Lady Gaga is Billboard’s Woman of the Year: um, why not Taylor Swift or Adele?

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When I first saw that Lady Gaga got Billboard’s Woman of the Year honor for 2015, I did the classic Arrested Development “Her?” Now that I’ve read the Billboard piece, I still sort of have questions. I mean, Gaga has had a decent year. But did she have a better year than Taylor Swift or Adele? No. So why is Gaga the WOTY? Let’s see… her album with Tony Bennett was a success, as was their tour. She won her sixth Grammy. She killed it at the Oscars with her Sound of Music tribute. She got engaged to Taylor Kinney. And she’s starring in American Horror Story. So… yes, she had a good year. She rebranded herself. She went back to the drawing board and came out ahead. But WOTY? You can read Gaga’s WOTY interview here, and here are some highlights:

How she feels about her honor: “It speaks volumes to me that I’m being recognized as Woman of the Year in 2015. This is the year I did what I wanted instead of trying to keep up with what I thought everyone else wanted from me.”

She’s almost 30: “My birthday is in March, so these are the last moments of my 20s. I already mourned that in a way, and now I’m really excited about showing girls, and even men, what it can mean to be a woman in her 30s. Why is it that we’re disposing of people once they pass that mark? It’s suddenly, ‘You’re an old woman.’ I’m not f—ing old. I’m more sexual and powerful and intelligent and on my sh-t than I’ve ever been. I’ve come a long way through a lot of heartache and pain, but none of it made me damaged goods. It made me a fighter. I want to show women they don’t need to try to keep up with the 19-year-olds and the 21-year-olds in order to have a hit. Women in music, they feel like they need to f—ing sell everything to be a star. It’s so sad. I want to explode as I go into my 30s.”

Her Oscar performance: “The truth is you can either nail a performance like that or butcher some of the most classic songs sung by an all-time great. I took the gamble because everyone had written me off. It took me a long time to get those notes. I told my manager, ‘I need two months working with my vocal coach every day and to be sober, which means I can’t do other work at all.’ When I work I need to drink and smoke, and I have body pain [due to hip surgery]. But I’m just like any other girl — there’s a human being in there, and if you can keep the human intact, that’s what you’re going to hear in the music.”

She’s not selling her soul: “You can’t sell your soul once you make it. It’s a big mistake to just go after the money to try to stay on top. I think that’s what everyone wanted me to do. But I’m a different kind of girl, and when being different is not in style it’s hard for me to function. People think, ‘You can just sit down at a piano whenever you want and write,’ but I couldn’t write for two f—ing years. For Artpop, I was doing beats instead. I didn’t want to be near that damn [piano]. It was too emotional. I would start to play and sing, and my mind would go, ‘You are way too talented for this sh-t. F—, your voice sounds good. F—, that’s a beautiful chord. F—, that’s an amazing lyric. Why are you letting these people run you into the ground? When did you become the fashionable robot?’ Can’t being an artist be enough? Is talent ever the thing? I think for Adele it is. I think for Bruno Mars it is. But that’s what I learned from working with Tony: If talent isn’t the thing, then you are way off-base.”

[From Billboard]

Gaga says so many more words, but I think I’ll leave it at that. I actually like that she name-checks Adele and Bruno Mars as two artists who are all about talent rather than the style, the drama, the social media or whatever. Bruno and Adele are famous and successful because of their talent, their voices and their gifts as songwriters. Can we say the same about Gaga? She wants us to be able to say that about her, but I really don’t think she’s there. Does she have a great voice? For sure. But for much of her career, we’ve barely been able to focus on her talent because of all the extra crap around her.

Also: I rolled my eyes through that entire answer about how she’s going to revolutionize what it’s like to be sexy and powerful in her 30s. No one thinks there’s anything weird about a 30-year-old pop star. Ask Beyonce, Madonna, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, etc. Gaga acts like she’s the first pop star to ever make music past her 20s.

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Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet, cover courtesy of Billboard.

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102 Responses to “Lady Gaga is Billboard’s Woman of the Year: um, why not Taylor Swift or Adele?”

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  1. Moxie Remon says:

    To be honest, I wish she would go away, she’s so extra and I know I’m being too harsh, but I’ve had enough.

