| 04 // Bad Romance // The Fame Monster // I want your horror, I want your design

 

Perhaps a shock for some, but this is still insanely high praise and this ranks as one of my favourite songs OF ALL TIME and yet it's "only" my 4th favourite Gaga song! Bad Romance looking back is the most important single of her career, because it was the start of the uncertain second era and it would showcase if Gaga would be here for the long run or just a flash in the pan. When I first heard this song, I was completely and utterly in AWE. The monstrous chants, still to this day give me chills. They are the anthem of her little monsters and at the time they gave birth to a new community of fans and friends, all sharing a collective idolisation of Gaga. The song is electric and unlike anything i'd heard before. It is still a staple of my nights out and one of my most listened to songs ever. The music video too is incredible, with every look within it being a well thought-out symbolic exploration of the dangers of fame - the razor blade sunglasses are a personal favourite look. With the song came a transformation of Gaga from the light-hearted electro pop of the debut to a more dark, sinister and otherworldly sound that influenced so much of the pop scene in the years that followed. The song cemented Gaga's place in the pop scene with a plethora of awards including Grammys and MTV VMAs. It is one of the best selling songs of all time and certainly one of the most iconic. Lyrically, I adore the Hitchock film references, the way the verses are delivered in such robotic and intoxicating ways, the pre-chorus that gradually builds and explodes in the anthemic chorus. Listening to it now, more than 10 years after release and I still get just as exciting hearing it as I did back then. It defined my late teen years and early 20s and made me in the monster I am today. I have so much respect for her releasing something so bold and out-there in only her 1.5th era and doing so with such confidence and passion. It has gone on to be one of the defining pop songs of all time and it's clear to see why from the very first second as those choral chants erupt. Spine-chilling~

 

Live performance:

 

 

There are countless live performances I could have chosen. I have gone for the BATH HAUS performance on UK X Factor just because it remains one of the most memorable for me. It came at a time when I was progressively more and more addicted to her fame and it was outlandish and eccentric that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The way she freezes before the interview too The piano, the bubbles, the paws up, the vampire grin - it perfectly encapsulated the Monster era *.*

Oooh a bit of a shocker there. I had a feeling Bad Romance was gonna be your #2.

 

My favourite track by her is Bad Romance I’d say. I get goosebumps even now when I hear it but back then it really was a massive moment and anthem for me. I’d followed that demo (burn exclusive baby) for so long and then hearing that official version and seeing that video too. It was the first time I ever felt I’d really like stanned an artist like I’d been fans of people but the way I acted over this was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Tbh that follows me still to this day like no music release compares to a Gaga one :lol:

 

It’s so impressive when you think of Gagas age and stage of her career when she released this as well. It really isn’t a sound what was reminiscent of the original UK version of The Fame album but the risk worked! It showcased pretty much everything all in one go and it’s definitely a signature hit of hers now. It’s one of the few Gaga tracks that my non stanning Gaga friends I have who aren’t on this site actually like as well.

One of the greatest songs of all time x

 

I have a feeling I know what your top 2 is. And I hope I'm right. :cry:

 

Bring on the top 3 x

 

| 03 // Marry The Night // Born This Way // I'm a soldier to my own emptiness

 

The opening song to my favourite Gaga album also features as my third favourite song from her. Firstly, I am going to pay appreciation to the instrumental - this was first heard during a Gagavision before the release of the album and the glistening texture of the sounds had me completely engrossed. Hearing it in the contest of the song, with Gaga's opening lines over it still remains one of the most special moments in her career. The album's final single, but I believe it should have been the second, it helped to close her ultimate era of music in style. It is inspired by the love of her hometown of NYC but also represents the power of owning your confidence and allowing it to power you through your darkest moments. Many of the songs on the album value self-empowerment and worth but this does it by accepting the darkness and battling through it. The metaphor of actually marrying the night and becoming one with your darkness is such a powerful way of allowing listeners to embrace their demons to overcome them. There is a plethora of empowering lyrics throughout such as: "I won't give up on my life", "I'm a warrior queen", "I'm gonna marry the dark", "Gonna make love to the stark", "I'm a soldier to my own emptiness", "I'm a winner", "I won't cry anymore" and together these allow for one of the most glorious explorations of the album's message. Gaga explains the song as a "massive, gas-station, disco record" and recorded it within an hour after meditating prior to the performance of it. It's a true reflection of her inner demons and the state of mind in which she was in when recording the album. The way it opens up the album in such high-energy and gloriously beautiful metaphors of overcoming darkness makes this top-tier Gaga. I have such an emotional connection to it, and never fail to feel on top of the world when hearing it. It teaches me that it's ok to be down or feel a dark cloud above me, it's ok to be alone and weak, it's ok to be caught in a torrential nightfall because only when you accept this can you recover.

