On Nov. 11, 2019, Lady Gaga tweeted, “i don’t remember ARTPOP,” and it felt as if a mother had publicly disowned her child. Lady Gaga’s relationship with her third studio album, “Artpop,” continues to evolve due to the negative reception that plagued it upon release in 2013. But given the sonic references to “Artpop” in Gaga’s most recent album, “Mayhem,” it’s clear her most controversial record is far from forgotten.
Gaga’s sophomore album, “Born This Way,” with its massive sales numbers, anthemic singles, fresh electronic sound and unabashed affinity for queer identity, would have been a tough act to follow for any artist. Gaga explained before the release of “Artpop” that she sought to pull a “reverse of Warhol,” infusing the fine arts in popular culture. For example, instead of painting Campbell’s soup cans, she dresses like Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and sings about Jeff Koons: “One second I’m a Koons, then suddenly the Koons is me.” As Gaga sings in “Applause,” “Pop culture was in art, now art’s in pop culture in me.”
While the visuals for “Artpop” certainly follow this trend, it is difficult to see where that inspiration fits into the music. The Guardian concurred in a three-star review, citing a disconnect between the grandiose manner in which Gaga explained the record and the straightforward pop music she presented. I often wonder, if Gaga had disposed of the high-concept aesthetics, would “Artpop” be hailed as the EDM masterclass it is?
“Artpop” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 with 258,000 sales in its first week. But those numbers are dwarfed by “Born This Way,” with its million albums moved in its first week and the title track’s six-week run atop the Hot 100. “Artpop” failed to produce a #1 hit, with lead single “Applause” reaching #4 and “Do What U Want” peaking at #13. Her two later singles, “G.U.Y.” and “Venus,” failed to chart longer than one week. Critics and audiences took notice of this precipitous decline in commercial performance.
The record experiments with EDM, synth-pop and techno. The lyrics can be a nebulous tapestry of artistic reference points, such as with “Venus” or “Applause.” On other tracks like “Dope” and “Swine,” the writing dives deep into Gaga’s trauma and anxiety. We also get tongue-in-cheek sexy numbers like “G.U.Y.” and “Sexxx Dreams,” critiques of commercialism on “Donatella” and an ode to marijuana with “Mary Jane Holland.”
The inclusion of R. Kelly on the album’s second single, “Do What U Want,” drew criticism. In 2023, Kelly was convicted and sentenced to over 20 years in prison for child sex crimes. Following the release of “Surviving R. Kelly,” a 2019 documentary detailing Kelly’s abuse allegations, Lady Gaga took the duet off streaming services and issued a public apology.
Recently, fans have resurrected “Artpop.” Part of fandom lore involves a sequel album, discussed during promotion for the record but never released. On SoundCloud, there are dozens of album outtakes and demos from the “Artpop” recording sessions.
Fans created a change.org petition for the LP’s release, which garnered over 50,000 signatures (mine included), and sent the album to No. 2 on the iTunes album charts. Gaga responded later that month, thanking the fans for their continued love and revealing her negative mental state while creating the music. In promotion for “Mayhem,” Gaga confirmed Act II would most likely never see the light of day.
Critics have also come around to the album, with a retrospective review from Pitchfork calling it her most ambitious project to date. “Artpop” is truly a cult classic, an “if you know you know” pop odyssey for the most devoted fans. Today, it barely ranks below “Joanne” and “Chromatica” on Spotify and has sold 2.3 million units worldwide.
The impact of “Artpop” continues to reverberate throughout pop music. Without Gaga’s ambitious EDM flair, would audiences have opened their arms to the dark electronic pop of Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” or the camp of Charli XCX’s “Brat”? Gaga sings on the title track, “My ARTPOP could mean anything,” a line I think encapsulates the record. Trying to understand “Artpop” is a fruitless effort because conceptually, it’s about everything and nothing simultaneously. You don’t understand “Artpop” — you just live it.