Since two summers ago, when "I Kissed a Girl" was released, to the following winter, when "Just Dance" was a hit, there has been a battle, a battle of who can out do, out sex, and outcome the other. This battle has been long toug, and from the looks of "Teenage Dream", there are no signs of letting up. But lets compare these two so called lesbians in a, well comparison match. Why? Because I can't watch the trailer anymore for "Scott Pilgrim vs the World" anymore! So lets get into the groove with Lady Gaga vs Katy Perry.
1. Musical Influence:
Since neither of these people can be vastly original, they went, took an idea, and shaped it their own. People have been doing this for years, especially in music, so I don't hold it against them. But lets see who rips off who the most.
Katy Perry comes off as one of those perfect rich happy white girls that comes from the life of happiness, with everything being perfect, when SUDDENLY something goes wrong, and she is heartbroken. She shows regrets and does what she can to get (him) it back. The thing is every 10 years they reduce and recycle this chick, who the last one to wear this crown was Britney Spears. Yes, Britney Spears has been around for so long that people are now using her as a influence. I guess this is what the world had come to. But, yes Britney Spears is the most like Katy Perry, with her annoying vocals, revealing outfits, and Christian upbringing, as well as her poppy songs, lack of songwriting, lack of intelligence, and marriage to insane loser. Must I go on?
Lady Gaga on the flip side seems to have a more glam-pop style to her act/lifestyle, stating that she is influenced by Madonna. Now lets Madonna compare to Gaga. Madonna writes songs about sex, Gaga writes songs about sex, Madonna lived in New York, Gaga lived in New York, Madonna wrote a song about her father, Gaga wrote a song about her father. Madonna sang about being "like a virgin", Gaga sang about "just dance", Madonna wrote about getting "into the groove", Gaga wants to "take a ride on your disco stick" Madonna wore a black shit, Gaga wore a black shirt, Madonna was at the VMAs, Gaga was at the VMAs, Madonna had her first hit at 24, Gaga had her first hit at 24, Madonnas last tour went for 2 years, Gagas tour is set to go for 2 years. Madonna did this, Gaga did that, it's plain to see that there is alot of comparison between the two, but at the same time, Madonna never did 10 minutes vids, changed costumes every 5 minutes, or duet ed with Beyonce. So Gaga does have some originality in her, much more then being your average pop singers
Winner: Lady Gaga
2. Poppy-ness:
This ones a little tougher because both of these ladies are extremely poppy. They both have their best songs (Hot N' Cold, I Kissed a Girl; Just Dance, Poker Face; California Gurls, Teenage Dream; Bad Romance, Alejandro), and at least 2 of these songs have gone to Number One, and had continuous airplay. But in terms of catchyness, I believe Katy Perry has the more poppy song repertoire. That's not to say that Gaga doesn't have the poppy songs. I myself have sung "Just Dance" to myself many a time to myself. It's just...GODDAMMIT Katy Perry is better at it. Be it her image, annoying vocals or the songwriting themselves, but they are just so addicting and hard to get rid of, that I had to do a whole article on the so called "Perry Syndrome", and the side effects. Maybe Gaga just can't write a song as poppy as Perry(then again perry doesn't write her own songs), or maybe she just chooses not to. I dunno, but Perry does know how to be poppy.
Winner: Perry
3. Image
These two girls/women/whatever both have unique images. If it were who was the weirdest, or hottest, it would be easier. But it's not that simple. I really have to sit here and think how to grade these girls. So I sit here and I've come up with a fair way to rate them: best dressed. So here we go.
In the past year, both Perry and Gaga have worked hard to maintain their images, one of the hot girl next door, and one of the artsy girl next door. They both have worn some amazing articles of clothes, some revealing, and some really revealing! But in terms of which is better dressed for their image, Perry does a better job at staying in her demographic. Gaga doesn't dress like the artsy chick we make her out to be, she doesn't dress like anything we know well(emo,goth,geek,hot,etc), whereas Perry does dress like a (shudder) California Gurl. Its simple, sweet, attractive and fits a wide demographic.
This brings up a good point. Way back when, Xtina(that's Christina Aguilera for people under the age of 11) and Britney had a similar battle. Britney was better dressed, had more appeal, and was more liked, even though Xtina was the better vocalist(hell, according to Rolling Stone, shes got better vocals then Roger Daltrey, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Steven Tyler, Thom Yorke and BJORK!). And even to this day, Christina still plays second to someone, even with some good songs and vocals (for those who slammed "Not Myself Tonight" and said "You Love Is My Drug" is a better song, you need to wake up, go to Wal-Mart/YouTube, and watch some real Christina Aguilera. I recommend "Beautiful", or "Genie in a Bottle").
So image does beat style, as shown here, and it shows with Perry against Gaga over the last year.
Winner:Perry
4. Effort:
Katy Perry had the first Number One, and then the second Number One, and then the first Platinum album(1 million+ record sales). Gaga then had her two Number Ones, and her Platinum. Both went on tour, and both were successful. Then Christmas time came around, and everyone needed an album to get their 12 year old. They had the choice of: The Fame Monster EP, or...Katy Perry Unplugged??? I thought that after the Page/Plant duo, that they had stopped making those albums(for those of you again under 11, this albums are all acoustic, and really highlight if you can perform without effects, electricity or Auto-Tune. If you haven't picked up or heard one of these I highly recommend the Nirvana Unplugged). But anyway, it was clear she wasn't really trying. And wouldn't you know it, Gaga sales shot up, and she had her second Platinum, as well as some of her more well-known songs. But then, in a roar of anger/happiness, Perry storms back to show who can make people really go Gaga(or gag) with "California Gurls", going right to Number One. But does Gaga care? How can she? She's on tour right now, and will be on tour till the spring(?) of next year. has Katy Perry launched a worldwide tour following this release? No, but she does have a new album coming out in a few weeks, so I could be wrong. But...so does Gaga, at the end of the year, and she already put out a (shudder) remix album of her hits, which seems to be doing alright, I suppose.
Now, imagine if Perry had launched a tour as soon as Gaga did, put out a real album, and gave her a run for her money? That would be exciting, but alas, Gaga rides solo in this department. A well earned victory for Gaga.
Winner: Lady Gaga
5. Respectability:
It all comes down to who you care more about, who you want to win. This tradition has dated back many years, from Elvis vs Holly, Beatles vs Stones, Sex Pistols vs Clash, Jackson vs Prince, Nirvana vs Pearl Jam, and Spears vs Xtina. Well, who do I care more about? Lady Gaga. She does more work, she writes her own songs, she tours nonstop, and she really doesn't have much money of her own, according to her(she puts it into her videos, outfits, etc.) Shes matured more the Perry, singing about different topic, instead of the same poppy shit that Perry does. And well Perry is better to look at, with Gaga, you want to look at her. She's just more interesting, more mysterious, which is something that has been lost in music over the years, and Gaga is trying to bring some of that power back. So overall, when it comes down to it, Lady Gaga is the better performer then Katy Perry, and the winner of this round, and match.
Winner: Lady Gaga
Match: Lady Gaga
And so comes the end of the longest article I've ever written, i hope you found it interesting at least. Hopefully as the week goes on reviews for new albums will go up, and my long in-the-works review of "Inception". Until then do whatever makes you happy
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