| 21 // The Cure // The Cure // I'll fix you with my love

| 22 // Lovegame // The Fame // Let's have some fun this beat is sick

 

I can still vividly remember teenage me freaking out at the "beat is sick / disco stick" lyrics in Lovegame. At the time it was a major favourite of mine and still to this day, I find it undeniably fun and saucy. Released as the fourth single in the UK, it kept the debut era riding on such a high and as I slowly became obsessed with everything the woman did, this is a song that helped cement her legendary status for me. The Joseph Khan directed music video is also a great spectacle - at the time it was Gaga at her most sexy and beautiful. I remember reading about her female-on-female kiss in the newspaper as Gagamania took over. I found this so daring and brave, and little did I know how much small moments like this would grow and instill a sense of power within me. The strut down the stairs is still iconic to this date! The video was inspired by MJ's 'Bad' video and was filmed in a grimy underground subway station, adding to the grit and dirty appeal of the song's lyrics. It's about as RedOne as her music comes, and it does seem slightly dated within the debut era's timeframe, but I still find so much enjoyment from it. How can you deny the opening!? Let's have some fun this beat is sick... YES IT IS x

 

Premiered at her 2017 Coachella performance, The Cure very narrowly misses out on the top 20 here. It was initially written as a response to atrocities happening around the world and this positive message has stuck with the song for me. As I write this in lockdown during the Covid-19 global pandemic, the song offers a ray of hope, stating that love can cure the darkness, as can music. It tells of the healing power of love and this is such a crucial message to be sending out, so I am so glad it saw the light of day before her schedule was overwhelmed with the A Star is Born work. The song also had a unique premiere, as she performed it live for the first ever time during her Coachella performance. It was released immediately after this and became a great gift to tide fans over between shifting eras. No music video was filmed for the track, but it was added to her Joanne Tour setlist and remains a beauty of a song among her back catalogue. The sprightly R&B vibes are unlike sounds that she has explored before this and I wish we could've had a full project or album that continued along this vibe. But for now, it remains a standalone single that also has deep resonance with her personal life, and wishing to heal those around her (most notably her friend Sonja). It's a lovely song and for me, one that always fills me with hope and positivity even in the darkest and most hopeless of times.

 

Live performance:

 

 

What a great way to premiere a new song! The song translates beautifully onto the live stage - a message being sent out to the world about peace, love and hope. Her vocals are on point, particularly as it seems like such a hard song to sing and when the chorus hits and the fireworks go off, it's euphoric. This is also a very unique performance in that it's probably her only live performance since making it as a star where the audience are unable to sing the lyrics back to her :lol: The message to the fans, stating how often they have cured her is also a beautiful, touching moment.

Yassssssss Lovegame is SO UNDERRATED! One of her best singles. So fun!!!!!

Before I start the top 20, here's a quick recap :cheer:

 

21. The Cure

22. LoveGame

23. The Queen

24. I Like It Rough

25. DWUW

26. Grigio Girls

27. Always Remember Us This Way

28. Judas

29. Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)

30. Paper Gangsta

31. You and I

32. Stupid Love

33. Hair

34. Perfect Illusion

35. Million Reasons

36. The Fame

37. Applause

38. MANiCURE

39. Dope

40. Government Hooker

41. Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)

42. Bloody Mary

43. John Wayne

44. I Don't Know What Love Is

45. Aura

46. Dancin' In Circles

47. Boys Boys Boys

48. Artpop

49. Speechless

50. No Floods

I've never been that keen on 'I Like It Rough' but 'LoveGame' is a favourite from 'The Fame' :wub: reading the anecdotes in the commentary, like the kiss being discussed in newspapers, took me right back to those times! She really was such a talking point.

 

It's been nice to see a bit of discussion about 'The Queen' in this AF recently! I definitely underrated it for a while, but nowadays I find it so epic and it has such a satisfying conclusion with those slowed down couple of minutes. 'The Cure' doesn't really do that much for me as a song but her vocals do sound lovely on it.

LoveGame is her worst single for me!

