i dont even get the 'express yourself' 'born this way' comparison.
there must be somthing wrong with my hearing, because these songs are completely different!
they probably mash well together, like 100000 other songs mash well together! thats why theres so many 'mash-ups'.

why is such a big deal made out of it?!

also madonna and gaga's music in general is just completely different, i see no comparison between them at all.

i know gaga gives the odd 'nod' to madonna in some of her video's, but isnt that just paying homage?
why are people so bitter and twisted about it, and madonna should be bloody flattered and grateful! not making digs here there and everywhere.

i feel so alone in the world in seeing these two as completely different artists

I can see it. Alot of Lady Gaga's persona is that of Madonna throughout her 1989 to 1992 period. After the Born This Way performance at the Grammy Awards several music critics said various celebs within the hall were questioning if the performance and look was a nod to Madonna. Madonna doesn't lay claim to the long pony tail or the boob cone but they are iconic to who she is. If Gaga had just come out and said yes it was a homage then all of this would have went away. Instead she responded by saying 'anyone who thinks that is retarded'' which was the worst thing to say. Then she lied about receiving an email from Madonna endorsing her over the whole thing.

You're right many would see this as a homage but Grace Jones has also layed into Gaga for copying elements of her tour sets without giving credit. Then there was the Bette Midler thing. Which tbh was Bette being very childish.

So its not like Madonna's incident is isolated. It just gets more attention than the others because:

A) many are desperate for Madonna to fail and see Gaga as the one who will put her out of business while forgetting Gaga herself will be in the same boat Madonna is in now one day..

B) because Madonna is still the most famous woman in music so gets headlines no matter what.

Of course I am not saying Madonna is right for continuing the whole thing so publicly and I really do feel sorry for Gaga in the fact many of her idols keep slagging her off but then you have to question why that is... it makes you wonder if people know stuff behind the scenes that we don't. I've never known so many of these. and I will say it, iconic females all be so against a newer star. People can say its because they are threatened but Britney was 10 times bigger than Gaga is now back in 2000 and no one was against her. Infact I don't recall any of pops female legends ever slagging Britney off.

I completely agree.

The reason they get compared though is
1. Cause they are both strong women who sort of were "unconventional and provacative" on the music scene
2. They actually look similar, gaga's mum looks so much like madonna, but hotter

I see similarity in some of what she does, but don't see anything wrong with that. Certainly don't see the need to get so worked up over it.

Madonna is undeniably Gaga's creative parent. She grew up with her as THE popstar to look up to, so she'd have to be deaf, blind and dumb to not be influenced. If you were a girl growing up in the 80s/90s and wanted to be a popstar, how could you not be influenced?

That said, when you consider all the songs, videos, performances, outfits and ideas in general that Gaga has burned through these past 4 years...the scale of the similarity really isn't as dramatic as some would have us believe. I think some people get carried away grant Madonna way too much creative copyright over ideas - and ideas adjacent - for give Gaga a chance to do anything.

Similarity isn't necessarily intentional, and doesn't automatically equate plagiarism. Worth remembering.

I wish people would just chill a bit. It's really not that serious if two popstars have similarities, especially if one gushes about how much she idolises the other.

I adore both but I can definetly see how Lady Gaga is heavily inspired by Madonna visually and musically. Which she has admitted. But Lady Gaga has created her own niche. However, I also see how Lady Gaga is also inpsired by Grace Jones, David Bowie and Michael Jackson. I also understand why the young little monsters dont see the comparison. They are blinded by the hype machine and unaware of Madonna`s or Michael Jackson`s legacy in the 80`s and 90`s. They didnt experience it. Pop Music has not had a hype machine since Madonna and Michael Jackson, and it has been a boring place. Under 18 year olds only know Madonna from the HC era ( a poor imitation of the former legendary status)and artistry). So overall - thank the lordy we have an innovate creative new icon who understands the hype machine of pop. And yes I do believe she is the new generation `s POP ICON.Whether she will be as big as MJ or Madonna remains to be seen. But for now she is pop`s brightest star!

Key point is - if a musician credits their influences, that's perfectly AOK. Claiming that you're completely unique and slagging off anyone who gainsays you is a definite no-no.

Yes i think they're pretty similar.

If there's no similarities between Lady Gaga and Madonna, then there's also no similarities between Lady Gaga and Ke$ha.

The only thing remotely similar was that Gaga had a long blonde ponytail. There were no boob cones.

The whole thing stems from the fact that nobody's had as much inteiigent impact on music since Madonna until Gaga came around. Others seemed like puppets of their managers, producers etc, but Gaga has so much control and is a workhorse in a similar way to Madonna, except Gaga has alot of advantages in that she's got the musical education and being classically trained can add alot, as well as her education in general and how that helps her in her work.

The main difference is that Madonna seems to feel the need to bring others down like it makes her better - it doesn't, it just proves that she's at the same level of talent, but a less perfect human being. Gaga retains integrity and doesn't have an air of arrogant superiority.

Yes, yes, Madonna's been around for ages, but if Gaga was born earlier, she'd have been around longer, that statement is going to be mentioned and is utterly irrelevant.

I just have a few points the 'retarded' comment was aimed at the people claiming similarities in the song not the Grammy performance (not saying it's necessarily any better but still).

This whole e-mail debacle hasn't been proven on either side, how does anyone know that Madonna's people didn't lie about sending an e-mail, don't understand why everyone must assume that Gaga lied. Unless an e-mail was actually shown it's impossible to tell.

