By Mingyu Wu
Introduction
Arguably responsible for altering pop music and pop culture in the late 2000s, Lady Gaga made a crash landing into the music industry with her debut album The Fame. Musically, The Fame offered electrifying dance-pop songs that dominated the airways and the dancefloor like no other. Culturally, this era within Gaga's career brought in novel fashion looks, record-breaking moments, and the introduction of prominent technology use in music and visual media.
After dropping out of New York University, Gaga ventured deep into the Lower East Side to perform at bars and gigs, waiting to be noticed (Michaels, 2014). Over the next few years, Gaga crawled her way through the industry, staying resilient even though hardships like the time Def Jam Records dropped her (Grigoriadis, 2010). Her arduous climb to the top became a story embedded into The Fame, but it was not the album's central message. The Fame was a major commentary on materialism and how western culture prioritizes fame over everything. Furthermore, through performance art, Gaga also noted the public's repulsive desire to witness a celebrity's downfall. All the most ironic was how Gaga composed this album before even reaching any form of major fame. But by taking notes from Andy Warhol and artificially exuding the essence of being famous (or the practice of delusion), Lady Gaga created a self-fulling prophecy with The Fame (Spanos, 2019).
Creators/Producers/Management
The Fame was made with connections and resources from Interscope Records (Grigoriadis, 2010). But before she was signed, she came into contact with producer Rob Fusari, thanks to his then business partner Wendy Starland (Michaels, 2014). Starland discovered Gaga in a New York bar called "The Cutting Room" (Michaels, 2014). Fusari and Gaga made three songs that later made it on the album, including the dramatic, "Paparazzi" (Michaels, 2014). Fursari not only became a love interest for Gaga, but he was also influential in creating the name "Gaga," taking inspiration from the Queen song, "Radio Ga Ga" (Grigoriadis, 2010).
After writing a few songs with Fusari, Gaga landed a short 3-month engagement with Def Jam Records after catching the attention of music executive L.A. Reid (Grigoriadis, 2010). Shortly after being dropped, Gaga found producer RedOne, whom she worked with for the majority of her album (Grigoriadis, 2010). He was such a major wheel in her project that his name is the first lyric you hear when you listen to Gaga's debut single, "Just Dance."
After venturing into burlesque performances and gaining more media attention, music executive Vincent Herbert signed Gaga to Streamline Records, an imprint under Interscope (Guiltenane, 2013). Herbert also was involved with Artist and Repertoire with Interscope, which brought Gaga to Jimmy Iovine, the head of Interscope Records (Grigoriadis, 2010). Iovine met with Gaga in Los Angeles, and after a meeting discussing Warhol and plans of incorporating technology into pop-art, Iovine signed her to Interscope (Guiltenane, 2013).
Another major part of her business team is her manager Troy Carter, who was recruited by Herbert in 2007 (Halperin, 2013). Carter respected her creative ventures, often describing how Gaga made 95% of the creative calls while he handled 95% of her business decisions (Halperin, 2013). The duo was successful in pushing out The Fame, and many works after, up until their intense split in 2013 (Halperin, 2013).
On the creative side, RedOne was one of the major producers on The Fame, as was Rob Fusari, Space Cowboy, and Martin Kierszenbaum, who also wrote many of the songs and was an A&R executive with Herbert (Germanotta, 2008). Around this time, Gaga started curating her own team of creatives and designers that work on outfits, hair and makeup, and more (Lester, 2009). Gaga made sure the roll-out of The Fame is not only musically prepared, but visually accentuated with performance art, fashion, and statements.
Historical and Societal Significance
The massive impact of The Fame was revolutionary, as the Rolling Stones labeled it as one of the best debut albums of all time (Spanos, 2019). With cultural and critical acclaim, The Fame also garnered professional recognition with awards and charts. In fact, The Fame still sits atop of Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums as of November 2021; it has been number 1 for 151 weeks, as well as existing on the charts for 400 weeks (Billboard, 2021). The Fame spawned at least four number one songs and earned the pop star two Grammy awards (Corona, 2011). The re-release of the album via the additional songs from the follow-up EP The Fame Monster added much more to the success, including hits like "Bad Romance," which became the most viewed video on YouTube at the time (Guiltenane, 2013).
But besides commercial success, The Fame dramatically altered the expectation of rising pop stars. Gaga pushed all the way to the front of the media storm by raising the bar for red carpet fashion and performance art. One of the most notable performances in Gaga's career was the 2009 Video Music Awards, where the singer performed "Paparazzi," a song from the point-of-view of a love-crazed individual desiring recognition. The song and performance was a commentary on the glorification of a celebrity's downfall, as Gaga ended both the performance and The Fame era by hanging from the ceiling with blood gushing down her body (Corona, 2011). Not only was this one of Gaga's first major music award attendance, but it solidified her space within the music industry as a daring powerhouse willing to do anything (Corona, 2011). When it came time for the 2010 VMAs, Gaga knew that the entire world was looking, and she made sure everyone kept watching by coining the term "meat dress" in the fashion dictionary (Corona, 2011). Moreover, 2010 was also the year where Gaga was the most nominated artist in one night in VMA history, and the first female to have two videos nominated for Video of the Year (Guiltenane, 2013).
