So it appears that the reaction is split (shocker) on the early release of Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP debut single APPLAUSE. Originally intended for next Monday, following an eleven second leak last night, I heard the HQ version in full this morning. As someone who has always appreciated the art, but not always the product (to me, Born This Way (the track) was and is still weak, equality messaging aside), I was nervous about my reaction to APPLAUSE, particularly as the LQ eleven second snippet did it no justice.
The track is strong, it’s passed the test of a gym workout on repeat. That’s over fifty consecutive plays. The production quality is immense, anthemic and everything a “comeback” single should be. Lyrically it’s introspective and a commentary on media and society’s perception of her. It’s a “fuck you haters” track without actually saying the words (Lotus reference), instead inverting it and hero-ing self gratification. It sounds even better with headphones.
