Lady Gaga releases lyric video for ‘Applause’: boring & Madonna-esque?

As we discussed yesterday, Lady Gaga covers the new issue of V Magazine. V actually did four covers and four separate photo shoots with Gaga, each shoot with a different wig and different “styling”. Although I can only post a few photos from the entire shoot because Gaga is naked in nearly every pic. She’s so subversive. So brilliant. Showing your boobs is so avant-garde. You wouldn’t understand. I’m also including some new photos of Gaga wandering around in clown makeup yesterday. Blah.

Gaga just released her new “lyric video” for “Applause,” her first single off of ARTPOP. There are drag queens and wigs and little monsters. It’s actually a decent lyric video, I think.

As I’m sure you’ve already seen (and heard and read), many people are comparing “Applause” to Madonna’s “Girl Gone Wild,” which was a single Madonna released… when? 2012, I guess. Listen to them back to back and you really hear the similarities.

Does Gaga deserve the shade that consistently thrown at her for “copying” Madonna? Madonna copied a lot of artists too – or as Beyonce would say, “homage-ing them”. While I do think “Applause” and “Girl Gone Wild” sound similar, I also think Gaga’s single sounds sort of Rihanna-ish, which is to say that it sounds like a million other interchangeable pop songs these days. So, does Gaga deserve criticism for making what sounds like a pretty basic pop album (when it’s supposed to be the definitive album of a generation), or does she deserve criticism for copying Madonna specifically? Or none of the above?

Photos courtesy of V Magazine, WENN.

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46 Responses to “Lady Gaga releases lyric video for ‘Applause’: boring & Madonna-esque?”

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  1. Harriet says:

    Kinda like the cover. Madonna needs to get over her approaching-60-self!

    • Jenny says:

      The funny thing about these covers is that:
      cover #1 she looks like Joan Jett
      cover #2 she looks like David Bowie/Madonna
      cover #3 she looks like Britney/Kesha
      cover #4 she looks like Beyawnce/Mimi (there is a lot of hair).

      Where is Gaga/Stefani in this?

      • Leigh says:

        Funny you see Britney/Kesha in #3, I did a double take because for a second I thought it was Dina Lohan!! Poor Gaga!

    • Sisi says:

      yeah I like tit (typo is staying) too

      is that a plastic V jacket?
      Kinda reminds me of what Michael JAckson wore in the thriller vid.

  2. Diana says:

    there’s got to be a real person beneath all this fakery and ego.

  3. jen says:

    That picture with the safety pin dress is actually really pretty.

  4. Nanz says:

    It sounds like standard pop music. A similar point was brought up about the similarities between Katy Perry’s new song and Sarah Somebody. The blogger’s point was that they are not necessarily copying each other, but that today’s pop music just sounds the same. But it was a blogger who wrote it, so Lady Gaga would have you ignore it.

    • Andrew says:

      I actually LOVE Katy’s new song much better than Gaga’s. like I’ve been playing it a lot

      • bns says:

        Katy’s song is definitely catchier. You can’t sing along with Gaga’s because you can’t understand the chorus.

      • Bijlee says:

        I actually like her song better than Katy’s.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I am not a fan of Katy’s song. I feel like it is just a run on of cliches (eye of the tiger?). I am not usually a fan of KP’s voice, I feel like she is shouty and shrill…and her new single is ALL shouting.

        Gaga’s new song is growing on me. Like it but don’t “love” it.

    • Naye in VA says:

      Sarah Bareallis (or close enough). An the problem with Katy is that she and Sarah have TOTALLY different styles. Sarah has actual talent, and while it may be pop that she sings it’s not full of air. It’s all female empowerment. She’s really awesome

  5. HH says:

    No, she deserves criticism for thinking she’s more than she actually is. She has bought into her hype and now everything she does is supposed to be earth-shattering awesomeness.

  6. MonicaQ says:

    After listening to “Applause”, I realized I’d rather hear more updates on RGIII’s rehab progress and I’m not a Washington Redskins fan.

    Seriously it’s bland, it’s lame, it seems horrifically pandering…so basically like most of her stuff. Ok.