 

The music video was directed by Gaga herself and it tells her story in an open and frank way of how she felt at her lowest when being dropped by her label, but battled through to ultimately be on top. It features many iconic scenes, including the cheerios in the bath, her New York apartment, the explosive car scene and more and it's a true vision realised in expert fashion. The fact she directed the video herself and perfectly executed it in the way she wanted to, is testament to just how personal and powerful the song is.

 

Live performance:

 

 

As I mentioned that it makes me feel on top of the world, of course my favourite live performance of it was at the MTV EMAs, when Gaga literally performed, on top of a world! The performance allows the instrumental to surge through the audience for a few seconds, before Gaga's other-worldly vocals kick in. She sounds beautiful in it and her costuming reflects this as she is shrouded in darkness for much of the performance until finally she gets the strength to reveal herself to the world. The breakdown is electrifying and the final chorus is delivered in the most charismatic fashion that truly exudes all of the power that the song holds. It's one of my all-time favourite Gaga performances because it reflects the song's might in gorgeous fashion.

My second fave Gaga song and one of my fave songs of all time. A rare song which is capable of making the hairs on my arms stand up every single time I listen to it. A truly euphoric masterpiece. :heart:

MTN is divine! At one point it was my fave track from her and love it still!

Now this is one I really thought would be either #1 or #2!

 

I need to go back through your list now and work out what’s missing I know one but not the other.

 

Marry The Nights instrumental is lush and I love it! It’s mid tier for me though both singles wise and out of Born This Way album tracks too but I do love it.

 

I love the video and this is one track by her I hope is on the set list for the Chromatica Ball Tour!

'Marry The Night' is a fave, great pick :heart: a total anthem from start to finish and it never stops.

 

I love the detail in your commentary throughout this Bal <3

C'mon Bal you absolute TEASE x

I'm going to start writing up very soon so expect the results today! I'm emotional already

omg I'm ready :cheeseblock:

 

| 02 // The Edge of Glory // Born This Way // I'm on the edge of something final we call life tonight

 

The Edge of Glory manages to rank as my #1 SINGLE from Gaga, but not quite my #1 SONG from her :o It has been pipped to the post, but it put up a decent fight. We go from the song that opens Born This Way to the song that closes it - and the way in which it closes the album is part of the reason it ranks so highly for me. The album, I see, as representing a life worth living, free from prejudice and hate and allowing acceptance and joy to flourish. As this song starts and we hear the heartbeats at the beginning of it, it sets up a ride of a lifetime, taking us to pure ecstasy and beyond. It is thrilling beyond belief and one of the most uplifting and empowering songs I've ever had the joy of hearing. The song continues on this high-octane energy, and builds into a glorious middle 8 accompanied by Clarence Clemons's sax - it's a genious moment that is built up perfectly, explodes perfectly and continues to offer life beyond its moments. Clarence died a few days after the release of this and so it gains yet more power knowing this as the song celebrates life. And then, as the song climaxes over and over again and draws to a close, the heartbeat we heard at the start, begins to falter and eventually flatline and with that the song, and album, are over. I get goosebumps describing this moment now and everytime I hear the song it has the same effect. It's a song about life and death, and this is due to the fact that it was written as a celebration of Gaga's grandad's life and the impact that his death had on her. But the song is not mournful, instead it seeks to capture that moment when her grandma was standing beside her dying grandfather. She describes that "there was this moment where I felt like he had sort of looked at her and reckoned that he had won in life. Like, 'I'm a champion. We won. Our love made us a winner.' They were married 60 years. I thought about that idea, that the glorious moment of your life is when you decide that it's okay to go, you don’t have any more words to say, more business, more mountains to climb. You're on the cliff, you tip your hat to yourself and you go. That’s what it was for me in that moment when I witnessed it". This is such a powerful sentiment and one that will follow me throughout my life. That feeling of letting go and dying in a euphoric and joyous way is such a beautiful sentiment and the song captures this expertly. Life is a celebration as the album draws to a close and we are free to love who we want to and be who we want to be. If our lives are lived like that, then we too have won and are champions in our dying moments.

