Review
Lady Gaga "The Fame" Review
- Author:
- Review Date:
- 04/01/09
Lady Gaga is a versatile artist that doesn’t mind exposing herself in each and every beat and lyric of her debut album. “The Fame” is an album that instantly creates the characteristics of the artist Lady Gaga that fans from several genres of music will instantly associate with. The entire album can be viewed conceptually, like a work of art, which Lady Gaga herself easily distinguishes. Eccentric, innovative, and definitive: these are words that would effectively describe the character that is Lady Gaga, and her album is a great display of her artistic ability.
“Just Dance”, the lead single off her album has already invaded every area imaginable in the United States, and continues to dominate the charts, along with her second single “Poker Face”, both currently in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Both songs are definitely two of the strongest on the album, and almost each song off the album is instantly ready for radio or club airplay, especially “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich”, “The Fame” and “Paparazzi” which each give enough attitude of glam-pop and celebrity-worship that’s healthy for the average American teenager.
Though the lyrics don’t present anything noteworthy or extraordinary, they aren’t suppose to. The album relies heavily on the beats, with playful lyrics that are surprisingly relatable to our current and emerging generation. Lady Gaga is a talented Singer-Songwriter and her deviation from what is expected in pop music allows it to be new and fresh, though not spectacular by any means.
The beats on the album can get a little repetitive, and I think that many of them are reused, but it does add to the coherence of the album as a whole, which further allows Lady Gaga to define who she wants to be as an artist (and individual). Lady Gaga’s work is genuine, and that’s difficult to do for any artist obsessed with the idea of become rich and famous.
Repetition is the name of the game with this album, and that’s fine by me. Key lyrics get stuck in your head instantly after one run-through, and it’s enough to make you wish you hadn’t listened to the album as much as you did.
There are several songs I could do without, such as “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”, which, quite frankly, there’s nothing else I can say about it. Also, “I like it Rough” doesn’t add as much to the formula of the album as the other songs do, presenting less fun and more of a serious attitude about her personal affairs.
On the outside, “The Fame” may seem like another young woman’s dream for the superficial, but that fame is a goal that is made tangible by the artist herself, and her ability to create that personality through hard work and being definitive, which several new artists miss completely. It’s difficult to stand out in the world of emerging artists and musicians, but Lady Gaga does this very well with her debut album.
The main question after her successfull debut is: “Where does she take us next?” It will be very interesting to see what she evolves into in the next couple of years, and all of America is dying to find out. I think the next task on Lady Gaga’s agenda should be to develop more innovation. If she repeats the already repetitive themes of her album, then I’m afraid that she will lose her definitive persona and will become just another one-hit wonder.
“Just Dance”, the lead single off her album has already invaded every area imaginable in the United States, and continues to dominate the charts, along with her second single “Poker Face”, both currently in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Both songs are definitely two of the strongest on the album, and almost each song off the album is instantly ready for radio or club airplay, especially “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich”, “The Fame” and “Paparazzi” which each give enough attitude of glam-pop and celebrity-worship that’s healthy for the average American teenager.
Though the lyrics don’t present anything noteworthy or extraordinary, they aren’t suppose to. The album relies heavily on the beats, with playful lyrics that are surprisingly relatable to our current and emerging generation. Lady Gaga is a talented Singer-Songwriter and her deviation from what is expected in pop music allows it to be new and fresh, though not spectacular by any means.
The beats on the album can get a little repetitive, and I think that many of them are reused, but it does add to the coherence of the album as a whole, which further allows Lady Gaga to define who she wants to be as an artist (and individual). Lady Gaga’s work is genuine, and that’s difficult to do for any artist obsessed with the idea of become rich and famous.
Repetition is the name of the game with this album, and that’s fine by me. Key lyrics get stuck in your head instantly after one run-through, and it’s enough to make you wish you hadn’t listened to the album as much as you did.
There are several songs I could do without, such as “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”, which, quite frankly, there’s nothing else I can say about it. Also, “I like it Rough” doesn’t add as much to the formula of the album as the other songs do, presenting less fun and more of a serious attitude about her personal affairs.
On the outside, “The Fame” may seem like another young woman’s dream for the superficial, but that fame is a goal that is made tangible by the artist herself, and her ability to create that personality through hard work and being definitive, which several new artists miss completely. It’s difficult to stand out in the world of emerging artists and musicians, but Lady Gaga does this very well with her debut album.
The main question after her successfull debut is: “Where does she take us next?” It will be very interesting to see what she evolves into in the next couple of years, and all of America is dying to find out. I think the next task on Lady Gaga’s agenda should be to develop more innovation. If she repeats the already repetitive themes of her album, then I’m afraid that she will lose her definitive persona and will become just another one-hit wonder.