So I just read an article on Spike.com featuring Lady Gaga and her inspirations. Upon starting the article, I had assumed it was going to be literally about the seven musicians that inspired Gaga’s unique music, appearance, and performance styles in the music industry. I was disappointed to find out it was more of a Gaga bash, saying she’s all but directly copied the unique stylings of Peaches, David Bowie, Roisin Murphy, Elton John, Kate Bush, Grace Jones, and Madonna.
Article can be found at:
Now, first of all, I’ll agree that Gaga likely drew inspiration from at least a few of these individuals. But flat out copied them? I think that’s going too far. The two aforementioned artists that she most closely resembles are Grace Jones and Madonna, the latter of which, she has been called “our generation’s Madonna”. Regardless of this, Gaga still has her own style I feel. But even beside that point, it was stated in the article multiple times that Gaga is flat-out copying these artists which is just not true. I checked out the comparisons they made between Madona’s La Isla Bonita and Gaga’s Alejandro and they’re completely different. I checked out Murphy’s Overpowered and saw she was wearing only one outfit that looks entirely different from anything Gaga’s worn. None of these artists cycle through a many outrageous costumes in a single minute like Gaga. Despite this, while all of these artists are eccentric in their own manner (save for Kate Bush, who’s musicality was her focus and not her visual appearance), Gaga’s style still stands out among them. Plus, for each of them to say that Gaga has copied “their” style, wouldn’t that mean that they’ve copied each other? Gaga doesn’t have seven styles.
Let me just say that I don’t know a whole lot about most of those seven artists, so there may be things I’m missing about them. But what made me angry though was the fact that Roisin Murphy called Gaga “a poor imitation of [her]. She has directly copied [her] style.” And as for Grace Jones, Gaga invited her to perform with her, much like how she performed with Elton at one point (likely because she admits they are inspirations and wants to give the audience something they’ll enjoy). But Grace turned her down. Why? According to Grace, “ I’d just prefer to work with someone who is more original and someone who is not copying me, actually”. I find Murphy’s and Grace’s statements quite conceited to say that they’re original and Gaga isn’t. They’re essentially implying that they were the first, and now everyone who wants to be eccentric has to be completely different to them. Nothing in this world is original but creation itself. And for them to think that their style is 100% original is incredibly conceited. Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Gwen Stefani have all drawn major inspiration from Marilyn Monroe, yet no one faults them for it. Everyone draws inspiration whether they are conscious of it or not, and they should just be honored that they’ve inspired someone so much to make an entire performance style after their work.
Also, this may just be me personally, but I really don’t care for Jones’ style. Outlandish? Yes. Different? Yes. But also ugly. Now Gaga’s no stranger to ugly outfits. Her golden bodysuit in Bad Romance is just short of horrendous, and the only outfit in Alejandro that looks good is her nun outfit towards the end (which actually I think is just about the hottest thing I've ever seen [no I don't have a nun fetish, but I'll make an exception]). However, for the occasional ugly outfit, she makes up for it was plenty of really awesome outfits. Out of the fifteen outfits in her Bad Romance video, I love at least 10 of them (such as the polar bear coat, her red lace rags,
the black crown get up, and the diamond threads). Because of outfits like these, I can look past the soda can hairdo, the cigarette glasses, and the red queen. Grace Jones however, I really don’t like any of her outfits. I don’t care for David Bowie’s either to be honest, though I do like him. Point being however, that I think being outlandish is easy. Being outlandish and still looking good however, is not as such.
As far as music goes, Gaga would be the first to admit it’s hardly anything revolutionary, it’s just good music. Like past superstars such as Madonna, Elvis, Mariah Carey, the Beatles, and Spice Girls, just about every song she makes is a hit. Gaga at least has more musicality than most artists because she writes her own music. I’m sure she has help, but many artists out there practically have all the work done for them. Is her voice groundbreaking? No, but it’s real. Aside from the occasional auto-tuned, you can tell that it’s her raw, unsynthesized voice. Not to mention she also plays a musical instrument in the piano. She’s an incredible performer, and she makes sure to make every performance, every video, every speech, and hell, every public appearance memorable.
One last thing on Gaga. At this point, it doesn’t even matter if she’s unique or not because she’s a superstar who’s always outdoing herself. But let’s just take a look at those seven names once again and see their success and the years entailing them. David Bowie’s prime was mostly in the 70s, and partially in the 80s. He never stopped making music until 2003, however the frequency of new music was in a fairly steady decline since the 90s. Elton John also has most of his albums in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but not as many in the 2000s. Roisin Murphy is a part of this new generation of music, making her debut in 2005. But as much as I personally like Roisin Murphy, how many people really know about her, at least over here stateside? The only time I ever hear of her outside of Ireland is the few times that Wade Robson has used her music for dance routines on So You Think You Can Dance. Regardless, she only has two albums, one from 2005 and the other from 2007, and four singles since then.
Kate Bush hit her prime in the 80s. Her last album was in 2005, but before that was 1993, a twelve year gap. So no matter how successful she was, she’s not a part of Gaga’s generation. Grace Jones was also mostly in the 80s, having released only one album in the past 21 years in 2008. Shame, performing with Gaga may have made for a great comeback spark. Madonna and Peaches are the only two who are still actively a part of Gaga’s generation of music. But Peaches I feel isn’t as big a hit as Madonna or Gaga. But Madonna’s been pretty consistent in her music lineup, releasing a new album on average every two or three years since 1983. Madonna, however, is not complaining about Gaga’s success. Regardless, what we’re seeing now is just the start of Gaga’s career, and I too think she’s the Madonna of our generation. I think her outlandish outfits and hit pop music will be around for a long time to come. Pair that with her active civil rights stance and huge following, and I think it’s safe to say that Gaga’s here to stay.
So fellow bloggers, give the article a read if you like, and get your own opinion on it. Perhaps I'm jumping the gun on Jones and Murphy's stances on this. Maybe I'm misinformed. Maybe I'm wrong entirely, but I view Gaga as someone fresh and new, not a recycled copy of what was cool yesterday. But for every major celebrity, there will always be haters. And in this case, I’m just not one of them.
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