 

The music video has divided fans. The main reason for this is because it followed a string of truly epic masterpieces and so in comparison, it seems.. simple? But for me, it wins on the energy that Gaga conveys as she celebrates the moment in which she is. The initial concept of the video was wildly different to what we eventually got, but "creative differences" between Gaga and Joseph Khan led to that idea being scrapped and the one we have now being the result. It explains why it is not as extravagent as what came before as it was the second option and perhaps done on a bit of whim to ensure it was released to coincide with the single's release. For me, the simple video still manages to reflect the joy of the song, through Gaga's persona and her dancing, and with the final shot of her entering the burning building, she is shown to accept that the life is over and move onto the next stage. It is powerful and has cute signs and references throughout it - her kissing the street for example shows an appreciation of the home and the world we live in. As a video from someone who we always expected to shock and get bigger and greater each time, she gave a f*** you to that sentiment and just let the msuic do the talking and that in itself was controversial at the time.

 

Live performance:

 

 

Just after the single had been released on iTunes, Gaga gave a stunning performance of it at Radio 1's Big Weekend and I fell in love with the song instantly. She lets the lyrics really ring out and the acoustic-jazz version is a great accompaniment to the more synthy, upbeat one - I wish it received an official remix release. The emotion is undeniable in this live performance and it's a truly stop-you-in-your-tracks moment as the audience sing it back. It's a breathtaking moment from her and one where I think she whole-heartedly opened up as a person and a performer to the world and made people realise that she has something to say and can say it in the most magical way possible. This is my 3rd favourite performance from her of all that she has done and it's just her and the piano - I think the performances of this song and the music video together show that less is sometimes more because the song itself does everything that it needs to. Shivers every time~

Bal you're a brilliant writer and your description literally gave me chills :heart:

 

There are no more words to say about the song because you've said them all. A song I'll carry with me forever.

"She describes that "there was this moment where I felt like he had sort of looked at her and reckoned that he had won in life. Like, 'I'm a champion. We won. Our love made us a winner.' They were married 60 years. I thought about that idea, that the glorious moment of your life is when you decide that it's okay to go, you don’t have any more words to say, more business, more mountains to climb. You're on the cliff, you tip your hat to yourself and you go. That’s what it was for me in that moment when I witnessed it"

 

...first time I'm hearing this. Wow. Legit choked up right now. <3

Oh how I'm ready for THAT #01 :heart: :heart:

The Edge of Glory is such a triumphant moment, I adore it. :wub: Thrilled to see it this high up your personal ranking! I don't think I'd ever read that description about the sentiment of the track before now either, how beautiful :cry:

 

Looking forward to your #1 reveal *.*

 

| 01 // Dance in the Dark // The Fame Monster // Find your freedom in the music, find your Jesus, find your Kubrick

 

There was never any doubt. Not only a song that includes my favourite ever lyric, my favourite ever live performance, my favourite ever tour moment, by Gaga or otherwise, this is my favourite song of all time. From the moment it starts with the stuttering, and eventually the "Silicone, saline, poison"... I am injected with a fire that erupts with a burning passion. It sends me straight to the opening of The Monster Ball Tour, and the first time I ever saw her in the flesh. The silhouettes that were cast on the screens replay in my head whenever I hear that opening. And then we get the iconic "free bitch" reference, a motif that has followed me for the past decade and helped me to grow in confidence and to realise that I am not confined to the expectations around me, and that I am in control of my life and my freedom. The first verse sets the scene of the song, by introducing an insecure girl hounded by her boyfriend, living her life as a mess but eventually accepting this and dancing in the darkness of the world that surrounds her, because whenever she is in the light, she falls apart. It's a haunting metaphor of living in the shadows, being in the closet and wanting to disappear. And yet within this, the dancing continues and hope is there, through the power of music. The second verse is gruesome and macabre and exemplifies how far she went to push the haunting narrative of the Monsters that The Fame have brought her. It's impossible for me to hear this part and not bare my teeth and have my paw up in unison with every other little monster around the world; it's a cult that has been created within this song and one that I am firmly a member of. In this verse, she murders the dance and once again embraces her demons and ghouls and continues to power through. This then culminates in Gaga's finest ever moment - yes it is hugely Madonna-esque, but that is a huge compliment in itself. She references females of the past that have been wronged or shamed or had their shine dimmed and advocates that we remembers these and hold onto their legacies. Within this, my favourite song lyric is uttered: Find your freedom in the music, find your Jesus, find your Kubrick - it was hearing this lyric and understanding it, that music truly set me free, became my religion and became every part of my appreciation of art and the creative world around me. Stanley Kubrick is a huge icon for me and his films helped me to discover the power of cinema, Gaga did this for music and here the two worlds are combined - I feel as if she included his name here for me alone! It shows just how strong a bond I have with her and her music that this almost entirely defines what I believe in and care about. The bridge concludes with the beautiful "together we'll dance in the dark" and Gaga joins the lone dancer and together they are invincible. Here, after all of the trouble faced, there is a unison of the artist and the listeners and I never feel alone knowing that Gaga and her music is there whenever I need to escape into the darkness.