  7. Kiddo says:

    You know, some of the personas and get-ups are kind of fun and interesting. I think Gaga is more of a performer than a great songwriter or voice. In my opinion, her biggest problem is that she takes herself as seriously as a heart attack. Even Andy Warhol understood the ridiculousness of it all and didn’t take himself half as seriously as Gaga does. If she lightened up and could have a sense of humor about herself and the industry, I think she’d produce less groans.

    • Londerland says:

      This, exactly. I used to really like Gaga for not being a pretty blonde pop tart, for speaking up on LGBT issues, for being willing to look ridiculous, for wearing a meat dress or having a pet tea cup, for being so into the theatrical element of pop music…but the ego, the attitude, is such a bloody turn-off. Why is she so incredibly humourless? How can you reference Warhol and Bowie and not have a giggle at yourself? They did!

      No, Gaga, you are not the mother of a new race of superior human beings, you are not the saviour of all marginalised “freaks”, you are not the Messiah, you’re not even remotely original. Your body of work is littered with the carcasses of the people who work you have cannibalised, and all you seem to do now is to vomit up neon scraps and call them “art”.

      And the music doesn’t begin to live up to the hype anymore. Just go write another track as good as Pokerface and people will listen.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I agree. I like Gaga’s sense of adventure, that she will try anything. I think that is a very valuable thing in an artist, because I do think she pushes boundaries. For a very long time female pop artists were expected to only be pretty/sexy, and I think she brought back the idea that being weird/crazy/scary can be fun as well.

        That being said, I wish she didn’t take the “art” thing so seriously. I think she WANTS to be legitimate and deep, but I don’t think effort always gets you there. I think her emotional immaturity is a lot like Kanye. Their childlike “I’ll go for it!” nature can make for interesting music and performances, but it makes them sound like fools in an interview!

  8. Macey says:

    I cant believe how different she looks with each hair cut/color and style. I probably would not know some of those were her if I saw the pics with no article.

    I think everything about Gaga has been copied from someone else, including the Lady Gaga persona. I read the whole GaGa schtick was intended for another singer but Gaga ripped it off and then the other person passed away. I wonder what else someone has on her since she fought to have those “career damaging” records sealed?

    • TheOneAndOnlyOnly says:

      there was also that messy legal dispute with Rob Fusari, the impresario that created her and gave her her stage name;She’s goes to these lengths to disguise the fact that she’s the poster girl for manufactured pop star;
      If her “music” is so great, why do we need this endless promo, Shouldn’t it be able to stand on it’s own?
      Macey, check out the Gaga post from a few days ago were posters shredded her vapid prententious interview in V. THe comments were hilarious, accurate and devastating.

  9. Nerd Alert says:

    I want to dip a napkin in my water and clean her face for her.

  10. EmmeSu says:

    Bored, seriously, seriously bored with her. From avante-guard to pretension to desperation.

  11. mytbean says:

    well… something nice? Madonna looks pretty good now that all of her modifications have calmed down. She looks pretty much the same as she did 30 years ago.

    But both Gaga and Madonna are in denial that they’re aging and need to re-invent themselves in a different direction to stay relevant. :/

  12. Neelyo says:

    When this album flops, and I get the feeling that it will, she’ll inevitably blame the unwashed masses for not understanding her ‘art’.

  13. Merman says:

    Less Gaga more Willam Belli :P.

    • Jen'sMom says:

      YES! I’m always up for more Willam! HE has talent, and doesn’t take himself seriously at all.

      • Apsutter says:

        What’s really funny about her using the queens from Rupaul is that on the last Gaga article I commented that watching so much Rupaul’s snatch game made me realize just how bland and boring current “superstars” are(Beyonce, Caca, RIhanna) compared to when they parody people like Cher or Babs

    • ray says:

      YES! i was waiting for someone to actually mention the drag queens! i only watched it cos i saw detox tweet about it! i much prefer willam, detox and vicky vox’ songs lol, they should definitely replace gaga in the charts haha

  14. break says:

    She’s had so much work done that her fans should boo when she starts to sing “Born This Way”.