Lady Gaga began to develop a powerful fan base, aptly named "little monsters" (Guiltenane, 2013). Gaga made sure to maintain this fan base not only with music, but with activism. She is a strong advocate for LGBT+ and women's rights, bringing her impact further into society (Burns et al., 2013). She was never one to hold back, even yelling, "It’s for God and for the gays” at the end of her acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 2009 VMAs (Burns et al., 2013).
S.W.O.T
As one of her main goals, Gaga made sure to incorporate visual media into the promotion of The Fame. With award-winning music videos, one of the many strengths of the debut album lies in the precedent of interesting video supplements. Partnering with major directors like Jonas Åkerlund and including eye-catching choreography and storylines, Gaga was able to be the first artist to reach one billion streams on YouTube (Guiltenane, 2013). By creating this immense platform, she is able to promote her work through visual interpretation of her songs.
Another strength of The Fame came with another form of performance art: fashion. Even though music remains at the forefront, being able to bring artistic expression into the real world is massive in achieving success. The incorporation of fashion should be celebrated, as it reveals personality. Gaga’s fashion sense has been incredibly eccentric, both behind the screen and on the street. An outfit made of bubbles and a dress made out of meat all challenged the existing boundaries behind fashion norms, which then “affirms the hypermodern imperative of individual self-expression” (Corona, 2011). In fact, Gaga invites her fans to accept who they are, and she serves as a reminder as the girl who made it after being bullied (Guiltenane, 2013).
But with extreme success comes intense demands. Like many visionaries and passionate artists driving the edge of the envelope, Gaga is always finding ways to out-perform herself. After the first extension of her tour promoting The Fame that ran from 2009 to 2011, Gaga found herself bankrupt and $3 million in debt (Fry, 2011). Gaga later described how, “I’m not obsessed with material things and don’t care about money…but only the love of my fans” (Fry, 2011). Her expensive sets and outfits had brought the production price sky high.
Gaga’s rebellious nature to do everything regardless of money or rules can make her interesting to watch, but it can also narrow her audience to mature viewers. For example, Lady Gaga was the second person to curse in Season 35 of SNL, and it was only the second episode (Ganz, 2009). The Fame encapsulates this mindset of dangerous ambition to the top, and Gaga bodies this idea with actions and performances.
After the incredible release of The Fame, Gaga had many opportunities that helped expand her reach, including opening for major acts like New Kids on the Block and the Pussycat Dolls extremely early in her career (Grigoriadis, 2010). With these ventures, Gaga also had the opportunity to write songs for these major bands and artists as well, truly making her connections within the industry (Grigoriadis, 2010).
With the existing collaborations in The Fame, the connecting EP included a massive artist: Beyoncé. The song and music video for “Telephone” was a fan and critic favorite, and it marked one of Gaga’s most successful collaborative opportunities. The success of “Telephone” and the general commercial response to The Fame preceded the duo’s first collaboration with Beyoncé’s “Video Phone” (Guiltenane, 2013).
Just like Gaga explored in The Fame and specifically in “Paparazzi,” with fame comes pitchforks and the eager desire to see the powerful fall from grace. There were many threats that stood against the Gaga, including a “feud” with fellow pop-star Christina Aguilera (Duboff, 2010). The media took a slight comment from Aguilera that seemed to belittle Gaga’s artistic expression as something “fun to look at” (Duboff, 2010).
But one of the biggest threats that Gaga seemed to never live down was the constant comparison to Madonna. Although Gaga lists Madonna as major influence, even citing her name in The Fame’s album booklet, music fans started to pick apart Gaga’s similarities with Madonna, questioning if she was just a provocative recreation of the pop icon (Germanotta, 2008). This was so prevalent that SNL invited the two to make a skit, where Gaga and Madonna had a catfight (Ganz, 2018). The sketch was a success because of the existing comparisons and feud rumors between the two singers. Little did they know that the feud was only to grow in a few years’ time with the release of Gaga’s single “Born This Way” sounding similar to Madonna’s “Express Yourself” (Christian, 2011). The media’s tendency to pit women against each other has unfortunately become a pillar in fame.
Conclusion
Lady Gaga had created a powerful precedent for how musicians enter into the pop atmosphere. With notes from Warhol interpreting the fascination of celebrity culture, Gaga made sure The Fame spoke from a place of desire. The ambition sometimes must come from the art of delusion, like how Gaga simply started believing she was already famous. The dangerous road to fame can be interpreted through songs like “Paparazzi” and “The Fame,” where something is so glamorous it becomes addicting. Gaga is able to communicate this through a network of themes expressed through performances, fashion, video, and technology.
References
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Burns, L., Woosd, A., & Lafrance, M. (2015). The Genealogy of a Song: Lady Gaga's Musical Intertexts on The Fame Monster (2009). Twentieth-Century Music, 12(1), 3-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1478572214000176
Christian, E. B. (2011). Book Reviews: "Poker Face: The Rise and Rise of Lady Gaga". The Journal of American Culture, 34(2), 209. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/book-reviews-poker-face-rise-lady-gaga/docview/881983002/se-2?accountid=9840
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