“No matter how inevitable a song like “California Gurls” sounds, there are no guarantees, even at the highest levels of pop stardom [see Christina Aguilera's career-jeopardizing 2010 super bomb, Bionic.] For Madonna or even Britney, changing your look or sound every album cycle was enough. No more. Largely thanks to Gaga, everything’s accelerated. Perry knows she can’t quite keep up with that pace. So instead, she’s cruising in the wake, comfortably alternating between looking like a blue-haired Smurfette, a Bettie Page acolyte, and Zooey Deschanel. But super-stardom is more than an infinite clothes rack—it’s about being untouchable and universal at once. “I don’t want people to see that I’m a human being,” Gaga has said. Katy Perry doesn’t have that problem.”
So, Katy Perry vs Lady Gaga? You decide.
I’m kind of laughing that you even wrote about this!
August 27th, 2010 at 10:44 am..and I’m sure you’re not the only one!
August 27th, 2010 at 10:55 amIt depends on what we value more. Lady Gaga isn’t exactly original (see Peaches, Madonna, etc.), but she does have her own identity. Katy Perry is a parasite, feeding off the cultural zeitgeist. Arguably, Lady Gaga has similarly mixed and matched influences to produce her image. Who hasn’t? If I can loosely use the word, Lady Gaga is more of an “artist”, being the creator of her own persona, whereas Katy Perry has allowed herself to be created in pop’s image. It’s the difference between Christina Aguilera, who had the talent, and Britney Spears, who had the pedigree. What do we value more, a person who takes the influences of the past and molds them into something of their own, or someone who sees the opportunity to ride the coattails of others, thus achieving the same level of notoriety?
Whatever differences might be between them, neither is wholly original. It’s pop. It’s fun, catchy, effervescent, ear candy. In that, I think they’re on equal footing. It’s all a matter of personal preference.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:22 amArrogance on parade! You’re obsessed!
August 27th, 2010 at 11:31 amCommercialism runs the game. I stopped by Starbucks and noticed front-and-center Katy Perry’s airbrushed, cotton-candied derriere. Touché, Ms. Perry, you win.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:32 am