Before we go into the details of this piece of art, let’s take a moment to appreciate that in spite of a slew of negativity online and criticism from the broadest spectrum of individuals you could even imagine, from anonymous trolls to leading journalists combined with sales figures that have been subsequently affected by this (and the fact that the global public isn’t able to relate to a high concept track about fame as much as they can various self-empowerment anthems), Lady Gaga was still given the honour, hype and prestige of premiering the video for APPLAUSE on Good Morning America – creating a national (and global) pop culture moment reminiscent of Madonna, Britney and Michael.
Directed by Inez & Vinoodh, the video for APPLAUSE goes back to (and outdoes) the high concept world of The Fame Monster (Bad Romance, Alejandro) and to a certain extent the commercial for The Fame (fragrance). Every shot as enigmatic as the last, with her facial expressions and choreography throughout, the clip contains bountiful references to her official body of work (reaching five years this week) and unofficial body of work (with one look referencing Stefani Germanotta of Electric Kiss and Captivated fame). The iconography of the burnt our Fame Monster yellow wig look to the reincarnation of Shiva on the catwalk to the Daphne Guinness style green jacket and colour painted black swan Meret Oppenheim-esque rebirth (my favourite) are all incredibly telling visions demonstrating once more that Gaga is the most self-aware popstar in the history of time.