  2. Armenthrowup says:

    I agree with you on Adele but why on earth would it be Taylor Swift? Not snarking, genuine question. She’s proved all she is is a shallow mean girl who makes substandard music this year. Ugh. Gaga has her flaws yes but she IS phenomenally talented (just watch her perform at the Oscars) and her turn in AHS has been terrific (playing herself mostly but still).

    • Tapioca says:

      Taylor may be incredibly annoying but she’s had the biggest-selling album of the last two years (although Adele will probably overtake her at some point), 3 of the biggest-selling and most-played on the radio singles of the year and sold every one of the 2 million plus tickets for her world tour.

      Her success is undeniable by any standard of measurement.

      • Kitten says:

        This. And the OP’s comment is exactly why these magazine covers don’t mean sh*t. It’s all just a popularity contest, has nothing really to do with success or achievement, much less creativity.

        Taylor’s music is bland and generic to me, but she has had an undeniably successful year. Gaga hasn’t done anything spectacular musically (aside from her Oscars appearance), but she does have AHS under her belt. Still, this isn’t an award for TV series, it’s for musical achievements.

      • ISO says:

        I can’t unhear Taylor Swift’s insipid music. If an horrible song comes on the radio, I can win big on betting every crapAzztic tune is a TS product. For once modern media has pretended TS doesn’t exist. I’m not clear why it’s gaga and not Adele who has given us all faith in modern pop music; this is clearly the year of Adele gratitude, but I guess it’s because she’s from England?

    • Amanda says:

      I don’t think it can be argued that taylor swift wasn’t the biggest female pop star this year before adele came out. She sold the most records (again before adele) and had more hits than anyone else. So, yeah? I get people not liking swifty but let’s not undercut her accomplishments.

    • Jo says:

      So much hate for Taylor huh?!

    • kgg says:

      Just because she’s a shallow mean girl, in your words, doesn’t means she’s not a billboard juggernaut. Taylor Swift didn’t drown a puppy or use racial slurs on twitter. She has model friends and is probably a bitch. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that she dominated the music scene this year. Adele very easily took the crown away from her this fall and will no doubt be WOTY for 2016, but if Adele isn’t it for 2015, then it’s Taylor. And I think calling her music substandard is subjective. She makes catchy tunes for a certain age group. She makes music that’s good to work out to. Gaga had an album with Tony Bennett — but so do a lot of people. Tony gets around. She sang at the Oscars and she’s on a TV show. And it’s not like her last solo album was a masterpiece and she’s just dabbling in other areas. She flopped, picked herself up and tried something different. It’s working — on a much smaller scale than her previous success — but it isn’t something that, I think, makes her the biggest or best thing this year.

      “Billboard” inherently means popular. The top billboard hit means the most popular hit. Gaga had a year or two where she was it, where she was the prom queen. 2015 wasn’t that year.

      • Armenthrowup says:

        @jo – I don’t ‘hate’ anyone I don’t know 😀 And wow, way to overreact to a perfectly genuine question.

        Lovely people on here, jeez.

        And FYI selling a lot of records is no indicator of quality either. I don’t care how many records she has sold, they are not quality music by any standard. Weak songs, weak voice. That is my opinion. It is neither right nor wrong, merely MY opinion.

      • kgg says:

        @armenthrowup, and how on Earth was I overreacting? You called Taylor Swift a “shallow mean girl” and Lady Gaga “phenomenally talented.” I said TS was probably a bitch who was very successful and sold a lot of albums (exactly what Billboard DOES measure) and that Lady Gaga didn’t have a great year. Don’t balk when your “genuine question” gets answered.

    • vauvert says:

      Should have been Taylor. I adore Adele but until a month ago, she was super quiet all year. Nothing wrong with that, and she is phenomenal, but if we talk about a WOTY, then it should be the person who was visibly performing, recording, touring, out selling all year.
      WOTY is not about being the sweetest girl on the playground, is it? And even then, it’s not like Taylor drowns puppies for fun. She has high school girl moments for sure, and I hope she grows out of them, but by and large she is a worthy role model for young women, and undeniably very succesful. I don’t love all her music but I like a lot of her catchy tunes and I think she does a good job of managing her social media, her image, being nice and accessible to her fans and so on.
      Gaga made everyone tire of her with her over the top, in your face persona and is so high up her own a*s, acting as if her modest come back is the second Coming. Her constant swearing is not edgy, and there are so many singers who had succesful careers past their twenties. I still like some of her songs but I don’t see this as her year, and she really needs to take down the annoyance factor a notch.

