an interview the other day with her where she talked about living in the same appartment she did 6 years ago, and spent the evening killing the cockroches that had gotten in. I’ve seen the monsterball twice and it’s quite clear from the visuals that she puts a hell of a lot of money into it. The details and the otufits are truely stunning, and it makes the show a much more incredible experience.
Does she only won 1 pair of shoes?
The video is great!! She’s not copying nobody, she’s using references from other artists in the video,she even daid the paibyed face was inspired by David Bowie.
I think both the song and video are brilliant. Videos don’t have to tell a story. They can simply create a feeling. There is so much imagery here that could be interpreted in so many ways. That’s cool because it can allow you to understand it on a number of levels if you want to go there. The song is dynamic and has a killer hook. I think she nailed it on all levels. And I’m not even one of her little monsters!