[elektikakass]

Peter of PopJustice wrote this really interesting piece, IMO, about what 2012 could/should be for Lady Gaga.

I'm a Lady Gaga fan. I used to be a bigger fan than I was, but I still consider her my favorite "Pop" star. The Born This Way era has had huge ups and downs, with some moments cementing the fact that she's here to stay, and others making me question her longevity. I know it's still early to even begin to assess both of those areas, but I think it's clear she isn't quite as untouchable as she was during the middle-end of the Fame/Fame Monster era.

Now, she's stated she's begun working on her next album and expects a 2012 release. Personally, I hope it's delayed til mid 2013. This tour she's planning is going to be huge and she needs a creative refresher. I mean if she can release something that's of quality, which I have no doubt she can, then great. However, with the amount of creativity and talent she has, I can see it being put to better use if she has some time to refuel. At her age, the potential is still there to have an amazing career. It's already been pretty damn remarkable.

http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?...942&Itemid=206

In our end-of-year albums roundup, by way of a mostly successful hat metaphor, we talked a bit about how Lady Gaga tried to contain the sprawling mass of ideas in the 'Born This Way' album.

In the 2011 Readers' Poll, meanwhile, we asked the question 'what do you want Lady Gaga to do in 2012?' and gave two options: less, or more. 44% of you wanted more, 56% of you wanted less. We don't think it's as easy as saying her fans want more and her detractors want less, because there are plenty of fans who know she needs to rein things in to survive as an artist, and there are plenty of non-fans who enjoy the spectacle of her trying to do everything.

The 'pretty much as many people want more as want less' result might be a bit confusing, but it will be no surprise to Lady Gaga. Last year she came back with 'Born This Way' and watched vocal moaners complain that - among other things - it was no 'Bad Romance'; she followed it with 'Judas' (a song which by design and by her own admission strongly referenced 'Bad Romance') and watched the world moan that it was too much like 'Bad Romance'. A few years ago was welcomed with open arms by a music world who wanted a popstar who would at last have something to say, then she promoted her second album to people who wanted her to stop banging on. So she knows that it is impossible to please all the people all the time and that you would drive yourself mad trying, but there must still be a question mark hanging over the idea that around as many people want more as want less.

Is it possible to do more, and do less at the same time? Surely, you might think, if she does more and less at the same time, doesn't she end up doing the same amount?

Well it might make little sense at first glance, but yes it is possible. And we don't mean 'less is more' - we mean Lady Gaga can do more but also less. More of one thing, less of another. Partly it is about making fewer things matter more. Partly it is about knowing when and where to pick your battles. Partly it is about there coming a point in any artist's career where success or failure hinges not on what they do, but what they don't do. It's about the confidence to say no. Less and more is pop's answer to the one inch punch, and it's something Lady Gaga must perfect in 2012

[ReginaPerss]

i'm actually hoping she releases the new album before she tours. the Born This Way era has basically already felt like an extension of The Monster Ball to me, especially with You & I as a single after so many performances of it on the tour. and we've talked about it to death but the single choices have been so oddly off the mark and poorly timed. i just think she'd be better off at this point going off into the studio and coming out with something totally surprising and brand new, and then having a ton of new material between the 2 albums to do a whole new show.

[FuXA8nQM]

I have to agree. I thought it was messy and disjointed how the songs rolled out from Born This Way. We got previews of songs from BTW before the album release by the shows she was already doing supporting her previous The Fame Monster release. I think there should be a definite line between eras.

[Zebrabitch]

After Marry the Night flopped, at least by Lady Gaga standards, I think it became clear she needs to take a break. I'm not arguing that she needs Top 10 hits necessarily, but for such a great song, it was really sad to me that it did so poorly compared to her other singles.

I'd like to see her take a break, have a quieter year, do her tour or whatever, and get a new record in 2013.

[SueveDobe]

If she does release an another album this year, I hope it's something in a totally differnt direction. Like an acoustic set of piano ballads or something. I don't think the public can handle BTW Pt. 2.

[N9NACzws]

After Marry the Night flopped, at least by Lady Gaga standards, I think it became clear she needs to take a break. I'm not arguing that she needs Top 10 hits necessarily, but for such a great song, it was really sad to me that it did so poorly compared to her other singles.

I'd like to see her take a break, have a quieter year, do her tour or whatever, and get a new record in 2013.

