I Kind of Don't Want Your Stupid Love

When the Stupid Love music video dropped, I was praying for an 80s banger with cinematography and choreo to oust Madonna at her prime. I was manifesting a storyline comprable to Paparazzi because Miss Stefani deserves that for her big comeback. I was begging the universe for her to touch up her roots for the first time in months for this. At least we got a wig. I guess.

I don't want this to seem like I hate Gaga or her new era. We love a change! We love an artist exploring new mediums and thematics! I support her even though since A Star Is Born, I feel like a worried aunt watching her favorite distant niece slowly collapse via Facebook album updates from college. The execution is not there, and I can tell you exactly why.

Capitalism.

Since the release of Haus Labs, I feared this would happen. An Amazon exclusive deal, feeling very discount Pat McGrath. A rosy nudes palette with some basic shimmers. There was no attempt at filling a niche. It was simply about pushing product to everyone possible. You want a lip crayon? Here's 12 red, pink, and burgundy shades and not a single fashion color in sight. It just feels lost. It just smells like capitalism and I don't understand why the uniqueness had to stop at that baroque inspired eye mask. I don't think she had to do only vibrants with ridiculous packaging, but the beauty of Gaga is that she is always ahead of the girls. She can do high fashion and camp in the same night. She can do jeans and white t-shirts for months and then show up to an award show serving Princess Grace. Even the Enigma residency was lacking hard when it came to makeup, wardrobe, and god...the wig.

Now I'm starting to realize the shot on iPhone gimmick and Haus Labs promos throughout the Stupid Love video was about pushing product and sacrificing video quality on all fronts. Again, Stefani I love you, but what is going on backstage? I'm really dying to know at this point.

Sit on the Twitter search page for "stupid love" for 5 minutes and you'll see a plethora of hate. Do I think the wardrobe and makeup felt rushed and confused -- trying to do outerspace princess circa Grimes's Genesis music video? Yes. But I think we all look back at Gaga's wardrobe and wig installations in Bad Romance and wonder what happened.

All this being said, I don't think it's fair to say that Lady Gaga's heyday of music sales and influence is over, or that it was in 2010 like many other writers have suggested. When all is said and done, Shallow was in the US Billboard top 20 for 2019, went platinum in the US with 1,287,000 certified units/sales, and was number 12 on Norway's decade end charts.

But it's still important for us to sit down and analyze how our favs got their coin in the first place. Gaga's net worth is $275 million United States dollars. It would be foolish to think all of that is just from music sales, or even from film and TV appearances. A huge stack of Lady Gaga's cash comes from promotions like her Beats by Dr Dre collab, and from of course, Haus Labs. I won't gloss over the fact that she is one of the most profilic philantropists for the LGBTQ+ community, donating millions of dollars to The Born This Way Foundation and being one of the major faces of queer activism in music throughout her career. But even Lady Gaga is a product that produces a profit for her management, for her labels, her venues, and for handfuls of people who rely on her success for their fat paychecks.

It's a very difficult thing for me and other fans to be able to critique our favorite artists without feeling like a troll, because believe me, I know some stan will read the first paragraph of this and assume I don't know what I'm talking about. That's okay. My opinion kind of doesn't matter in the scheme of things, considering we're hurtling quickly towards a nuclear death and I really just write about my petty little thoughts to keep away from existentialism, but I digress. I'm genuinely excited for Chromatica to drop and I'm excited to hear pop Gaga back on top 40 radio again. I'm happy that she's so malleable, so able to change her looks, image, and sound seamlessly. Yet I fear that the leaks, hatred, and lack of success compared to past music sales that surround both Joanne and Artpop might foreshadow this new era being an overcompensation for the shortcomings of albums past.

In the end though, I'm an artist as well. I look back at the art I created 5 years ago and I thank the universe that those pieces aren't indicative of my career as an artist. I know Lady Gaga must feel the same when she looks back at a song like Poker Face for example, knowing she's more than just a catchy pop song. She has the ability to do pop, yes, but she also snaps consistently when it comes to rock, ballads, and even 80s electroclash. I have empathy for Stefani and I know the past few years have definitely been about undoing and redoing her image, and things like Haus Labs and Apple and Amazon deals have cushioned her along the way. Well, maybe more than just "cushioned". Chromatica's release is really just a few weeks away and while the excitement swells, be willing to remind yourself that critiquing your favs is okay.