Lady Gaga’s ‘The Fame Monster’ Turns 5: Stan & Deliver

Bradley Stern | November 18, 2014 6:06 am

Stan & Deliver gives fans an opportunity to shake, cry and sing the praises of the albums they love from their faves.

Rah rah, ah-ah-ah…

Five years ago today (November 18), Lady Gaga tore our clothes right off, ate our hearts and then proceeded to eat our brains. Does it feel like only yesterday? Or, in the current age of Cheek To Cheek, does it feel more like decades ago? Perhaps somewhere in between.

While The Fame had already propelled Gaga to pop stardom a year prior thanks to her inescapable, syllable-happy electro-pop earworms like “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” (muh-muh-muh-mah!), it was The Fame Monster that saw Gaga effectively take over the world.

By the time her Fame re-release arrived in November of 2009, Gaga had her monster paws securely gripped around pop culture: She was the biggest pop superstar at the time, armed with a newly minted fan base (the Little Monsters were born), over-the-top ensembles that had the world ga-gagging (from her sensible Kermit The Frog carcass top to those perilously impractical sky-high stilettos to that infamous Meat Dress…hey Cher, hold my meat purse!), undeniably next-level music videos, unforgettable award show performances and, oh right, yes: The year’s best pop record in hand.

The start-to-finish immaculate 8-track EP, produced by RedOne, Fernando Garibay, Ron Fair, Darkchild and Teddy Riley, was said to represent Gaga’s 8 different “monsters” she encountered on the road (“Fear Of Loneliness Monster,” for example). And throughout, the disco stick-wielding pop princess navigated chilly synth-pop pulsations and dark lyrical themes (oh so many Hitchcock film references!) with a pristine, pop radio-friendly gloss to tackle those fears: From “Bad Romance,” one of the greatest pop records of the past decade, to a club-thumping mini-epic with Yoncé, to the campy, gothic glamour of “Dance In The Dark.” Simply put, Halloween has never sounded the same ever since.

Five years later, we’re now looking back and rattling the Fame Monster’s cage once again. Do you dare?

Name: Ro T. | Location: Austria | Twitter: @gagamonster96

1. Bad Romance

“I’ll never forget writing those ‘ra-rahs’ on my tour bus hoping it would be a hit.” And a hit it was. Lady Gaga took the world by storm in fall of 2009 to debut “Bad Romance,” the monstrous lead single from the 8-track EP The Fame Monster, the song which raised the bar of pop music and the paws of millions of Little Monsters all over the world.

So, how big of a hit was Bad Romance? The song won 2 GRAMMY Awards and sweeped a total of 7 MTV Video Music Awards in one night, including “Video of the Year,” which she accepted wearing the infamous meat dress. The music video became a massive event in pop music, so much that the video has spawned over 600 million views online and its gigantic amount of streams helped make Lady Gaga the first female artist with a Diamond-certified single in the United States. These accomplishments translated globally as the song has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and turned into a classic pop anthem.

Now, 5 years after the song made its debut, you will still most likely be lucky enough to hear the iconic “Walk, walk, fashion baby!” line blasting from the radio, or better yet, see the song come to life during Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball Tour. The monster paw, which Lady Gaga recently tattooed onto her body, has become a symbol in the Little Monster community and represents our unity and strength. It is noticable in every one of her live concerts, all thanks to this song and its instantly recognizable choreography.

What ultimately makes Bad Romance so special is its anthemic melody and its incredibly catchy hooks. It’s a song with genius lyrics, a song that has so many meanings, yet is so fun. “And now performing her hit single…’Bad Romance’!” you will hear Lady Gaga’s backing track announce at her current tour before the audience bursts into loud screams with their paws held high, celebrating the song that changed pop music forever.