I feel the exact same way. On a few other boards I visit people keep saying "Scheisse" will still be a #1 hit. If a song like Marry the Night hasn't even reached the top 15, she definitely needs to take a break. People are getting tired of her, and as much of a Gaga fan as I am, I feel the same way. I agree with others that she's went completely off mark with this era, it could have been really great. A nice long break would be good for her.

[Abarricoss]

I feel the exact same way. On a few other boards I visit people keep saying "Scheisse" will still be a #1 hit. If a song like Marry the Night hasn't even reached the top 15, she definitely needs to take a break. People are getting tired of her, and as much of a Gaga fan as I am, I feel the same way. I agree with others that she's went completely off mark with this era, it could have been really great. A nice long break would be good for her.

I agree with this too. I know she wants to keep up with the exposure, but I think it's working against her this time, since it's too much now. She needs a break.

[Bromymbollile]

See, I know a ton of her fans LOVE the "Born This Way" album, but I as a casual fan cannot stand it. Nothing has connected with me from the album. It sounds dated, not just an album that contains influences from the 90s. The videos and ideas for everything have just seemed so disjointed. While videos like "Telephone" and "Bad Romance" had a LOT of different things going on, they still worked as a whole. But, I think, videos for "You and I" just look like a bunch of ideas thrown together because she had them, not because they worked together.

I just think BTW is such a huge step down from the pop brilliance of TFM. Popjustice can say that people moaned because "Judas" sounded similarly to "Bad Romance" but I just don't think it's as good and I think it sounds annoying with the wailing. I can tell she's proud of this album and there are a lot of fans who love it, but I don't think it connected as well with the wider audience and she keeps hammering out singles, which doesn't help the impression she's leaving. Maybe none of that matters to her and that's cool, but somehow I think she really does want to be the biggest pop star.

So, I don't know how she works, really. Maybe she needs time off to rejuvenate so she can come back with another great record. I hope so. I'd welcome another record from her this year if she could really focus. I miss the "Bad Romance," "Paparazzi," and "Telephone" days.

All of this is just my opinion, of course. And please don't call me NUHN.

[CicyHannyCeli]

I think Gaga is the most talented musician in mainstream pop, and I really loved some of The Fame and TFM. But Born This Way was horrible in my opinion. It sounded very uninspired compared to her previous stuff. Only Government Hooker was on par with her earlier stuff for me. I share the concern that BTW was dated, all over the place, regurgitation of previous ideas/other people's songs (the title track). Songs like Born This Way, Marry the Night, You and I, Scheisse are nothing compared to Papparazzi, Bad Romance, Telephone, Just Dance, etc.

I also feel like although Gaga was always out there and weird, which I liked about her, she is now just... too much. Since BTW came out she's been doing a lot of things that just made me roll my eyes. The things that were supposed to look like horns, the egg at the Grammys, and so on. It's just exhausting.

I haven't heard as much about her in the press in recent months, which is good. I think she needs to relax and calm down a bit, and go back to the music and put all of her creative energy into that. Her voice and dancing is better than it's ever been and she could really take over pop music if she plays her cards right in the near future. Either that or people who aren't Little Monsters will get sick of her antics and she will not reach her full (amazing) potential. It is a pivotal time for her, definitely.

[Zebrabitch]

I must be the only person that thinks Government Hooker is a cheesy, grating, and embarrassing mess.

[Bromymbollile]

I haven't heard as much about her in the press in recent months, which is good. I think she needs to relax and calm down a bit, and go back to the music and put all of her creative energy into that..

Yes. The general public is, frankly, sick of her. Marry the Night apparently flopped as a single and was pulled from the radio for failing to chart high enough. Her other singles did poorly as well because she's simply not popular with the average music listener anymore, most likely due to overexposure. I think if she releases another album this year, it will be the end of Gaga. But, at this point, she's making bad, bad career moves, so I fear that she won't back off.

I must be the only person that thinks Government Hooker is a cheesy, grating, and embarrassing mess.

Nope! I think it's hookless and pointless. Not to mention boring.

[ReginaPerss]

Yes. The general public is, frankly, sick of her. Marry the Night apparently flopped as a single and was pulled from the radio for failing to chart high enough. Her other singles did poorly as well because she's simply not popular with the average music listener anymore, most likely due to overexposure.

actually, no. this is the 5th single, the album has sold extremely well and the other 4 singles were all top 10 hits on Billboard.

Marry the Night IS her first single ever to not crack the top 10, but it hasn't been "pulled from the radio".. at least not where i live. they play it hourly on the big top 40 stations here.

