Tagged As: Britney Spears, Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Pussycat Dolls

Ever watch a Lady GaGa video? I was curious after reading that Lady GaGa announced her “The Fame” headlining tour and decided to turn to YouTube (which has become the only place to watch music videos) for some research. After getting through Poker Face, Just Dance, and Beautiful Dirty Rich, I realized that while she has been mentioned in the same breath as pop acts like Madonna and her continued association with the Pussycat Dolls, she is actually an artist that has become pretty successful at transcending the pitfalls of the pop world.

Is she obsesses with fashion? Just watch her videos and you can not deny that whatever outrageous outfits and sunglasses are as important to her as the lyrics. Are those lyrics loaded with loaded lyrics? Yes. Is her stage act full of struts and more costume changes than a Cher show in Vegas? Unbelievably, it is true.

So what sets her apart from performers like Rihanna, and the Pussycat Dolls (who she wrote “songs” for)? Well not only does she admit that she thinks of clothes, dances, and poses, she revels in those very facts. She revels in her persona like a teenage girl pretending that she is Britney. The fun she is having is infectious and the fact that she seems to have a sense of humor about it make her all the more fun.

Lady GaGa is simply a girl living out her fantasy of creating a sound inspired by David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Queen. The very name of her new album, The Fame, is almost meta-philosophical, presenting fame as a physical thing rather than as an attribution or level of stardom. Her songs accept and mock her and many others desire to simply live the famous life style.

While this message is not new, it is more than welcome in an era of pop-dom when stars that owe their entire fortune to rumor and splashes with the media try and claim hurt and neglect by the beast that fueled their lifestyle. The latest example invokes Britney’s Circus. The true worth of Lady GaGa will be if she can keep her live performances in the same over-the-top, camp style of her videos. She will have a chance to own the stage as a headliner from March 12 to April 9, before returning to supporting status for the Pussycat Dolls world tour.