  15. Ellie66 says:

    I love the Madonna song it will be stuck in my head all day now. Gaga’s song sounds like two cats in heat going at it. At this point she needs to stop with all the crazy clothes make-up and the “art”. How about just singing?

  16. Oompa says:

    Gaga’s eyes are starting to look empty.

  17. diva says:

    She makes my skin crawl. She is extremely over hyped.

  18. Rachel says:

    Every time I see the title for her new song, I read it “Applesauce.” I’m tired of trying to correct myself, so I’m just calling it Applesauce from now on.

  19. Jayna says:

    I don’t hear the similarities at all, and I am a fan of both songs.

  20. Sandy says:

    I was there to say BTW was a ripoff but this song sounds nothing like that Madonna song. Now, Katy Perry New song sounds like a ripoff and Justin Timberlake song Mirrrors, sounds like the same beat as Cry Me A River.

  21. Eleonor says:

    So in Gaga’s mind this is the new “Thriller”…
    eyeroll.

  22. skinbis says:

    The two songs doesnt sound similar. Your hatred for Gaga is making you lose focus of your objectivity…

    • LeilaD says:

      I don’t think gaga copied Madonna this time especially after that whole born this way express yourself situation blowing up in her face..what is more pathetic is her calling this the album that will change pop music, even though there’s nothing special about this song!yes it’s catchy but aslo very bland and generic. Madonna was never this delusional when talking about her work.

  23. Trillion says:

    She’s such a chameleon in photos. Last cover she looked like Joan Jett and this one like Jerry Hall.

  24. Trillion says:

    I love seeing my favorite RuPaul stars in the video but I am hating Gaga’s Applause make-up. Seems like a stoned idea that was great for a few seconds but shoulda stayed in the smoking room.

  25. neelyo says:

    Ugh, another song about fame? The song is vapid but because she insists on name dropping people like Koons and touting her own literacy, you have to take it seriously. So if I do so, she’s basically promoting the pursuit of fame for fame’s sake. In other words, the motto of the Kardashians. Art!

    Of course she imitates Madonna, she’s what Madonna has wrought. Except it took Madonna years to reach that level of cynicism and Gaga was born that way.

    The only album of hers I like is THE FAME MONSTER, and it’s more of an EP. The first album was fun but I hated the constant repetition of her name throughout, it felt like branding. The second album felt incoherent and very pretentious. ‘Is
    that an umlaut in a song title??? Wow!’

    I think she’s talented, just not as talented as she believes herself to be. And that ego will prevent her from improving because she thinks she already knows it all.

  26. St says:

    Well – it just looks like she copied very bad Madonna song. Which is ridiculous. If she would copy some great hit or something. But that Girls Gone Wild is such a crappy annoying song.

    And it’s just amazing how Gaga behaves like some voice of a generation but just looks like a poor man’s Madonna. That is hilarious.

  27. Mrs.Darcy says:

    Yawn. “I’m famous blah blah blah zzzz”. I like Katy’s song better, though it’s not her best it is little bit different style wise than her usual fare, kind of stripped back. And very catchy, not like this Gaga one but I’ve never been so big on electronic/house music.

  28. MR Lakesideguy says:

    All the negative writing and posts in the world doesn’t change the facts. The facts are globally she is breaking records. Her sales are phenomenal. If you don’t like her music then listen to something else. To go to all the effort to even post the negativity simply mean you have another artist you like, perhaps Beyonce or Madonna, and are simply jealous that as of today Lady Gaga factually is more popular and the charts prove it over and over again. It wont matter what your opinion is or think about it get over it the facts are just fact. You can’t change it. Denying the jealousy is blatant ignorance. If she wasn’t worth your time then why did you post in the first place? Even Madonna makes herself look bad making any negative remarks. It looks like she’s jealous because one of her MANY deserved records got broken. Get over it and spend stop denying your jealous of that or don’t expose that you are by spending time writing negativity about her. It looks ingorant and stupid to say I don’t like her she copies music (hello its called inspiration all artists do this) and then say she stinks and not worth your time. Why bother posting that? Appearantly it was worth your time to write it. Grow up.