 

This is my response to the song, however it also represents more for Gaga who wrote it specifically for the fear of the self and in particular, women who prefer to have sex in the dark due to insecruities and being embarrassed about their bodies. This was Gaga's way of saying she understood their feelings. It gained yet more traction when Gaga dedicated a performance of it to Alexander McQueen at the 2010 BRIT Awards, a few days after he committed suicide. The song was also nominated for a Grammy, is performed at the Enigma show and has remained a true fan favourite (and beyond) for the past decade. It's easy to see why: it is a powerful, moving, uplifting and beautiful song about struggles that we all face daily. Whatever your darkness is in life, this song shows that through music you can escape them even if it is only for 4 minutes and 49 seconds. It has given me strength when I have felt down, it has made me feel beautiful at my ugliest, it has made me howl at the moon when I have been silenced, it has made me feel brave. It has also made me dance like crazy (most notably as it was THE FIRST SONG that was played at the Lady Gaga night in my favourite club, that I went to with a few people on here - the best night out i've ever had - it was destiny that this should be the first song I heard when entering the club *.*), and I don't think any song has brought me to tears more than this!

 

This is just a small insight into how the song has affected me and what it means for me now, and how much I enjoy it. For me it will perhaps forever remain, the greatest song of all time. It will be the last song that is played at my funeral and the song that I will look back on in my later life as the single piece of music that means the most to me. I am sure to face hardships in the future, but I know that I will be able to overcome these and be the free bitch that Lady Gaga has taught me to be because together and forever, we'll dance in the dark.

 

Live performance:

 

 

The performance here was completely different, until a last minute change to allow for a more fitting tribute to Alexander McQueen. It starts with a haunting performance of Telephone on the piano that sends a beautiful message to Alexander McQueen who committed suicide a few days before the performance. The beat starts and we get the FREE BITCH refrain while Gaga plays Emma, her keytar, while lyrics from the song such as "make it stop" and "d-d-d-" are echoed throughout the arena. Gaga delivers the bridge to the audience, imploring them to tell the world how they feel and be set free through the music. Her dancing is intricate and you can feel the pain in her heart throughout it. In the closing moments of the performance a thumping, bounding beat plays and Gaga is entranced by it and taken over. Throughout the performance a huge Gaga statue is erected and the aesthetics are sublime. It's a great performance that is so outside of the box and just so Gaga.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS

 

Brilliant #1!

I kinda guessed this would be your #1 I think your name on here had Kubrick in it at one point. Your writing behind this all though has been so good. I’m not shocked at all this was your number one and I still see it’s appeal to this day. Dance In The Dark is a brilliant track. A perfect tour opener if there ever was one!

 

Edge being your highest single was a shock for me! But a good one. I love it. It’s my favourite from Born This Way and for a long while was my favourite ever by her but Bad Romance really repeaked years later for me. Edge Is brilliant though it’s one I really hope makes the set list for the Chromatica Ball tour it is made to be blasted in a stadium! I love the video too. Edge opposite of Dance In the Dark is like a perfect tour closer. Idk but there’s something final about it it works so well as the last track on the album and it’s lyrics being about death kinda symbolise it as being her encore kinda track in a perfect world.

 

Loved this countdown. It’s definitely made me think of my own tbh as I can never fully sit and rank them as my order changes all the time!!

 

 

Bal your final description has me in tears. No hyperbole either.

 

<3