      • Leah says:

        Taylor was woman of the year last year, she’s not entitled to that award every year….

      • claire says:

        I don’t get the Taylor hate. All that mean girl drama she gets accused of – half the time it seems like wild conjecture and speculation. What we do know is she tours her butt off, does a ton of charity, writes catchy songs, has brilliantly creative ideas for connecting with her fans, and sells a hell of a lot of albums. I mean, she goes on vacation for a few days, and blogs are practically writing novellas about revenge plots against Adele she must be scheming. It’s hysterical.

      • WinnieCoopersMom says:

        Claire- amen. Thank you for this comment.

    • K says:

      Taylor may be a mean girl (who knows) but that doesn’t change her success and sorry but that is what it should be measured on! And Taylor had an incredibly successful year in fact no one in music could touch her until Adele came out, so it should have gone to Taylor or Adele.

      We measure Men of the Year solely on accomplishments not if they are nice or sweet sorry but calling foul on not doing the same for women. And Gaga doesn’t rank with Taylor or Adele in terms of career accomplishments last year! Or ever really she hasn’t had nearly the success those women have. She didn’t deserve to have her name in the running when those two were in play!

  3. Jo says:

    Just a big NO!

  4. Lilacflowers says:

    Mimif was robbed! We all know she’s Woman of the Year!

  5. Who ARE these people? says:

    The funny thing is I thought she was already in her thirties…that was her vibe.

  6. jinni says:

    Even with all of the things that you pointed out that happened to her this year, it still seems weird that they chose her. This is like choosing Beckham for sexiest man, it seems like they would have been good choices years ago not today.

  7. mia girl says:

    Not much to say about Gaga, but agree that Bruno Mars is all about the talent.
    Just read yesterday that Uptown Funk has stayed on the billboard top 100 chart for over a year.

  8. Jenni says:

    Billboard always is kissing her a$$. Do you remember Billboard’s shenanigans during her ArtPoop era?

  9. Louise177 says:

    I think Adele released music just way too late. I think Hello came out at the end of October and the album just a couple of weeks ago. I feel like Taylor was WOTY in the last couple of years so it doesn’t make sense to name again so soon. I don’t know how people are named but it’s probably not just about album and concert sales.

    • mom2two says:

      I think you hit the nail on the head. Adele’s music came out too late in the year to be considered, though I bet her album will be #1 on a lot of best album lists. If Taylor was BB’s woman of the year last year, then they were not going use her for second year in the row or so soon.
      Knowing those two variables, I’m okay with Lady Gaga on the cover of this, but if I didn’t know …I’d be surprised it wasn’t Taylor.

  10. raptor says:

    i could be (probably am) projecting, but to me, her comments about turning 30 seem to come from a place of anxiety about getting older. I turned 30 last year, and I got three distinct messages from people. The first was that I was getting older, had to settle down, stop trying to be cool (because when you hit 30, you can’t be cool, I guess?), and the second was that as soon as I turned 30, I’d suddenly stop caring what ever people think and I was about to enter a magical decade in which I’d be self-assured and badass. The third was that turning 30 was something to be ashamed of, and I should just have a second anniversary of my 29th birthday, because no one wants to be 30.

    What really happened is that I turned 30. That’s all.

    But I think there’s a lot of anxiety about it, especially for women, because people have built it up into this landmark birthday that simultaneously signifies that you’re old and no longer sexually desirable (bullshit), and that you’re mature and need to have your life together and all the fun is gone (nope), and that you’re going to undergo some magic transformation that suddenly makes you feel more secure and less dependent on what other people think (not true for me).

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Ha! I’m 59, so anxiety about turning thirty just seems like such a waste of energy to me, and I nearly got my eyes stuck up in my head from rolling them when Gaga said she had “mourned” that already. Mourned? I mourned when my marriage fell apart, when one of my best friends died, when my brother lost a child. Turning thirty is a milestone. I think you will reach your peak of beauty in that decade, and some, not all of your social anxiety will fall away, and you’ll get a more solid grip on who you are. But it doesn’t happen on your birthday. You sound very grounded and you’re right. It’s a gradual thing and young people have so much wasted anxiety about it. You’ll be fine. I’m turning 60 next year, and I’ll be fine. We’re lucky to be here worrying about it, right?