 

But I can see how it’s popular at the same time I expected it to feature on your list actually but slightly lower down than where it is.

Hyped for the top 20!

I've never been that keen on 'I Like It Rough' but 'LoveGame' is a favourite from 'The Fame' :wub: reading the anecdotes in the commentary, like the kiss being discussed in newspapers, took me right back to those times! She really was such a talking point.

 

It's been nice to see a bit of discussion about 'The Queen' in this AF recently! I definitely underrated it for a while, but nowadays I find it so epic and it has such a satisfying conclusion with those slowed down couple of minutes. 'The Cure' doesn't really do that much for me as a song but her vocals do sound lovely on it.

It was such an exciting time to follow as a fan - she was EVERYWHERE. I have always been a fan of The Queen, but I do agree it seems to be continuing to age over time and reaching out to a new generation (:kink:). It's a great moment towards the end of a pretty exhausting album experience!

 

LoveGame is her worst single for me!

 

But I can see how it’s popular at the same time I expected it to feature on your list actually but slightly lower down than where it is.

Hopefully you're more a fan of what is to come in the top 20, I know you're not huge on LoveGame :(

 

Hyped for the top 20!

It's coming...

 

| 20 // Telephone // The Fame Monster // It's my favorite song they're gonna play

 

We start the top 20 with my favourite Gaga music video and my 20th favourite song! Telephone is a collaboration of the ages. At a time when she was untouchable, riding off the success of the monster 'Bad Romance' she decided to embark on a journey with one of the other biggest females going and create this banger. Originally written for Britney Spears, but later revamped for The Fame Monster, the song represents her fear of being suffocated or restricted in a relationship. The lyrics are fairly simple: leave me alone, i'm out enjoying myself! The Grammy nominated song went on to become a huge hit across the globe, topping the charts in the UK and further cementing her status as pop royalty. For me, the song is incredibly fun. I did go through a phase of being a little bored of it and thinking it didn't have as much impact as her other singles, but it has recently re-emerged as a big smash. The music video is my favourite from her and potentially my favourite music video EVER. Upon its release, I had it recorded on Sky+ and showed it to every single person that entered my house. It was reminiscent of how I read of the impact Michael Jackson had on the video scene in the 80s, because for me, this was the single biggest moment of music video history that I have personally experienced. Every moment of the video, I picked apart and watched over and over again. To this day, it's an incredible watch, filled with so much personality, quirks, fun, drama and everything in between. A case in which a video really helped elevate a song to new heights.

 

Live performance:

 

 

Gaga hasn't performed this live with Beyonce yet unfortunately. Here we have a solo performance from the Joanne Tour. It opens with a speech to the fans, as she goes through her pre-show plans being interrupted by a phone call... It's a fairly simple performance without the high octane spectacle we are used to, but it does feature a breakdown towards the end complete with flashing lights as she departs for a costume change *.*

The Cure top half as it should be!! :wub: Shoutouts to Eh Eh and Hair as two other favourites of mine away from the singles.

 

Telephone would be in my Gaga top 5 I think, great start to the top 20!

WHAT a pop culture moment 'Telephone' is. An absolute banger but nowhere near her best which is just a testament to how incredible her music is.

I have never been 100% keen on Telephone as a song but DAMN what a moment the video was at the time

 

| 19 // Paparazzi // The Fame // there's no other superstar

 

Another single drops out now! This time the 3rd UK single from the debut album. Paparazzi showcased a slight change of pace from the hugely high-octane singles that came before it. Still maintaining the electronic sounds of the era, it was slowed down and more meaningful lyrically. The song twists the idea of the fame and celebrity culture, by showing her struggles to make it to the top juxtaposed with struggles of love and relationships. It's quite stalker-ish in terms of lyrics, and can be seen to represent the fans following Gaga until she recognises their love - something which was evident very early into her career. The song continued Gaga's success, becoming a top 10 hit around the world. This was helped immensely due to its radio-friendly nature and of course its music video which was Gaga's first exploration into the realm of lengthy, epic videos. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, it showed Gaga as a celebrity hounded by the press and media, almost killed by her partner, and her eventual revenge on him resulting in her being arrested. The video won two MTV Video Music Awards in 2009 for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects and saw Gaga take to the stage at the awards ceremony in a once-in-a-career performance. More on that shortly :P The song, for me, is a highlight of the debut album and was also a highlight of The Monster Ball tour. It's a great song with multiple meanings and deals with the issues that the album raises in a bold and striking way. The video is iconic and ranks in my top 3 of all time from her!

