Is It Over for Lady Gaga?

A few months ago in this space, I wrote a column about the cultural phenom Lady Gaga that ended with my politely telling her to save her money. That's because the treacherous world of popular culture is not usually a long-term proposition. Entertainment idols often pass through the fame obstacle course very quickly.

In show biz, "jumping the shark" is a term used to describe a project in decline. It is derived from the hit sitcom "Happy Days," which, sorely lacking for material after years on the air, featured a show whereby The Fonz went waterskiing in a leather jacket and encountered a shark. You guessed it: The Fonz jumped over the shark on his skis. After that, the days were not so happy on that program.

Now we have Lady Gaga, the ultimate edgy, anti-establishment pop star, swimming in dubious waters. Recently, she fronted a Thanksgiving special. The New York Times described it this way: "Lady Gaga performs before family and friends and offers a glimpse of her personal life in an interview with Katie Couric... She also whips up a feast of deep-fried turkey and waffles with the chef Art Smith."

Somewhere Janis Joplin is weeping. By the way, Gaga's special was trounced in the ratings by the 237th airing of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."

And that's not all. The Associated Press reports that "Gaga's Workshop" is now open at the Barneys clothing store in Manhattan. Apparently, Gaga designed a special holiday shop featuring "a gigantic cartoon statue of the superstar herself in a pinup pose surrounded by jagged mirrors and sitting atop thousands of back plastic discs."

Forget the Rockefeller Center tree, the Gaga shop represents the true holiday spirit, does it not?

Some of you may think I am making this up, but it's all true. What I can't figure out is why Gaga's (Stefani Germanotta) management team seems to know nothing about history. Elvis Presley, the biggest pop icon ever, sabotaged his own career by starring in a series of movies like "Kissin' Cousins" and "Clambake." I mean, there was the once culturally dangerous Elvis doing a dance called the "Clam" on a beach wearing black shoes and white pants. It took the King years to get back on track after those dopey flicks.

Last year, Gaga made $90 million from her songs and shows. Does she really need the Thanksgiving special? Or the Barneys exposure? Really?

The answer, of course, is no. Gaga has now gone middle-class mainstream and, at this rate, will be co-hosting with Kelly Ripa any day now. The lady may be trying not to be a tramp, but she certainly has met the shark -- and jumped it.

A Freeper essay from several months ago
Read about good and evil and GaGa failure about 2/3 of the way down.

American Idol Retrospective May 27 2011

So there we have it, Scottie won, Lauren followed in second place. Both seem to be the epitome of American youth. Good solid, wholesome products of flyover country. .Youth because they are still kids by anybody’s description.
I have watched the process as one who knows nothing about popular music or musicians or the processes involved. I have relied on the good Freepers on this thread for insight and guidance into the various vocal and recordings involved. My observations were thus assisted by a running commentary from knowledgeable folks.
I have written an essay posted on other threads to Freepers who consider Idol and Idol watchers a lower breed of human kind. Idol must be taken as a whole. Idol is a contest, a process that transforms a very nervous singer ,or even non singer, into a polished and experienced performer. Ambition, talent, guts, drive and a host of characteristics must be tightly foscused to succeed and especially to win. This year especially, the winnowed Hollywood group had many very good and capable singers.

All along the way there is fantastic opportunity. The opportunities are without measure and available no where else in any other field of endeavor.
This is Free Republic and it is appropriate to note the top two, both of whom are winners in my book, have a wholesome, conservativeish air about them. Scotty in particular is a North Carolina boy, goes to high school, participated in Baseball I think but most importantly, he sang in a Glee Club. He is a member of what seems to be an all American Nuclear family, church going. He, and also Lauren represent that which is good. He not only represents strong American Values, he is an outstanding example to be observed and followed.
We can thus equate conservativeish with good.
This year especially in the finale, the full spectrum of liberal propaganda and liberal disregard for things that are good and wholesome was blatantly displayed. It was apparent early on when the worn out old Steven Tyler was admitted to the judge’s table. He is an icon, a very knowledgeable person to absorb what is happening and make a judgment. It seemed to me that he was uncomfortable being old and went out of his way to make outrageous remarks. He came off as a rude, crude past his prime buffoon.
The full force of the liberal propaganda weaponry was brought to bear in the finale. Lady Gaga and Beyonce went out of their way to make the most outrageous statements of no boundaries, all is except able, no manners, crude, despicable behavior. Pure evil was on display.

It might be argued that the edge of the entertainment industry is a force of evil. That would certainly be the view of many family values conservatives of the Muslim faith. The Idol finale evil elements are the reason America is the Great Satan. America. Hollywood in particular are is the centroid of the evil there for all to see and idolize.

Although there were others, and some pretenders, It boiled down to James. James represented the evil. James became the evil hope.
Thus as the contest wound down, as hundreds of thousands voted perhaps hundreds or perhaps even thousands of times it became apparent that evil was out. America voted it out. America voted for Scotty and Lauren in mind boggling numbers. The final tally was I believe 120 million votes. We can know with certainty that 120 million souls did not vote. An unknown number of dedicated committed vans voted multiple times to assure the point was made……we like that which is good, that which represents American values, the real values not those constantly hyped by the industry.

So to sum it up, Evil lost. Good won

You're comparing apples and oranges. Sure, the Stones are still rocking, but how many novelty acts of that era have moved on and are now retired realtors with grandchildren? Napoleon XIV, or the Archies, or the Classics IV?

Lady Gaga is a fad, and I'd wager that she and the folks around her know it. I reach the opposite conclusion from the Townhall writer -- by going mainstream and mid-market, they're milking the phenomenon for all they can grab on the way down. Can't blame them.

But for all the silliness, at the middle of it is a young woman with genuine talent; see this pre-Gaga video. Listening to that song, I hope that when the Gaga fad has burned out, when she's financially set for life, she'll record an album I would actually consider buying.

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