      • NUTBALLS says:

        No kidding, right? Age-related anxiety is such a waste of energy. My 30’s were the decade that I enjoyed the hard-won wisdom and growth of my 20’s. Now that I’m older and more confident, I like the current me and my life even better than my younger versions. I do a lot more meaningful things in life too, having learned better what’s really important.

        To me, each birthday is an opportunity to celebrate another year of being above ground and able to enjoy time in family, friends and play in the Colorado mountains.

    • Mgsota says:

      Do people really think 30 is old and you can’t be cool anymore? Maybe a 12 year old thinks 30 is old, but 30 is YOUNG!

      • Kitten says:

        I had tremendous anxiety about turning 30. I mean, TREMENDOUS. I had a bit of that when I turned 35 too. Now at 36, I wish I was turning 30 🙁

        But raptor is right that actually turning 30 was so damn anticlimactic after all the build-up starting at 27.

      • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

        Yeah I’ll be honest and admit I’m dreading turning 30, I guess I thought I’d be a young soul-sucking vampire forever ha!

      • NUTBALLS says:

        When I was a teenage babysitter of 13-14, I thought my favorite mom of kids I sat for was so mature and I totally looked up to her. She was the one I turned to for advise during my rebellious teenage years when it seemed my own mom didn’t get me.

        This mom was 24. Oh how the perspective of how old 24 is when you’re 34…. oy.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        I didn’t mean to belittle the anxiety about turning 30. I certainly experienced it, too. I just meant that, looking back, it was a milestone, but nothing to worry about. I think part of it is that you realize how fast the time goes, and you fear that tomorrow you’ll be 110. Also, it’s just your third decade, so you’re not used to these milestones yet.

    • We Are All Made of Stars says:

      Ha ha, only silly teens and anxiety driven 27 year olds think 30 is the new 70. If you think the magic flower that has been keeping you young suddenly loses all its petals and all that accumulated sex appeal suddenly melts and starts oozing off you like an Edvard Munch painting, I’d like to see how you’re going to handle every other birthday. The truth is usually that you’re a day older than you were yesterday.

    • knower says:

      I think it’s even more compounded by the fact that she works in an industry where once you’re 30, you’re irrelevant. Mostly because the biggest cash cow demographic is 18-30 and once she ages out of that bracket, technically she can’t “relate” to those people she’s trying to sell the hardest to.

  11. Div says:

    It is weird that she’s woman of the year but she’s successfully rebranded herself even if she’s nowhere near her 2010 peak. I’ve always thought she belonged on Broadway. She has the voice and the personality and she’s an okay actress who would probably be good if she had some lessons.

  12. Miss V says:

    Was Taylor Swift the WOTY last year? Maybe that’s why they didn’t pick her. And Adele’s album came out too late in the year. But still, Katy Perry had a bigger year than Gaga.

    • lucy2 says:

      Yes, it was Taylor last year. Why it wasn’t Adele is still a puzzle to me though.

      • Leah says:

        Because her CD was released too late in the year, unless someone makes a spectacular record it will be adele next year.

      • WinnieCoopersMom says:

        @Leah – Rihanna is supposed to release her new album soon. She might be the only competing force against Adele for awards..which is a little funny bc Adele is admittedly a huge RiRi fangirl.

  13. crab says:

    I don’t know much about her music, I’m a rocker chick myself, but man she is killing it on American Horror Story!!

  14. nora says:

    She was wonderful at the Oscars. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t pick Adele though, this was definitely her year.

    And everyone is sick of Taylor. She’s blown her own fuse.

  15. Dangles says:

    No love for Rosie Batty?

  16. Aarika says:

    It should have definitely been Taylor Swift, no one was as big as her this year. I had to read your piece to figure out what Gaga did this year, she didn’t have as big of a year as Taylor. And it shouldn’t have been Adele either she just came out with new material a few weeks ago, she wasn’t there the whole year. I wonder if there is a little industry backlash against Taylor because this makes no since.

