I don't like Lady Gaga. | Teen Ink

I don't like Lady Gaga.

April 2, 2010
By betterhappyending BRONZE, San Ysidro, California
betterhappyending BRONZE, San Ysidro, California
2 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin." - Leonard Cohen


Blasphemy alert. I’m a sixteen year old American girl and I don’t like Lady Gaga. And no, it’s not because I don’t like her music, her costumes, or her performances. I just don’t like being manipulated.

Actually, I lied. It’s partly her music, costumes, and performances. But not so much because they’re hideous or outrageous or tiresome. But looking back at those pictures of her as a “normal” girl and seeing what and who she is now, it’s almost insulting. The fact that this girl had to change into something almost non-human to finally get noticed is unsettling, at best. She’s instead this cold, faceless force. No one noticed her when she was trying to “make it”. But then the fame machine (monster, she calls it?) seemed to eat her up and spit out an entirely new person, repackaged and revamped to “shock” us all.

And in the end, it really isn’t even that shocking. It’s almost a little pathetic (and you’ll see what I mean by insulting) when it seems that the state of the nation’s youth has degenerated so much that we need a woman in a mask and sparkling breasts to tell us that we’re all okay. Okay to be different, okay to be loved, the whole package. Because then we really aren’t, are we?

She's been quoted as saying, “I would rather die than have my fans not see me in a pair of high heels. I'd never give up my wigs and hats for anything.” I'm afraid that this mentality about possessions and image, to her millions of female fans, is dangerous. She speaks almost as if these material things are as vital to life as water is. This is the same woman who says that “I'm always saying something about art and music and fame. That's why you don't ever catch me in sweatpants.” She claims that her style and her persona is for art, and yet, it begs the question if she ever does anything for herself. She makes herself a martyr for the love of her fans. And if she is as passionate as she says she is about new frontiers in art, why are the vast majority of her lyrics about sex and money?



I'm not asking her to be anything different, not exactly. Give me a David Bowie reincarnate, an rebel in the music industry. But give me a little more complexity, a little more beauty, a little more thought than just what's on the outside. Give me another facet than just the freaky hair and makeup and clothing, because if that’s all there is, her opinion about simply being yourself is lost somewhere in the jumble of cosmetics and oversized sunglasses. But most of all, give me a break.



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This article has 471 comments.


on May. 20 2022 at 12:14 pm
Egycal52 SILVER, --, California
6 articles 0 photos 112 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Hats off to the past, coats off to the future."
- American Proverb
"Why do you keep hiding behind your mask,
When even the scars formed by your mistakes
are you own constellations?"

I honestly disagree although I see what you're saying. Lady Gaga is a performer, not just a singer. As such, she's definitely more flamboyant, a little too much maybe. At face value, she does come off as fake, but I don't really think it's a bad thing to have a persona. Also, I think this article was written a while ago, and since then she's changed a lot as an artist and shown more authentic sides of herself.

on Apr. 20 2019 at 8:10 pm
NelliePage522 BRONZE, Mooresville, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world" - Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society

Hi Betterhappyending! I really enjoyed this article. It was well-written and thoughtful. You were respectful and did not attack Lady Gaga as a person but rather her persona and "image". It was an interesting glimpse at culture, society, and what those two things have come to. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Nellie

on Mar. 28 2019 at 1:22 pm
flopsygiraffe19 BRONZE, Grandville, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
I thought this was a well written and interesting piece. It is very thought-provoking. This brings up a very good discussion of who we idolize and look up to. Personally, I don't know a lot about who Lady Gaga is aside from her music. (which I really enjoy). But from what I know, she seems like a nice person. Thank you for sharing your view on the subject :).

on Mar. 12 2019 at 11:10 am
maya_kowalczyk BRONZE, York, Other
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
I understand that you don't like Lady Gaga for the reasons you have stated but not everybody who is famous is the same publicly as they are privately. So she wears clothes that you don't like, that doesn't mean you should hate. Many people like different artists because of their music and their voice but what they wear doesn't always change their opinion. I think you should give her another chance because she has chosen to wear the clothes she wears in public because she could be going through a phase that might die down. I think you should listen to some of her cover songs like @fabulouslydying suggested.

on Aug. 20 2017 at 9:25 pm
fabulouslydying, Farmington, Connecticut
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
Actually, Lady Gaga is really good at singing. If you listen to her cover of songs from The Sound of Music at the 87th Oscars, you can hear that her natural voice is amazing, it's just that her songs don't really capture her talent.

