More than one blog has crowned Lady Gaga the heir to Madonna's throne as Queen Of Pop. When "Just Dance" was all we heard, it was easy to brush those claims off as blog-perboly. Gaga's first single was a frothy pop confection, but after the Euro-flavored singles from Rihanna, Chris Brown and Ne-Yo it didn't seem all that new and daring. Most importantly "Just Dance" with it's two co-stars Colby O'Donis and Akon certainly didn't seem like the beginning of a shot to superstardom.
Fast forward a few months and "Just Dance" and it's followup, "Poker Face" had topped the charts and "Love Game" seems to be headed towards a similar fate. But does that mean Gaga is the second coming of Madonna?
She certainly knows her way around a hook, and the similarities don't end there. Both Catholic broads gathered a huge gay following after jumping into the NYC clubs scenes head first, both understand the need to play the role of Pop Star at all times. The are not conventional beauties, yet have massive sex appeal and definitely use it in a post-modern feministic way.
However, Lady Gaga's rise is slightly more accelerated than Madonna's, while the Material Girl's early singles like "Lucky Star" were great pop tracks, it took her second album to make her a massive media icon. Like A Virgin created a new template and look for Madonna, and made her a superstar. Gaga's The Fame has given her three massive, albeit slow-rising, singles out of the box.
This brings us to another pretender to the throne. Katy Perry's story echoes Madge's in a different way. Both pop stars had their share of disappointments in their early career: Katy with a failed gospel-pop album and pop band The Matrix, and Madonna with her early band Breakfast Club.
All three ladies know how to work a crowd with over-the-top costumes and shows, all three toy with their sexuality both in lyrics and interviews and all three write or co-write their own stuff. While I have no problem with pop tarts like Britney having songwriters and producers do everything to make the tracks hot, someone who can right their own hooks has a better chance of longevity.
Speaking of which, longevity is the real test of whether or not Lady Gaga or Katy Perry can become the next Madonna, or if they will become the next Debbie Gibson. Madonna knows a lot about adaptability, about ambition and drive and about making smart choices in songwriting, production and media manipulation. It'll be while until we know if either pop star can become Queen.
2 comments:
Everything thing you said is so true, I agree that time will be the test for both ladies. But I also think that we'll get a pretty good idea of who's gonna stay the distance with the second album.
I predict Gaga will stay around longer than Katy but they both could be playing the mainstage at the Jersey Shore next summer if their next projects suck. As for the next Madonna, that's a whole other hill to climb because people forget that Madge ain't going nowhere.
She still have a 5 album (!) deal with Live Nation that has produced no albums. She'll be around for awhile...
Junior, you are so right! I don't really think we need a "new" Madonna, the old one is still pumping out great music. And while Hard Candy wasn't perfect, it showed Madge knows how to stay current. Radio may not have embraced it post-"Four Minutes", but that's more about ageism than quality.
Post a Comment