  17. neelyo says:

    Is this award from 2011?

    My guess is Adele’s success was too late in the year to count. She’ll get it next year.

  18. missmerry says:

    when i first read this:

    ” I want to show women they don’t need to try to keep up with the 19-year-olds and the 21-year-olds in order to have a hit. ”

    MADONNA came to mind.
    I read an article on this very site about Madonna’s attempts to stay young and relevant, and it falls on its face and we poke fun at her for it.

    So I have to disagree with the writer here, I don’t think Gaga thinks shes the only pop star to make it out of her 20’s, but maybe she’s just saying ‘I’m not going to keep acting like I did when I was 19 or 21 to try and stay relevant, I’m going to do what I want and hopefully that resonates…” because if she tries to stay young, she’s going to embarrass herself like Madonna does.

  19. Skins says:

    Was never much of a GaGa fan, but she killed it at the Oscars and I am loving her on American Horror Story so I am warming up to her. Very talented woman

  20. K says:

    Sorry this is so wrong! In no way shape or form should this woman be even considered or have her name on the board or heck even in the room in a year when Adele came out with a new album, Missy Elliot came back and Taylor dominated everything in music until my beloved Adele came back!

    I mean seriously this past year two musicians have been talked about Taylor swift and Adele and that is it! I forgot Gaga performed at the Oscars it wasn’t that memorable, it was fine but highly overrated. And yes Taylor may have gotten to be a bit much but her tour broke records and Adele’s album and singles well let’s not go down the list of records that broke. I can see Adele not getting it because of how late she came out but if you aren’t giving it to Adele the only person she could have possibly lost to was Taylor!

    This is suppose to be about accomplishment and seriously what did Gaga accomplish? She turned 30! Got a basic engagement ring and stayed Ryan Murphy’s fave? Yeah that compares to Adele and Taylor. Sorry this is a joke.

  21. Kathryn says:

    Gaga paid to be Woman of the Year. Look at Prince’s twitter account. He posted a resignation letter from a top Billboard editor who resigned BECAUSE Gaga was allowed to pay for placement.

    • K says:

      Where I didn’t see it? When did he tweet this article, although not shocking that happened.

      • Kathryn says:

        He deleted the tweet but google Lady Gaga Billboard letter and you’ll find it. Whoever resigned went into great detail that most of these awards are bought.

      • Antonio says:

        Here is the letter. Prince deleted it because Gaga’s LIL Monsters were calling him racial slurs and all that…

        https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVWWOwrU4AAxXD7.jpg

      • K says:

        @antonio thanks! That is crazy and really the “born this way” crowd had the nerve to call him racial slurs? you have to be a special kind of disgusting person to use those terms anyway but to do it over a pop singer hope their soul can justify it.

        Oh and not shocking Gaga is just sad and thirsty, has been for years.

      • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

        Smh, a lot of the reason folks don’t like Gaga is because her and the ‘born that way’ crowd aren’t nearly as evolved and open-minded as they pretend to be.

        Horrible petty people, and just like when her monsters (such an accurate nickname) went after Adele I’m sure she won’t say anything until the backlash hits her.

      • K says:

        @Ese why in the world did they go after Adele? For having true raw talent? For just being able to stand in front of a mic and sing and stop people in their tracks? Something Gaga can’t do?

        Seriously I have people I’m a fan of (Adele obviously) but I would never attack someone I didn’t like. It is just so vile and a waste of time. Seriously just ignore them but to try and defame, hurt or humiliate them because they aren’t your favorite is twisted and concerning.

      • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

        @k

        It’s been a while so I might be fuzzy on the details but if I remember correctly it was about Adele winning more awards than her or being nominated for an MTV award when she wasn’t (something quite small and petty like that). Her fans who claim to be so anti-bullying and supportive immediately started fat shaming Adele (making memes and pics, sending vicious tweets her way, telling her to kill her fat self) and and Ms. Born This Way herself didn’t say a peep about the whole thing.

        Then when media outlets started to speak up about the hypocrisy of her inaction (this is the same woman who made a point to deliver a White House speech about how harmful bullying is) suddenly she writes some flowery message too little too late about how she’d never advocate something like the bullying that took place.

        Since then I’ve judged her and her monsters hard.

