Billboard: The 15 Best Lady Gaga Songs, critic's picks ~ |
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26th July 2017, 07:07 PM
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#1
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Joined: 17 February 2011
Posts: 56,211 User: 13,007 |
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Trying to narrow down the best Lady Gaga songs is always going to be a difficult task: the pop superstar has multiple albums with multiple hits, and most of those hits are critically adored. Yet when it comes to the essential Gaga smashes — the ones that define her and her dazzling career — these tracks distinguish themselves. Whether you’re a Little Monster that got into Gaga during The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, ARTPOP or Joanne, you’ll find your favorite songs well-represented here. Here are Billboard’s picks for the 15 best Lady Gaga songs, from her debut single up to her most recent album. Peruse, debate, listen and enjoy. 15. Lady Gaga, "You and I" Featuring Queen’s Brian May on guitar, “You and I” represents the most purposefully arena-rock moment of Gaga’s career -- there are multiple passages in the song that the pop star clearly designed with thousands of swaying arms in mind. Yet the Born This Way standout works because Gaga nails the whiskey-drenched mood, presenting an homage to classic rock while making a bid to add to the canon. 14. Lady Gaga, "MANiCURE" An ARTPOP romp that was sadly never released as a single, “MANiCURE” is constructed as a get-over-your-man mantra that could work in a Broadway musical, and packs a manic chorus that begs for audience participation. In an era that many criticized as too convoluted, “MANiCURE” was ARTPOP’s most straightforward, delectable moment. 13. Lady Gaga, "Monster" “He a-a-ate my heart,” Gaga intones on “Monster,” a devastating dance track about being attracted to the wrong guy over and over again without being able to break the cycle. Gaga’s vocal performance separates “Monster” from generic dance-pop: the way she sings “He’s a wolf in disguise/ But I can’t stop staring in those evil eyes” is more wounded than kitschy, and it works. 12. Lady Gaga, "Alejandro" The follow-up to Fame Monster smashes “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” was Lady Gaga’s earnest stab at Europop, with RedOne’s synthesizers propping up her romantic drama. The sweaty, stomping production ramps up during one of Gaga’s simplest, most effective hooks to date. 11. Lady Gaga, "Perfect Illusion" Gaga, Bloodpop and Mark Ronson all had a hand in creating “Perfect Illusion,” but the other co-writer/co-producer, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, has his fingerprints all over this disco-rock beauty, especially when a quartet of drum beats leads to the song’s famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) key change. Confused, pissed-off and hungry to scream the truth, Gaga becomes a banshee on Joanne’s lead single, and the raw performance makes for a captivating listen. 10. Lady Gaga, "Speechless" Gaga’s best Broadway song that never made it to Broadway. “Speechless,” with its lilting rock production and a vocal performance that recalls Freddie Mercury, represented the crucial moment on The Fame Monster in which Gaga demonstrated that she was capable of far more than synth-pop radio fodder. 9. Lady Gaga, "The Edge of Glory" Drawing inspiration from the 2010 passing of her grandfather, “The Edge of Glory” masks its grim finality (“Another shot, before we kiss the other side, yeah baby,” Gaga sings) with a vigorous Springsteen arrangement and one of the pop superstar’s most enormous choruses to date. Speaking of Springsteen, the Clarence Clemons sax solo swoops in at the perfect moment to give push “Glory” over the edge into greatness. 8. Lady Gaga feat. R. Kelly, "Do What U Want" The real bummer of “Do What U Want” is that ARTPOP’s most immediate jam is besmirched by the controversy often surrounding Gaga’s duet partner on the track. R. Kelly aside, “Do What U Want” possesses the sultry, futuristic rhythm Gaga has aimed for when she’s not breaking a sweat on the dance floor; meanwhile, the lyrics bite back at critics, whom she lets analyze her body but not her mind or voice. 7. Lady Gaga, "Born This Way" The 1,000th song to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Born This Way” will always (and rightly) be remembered as the most overt gay anthem in Gaga’s discography. Along with its important message of acceptance, however, the song is a damn good dance track, with shades of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” melody paired with one of the most committed performances of Gaga's career. 6. Lady Gaga, "Million Reasons" Gaga’s Joanne era was certainly distinct, all cowboy hats and throwback guitar sounds, but “Million Reasons” would have worked within any iteration of her winding career. The chugging, lovelorn single took off on the charts after Gaga performed it at the Super Bowl halftime show; in retrospect, a stadium full of swaying candles was the perfect setting for a ballad as big as “Million Reasons." 5. Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis, "Just Dance" Gaga has evolved an incalculable amount since her debut single — which, by the way, was presented as new music from co-writer Akon, his protege Colby O’Donis and an unknown female artist when it launched — but the constants have been the cleverness of her songwriting, and her vocal power. Both are on display in “Just Dance,” a throbbing party cut focused on gyrating your troubles away… does anyone know if Gaga ever found her phone at the club, by the way? 4. Lady Gaga, "Marry The Night" The Born This Way opener and late single didn’t connect quite as well as Top 10 hits “Born This Way” or “The Edge of Glory,” topping out at No. 29 on the Hot 100 chart. Looking back, however, “Marry The Night” is the album’s most explosive moment, a shot of adrenaline full of delicious lyrical phrases (“I’ll hold my whiskey up high, kiss the bartender twice, I’m a loser” remains pure genius) and a handclap-introduced breakdown that pushes it into the top 5 here. 3. Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce, "Telephone" A year-and-a-half before Jay-Z and Kanye West linked up for a joint album, Gaga and Beyonce unveiled the original throne that needed watching. “Telephone” remains an ass-kicking piece of empowerment pop during Gaga’s most prolonged win streak, and while the fierce duet should be celebrated, give credit to Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins for teaming up with Gaga to co-produce a shuttering electro-pop banger. 