Posted September 4, 201311 yr Born This Way was such a messy era, it could have been handled much better. If I were Gaga's management I would have still released BTW as the first single but then followed by Scheisse 2nd single and Marry The Night 3rd and TEOG 4th. Plus no friday releases or promo singles, BTW and Scheisse as pre album singles...
September 4, 201311 yr I do think the title track was an all or nothing type affair, so it HAD to be the first single if she was intent on releasing it. I'd have gone with something like this though: 01 Marry The Night (I think it flopped because by the time it came out all momentum was dead, it's such an obvious smash) 02 The Edge Of Glory (obvious, really) 03 You & I (I don't like it, but it was a good single choice) 04 Americano (with a fabulous video)
September 4, 201311 yr Firstly, the album cover and the promo singles idea is a no-no. As marmite as a track BTW is, it is a classic in its own right and it was the right lead single. I still hear it on the radio and in clubs, a lot more than the singles that came after it. It being covered constantly on talent shows substantiate that it has had the appeal a lead single needed. What I'd do differently is release it so it can have a full weeks sales and a better music video minus the controvertial horns! -3 month gap- 'The Edge of Glory' then for the second single, but with a killer high budget music video and NOT OA/OS and with a pre-order beforehand. She should have 2 #1s behind her name then. -2 week gap- With the general public very much on board, release the album with a more appealing album cover, with no 'The Queen' in the tracklisting. -2 month gap- 'Marry the Night' then as the 3rd single with a full-on dance music video almost 'Where Have You Been'-like released with HEAVY promo X Factor/American Idol et al, AND price reductions on iTunes AND a CD single available with a strand of Gaga's hair, signed posters etc packaged inside. AND a Calvin Harris remix. -2 month gap- 'Americano' as the 4th single BUT featuring Jennifer Lopez with the 'Telephone' continuation music video. -3 month gap- Album re-release.
September 4, 201311 yr I'd wipe Scheisse and Heavy Metal Lover from existence. Add Bloody Mary and You And I to that and we're cool
September 4, 201311 yr I don't know if there was any "saving" the Born This Way era, I think a backlash was going to happen no matter what was released. However, I think things could have been a lot more "diginified" if it were done like this: 1st Single: 'Born This Way' No other way around it. It may have been one of the main reasons the era ended up getting so much backlash, but considering she was talking about it for like a year and it was clearly important to her, it had to be released. It also did fairly well no matter how divisive it was. Just better video etc. 2nd Single: 'The Edge of Glory' Safe and pretty much universally popular. Just needed a really good video, neither the basic mess we got nor the mini movie she probably intended to make. 3rd Single: 'Marry the Night' Simple video and watch it smash. Suffered from being very late in the era but probably would have done fine at this stage. 4th (US) Single: 'You And I' Did really well there and bombed elsewhere, so let's avoid the latter part. 4th (International) Single: 'Scheisse' Probably would have bombed anyway but who really cares after three solid hits and a moderate, dignified campaign. I think the key to re-writing the era is just making it a lot less overblown than it was in reality. That and avoiding 'Judas' in general.
September 4, 201311 yr I would have surgically attached a zip to GaGa's mouth, and kept it padlocked at all times.
September 8, 201311 yr Anyone who wouldn't release the title song first is a fool. It was absolutely massive everywhere. Even in the UK it sold as much as "Telephone". 01 "Born This Way" 02 "The Edge of Glory" --album-- 03 "You and I" (US) / "Marry the Night" (EU) 04 "Heavy Metal Lover" 05 "Scheiße" The single choices were not completely on point but I've seen much more frightful campaigns in that regard.
September 8, 201311 yr But really, ANYTHING she released first would have been huge given her enormous star/general love at that point. I think BTW (the song) was what caused a large amount of the damage to her image.
September 8, 201311 yr I do agree, that song killed a LOT of her credibility. I don't dislike the song, but it really did.
September 8, 201311 yr I disagree. No song sells 700k (in the UK) or 4m+ (in the US) without winning a lot of fans. What damaged her image were the videos, the choice of "Judas" as a single, the rather dodgy extra-terrestrial imagery (cheek implants etc.), the pompousness and hype regarding the "album of the decade", etc etc. It was all way too much for the public to take. But "Born This Way" was a massively successful single for the simple reason that it's a phenomenal song.
September 8, 201311 yr Well it may have won her a large number of new fans, but I dare say the NET impact was that it ended up costing her more fans than the new ones she gained. I'm not going to argue that Judas and what happened thereafter only further exacerbated the issue though, that much is patently obvious.
