Let the bragging commence!

This just in: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett have won a Grammy for Cheek to Cheek.

Oh boy! So despite selling only 1/3 of the number of albums that Streisand did, and despite the fact that Cheek to Cheek couldn't even last 5 months on the charts, they managed to win the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

And lucky Lady Gaga is taking the news oh so humbly, as is her nature.

Post-Grammy update:

Billboard ranked the 23 Grammy performances from "Worst to Best" here.

They ranked Sia all the way up to #3, saying this of the performance:

"Their set was astounding, and Wiig's dancing was surprisingly on point. You gotta give it up for Sia -- she comes up with a unique twist on the "Chandelier" live performance every time. Sorry, Gaga, this is the real Pop Art"

Billboard ranked Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's performance all the way down at #15, but literally have nothing to say about it: 

"The Irving Berlin-penned "Cheek to Cheek" is the title track to their duets album, which won the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album this year. It's been a while since a straight-up jazz performance hit the Grammys, and it was a welcome change of pace."

Translation: YAWN.

                               


So, what did YOU think of the results? Were you surprised that Tony/Gaga won?

And how about that performance? 

Is Cheek to Cheek another career misfire for Lady Gaga?

There was no doubt about it: in 2009 and early 2010, Lady Gaga was pop's new "it" girl.  You couldn't go anywhere without seeing her face or hearing her voice. But now? You'd be lucky to hear anything from her last two solo albums on the radio at all (well, maybe "lucky" is the wrong word).

Here's an official chart to show you just how her two last albums have fared on the charts. The top row are her releases (including promotional singles) from ARTPOP and the bottom row are her releases from Born This Way.

Billboard official releases/chart positions. From left to right - most recent to least recent.

Despite the fact that these two albums hit the number one spot, we can see that the later singles from each album did not do well on the charts at all. The final release from Born This Way couldn't even reach top 20, and well, do we really need to discuss the epic flop that was G.U.Y.?

She is considered to have three solo albums (pictured below), however she has also released several EPs and compilation/remix albums, most of which either never charted or charted very poorly (Born This Way: The Remix, for example, peaked at #105).

Yes, there are two number one albums and a number two. But despite that, her album sales have decreased over time. The Fame sold ~15 million worldwide, Born This Way sold ~6 million worldwide, and ARTPOP only sold ~2.5 millon worldwide (source here).

Even Lady Gaga's music videos have gone down in popularity. Ranked from most to least watched, here are her videos:

If you can't see the viewcount, you can always look for yourself on her official VEVO channel here. 

What do you notice about the viewcounts? That, on the whole, her earlier work is watched way more than her later work? That the last release from Born This Way (Marry The Night) and from ARTPOP are her least watched videos? (Note: she has other videos up on her channel, but none of them are official solo singles so I did not include them.)

And if Google Trends (USA) is to be believed, she's not even being written about or searched for one TENTH of what she was at her peak:

So what does this tell us? That Lady Gaga is falling hard and falling fast? That she needs something or someone to come along and save her?

Enter Tony Bennett.

When Gaga announced that she would be working with Bennett, the press praised her and she got a chance to prove that she could sing and that she was more than just a pop star - or so she'd hoped.

The album that Bennett and Gaga recorded together (Cheek to Cheek) had some mixed reviews; some saying things like "Gaga is a wonder", and others saying it's "unbearable", "desperate", and if not for the work of the musicians, would sound like "glorified karaoke".

Cheek to Cheek was nominated for a Grammy award and debuted at number one on the charts... but alas, there seems to be trouble in Paradise for the Lady. 
 

The album only lasted 17 weeks on the charts. It took a freefall as soon as the holiday season was over, and as of right now hasn't even sold a million copies worldwide (latest estimate I could find is ~915,000) whereas its biggest competitor, Partners by Barbra Streisand, has sold ~1,600,000. 

Not only that, but the singles (Anything Goes and I Can't Give You Anything But Love) have failed to chart, and the official music videos only have ~3.8 million and ~2 million views respectively, which is, in my opinion, absurdly low for someone with her 'star power' and connection to her fans who are more than willing to F5 her videos until their fingers fall off.

Now, onto the tour: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are currently touring the album (The "Cheek to Cheek Tour") and will be playing around Europe (7 dates) and North America (23 dates) in the spring/summer for a total of 30 shows. 

They have played only two shows so far (December 30th and 31st, 2014) and already there are reports that some audience members walked out early during one of them. 

So what could this mean for Gaga? 