2. Lady Gaga, "Poker Face" Few phrases in modern pop music can outmatch “Mum mum mum MAH” as an opening tease, or “P-p-p-p-poker face” as a lynchpin hook. The elements of “Poker Face” combine into an intoxicating formula that represents pop music at its sharpest: smartly constructed, instinctively catchy, easy to replay and downright fun. And then there’s Lady Gaga in the middle of the many pleasure centers, singing her guts out and becoming a singular star. 1. Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance" It’s rare for a pop artist’s signature single to encapsulate all of their respective strengths, but “Bad Romance” manages to do so for Gaga, capturing her grandiose aesthetic, daring songwriting, lyrical flourishes and dramatic vocal flair. Think of it this way: it would be impossible for any other pop artist to perform this Lady Gaga song as successfully as she does, because “Bad Romance” is fitted to her passions and persona. The song also helped make her an international superstar following its release in late 2009, and sent her on her way to becoming one of the defining artists of the 2010s. “I want your love — love, love, love, I want your love,” Gaga intones in the verses. She never needed to demand it. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dan...-best-hits-list What do you agree/disagree with? DISCUSS~ |
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26th July 2017, 07:08 PM
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#2
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Joined: 17 February 2011
Posts: 56,211 User: 13,007 |
MANiCURE DID THAT <3
Telephone is far too high and The Edge of Glory too low in my opinion. Marry The Night getting the recognition it deserves though |
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26th July 2017, 07:13 PM
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BuzzJack Idol
Joined: 8 December 2010
Posts: 50,952 User: 12,472 |
I love 'You & I' but it certainly isn't Top 15 material. f***ing HA at 'Manicure' appearing, are they trolling us??!! Are you telling me that's a better album track than 'Dance in the Dark'? Wtf Billboard?
The list saves itself slightly with a very worthy Top 5, all of which would appear high on my personal list and of course that #1 is spot on. |
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26th July 2017, 07:18 PM
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 4 December 2013
Posts: 8,400 User: 20,182 |
I love 'You & I' but it certainly isn't Top 15 material. f***ing HA at 'Manicure' appearing, are they trolling us??!! Are you telling me that's a better album track than 'Dance in the Dark'? Wtf Billboard? The list saves itself slightly with a very worthy Top 5, all of which would appear high on my personal list and of course that #1 is spot on. I'm glad you posted dislike the positioning for You and I as well as Manicure before I did I'm loving the fact both MR and PI made this list! |
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26th July 2017, 07:19 PM
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#5
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Joined: 17 February 2011
Posts: 56,211 User: 13,007 |
No Dance in the Dark does make this a bit of a FARCE but MANiCURE is a f***ing jam and I won't hear bad against it ~
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26th July 2017, 07:32 PM
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BuzzJack Idol
Joined: 8 December 2010
Posts: 50,952 User: 12,472 |
No Dance in the Dark does make this a bit of a FARCE but MANiCURE is a f***ing jam and I won't hear bad against it ~ Granted, it had grown on me at one point (I think when there was a discography rate here ages ago) but it quickly fell back into my bad books and I always skip it when I play ARTPOP. It's too brash for me, like I usually don't have a problem with songs that are a bit in your face, but this seems to sacrifice all sense of melody for just obnoxious shouting and squealing. Probably not the best time for me to say I quite like 'Swine'! |
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26th July 2017, 10:05 PM
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#7
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there's nothing straight about plump Elvis
Pronouns: they/any
Joined: 21 January 2016 Posts: 13,144 User: 22,895 |
You and I and Perfect Illusion on this list? Gypsy NOT on this list? Go home Billboard, you're drunk.
Telephone at #3 is too high, it hasn't aged well and is buffed up by the Beyonce feature and video. Also I would switch Edge and Million Reasons, and switch out Monster for Dance in the Dark. Manicure switch out for maybe Scheibe or Hair and would consider switching out Perfect Illusion for The Cure. Any number of songs could switch out for Paparazzi which has aged wonderfully. Also Gypsy needs to slot in somewhere. All in all this list is oddly Fame/Fame Monster heavy (while still missing out Paparazzi!) considering that was just her first release near enough a decade ago. |
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26th July 2017, 10:57 PM
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#8
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If people hate you, don’t hate them.
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 43,545 User: 67 |
@billboard
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26th July 2017, 11:44 PM
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#9
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equally cursed & blessed
Joined: 15 July 2008
Posts: 8,967 User: 6,654 |
'So Happy I Could Die' says haiiii
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26th July 2017, 11:48 PM
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#10
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I found the love, I found the love in me
Pronouns: He/Him
Joined: 13 December 2007 Posts: 87,451 User: 5,042 |
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27th July 2017, 11:31 PM
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#11
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Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,304 User: 54 |
Telephone remains amazing, you doubters are all fools! 😜
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28th July 2017, 12:48 PM
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#12
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 22 December 2009
Posts: 30,355 User: 10,275 |
Apart from top 5, this list is such a failure
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