Is Gaga's 'Reign of Crazy' Finally Over?

Remember y'all, she was 'Born This Way'......Can anyone tell me what has become of Lady Gaga's career...anyone....anyone at all......crickets........That's what I thought. What happened? Just 5 years ago she was on top of the world. She seemed to completely appeared out of nowhere, and just like "that", she all of a sudden she had a league of "Little Monsters," who seemed to hang on her every word. Even more to my surprise, my little brother was one of them, and I didn't even know it!

So when I finally got around to it, I had to hear what all the hype was about, and so I decided to give her a listen.....I was visiting my brother one day, and it just so happened that I came across one of her videos....Particularly, the video for "Bad Romance." Little did I know, that my only mistake was doing the worst thing you could ever possibly do when being introduced to Lady GaGa's music: I looked at her. Thin about it? It makes perfect sense.....See when you are being forced look at her in a meat dress or in a large pink bow sitting atop her head, it completely distracts you away from the music. All I could see was a loud, vibrant gimmick...which that it was....and I immediately wrote her off as such. It wasn't until a few months later that I got to listen to "Bad Romance" on the radio that I actually started to like it. Now this was the exact same song that I saw her perform in the video that made me write her off in the first place, that I suddenly, I liked. That's when it dawned on me..."I don't mind her....just so as long as I don't have to look at her." She has a great tone to her voice, which is uncommon in pop music today, and besides, the child can BLOW...Her songs were catchy and unique and didn't really sound like anything else on the radio at the time....an element that I can respect.

She seemed to be on top of her game for the next few years. She had even surpassed people like Rihanna- who had come out before her- in popularity...putting her next to only "The Great Queen Bey" herself...a space of air which is rare, and only reserved for a selected few. She dropped album after album...2008's The Fame & 2009's The Fame Monster EP- whose success of immense proportions carried her clear into 2010. This was immediately followed by 2011's, Born This Way which solidified her status as pop icon. She then committed an immoral sin in the world of popular music today: Took longer than a year off between albums. Now you have to understand, that in a post- Beyonce, post-Twitter world, that is just not done. Everyone wants instant gratification, which means if you take longer than 11 months exactly between albums, you're all but forgotten....that is, except if you're Justin Timberlake, who is the only artist who can take 7 years off between recording, and still have a hit album. To add fuel to the fire, GaGa's main fanbase are her Little Monsters...who are all between the ages of 13 and 20...and they are about as fickle as they come in terms of musical tastes. Needless, to say....2013's ArtPop didn't exactly sell quite as planned. There was the lead single, "Applause," which I personally liked alot cause it was distinctively her sound. Then came "Do What You Want," her duet with R. Kelly, which I thought was also a pretty good song. The only problem is that....and it pains me to say this....."Her Fanbase Doesn't Know Who R. Kelly Is." Half of them were either too small or completely non-existent enough to remember when R. Kelly was the biggest-selling R&B act of his time. Ahhh, Karma.....

Personally, I think that in order for her to push forward as an artist, Gaga needs to stray away from the gimmicks and let her artistry speak for itself. She doesn't need all the elaborate costumes and makeup for people to notice her....that happens as soon as she opens her mouth to sing a single note. See that's the problem when you have built and image on shock and awe: you have to somehow keep outdoing yourself in order to maintain that level of fame. People are going to expect Bigger and Better from you every time they see you. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for artistic expression, but sooner or later, that's all your audience is going to know you for....and what becomes of your music then?


What do you think should be the next stage in Gaga's career should be? Let me know what you think by sounding off in the comments....


Until Next Time....