PoisonCandy Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 I'm sure we're all very familiar with Gaga's downfall after Born This Way. She was coming off the back of an album with 4 top 10 singles. An album that sold 1 million copies during its first week. She was at the top of her game and her star power was like no other. I know a lot of fans really love Artpop, and that's fine, but compared to Born This Way, it was a huge bomb. No number one hits, just one top 10 single, and it sold just a quarter of what Born This Way did during that first week. It seemed as if the whole world had turned against her, saying that she was over, calling her a flop, and rallying behind her rival Katy Perry. People were wondering if she'd ever be a chart topper again or if she'd ever be a pop music force again. After her loudest, most electronic-influenced album to date, she went the complete opposite direction with Cheek To Cheek. From the coldness and the aggressiveness of Artpop, to the warmness of Cheek To Cheek. A lot of people disliked Artpop, but a lot of people really liked Cheek To Cheek. On the surface it might seem like it was just some kind of strategic gimmick. A wild young pop star known for her antics making a jazz/traditional pop album with a crooner like Tony Bennett, but it was more than that. Gaga and Tony shared a connection. They had chemistry both inside and outside of the studio, and I think that's what people gravitated towards. What some people didn't find in Artpop, they found in Cheek To Cheek instead. It might not have been what her pop fans wanted exactly, but it was the beginning of her revival. Fast forward to 2016. Gaga has the world in the palm of her hands. She's spent the last two years rebuilding her career, honing her talent, and showing the world that she's worthy and capable. During this time, you had hits like One Dance by Drake, Closer by The Chainsmokers, Work by Rihanna. Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez were dominating the airwaves with their sultry voices. A lot of people were expecting Gaga to follow suit and release something that the public couldn't refuse. She could have done that. She was in a good place again. The public loved her again and a lot of people were excited to see what she'd do after Artpop. She could have released something on-trend like a tropical pop song with The Chainsmokers or a sexy minimalistic pop track with Selena Gomez and people would have eaten in up, but she didn't do this. Instead, she released this wild, absolute blast of energy. A noisy, aggressive 3 minute long wall of sound with her belting all over it. At the time I wasn't sure what would happen with the song. Would Gaga's hype and star power be enough to push it? Or would it go completely under the radar for being too different from everything else on the radio at the time? I was leaning more towards the latter. It turned out neither of those things happened. It didn't smash, but it also didn't go completely under the radar. It did fall hard though. Looking back on it, I can't help but feel like, in a way, this was an intentional move. Perfect Illusion was unlike anything else on the radio at the time. She could have had an easy hit, but she decided not to take that path. Perfect Illusion might not have been the comeback that people were wanting or expecting, but it sure got people talking. It's become one of her most forgotten singles, but at least it's held up well, and I don't think that would be the case if she had released something trendy. Personally, I think most of those tropical pop songs from that era have aged poorly, which is why I'm glad she did her own thing, and I can't help but feel like that was her plan all along. I'm glad we have Perfect Illusion despite its underperformance.
Safe&Sound Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Not reading all the essay but the hate towards Perfect Illusion is stupid Just say you all want female artists making late 2000s dance-pop all their careers to make you feel nostalgic The song is totally fine
James_Dean Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Not reading all of that- but I'd be here for a follow up. PI is an absolute bop
Ethereaaal Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 (edited) Million Reasons as the lead single would've done miles better. PI is a cute song though, but it should've stayed as an album track. NGL though, the teaser we got for it had me hyped. Edited September 22, 2022 by Ethereaaal
darkfantasy Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Stupid. the whole album was a misstep. the whole 2016-2018ish time where countryish albums were a trend for pop artists was awful (and i don’t think any of the albums were even successful). She def was smart to tame her image down after Artpop, but not go all yee-haw like she did. To answer the questions, the song sucks and is universally hated!
Roberto Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 (edited) Neither of them. Gaga wanted something different and didn't pay off, that's it. Edited September 22, 2022 by Roberto
Safe&Sound Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 5 minutes ago, Ethereaaal said: Million Reasons as the lead single would've done miles better. PI is a cute song though, but it should've stayed as an album track. NGL though, the teaser we got for it had me hyped. Nah. MR is a grower single, it is literally the bridge to ASIB and should be the final single of Joanne
RihFenty20 Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 I mean….how about both. Joanne as a whole was very brave. Idk why she thought it was a good idea
Haus Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Perfect Illusion is a bop, always been a serve, and will remain a slay. Seethe.
RussianRoulette Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Perfect Illusion is one of her best singles and even more than that. One of her best songs. I loved it then, love it now.
Smarticle Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 she was born to be brave (i also didn't read all that)
Reverse Warholian Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Should've went with 'Diamond Heart' as the lead
FightForTanas Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 (edited) Neither, it was just plain bad. Also didnt gaga NEVER perform it? odd choice for a lead single. Edited September 22, 2022 by FightForTanas
JCsNumba1Fan Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Million Reasons was my song. I used to play that daily. For a ballad, it was pretty catchy. Perfect Illusion was fun, but idc about it now.
Ethereaaal Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 51 minutes ago, Safe&Sound said: Nah. MR is a grower single, it is literally the bridge to ASIB and should be the final single of Joanne I'm talking about it success-wise. While MR had millions of performances, most of them were catered towards her US audience. With the hype for PI (albeit not as big as the hype for SL was), MR would've performed better globally given the chance and additional exposure. The GP seem to prefer her slower songs over her pop songs. As long as MR is and remains to the biggest song from Joanne, it would still do its job to transition to ASIB.
Soda Pop Queen Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 Brave but in a good way. Some of you still don't see it or understand but Perfect Illusion and the Joanne era set the stage for where her career is now. Had she not switched gears, she would've become a cultural relic of the digital age like several of her peers did. Gaga is such a talent and a charming figure that it would have been a shame if her figurative tombstone read 2008-2014. Besides, a polarizing lead single is not always a bad thing in the scope of a career. There are rewards to be reaped on the back end if the artist moves the succeeding chess pieces just right. Do I think Joanne is a great album? No, it's quite flawed but it was needed at that time in her career and Perfect Illusion was a great way to initiate a new phase in her career, whether we were on board or not. I prefer the artsy New Yorker era but the guts to take creative risks in the face of everything going completely right or everything going completely wrong in their career prior is the mark of a great artist imo. She did what needed to be done and she'll be all the more freer in the future because of it.
Infernal Paradise Posted September 22, 2022 Posted September 22, 2022 (edited) It's one of her best songs She put a disco-rock single with screamo vocals at a time when the Top 40 was getting oversaturated with tropical pop. Anything that was immediately following up the disaster that was the ARTPOP era was bound to fail anyway so in that sense, it was especially stupid as it heavily damaged her radio reputation that she still hasn't fully repaired yet but also a pretty ballsy and brave move overall imo. Big picture, I'd definitely lean more towards brave though. Edited September 22, 2022 by Marry Illusion Glory
Recommended Posts