Lady Gaga called Cheek to Cheek the "most important album" of her career. Despite that, we haven't seen any indication that Cheek to Cheek is actually helping her in any way. It actually looks like it's repeating the same pattern as her last two albums... 

But could it really be another career misfire ala ARTPOP? Or has her career already stagnated? Could making a jazz album have been a mistake, or did it make no difference?

Will she ever be on top again?

What do you think?

Lady Gaga working with new producer for upcoming album

Lady Gaga is set to head into the studio again for her upcoming solo album. She's going to be working with Giorgio Moroder, an Italian record producer, songwriter, performer, and DJ who is credited with pioneering synth disco and electronic dance music.

According to NME News, he already has "five or six" tracks prepared for her, but he also hopes she'll collaborate with him on his own upcoming album, 74 Is The New 24. Other confirmed artists that will feature on his upcoming album, his first in 30 years, include Charli XCX, Sia, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Mikky Ekko, and Foxes. He's said in the past that he's also wanted to work with Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, so who knows what the final album will end up looking like?

Either way, for a pop album, this guy might not be a bad person to work with. He's credited for many of Donna Summer's biggest hits in the 1970's, he's worked with David Bowie, Blondie, Kylie Minogue, Daft Punk, and many others, and the duet partners on his upcoming album are some of the bigger names in pop at this time.

To me, this is a big, clear sign that Gaga does NOT want another flop to her name.

And synth disco?  Does that mean she wants to return to the sounds of The Fame?


What do you think? Will working with Moroder be a good move for Lady Gaga?

Lady Gaga works out in a Funhouse

Remember when Lady Gaga launched that "Body Revolution" back in 2013, imploring her fans to be proud of themselves and their bodies? When she said things like, "I am proud at any size"?

And then again, four months ago, when she brought up the Body Revolution again and said, "Proud at any size, because the inside is what really counts"?

Well, she's either going back on what she said, or she's been working out in a Funhouse. She's been posting pictures of herself to Instagram, here and here that have very clearly been altered so she looks thinner than she really is.

In the latest photo (above) I've circled the most glaring signs of photo manipulation: the wonky floor, the wonky mirror, and the weird, blurry, triangular stomach she's trying to pass off as real.

Yes, a few other websites are showing off the photo, but no, they're not calling her out on doctoring it, even though it's super obvious. I guess they're saving that kind of scoop for someone famous, like the Kardashians or the Biebs.

Well, you're one of those things for sure, Gaga.

Cheek to Cheek flops down the top 200

Things are not looking good for Gaga. Her newest album release, Cheek to Cheek, took a nosedive in the charts this week, going from a somewhat respectable #31 to a very sad #92. That's 61 spots!

What could explain a drop like that? Are people losing interest? Is the ad money running out?

Cheek to Cheek has been nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Traditional Pop Performance) this year, going up against Annie Lennox (for Nostalgia), Barry Manilow (for Night Songs), Johnny Mathis (for Sending You a Little Christmas) and long-overdue, 10 times nominated Barbra Streisand (for Partners).

Partners and Cheek to Cheek seem to be the best contenders for the award.

Luckily for Lady Gaga, she has a not-so-secret weapon on her side: Tony Bennett. He's won 11 out of 23 of the awards since they've been given out - only losing twice when nominated. He's actually beaten Barbra five times in the past - will this year be his sixth? Or could the performance of Cheek to Cheek on the charts hurt things for Tony?

More info on Partners: 

It hit Billboard's number one spot, selling over 196,000 copies in its first week. This has made Streisand the only artist in history to have a number one album in every decade since the 1960's. So far, Partners has won certifications in 5 countries (Gold in Canada, New Zealand, and USA; Platinum in Australia and the UK). It also became her 52nd Gold record, more than any other female in history.

Partners was the seventh best-selling album of 2014 in the US, having sold 856,000 copies. 

Partners has sold 1,513,000 copies worldwide so far.

More info on Cheek to Cheek:

Like Partners, it did reach Billboard's top spot, selling 131,000 copies in its first week. In its second week, it dropped quite a bit and only sold 59,000 - which is quite the contrast to Partners, which sold 127,000 in its second week. So far, Cheek to Cheek only has certification in one country (Gold - Canada). It did sell over 510,000 copies in the US in 2014, but I was not able to find an exact number or reliable source.

Cheek To Cheek has sold 870,000 copies worldwide so far.

Any predictions for this year's Grammy Awards? What do you think is going to happen? Will Cheek to Cheek win, even though it's selling just over half of what Partners is? Will Partners win, since its broken multiple records for Streisand? Or will one of the other albums manage to beat them both?