lonnie

Also at the end of the day this doesn't really matter. Both of them approach their versatility in different ways: Gaga will have individual projects rooted in a certain sound (dance-pop, jazz, country-inspired, whatever). Rihanna will have MULTIPLE genres and sounds in a single album, Loud has a reggae track, an electro-pop song, a dancehall inspired track, a country inspired track, a Ballad, bubblegum pop, etc and she manages to pull it all off. People trying to discredit that are dumb, not everyone is capable of carrying that off.

Gaga stans can be so delusional at times She too has had songwriters, producers, etc come up with her songs as well. Only unlike Gaga, Rihanna doesn't take lead credits for songs written for her.

Wait that was him? I remember seeing it and thinking "how corny". Now I that I've seen it again I can't help but think: "how corny".

Diet Pepsi taking this is kind of wild

Sounds like the process, especially in its earlier developmental phase, was improvised and included random collaboration. Jazz itself as a genre is (or was in its earlier years) just that, so there's nothing new about that. But nothing from this description points to the point of the song being comic, perhaps it was also partly a diss track, but those are serious too. It was a genuine artistic process that yielded underwhelming results, as so often happens with many artists. Gaga released a dud, and that's okay baby

Now gurl, since when was the song a comedy song? I remember when it dropped and there was nothing comic about it (other than how beneath Gaga's quality it sounded)

Pay no mind to that obsessed bunch. Permanently fixed in pre-2016 Bey vs Rih stan wars, you'll find them in more numbers in Rih related threads than threads of their own fave

The thing is Rihanna's music is great in all the genres she tackles: reggae to dance pop to EDM to rap. Lady Gaga only sounds good with pop music no shade, she doesn't sound anywhere near as good with the other genres. Her attempt at rap is one of the most laughable pop girl moments:

And that's all fine. It's valid criticism, and I get it. But we shouldn't act as though there's not contextual information: it being a Jay Z concert, the songs performed, her personal circumstances, etc, that are going to affect the kind of performance that was going to be given. As you said, this isn't the first performance that's wanting from her. I personally have dragged some performances from her and have been among those who said she should improve because she can. Literally not a single person has said she shouldn't be critiqued. All I did was state the other conditions surrounding the performance.

I think she performs it because it's a hit and because it's a laid back song and given the context of it being a Jay Z concert, it made sense. I don't know what people were expecting from the performance, even with studio version of BBHMM it's not like she was doing vocal acrobatics there. I just think that some people had in mind a concert return for Rih having lots of energy, vocal belting, and fireworks etc etc when that wouldn't make sense for a Jay Z concert. I mean even Beyonce who is known for her theatrics was pretty laid back given her usual performances, especially that first night. Not boots on the ground journalism oh wow

Wow this HIGH praise from a legendary producer. Oh Anti the album that you will always be

Also the fact that the Freddie Mercury inspo thing came from The Sun, of all sources, should have been a sign. I wonder if her team reached out and had it taken down and that's why it was deleted. Also I think we should be realistic about the tour if those tickets do ever go up. She's probably going to do a lot less dates because she has small kids now. I think she should organize it around time, even if it takes longer with more breaks in between legs. The last thing we want is that the era exhausts her to the point of another very long hiatus.

Just saw that: Going to take Omar consistently talking about the new music as a sign

I think her going on stage was a good thing. Coming back after ten years when she's dedicated much of that time to her kids and family and businesses and all the changes she's had physically and emotionally since then is bound to come with enormous pressure. The pressure only got bigger the longer she stayed away from music. She's setting herself up for a lot of criticism both from people who didn't really care about her and would like to see her fail as well as fans who waited a long time and will go after her if they're not satisfied with the era. At the end of the day she's only human. A platform like the concert is a good way for her to find her footing and regain the courage to be on a big stage again. Rihanna has talked about her stage fright since 2007, and that a good part of the persona she has on stage and in public is made of "faking it till you make it". I think she did well despite everything considered, should she have sung more of the parts to the songs? Yes. Should she have had more energy to the performance? Yes. But she sounded just fine and her voice isn't gone at all like some people were sure it was. She sounds just the same as she did ten years ago. But I don't know what exactly some of y'all were expecting from a random Jay Z appearance, I was surprised that she performed more than just Run This Town.

She was there because she wanted to. It's fine if you didn't like the performance (it clearly had its flaws) but there's no need for made up narratives.