Lady Gaga has had a rough time launching the ARTPOP era. First she suffered a hip injury which put everything behind schedule, then she had to release 'Applause' a week early because of leaks, and since then she has been getting a lot of nasty press. By releasing the single early she had to compete with Katy Perry's 'Roar' on the charts, but without an official radio release yet, people are claiming that 'Applause' is flopping. First of all, I don't think a #2 single on the iTunes charts equates to a flop, plus the casual radio listener most likely hasn't even heard 'Applause' yet and rushed to iTunes to buy it. With the video release finally here and the song being officially released to radio today, hopefully the song will see a surge in sales and rise to #1 on the Billboard chart next week. How Katy's generic track is outperforming Gaga's I have no idea, but let's focus on the freshly released music video which is the first new one from Gaga in two years (not including the lyric video which premiered on Wednesday)!
This morning, Lady Gaga appeared on Good Morning America in New York City where she gave her first television interview of the ARTPOP era, as well as debuted the highly anticipated music video for her incredible single 'Applause' (a track with which I am beyond obsessed). She pulled into Times Square in an Eldorado serving old school glam, most likely channelling her Princess Die persona. She looked gorgeous, and made her way to the tech throne that was featured in one of the early ARTPOP promo images. She claims the Tech Throne represents her creativity and how she is always communicating with her fans through the art.
I don't even know where to begin with describing this video. There is so much going on that you could literally study this video for weeks, and all of the subtle nuances it contains. In short, it's art come to life. In some scenes Gaga recreates artwork, bringing it to life like she proclaims in 'Applause': "Pop culture was in art, now art and pop culture in me." She also sports her looks from the recently released V Magazine covers, specifically her Joan Jett and "the new Gaga" big hair looks. There are a lot of magical influences in it, such as Gaga being summoned from a hat and her changing sizes. The cover art for the 'Applause' single is also contained therein, and Gaga said during the GMA interview that she smeared the make-up and began crying on set because she was thinking of her fans and how much she missed them. There is even one of her get-ups from The Monsterball Tour, but it's trapped in a cage and looks like it's been dying, obviously saying that that period in her life is over and a new one has begun. By the time we get to the final chorus, the video literally erupts: Gaga is having some sort of seizure on the ground, the camera is shaking, and we are getting hit by a barrage of images in quick succession, messing with all of our senses. It's insane, and this video is a pop masterpiece. This is what artists should be aspiring to. Gaga has outdone herself once again, and I can't even imagine what her performance is going to be like when she opens the MTV Video Music Awards in just six short days.