Beyoncé may have once jumped on the Lady Gaga bandwagon back in 2009 when she was still at her pinnacle with the reissue of The Fame Monster, but after 4 dropped in 2011, Bey became the unrivaled goddess of hip hop, pop, rock–the music universe, really. Plus, we all know 2008’s “Video Phone” was the trailblazing visual and auditory piece that begat “Telephone.” In any case, the point is, after that hot second when Lady G was the “it” thing in pop, there wasn’t much need for Beyoncé to deal with her anymore.
And there’s never been a stronger indication of Lady Gaga persisting in her sloppy seconds status to Beyoncé than her recent replacement of the Mother of Inspiration to us all (especially, evidently, Adele) as the headliner for Coachella. To promoters, Gaga is, on the surface, an “equitable” replacement for Queen Bey. To those with discernment, this is a huge downgrade.
The people “excited” about this roster substitute, if they exist, are the same people who thought Lady G’s Super Bowl performance was “political” and “spectacular.” And, more than likely, the Tony Bennett-reliant singer will revert to this crowd-pleasing set and performance to appeal to as many variations of her fans and casual listeners as possible. She knows she’s come too far in her attempt at a comeback from the abrasiveness of ARTPOP to do anything too “experimental”–though “back in the day,” this would have been her bread and butter.
All that can be said is that the ticket sales on the secondary market (a.k.a. the scalpers) dropped 12% when it was revealed that Bey would be delaying her performance until 2018 to accommodate her health limitations while pregnant. And while public taste clearly doesn’t say much these days, it doesn’t seem likely that Lady Gaga’s presence as a consolation will be that placating to those who were planning to attend specifically for Beyoncé.