 

Live performance:

 

 

This for me, was the first real instance in which Gaga confirmed that she was here to stay. She made a huge statement and it went on to become one of the biggest talking points of her career, and one of her standout moments - for many it's their favourite live performance from her. The performance had fire, passion, grit, angst and drama. It continually progressed in this drama with Gaga becoming increasingly aware of the threats around her. The haunted, warped piano segment is a moment of genius, and everything after that just still sends chills down my spine. The blood culminating into her murder, and being publicly displayed for the baying crowds as the cameras flash on - it's a true masterpiece of a live performance and set herself as not only a mean songstress, but a killer live act.

WOOO Paparazzi!!! The song that made me a fan!!!

'Paparazzi' is more than likely (I'm really gonna have to sit down and work it out!) in my top 10 and the video is my all time favourite from her. What a phenomenal single era that truly was :heart:

I love Telephone! But it’s about where I’d rank it I think. Its an anthem for sure though.

 

Paparazzi is also amazing! I think it’s aged very well too perhaps it’s actually aged the best from any The Fame era track. Paparazzi and that video and the VMA slot is what turned me from I love Lady Gaga to I’m literally obsessed with Lady Gaga :wub:

 

| 18 // Sexxx Dreams // ARTPOP // We're both convicted criminals of thought

 

I can't believe i'm telling you this, but i've had a couple of drinks and...explosive album track time. Sexxx Dreams is a definite highlight from the ARTPOP album; it is extremely joyous, cheeky, sexy and sordid. It is about the singer's fantasies and erotic desires where she chases after a man, and dreams of being with him in the bedroom while the boyfriend is away. The song went through multiple reworkings, but the end product is one of Gaga's funnest songs. It was considered at one point to be a single from the album, and what a missed opportunity it is that this never surfaced - imagine the music video! She explains that "My sex dreams are weird... Haven't you ever been laying in bed with someone and fantasised about someone else?" and this naughtiness translates expertly into the song. She has a lot of fun in the singing of it, especially in the middle 8 when her cute laugh introduces the final minute. During the promotion of the album, Rihanna revealed that she had recorded vocals for a song, tweeting "Lastnight.... YOU were in my sex dreams!!" to which Gaga responded with further lyrics from the song. On the eventual album version, there was no Rihanna in sight. Recent leaks have since also confirmed that Robin Thicke was due to feature on the song... In a way, as incredible as Rihanna's involvement could have been, the thought of having Thicke makes me very grateful that it's a solo song because it's near perfect the way it is.

 

Live performance:

 

iTunes festival performance: https://www.metatube.com/en/videos/199222/I...aga-Sex-Dreams/

 

Gaga performed the song at the album's iTunes festival and it was a definite highlight of the night for me. Critics compared the lyrics to LoveGame, due to the cheeky and sordid aspects of both songs. The performance was wild and as gratuitous as you would expect with Gaga humping and writhing around the stage singing of her deepest and most alluring of secrets - she is sex personified.

Sexxx Dreams is a JAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

One of my faves from her. We need to fit that into the AF contest

'Sexxx Dreams' is clearly the standout from ARTPOP, right alongside 'Gypsy'. What an absolute anthem :wub:

Yay at LoveGame almost making your top 20 *.* I feel like the video was a mistake though, it should have been this:

 

Paparazzi has never been a huge favourite. Sexxx dreams though :cheeseblock: Ik most people like it but any recognition for it is deserved!

OMG hadn't seen that, amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!