    • Sarah01 says:

      I think a lot of these titles are bought, it’s a tool to stay relevant. She was trying to be too avant garde, when your antics out play your music then you music is irrelevant. If you don’t employ these attention grabbing antics and you let your music do the work then you begin on the path of legends.

  22. Heather says:

    I definitely vote Adele!!! Taylor Swift – I am just SO over her. She is overexposed.

  23. Micki says:

    You can always name 3-5 nominees for whatever, who had a strong year and nit pick forever .
    I’m not offended by the choice and I definitely prefer Gaga’s voice to Talyor’s.

  24. Josefina says:

    I like Gaga. She’s very talented. Maybe she tries too hard, but I appreciate that she tries. Pop music is all about copying and being the same as everyone. She came in and did something different. Yeah, she heavily borrowed sh*t from other famous people, but still, her videos were fun and crazy and very unlike what was “in” those days.

    She’s incredibly devoted to her fans and I think she really stays true to herself, despite what people say about her. I admire that.

    And seriously she’s the best part of AHS Hotel. Her acting is so horrid but so ridiculously hilarious.

  25. Sadie77az says:

    Hair in her mouth- this drives me out of my mind. I just want to reach through the screen and push it away from it.

  26. claire says:

    Not into Gaga. This award is definitely suspicious. She’s kinda finally fallen off most people’s radars. And all the boasting about how deep her art is – pssh, she puts out pointless vapid pop. Gimme a break.

  27. Twink says:

    I loved her when she first came out, I was over her but then I started watching AHS:Hotel and she’s great! It changed my opinion of her.

  28. word says:

    I heard this yesterday and was surprised by it as well. This was NOT her year.

  29. C says:

    I’m sure Adele will be woman of the year next year. She just released her new album and I think they announced that gaga would be woman of the year a couple of months ago so it was already decided before Adele obliterated the music industry. Also, Taylor was woman of the year last year so I guess they didn’t want a repeat.

    Honestly, aside from Adele and Taylor who else could billboard pick from the big pop artists? Pop music just isn’t diverse enough and options are scant.

    • WinnieCoopersMom says:

      “Honestly, aside from Adele and Taylor who else could billboard pick from the big pop artists?” Umm.. Hello. Ariana Grande, Gwen Stefani..I kid I kid lol .. I agree it should have been Taylor. Hands down, When you look at overall record sales, ticket sales, all other data etc, she truly was the Woman of the Year in the music industry. I’m sure this pissed her off that she didn’t get it for 2015, this had to be the best year for her brand thus far in her career. To reiterate, other comments, Adele’s album dropped exactly 2 weeks ago. Can’t really give this award to someone who held the top spot for just the last 6 weeks out of the year. That being said with regards to merits and data, Gaga should not have even been a contender this year.

  30. kimbers says:

    How did she get this honor? Should we stick a fork in billboard?

  31. ashley says:

    I think that picking Lady Gaga sets a good example and is rewarding someone who decided to focus on art, and what would be fulfilling and creative, but not in the context of doing it for someone else. The success here is measured in a meaningful way, not by number of records sold, millions earned on a tour, etc. Taylor Swift was the 2014 billboard artist already, because 1989 came out last year. Adele’s big comeback has come at the very end of 2015. I think this award is fitting and refreshing. LG has certainly been a little off my radar but I have so much respect for how she took all these projects head on this year.

  32. qtpi says:

    Have you seen the commercial she did with Tony Bennett? He is in a lovely suit and she has a skirt that practically shows her butt cheeks when she leans in to kiss his cheek. Hate the messages we are sending our young girls.

    • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

      Yeah I wasn’t cool with the shortness of her dress in that commercial and it’s so unnecessary since Tony is so old so there’s no sexual tension/teasing (or is there?). Just seems out of place and weird.