[Ceakicknunk]

See, I know a ton of her fans LOVE the "Born This Way" album, but I as a casual fan cannot stand it. Nothing has connected with me from the album. It sounds dated, not just an album that contains influences from the 90s. The videos and ideas for everything have just seemed so disjointed. While videos like "Telephone" and "Bad Romance" had a LOT of different things going on, they still worked as a whole. But, I think, videos for "You and I" just look like a bunch of ideas thrown together because she had them, not because they worked together.

I just think BTW is such a huge step down from the pop brilliance of TFM. Popjustice can say that people moaned because "Judas" sounded similarly to "Bad Romance" but I just don't think it's as good and I think it sounds annoying with the wailing. I can tell she's proud of this album and there are a lot of fans who love it, but I don't think it connected as well with the wider audience and she keeps hammering out singles, which doesn't help the impression she's leaving. Maybe none of that matters to her and that's cool, but somehow I think she really does want to be the biggest pop star.

So, I don't know how she works, really. Maybe she needs time off to rejuvenate so she can come back with another great record. I hope so. I'd welcome another record from her this year if she could really focus. I miss the "Bad Romance," "Paparazzi," and "Telephone" days.

All of this is just my opinion, of course. And please don't call me NUHN.

I agree with all of this. I resisted listening to Gaga for a long time, but then the Paparazzi video sold me and I ended up loving about half of The Fame. I loved all of The Fame Monster. But BTW? It hasn't worked for me at all. I really enjoyed some of the solo performances, especially the ones from Howard Stern, but the album does nothing for me. I've only played it in its entirely twice.

I think overexposure is part of the problem. She's on every show, in every magazine, had the store at Barney's, etc. etc. etc. I would like to see her take time off. It can't be good to go full-speed around the clock for two years straight. Gaga seems to think she can't take a break, but it may actually be more beneficial than she she realizes.

[Bromymbollile]

actually, no. this is the 5th single, the album has sold extremely well and the other 4 singles were all top 10 hits on Billboard.

Marry the Night IS her first single ever to not crack the top 10, but it hasn't been "pulled from the radio".. at least not where i live. they play it hourly on the big top 40 stations here.

I just did a quick search and there are some sources that say that it was and some that say that's just a rumor. Hmm. Idk. They don't play it on either of the top 40 radio stations where I live at all. But I still maintain that Gaga's popularity is waning, regardless.

[elektikakass]

Not sure about the Marry The Night thing or not, but I am just so sad it didn't do well. Definitely chalk it up to overexposure and just cramming singles down the general public's throat. The singles campaign is what killed the album's momentum.

Let's not forget the album was a commercial and financial success, though. As mentioned, it's a fifth single and rarely do fifth singles make any kind of dent on the charts/on radio. It's only surprising because of Gaga's track record thus far.

Seems we're all in agreement; take an extended break, refuel, and give it another go.

[ReginaPerss]

^ agreed. i'm wondering what the timeline really is gonna look like..it seems like the tour could be starting any time now right? she recorded Born This Way while on tour, i'm sure she's not gonna let that slow her down even if the album does come out this year. i wish she'd just at least spend the next few months out of the spotlight, then do a late summer/fall tour with a single from the new album out at the same time.

[Vznvtthq]

I agree that she's overexposed, people are sick of her / don't care any more, and that the BTW era has been a . . . mixed bag.

However, the fifth single not cracking the top 10 being read as some kind of failure does indicate the magnitude of Lady Gaga's success and star power.

[jessyhalm]

If she does take the next few months away from the constant cycle of promotion/new music/performances etc, as I think she should, I'll be waiting for the moment when the anti-Gaga Madonna fans take that as evidence of Gaga being frightened of going up against Madonna's new music. You know it will happen!

I'm not sure of Born This Way's overall success in the US, but I can say that in the UK "Judas" in particular didn't do nearly as well as expected, and "You and I" flopped pretty badly. I don't think "You and I" as a single and video did her any favours. The video looked like a collection of half-baked ideas thrown together; it was kind of like a parody of a Lady Gaga video.

[Vznvtthq]

^ Your comment made me curious, so I read the wiki for You and I. #6 peak and 1,000,000+ downloads in the US, #23 peak in the UK. That's a huge difference!

[ReginaPerss]

i enjoy You and I (the video too) but as a single? a summer single at that? no way. so many better options on there.