The hype for this was insane! I mentioned it before, but I remember clearly on the day The Fame Monster was released, queueing outside the CD store in the early hours of the morning afraid it would sell out before I could hear it

 

They handled this era perfectly as well. The music videos in particular had everyone obsessed and talking about Gaga. What a time to be alive.

 

I prefer Dance in the Dark and Monster over Telephone, but that was the better single choice obviously. I think Monster could have been a decent sized hit as a 4th single with a great music video though.

Definitely agree with this last sentence (and the whole post tbh) :clap: I'd have preferred DITD and Monster vastly to Telephone, but there is no denying Telephone was THE second single, no other option.

 

On reflection, even though DITD is my ultimate, Monster probably would've been the more sensible 4th single with a monstrous video and a Halloween release - hit!

 

The TFM era was huge but it could have been even bigger. The problem of this era started at the end of The Fame era. Bad Romance was released too early and killed Paparazzi on the radio as it stole its spins when Paparazzi was still rising on the radio. They sent Paparazzi to US radio just two days after her performance at the 2009 VMAs, when they should have done it a month earlier and her performance would have catapulted the song to #1. Bad Romance should also have been released on US radio a month earlier, to amass airplay till the video release.

 

Hot 100 (12/05/2009)

 

#1 Empire State of Mind: 144 + 122 = 266 points

#2 Bad Romance: 209 + 43 = 252 points

 

Sales in bold, airplay in italic.

 

 

Bad Romance outsold ESOF in sales by 65k that week but it didn't hit #1 due to lack of airplay, because ESOF was released a month before Bad Romance and had plenty of time to accumulate enough airplay to increase the lead in total points.

 

Also, she should have released Dance in the Dark and performed it at the 2010 VMAs. She was the most played artist on US radio in 2009 and 2010, they would play anything she released at the time. It would be another top 10 hit. She should have milked the albums even more.

I have always wondered why she didn't perform at the 2010 VMAs...

Big missed opportunity. I doubt they would say no to the biggest nominee and winner of that historic night.

 

Also, Telephone being the only TF/TFM single not to have a US performance is pretty weird, it would be another #1 hit with Gaga and Beyoncé on stage bringing the song to life.

Imagine them doing Telephone at the VMAs :cheeseblock:

 

 

A VMAs performance with Beyonce? We wouldn't have survived that :cheeseblock:

01. Bad Romance (2009 November)

02. Telephone (2010 February)

The Fame Monster release (2010 February)

03. Alejandro (2010 June)

04/05. Monster/Dance In The Dark (2010 October)

 

 

I think much like TF era, this album was handled very well singles-wise but I do think they could've pushed for more singles especially with Monster. BR is the obvious lead and I remember the hype surrounding it at the time, I haven't felt anything like it in pop music since. She was a popstar like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

If anything I would've just pushed the dates back a month for the first two singles so that Paparazzi still had a chance to shine on US radio. Also I'd have released TFM after Telephone's release in spring 2010, instead of releasing it after Bad Romance. I would've kept Alejandro as the summer single. However, I remember waiting for that video back in 2010 and it felt like forever, so maybe that's something I would've changed (in a perfect world lol).

 

Lastly, I would've released Monster/DITD as a double A-Side single in time for Halloween. They both have an eerie vibe which fits the season and although Monster gets an obvious boost on Spotify/Youtube every year around Halloween, DITD does also (albeit a lot marginally smaller). Imagine the visuals for these singles and I imagine she would've released a short film involving both tracks (similar to ARTPOP/Venus/G.U.Y.). I think a double A-side single release would've been the perfect solution. Given DITD was a single in some territories I don't think this is a reach and she was at her prime, she could've released Stuck On F***in You and it would've been a hit. I've pondered with the idea of Speechless as a single, but I quite like it as a well-known ballad and fan-favourite.

 

Were double A side singles a thing in 2010?

 

I think they could work if the songs cater a different audience (like pop / r&b) but that's not the case with TFM era.

The album really was screaming for a Halloween release. If only the team knew back then that streaming would be massive and so staples for playlists would be essential a few years down the line :arrr:

She shouldn't pass up the chance to perform a new single at the 2010 VMAs only to postpone it to nearly two months later, just to coincide with Halloween.

 

Also, if she was going to perform another song besides DITD, it should be Alejandro and not Telephone, as Alejandro was the previous single and was still on the charts. There would be no point in performing a single that had been off the charts for months. It's the VMAs, not the Superbowl or a career medley.