It's a powerful moment for Lady Gaga [1]. The pop star has just released her fifth studio album, Joanne, and while our own review [2] could be described as "glowing," not everyone in the world seems to be on board. This is not uncommon in the arts: after all, everyone's entitled to their opinion. But, you know, some people voice their opinion louder than others. Starting with critiques on "Perfect Illusion," the lead single [3], and continuing on the the album itself, some pretty harsh words have come forward this past month. Lady Gaga doesn't seem to be taking the bad reviews lying down, though. In fact, she seems to be clapping right back.
Patrick Carney
Patrick Carney is the frontman for the Black Keys, and he does not like "Perfect Illusion." During Vice News Tonight, a show on HBO, he shared his thoughts: "First of all, I hate guitars that sound like that. I'm lost because the guitar at the top of it sounds so sh*tty. It's like 'Eye of the Tiger,' but not even nearly as good as that. It sounds like Hulk Hogan is playing the f*cking guitar."
Mark Ronson, who helped produce the album, was quick to jump to Gaga's defense. He gave Patrick gave a sharp jab to the ribs.
Gaga offered her own shade as well. She also managed to eloquently give props to her own band in one succinct tweet. Damn.
The Chainsmokers
The Chainsmokers also disliked "Perfect Illusion," and they offered their blunt critique in a pretty tough-to-get-through interview with Rolling Stone [4]. "It sucks," Alex Pall said.
Gaga tweeted at them, promoting her new single "A-YO." A little salt in the wound can be found in the first few lines of the song: "I can't wait to smoke them all / Whole pack like Marlboro / Blow it in your face, blow it in your face / Blow it in your, blow it in your face." Coincidence? Couldn't be. There was even a trending hashtag of the aftermath: "#GagaEndedTheChainsmokers"
Zane Lowe and Madonna
Zane Lowe might have made a mistake when he brought up Madonna during his Beats 1 Radio interview with Gaga. If you want to watch the moment — Gaga's face is priceless — skip to the 31-minute mark in the video above. Here's what she said though, just for posterity.
"Madonna and I are very different, I wouldn't make that comparison at all . . . I don't mean to disrespect Madonna. She's a nice lady and she's had a fantastic huge career. She's the biggest pop star of all time, but I play a lot of instruments . . . I write all my own music. I spend hours and hours a day in the studio. I'm a producer, I'm a writer. What I do is different. I'm not just rehearsing over and over again to put on a show."
A "nice lady"? NURSE!
The New York Times
Two days before Joanne dropped, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times released a particularly scathing review of Joanne [5]. When someone on Twitter called out a particularly brutal highlight, Gaga chimed in and called it "meaningless." Tell 'em, Joanne.