  33. DethHammer says:

    Could anyone get through the entire interview without vomiting from narcissism overdose? I was just starting to like her again but this killed any amity I had for her. Some examples from the interview:

    “I am an Italian-American girl from New York who won state jazz competitions in high school for my abilities. I was born to sing with Tony and for him to be like, ‘Yes, you were.’ And so was Ella [Fitzgerald] and so was Judy [Garland] — we could go on and on listing the amazing women he sang with.” (Yes you are one of the elite who was born to sing with Tony! Gimme a break)

    “If you don’t like absurdity, I’m probably not for you. I hung upside down for 45 minutes for [video artist] Robert Wilson and drained all the blood in my body, and I’ve stood in a freezing cold river naked for two hours with magnets on my head for Marina Abramovic. I’m a hard-core chick. I go there. I can put all my rage into that dark art, and then the rest of my life can be spent clearheaded, doing the things I know to be right, like philanthropy and sticking to my guns musically.” (That’s why you have licensed Halloween costumes, two fragrances, Heartbeats Beats headphones, failed products with Polaroid, and even a pop water- because it’s all about the music. Also if you drained all the blood from your body, you would be dead. Just a reminder from planet Earth)

    “I’m grateful for what I have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t value the gift of life. Because while this house is beautiful, once I cross my property line I’m no longer free; it’s legal to stalk me all over the world.”

    “of all of my contemporaries, I’m probably just the most romantic. Especially in a world where music education is not the biggest thing.” (DONE! I can’t take anymore lol)

    • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

      LMAO, yeah I stumbled on that ‘drained all my blood’ thing. She’s a pill.

    • Jayna says:

      Oh My God, what a self-important, narcissistic, delusional “artist.” So full f herself. Too bad her music isn’t up there with the greats even though she seems to elevate herself to that level of ability. And when it bombs, she blames everyone else but herself. Even her fans admit she says one thing one interview and totally contradicts herself another time.

  34. jammypants says:

    Gaga is more like a one hit album wonder and should just fade away to obscurity.

  35. Mattie says:

    I just can’t with her…..I can’t even watch AHS because of her….there is something off putting with her for me.

  36. celtlady says:

    Please…Swifty? Really? Even the tweens are getting burned out from Swifty overload.
    Adele is killing it right now, BUT was nowhere to be seen or heard for most of the year.
    I like the way that Gaga has reinvented herself and has begun to rely more on her talent than on her crazy outfits.

  37. VBingo says:

    It’s because she’s an artist for Universal Music and both TSwift and Adele are on Indie labels. Universal Music’s subscriptions to Billboard probably account for 60% of their revenue.

  38. Alexa says:

    CONGRATULATIONS Lady Gaga! I think you’re fabulous and never tire of looking at you.

  39. FF says:

    Probably because this will likely be the last year they can feasibly mention Gaga, unless she becomes stellar in acting or as a music producer/sing-writer.

    Adele, could probably have another 5-10 years, and Swift another 2-3 before people wonder why a woman in her thirties is singing adolescent fantasy anthems and demand she give them more or gtfo.

    Gaga’s star – barring an unforeseen reversal – is tilting into decline. So this is sendoff props for defining a brief era of pop culture people can reminisce over ten years from now over the pantomime of it all, and how one time Gaga was EVERYWHERE and EVERYTHING.

    Educated guess says Adele and Swift will still be relevant enough in a year or two to be Women of the Year then. Even if Gaga gamechanges people might refuse it because they’ve simply tired of the novelty no matter what form it takes.

    ETA: Plus every magazine and their mother will be going for Swift or Adele this year and next. This way they get to throw a curve ball, with a strong visual element that gets everyone talking via mild ‘controversy’. While distinguishing themselves from other magazines doing the same thing.

  40. LaurieH says:

    This strikes me as strange. Adele has THE best-selling album out right now. Taylor Swift is winning awards hand over fist. Lady Gaga is so…. yesterday. So over.

  41. NGBoston says:

    Gaga was an odd choice for this year.

    No to Swifty, bc she has been awarded on a regular basis for the past 3 years and her Music is all the same so over it.

    Yes, to Adele, for 25. Brilliant, as is she as an Artist. And, to point out—“Hello” was nothing spectacular or outside of Adele’s wheelhouse or comfort zone either. But, hell-it’s Adele. Not the best or most perfect voice in the World by a long shot—but lovely, raspy, unique and all the while just wonderfully beautiful.

    It’s her lyrics, style and voice together that make her a stand-out Artist- it’s her not selling out or giving zero fucks about Music Industry standards and the norm. It’s EVERYTHING, she is EVERYTHING.

    Should have been Adele on that cover! So, Billboard, basically-you suck.