Lady Gaga’s “Applause” Commercial Takes On Critics: “Stop The Drama, Start The Music”

Carl Williott | August 13, 2013 8:49 am

Lady Gaga‘s new commercial for ARTPOP‘s lead single “Applause”  tells fans not to buy the track or the album. In a clever bit of reverse-psychology theatrics, Gaga uses her critics’ words to her advantage, giving them the lowly “drama” label by commanding us to “Stop the drama, start the music.”

In the short ad, Gaga wears a clear shield over her face as statements like “Lady Gaga is no longer relevant” and “Ever since Born This Way, she’s a flop” appear onscreen. As a person whose job requires that I immerse myself in the pop music echo chamber, I can tell you that I’ve heard variations of these exact sentiments many times over the past year, from Gaga partisans and detractors alike (the shade really picked up steam with her “Cake” videos). So it’s not like Mother Monster is creating a straw man to conveniently frame herself as an underdog here.

The video was created by Haus of Gaga in collaboration with Inez & Vinoodh (who also did Gaga’s nude V photo shoot and are directing the “Applause” music video).

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