ANOTHER one of these threads? Already???
If you don't "get" Gaga now, you probably never will. Honestly she's weird and she knows that, the world knows that, what is there to get? As long as she's happy and continues putting out music that me and her other fans enjoy, I'm happy for her. The simple fact is, had she come out as as Stefani Germanotta and never did her weird, random Gaga thing, she wouldn't be one of the biggest stars in the world today. She'd be a girl with a beautiful voice that likely faded into the background by the time anyone knew her name well enough to pick up her album.
And I mean really, it's not like she's the only one doing what she does. Rihanna, who I also love, spent much of her during and post-Chris Brown career (late-Good Girl Gone Bad through Rated R era) in unusual outfits that had people believing she had become anything from demonic (stupid people, mind you, but people) to super edgy and unique and what did it get her? Super stardom. Before that, when she was just a pretty West Indian good girl? Only very minor success.
Ke? As much of a hot mess as she is, she's huge because of it. If she sang her same songs but didn't dress like a drunken whore who chronically vomits glitter all the time she'd probably be irrelevant today.
Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, etc., hell even these girls' most recent precursors (Beyonce, Britney, Lil Kim, etc.) and of course the ones before them (Madonna, Janet Jackson, Cyndi Lauper) have been guilty of it, to varying degrees.
The fact is, in this world the music is no longer enough to hold the attention of the people that consume it. Image has become almost equally important Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Image is just as much a part of performance and artistry as the music it's built around.
Am I shocked by extravagant outfits, over-the-top stage props, facial prosthetics? Not really. But am I entertained? Yup. And really, that should be all that matters.