I just find the comparisons tiresome now, it went from, early in Gaga's career, "oh that's quite similar to this Madonna thing" and is now, "Oh Lady Gaga is doing something, there SIMPLY MUST be some way in which we can say she's copying Madonna or any other human being on the planet.

Just let her do what she does and appreciate as it's own thing.

Gaga is like the mediocre "Stars In Their Eyes" version of Madonna.

It all just seems a little.. reductive.


Is that a good or a bad thing?


Lookitup.

Lady Gaga changes her appearance and musical style so often she can be compared to everyone, and often that's what happened.

Who can really perform to the level Gaga does? Beyonce's good but sings the odd line if there's choreo, so Pink is really the only other one out there.

LOL I don't know where to start.



You are saying Madonna isn't clever? lol that will be why she is now in her FOURTH decade of topping the charts then?

You seem to have little knowledge of Madonna's lengthy career and all the things she has achieved.


Madonna feels the need to bring others down or just feels the need to comment on the fact she too feels ripped off jby Gaga just like Grace Jones, Bette Midler etc all did as well? Madonna is good friends with David Bowie. Do you think it is coincidence she is using his iconic image as the back screen drop during the 'Express Yourself/Born This Way' mash up?

Madonna has long said she loves being an influence on the likes of Britney and Christina and don't forget Britney at her peak was a bigger star than Gaga is. Britney's chart record in America puts Lady Gaga's to shame.... so again don't try to make out Lady Gaga is above all that.



How do you work this out? unless you have a crystal ball you have no idea whether Lady Gaga would have been a huge star in any other decade. You have no idea if she will still be a big star come five years....


Lady Gaga doesn't change her style. Her clothes are always in the same vain of wacky. As is her hair. She boxed herself into a corner. People WILL tire of it soon enough they always do. So unless she completely overhauls herself she is on borrowed time anyway. Fans get bored too quick with music. Fame is far faster and over much quicker thesedays.

As for performing?? seriously? yes she can sing and use a piano but she cannot dance to save her life and her looks are average at best. This is why she has to rely on the generic songs and the wacky clothes to distract from what she wasn't blessed with.

I think what people need to realise about Lady Gaga is that she is a pop phenomenon. But phenomenons in pop rarely last. The Spice Girls were a phenomenon with a similar message to Gaga but they soon became dated and embarrassing with all the ''girl power'' talk and teenagers turned against them. Britney, despite far greater sales, was a lesser phenomenon but got by on the fact she became America's Sweetheart.

You have to ask if 12 year olds now still want to be called Lady Gaga's ''Little Monsters'' when they are 25/30.. that is when she becomes an embarrassment. If her career lasts that long of course.....

You see teenagers today see Madonna as an old hag. How are the teenagers of the next generation going to view Gaga? this ageing crazy woman wearing crazy clothes and calling all her middle aged fans ''little monsters''.... as I said she boxed herself into a corner. Rather than being the new Madonna, Gaga is most likely to follow the career path of Cyndi Lauper/Prince and just be a star for one decade.

I actually do like Lady Gaga but I am not blinded by hype and can actually see her for what she is rather than what she is not.

^^what an amazing post!!!!!!!!!! Well Said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I liked GAGA in 2008 with Just Dance, she is ****ing abysmal nowadays!
Also the OP was written by a monster..........,

Madonna and Gaga are two different people with totally different personalities.

having grown up with Madonna's influence on pop culture I can see her influence on some of Gaga's looks (red lips/blonde hair/leather jacket/dark shades etc.) but Gaga still has her own creative style too. And Madonna in turn was influenced by Marilyn and scores of other people.

Born This Way IMO does have a certain nod towards Express Yourself but is that such a bad thing? What I heard/saw of the BTW/EY mash up I thought it was very well done.

For me gaga just doesn't have the music to fall back on and relies too heavily on her image heavily influenced by scores of people before her without given due credit and telling us how original she is.

She also shoots herself in the foot by being spokesperson for the people yet not calling down a proportion of her fan base who are some of the most vile people ever.

Quite a dramatic statement.

You took everything I said and twisted it to fit your condescending, kneejerk defense.

I understand what I was saying, and that's enough.

See, the problem with people like you is that you

Defense of what? I gave an opinion on what I see as Gaga's career.

You seem to spend all your time in Lady Gaga's appreciation topic talking about Madonna being a has been.. so I don't think I am the one being defensive.... you obviously see Madonna as a huge threat to Gaga as you wouldn't give her this much time otherwise.

hate these Vs threads.

But HEUS!!! you went there and slayed how they say

Thank You

When Gaga isn't ripping off Madonna she turns her attention to others like, let's see ... Marilyn Mason, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, others. If you strip away the costumes, the music has no more value than Cascada. Thin little synthy tracks.

Madonna was influenced by Monroe, Lana Turner, Harlow etc for imagery - but these weren't pop singers. They were from another medium: film. Also Madonna was quite clear that these were tributes - she even made a song up about them.

Both are controversial in the same kind of way

You hate these threads.. yet got involved anyway?

i think thats another aspect i lvoe....as i love film of all generes and styles and eras ...and i lvoe that Madonna is so inspired by film and eras and the way it can be incorporated into her music and visuals....stunning!

And yes i did comment benana93 because i had to support a lot of what that poster said.