base talk Was Perfect Illusion brave or stupid?

[Ger]

Stupid.

[Infernal Paradise]

9 minutes ago, Soda Pop Queen said:

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.

Great post! You pretty much nailed it actually  especially the bolded parts. Sometimes risky moves might not be immediately appreciated or reap rewarding benefits but in hindsight, when everyone's had the time to let things assimilate for a while, the payoff with the shift in opinion can be great. I've seen so many people say “I didn't like it/hated it initially, now I love it!” and I do think we'll continue to see more of that as time passes in the context of PI and where it stands among her discography.

 

[thetea]

it was brave, but the song just wasn't that good. million reasons would've made a better first single

[flower moon]

its such a bland generic song. truly one of her worst songs ever.

so, stupid i guess

[Johnny Jacobs]

There was nothing brave or stupid about it

 

It was a cute song that flopped that's all

[GraceRandolph]

I’d say brave. She could’ve easily released a more basic or chart friendly song, but still took a risk on that whole era and got a top 5 hit with MR, and set the stage for ASIB/Shallow. 

[Frappucino]

Idk cause music not the bling but it's one of my fave singles from her 

[JohnWayneHolland]

It was stupid, luv. 

 

Jk, but in all honestly none of the songs on Joanne scream smash, so I guess whatever song she released as the first single would have gotten similar results, MR was the unexpected hit that saved the era from flopping into oblivion 

[Armani?]

3 minutes ago, JohnWayneHolland said:

It was stupid, luv. 

 

Jk, but in all honestly none of the songs on Joanne scream smash, so I guess whatever song she released as the first single would have gotten similar results, MR was the unexpected hit that saved the era from flopping into oblivion 

Well she did perform it literally everywhere so Its chart run is a bipolar mess

[Phonography]

I wonder why since joanne she's decided to release the most bland album filler songs as first singles. I don't think people complain that she was risky, rather that she could've come up with a much better song.

[JohnWayneHolland]

9 minutes ago, Armani? said:

Well she did perform it literally everywhere so Its chart run is a bipolar mess

Well, true, but it paid off in the end i guess since the song is a Multi-platinum hit that's close to 700M+ streams 

[Homebrand]

''Brave'' does not make the song (or album) good. 

[loveisdead9582]

Stupid. Especially since we’ve heard the tame impala version which was infinitely superior. If she wanted to release a single from that album John Wayne, Dancing in Circles, or any of the scrapped tracks would have been better options. Joanne was a misstep. Plain and simple. Did Gaga produce some quality tracks? Sure. Was the album good enough to release in its final form? Absolutely not. If she wanted to do an album with some stripped back piano ballads, she should have done a double sided album ala IASF and done one side with the redone tracks plus DIC and JW (scrapping PI entirely) and doing the other side as the ballads or more experimental songs. Either way, the song is a **** stain on her discography. It doesn’t fit her vocals and it wasn’t well executed. If she had used her The Fame vocals then maybe but the post TFM vocals just don’t work. Hearing the Tame Impala version just really makes me hate the song even more since it COULD have been done well by someone else. 
 

https://youtu.be/SELxyqn1tmI

[Dula Peep]

It would’ve been more brave had she gone with the Tame Impala original production (and actually be good)

 

and a psychedelic rock album would’ve been more on-brand for Gaga than the countrified Joanne we got…

Edited September 22, 2022 by Dula Peep

[Aristede]

It is one of her best songs. I listened to it the moment it was released and thought "Yep, she's done it again. This is a ******* hit." Imagine my surprise when I got online and saw everyone bitching about it saying how much they hated it. I don't think it was brave or stupid. It is still a good song whether people want to admit to it or not, and deserved better than it got. 

[Infernal Paradise]

4 hours ago, loveisdead9582 said:

If she had used her The Fame vocals then maybe but the post TFM vocals just don’t work.

Do you REALLY think she'd have been able to get the point across of feeling angry, lost and frustrated after she broke up with her partner of 5 years whom she was even engaged to better by using bubbly, airy TF-esque vocals? How exactly would those fit? If anything, it would sound very odd and jarring juxtaposed with the instrumental  the studio vocal works perfectly for a rock-tinged song that's intended to be this intense and emotional release of pent up feelings and whirlwind of energy, almost cathartic, and the exact opposite of a song that sounds like wistful mourning of a lost lover (the moody, lo-fi vibe of the Tame Impala demo, where the TF-esque vocals could actually be a good fit). 

Just my two cents, you're obviously entitled to your opinion.

Edited September 22, 2022 by Marry Illusion Glory

[Vespertine]

DILATED FALLING FREE

IN A MODERN ECSTASY! 

 

One of her best songs. 

[eli's_rhythm]

Perfect Illusion is a stunning song and easily the best on Joan, but it was a terrible lead single choice. It didn’t accomplish anything a lead single should. It flopped, it’s forgotten by fans and the GP, it’s not a fan fave, it wasn’t really acclaimed. 
 

Granted, that’s kind of true of the entire era. It really just served as a bridge to the super bowl and ASIB.

[kawk]

it's the worst song ever made. 

[teresaguidice]

not reading all of that, but it was neither brave nor stupid. it's just a pop song and an underrated bop at that. the instrumental is great. with less grating vocals and fleshed out lyrics, it would've been a decent hit. 

Edited September 22, 2022 by teresaguidice

[dussel_06]

It was risque khay at least. Gaga is just the biggest risktaker among her peers.

[Gov Hooka]

I loved it when it came out and I still love it. Such a good song. One of the best on the album. Joanne era was so much fun for me. 

[Winged]

Stupid as the title…

[Bencharmer]

Neither brave or stupid.

It was good tho.

[Selenasworld]

12 hours ago, RihFenty20 said:

I mean….how about both. Joanne as a whole was very brave. Idk why she thought it was a good idea 

This