alipattz said...
on Jun. 16 2016 at 10:43 am
how are we to know the quotes aren't just made up? you made no references or links, and a lot of false publications go around nowadays.

alipattz said...
on Jun. 16 2016 at 10:42 am
I respect your view, but I am a Little Monster. I believe that Lady Gaga uses the costumes etc not to grab attention but to show people what she is into. Shes thoroughly passionate about art ans this is how she shows it. She hasn't just became successful due to this, she has an amazing voice but the music industry also wants someone who is unique. If she were just to use her voice, then she wouldn't have been chosen as there's so many trying to do the same. Its not easy to get signed up to a music industry you know. She did not want to be apart of the herd, she wanted to be differently, her costumes show her individuality.

on Jun. 8 2016 at 9:27 pm
itsrainingcats GOLD, East Hampton, Connecticut
16 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Suess

Very well written, you prove your point very well, give examples, quotes, lots of stuff. I can really tell you're passionate about this. Good job, and I agree with what you're saying.

on Dec. 25 2015 at 9:16 pm
ScarletCity PLATINUM, High Ridge, Missouri
40 articles 4 photos 68 comments

Favorite Quote:
Anything that can be done, can be undone. ~Scarlet City
http://eepurl.com/dcyZMn

The way I see, Lady Gaga and Johnny Cash are not that different. 1) they are well known by their looks. 2) They don't really sing. 3) Most people can sing at least one lyric of their songs. The difference? Cash's songs had meaning, had weight, where as Gaga's is all music and fluff words. Well written article though, I completely agree with you.

on Jun. 4 2015 at 5:57 pm
AshleySD BRONZE, Campbell, California
1 article 1 photo 90 comments
Did you not see the quotes?

Fangirl4 said...
on Jun. 2 2015 at 1:04 am
Fangirl4, Portland, Oregon
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone." -Cassandra Clare

Is Satanic symbolism a bad thing?

on Feb. 18 2015 at 11:03 am
Ray--yo PLATINUM, Kathmandu, Other
43 articles 2 photos 581 comments

Favorite Quote:
God Makes No Mistakes. (Gaga?)
"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right." -Liesel Meminger via Markus Zusac, "The Book Thief"

I don't really care much about the singer, just liked the way you put your view forward. Good writing!

cute thang said...
on Jan. 21 2015 at 4:33 pm
I hate lady gaga she is fake no but and no boty.

on Mar. 14 2014 at 1:53 pm
xonikkitayor BRONZE, Lords Valley, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 3 comments
i think this artcle was well written, but your basiclly just judging her by her apperence on the outside. If you really take the time to actually listen to some of the things she has to say and listen to her songs closely, she actually is a very genuine person; but everyone is intitled to their own opinion.

Hamza97 said...
on Mar. 1 2014 at 2:09 pm
I like gaga. She creates these costumes to create a space for her fans to be themselves. She's a great singer and writes her music. You can tell in her work and interviews that her music is coming from the heart and is only meant for good. I respect And listen to Gaga even though Im more in to rock. Once you know all this and still are not interested in her, its okay! We are all different and like different things! Well written blog btw :)

on Feb. 23 2014 at 10:59 pm
This article was well written, but the way I look at it, if it really irritates you this much, don't listen to her music or watch interviews. It's really that simple.

Becky97 BRONZE said...
on Feb. 22 2014 at 5:20 pm
Becky97 BRONZE, LaSalle, Other
3 articles 6 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
“He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” - Emily Brontë

You hit the issue right on the head! I totally agree with everything said in this article and it's plain that Lady Gaga has given up what she once was in the name of gaining recognition. She's a sell out. Also, the article was extremely well written. It's professional and smooth, an instant favourite for me.

nikiiiZ GOLD said...
on Nov. 6 2013 at 9:37 pm
nikiiiZ GOLD, Chicago, Illinois
12 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Agree with this %100000!

Nina said...
on Oct. 3 2013 at 11:03 pm
Look at what you guys write. Calling yourselves "little monsters" and Stefani Germanotta your "mother monster"...  it's like Germanotta is your (weirder than most) cult leader.

123Sesame said...
on Jul. 19 2013 at 8:46 pm
123Sesame, New York, New York
0 articles 0 photos 36 comments
I totally agree with you. While I do like some of Gaga's music, I think she's lost sight of herself amidst the costumes, the make up, and above all, the FAME. If you take all that away from her, what do you have left? Sadly, at this point, her image is basically what defines her in the industry, not her talent.