Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and the art of the modern pop comeback

 

Two of the biggest stars of their generation have mounted very different comebacks. What does it say about the state of pop in 2024?

 

The narrative of the comeback is one of the most well-worn tropes in all of pop music.

 

When done right, a major pop comeback can reinvigorate a career that may have been stagnating, but it's also a tightrope to walk. If a comeback is seen to stumble, there's the risk of further stagnation, and the rushing-in of a pop artist suddenly transitioning into 'legacy act' territory.

 

All of this is to say, two of the biggest pop stars of their generation - Lady Gaga and Katy Perry - have recently released their first music in years, both hoping (dare we say, expecting) the releases to remind the general public why, 10 years ago, they were impenitrable, unstoppable pop forces.

 

Both have a lot to gain, and equally a lot to lose. For Gaga, she's taken her foot off the gas in terms of her music career since the release of 2020's lockdown dance record Chromatica; a much-vetted return to the dancefloor that was sorely needed in a time of social distancing. Rain On Me, her triumphant disco duet with Ariana Grande, became her sixth UK Number 1 single, and was one of the most beloved releases in a strange, terrifying year.

 

For Katy, this is more a comeback from a comeback. Following 2017's 'purposeful pop' record Witness (in many ways Katy's ARTPOP!), 2020's Smile was something of a course correction for the original California Gurl, but stumbled out of the blocks. Only one of its singles, the pensive Daisies, broke into the Top 40 here, reaching Number 37.

 

And now, within mere weeks of each other, both Gaga and Katy have taken very different approaches to a modern-day comeback. This - and their impact on the Official Chart - is worth mentioning and dissecting, as they both reveal what the British public value in a comeback story.

 

As she's the most recent out of the gate, let's start with your friend and ours, Stefani Germanotta. For much of this year, anticipation has been building towards her seventh album, LG7, and signs over the last few weeks have been promising. Most assumed that new Gaga music would have to come before Joker: Foile à Deux begins its press cycle (the heavily-hyped sequel to 2019's Joker, in which Gaga plays Harley Quinn, will obviously be aiming for the same Oscar glory as the first film, meaning she could be on promo duties from October through to March) and we got a few hints of a brand-new electronic sound, through snippets from her time in Paris and a small trailer at the end of the Chromatica Ball film.

 

Instead last week, without prior announcement, Gaga issued a brand-new duet with Bruno Mars. For a woman who has always gone against the grain of modern pop expectations, Die With A Smile is delightfully contrary, a pastiche of old-school '70s funk and soul, with Gaga and Bruno (who co-wrote and produced the song together) trading verses of lovelorn passion.

 

Sonically, it's about as far away from Chromatica as you can get, but Lady Gaga has never once played by the rules. Every album has sounded different to the last, although you can definitely make a through-line from Joanne to A Star Is Born to here. Ultimately, Die With A Smile feels like an evolution of Bruno's own work, particularly with Anderson .Paak as Silk Sonic, more so than Gaga's.

 

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For Gaga, it's worth mentioning Die With A Smile is not a solo release; she's teamed up with one of the most consistent hitmakers of his generation, with a song that may sound like a safe bet, but plays directly into her biggest strengths. But the public's view of Lady Gaga now is simply not just the Ra Ra Girl, she's expanded her celebrity with different sounds and a flourishing acting career, which helps her to not be so confined by expectations as to the tone and sound of her music.

 

That being said, Die With A Smile does set the stage for Gaga to do something truly weird with LG7...but that's a conversation for another day.

 

Everyone loves a comeback story. The one good thing about Gaga and Katy's situation is that they are both never not going to be extraordinarily famous. They're set for life, and could have just chosen to sit back, relax and live off their residuals for the rest of their lives. But they haven't! Nearly 20 years into their respective career, they're still willing to put it all out there and commit to the bit. They are true, dye-in-the-wool pop stars, a breed that's slowly becoming extinct. But they're still keeping it alive.

 

https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/l...n-pop-comeback/

 

Interesting article about the different approaches to the "comebacks" of these pop stars.

 

What does Gaga do well and not so well when making a comeback? How does it compare with Katy and others of her generation?

I love the fact it mentions that this is setting the stage for something "truly weird with LG7"

Quite many words without mentioning the obvious problem for Katy - her working with Dr. Puke which is the biggest PR disaster of the pop music this year.

 

But all in all, their careers have gone very separate ways since 2016 when Gaga released Joanne and started filming ASIB.

Edited August 23, 2024Aug 23 by Sour Candy

Did they forget 'Never Really Over' in that article to say 'Dandelions' was the only top 40 hit from that album?