I'm starting to notice your knack for selective reading/listening. That at least is the best explanation for transforming my "well, not really a fan for these reasons, but I can see how other people would like it" into "the song is utter garbage".
Two points to make in regards to that.
First off, to nick a phrase, Lady Gaga has earned the right to fail. After a certain number of hit singles and albums, record companies tend to be a bit more agreeable about letting artists make more decisions. And that might be anything from recording an album of duets with a guy pushing 90, to releasing a less-than-stellar song as a single.
And secondly, I wouldn't even go so far as to say she "failed". I'd say the song is second-tier, certainly. In "Bad Romance", she got the whole world singing along to a bunch of nonsense syllables. Here, she's pushing to get the song's hook to take hold. But it's still agreeable. It unspools just fine. And, as I said, I think it's certainly relate-able. I certainly didn't hear it as "using celebrity status to gain upper mobility". It just struck me as "you faked your 'love' for me extremely well". And I think everybody can relate to that without too much difficulty. Even if I had passed on this song, I would've "done research" after hearing it to see what else this artist recorded. Not because "it's Lady Gaga", but because there's definite craft there. Good voice, good production, good use of hooks (even if they could've been stronger). My mindset would've been "this song sounds like a good-enough album track - let's see if there's a 'hit' in there, too."
And back to Poodey.
You seem pretty insistent that "As Deep As Me" speaks to the masses at a level they can relate to. And my biggest problem with that statement is that, even if the lyrics DO do that, they're presented in such a poor fashion that I doubt anybody will take the effort to try to decipher them. It'd be like writing a poem on a piece of old scratch paper with your non-dominant hand, using a pen almost out of ink. Even if the words ARE worth reading, if it takes a heavy effort to make any of them out, who is going to bother?
It's been about 24 hours since I heard the Lady Gaga song. And I can sort of still remember how it goes. No, it might not be something I'd put on of my own volition, but if it popped up somewhere while I was shopping (say), I'd be fine with that. I listened to the Poodey track at least three times, and I can't recall a single line or hook from it. The only impression I have of it was "this was not pleasant to listen to". And unless you're going the Sonic Youth route (you're not), that is not an impression you want to leave. Lady Gaga's song was kind of forgettable, but Poodey's makes me rather happy that I didn't hold on to anything.
If I get anything from the entire Poodey...thing, it's not a desire to communicate. An artist doesn't swamp their vocals with so many production tricks to render them indecipherable if they first and foremost have something to say. An artist doesn't write a bio "bragging" (?) about how many fake records they sold if they're hoping to speak directly to people. What I mainly get from it all is a simple desire for fame. To wit, fame is cool, making pop records is one way to achieve fame, so here are some pop songs.
And again, I'm not against that mindset - either as fantasy or as reality. But if it's going to be a fantasy, it should remain so - there's no reason to post the non-songs on messageboards and expect anybody to react in any way except negatively. And if it's going to be reality, it should involve steps to actually MAKE it a reality. So far, after a decade of work, I've seen extremely rudimentary recording skills, a confusing attempt at online presence, and a fair chunk of sour grapes. If you want to go find a millionaire to help make Poodey the next Angelyne, go nuts. But I don't even see that happening, because Angelyne had at least three things that Poodey don't have, and only two of them were on her chest.
Throw money on that band you referenced, or Poodey, or your dog for that matter...and you will generate a buzz at the very least. It's a factory.
At the very base of this, you're correct. Throw enough money at an artist, and you will, at least, generate some buzz. The thing is - record labels don't consider "buzz" a proper return on their investment. They're not a factory - they're a business. They're not pro-art or anti-art. They'll release anything from symphonies to simplistic novelty songs, but all are done with the hope that there's a profit at the end. Which is why, in current form, no label would bother with Poodey. In a decade of "trying", she has yet to produce anything that sounds like anything above an uninvolving bedroom demo, and she has yet garner any fanbase at all. That makes even the greenest of local bands I deal with a better bet than her.
Lex
