It has become almost a burden being a Lady Gaga super-fan because of the public's perception of her, labeling everything she does as "attention-seeking" or "weird." So when I found out that the Associated Press voted Gaga as the Entertainer of the Year, I was happy for her, but I know she's much more than an entertainer. That psychotic mess of fashion and talent is an artist.
People will obviously disagree, because many don't consider pop music an art form, but when you have people like Gaga and Beyoncé, who make full-concept albums in the midst of records filled with sure-fire hits, you can't call them anything else. An artist takes risks with his or her music, taking the chance that the mainstream will recoil from it. It's also interesting that Entertainment Weekly just came out with its annual Entertainer of the Year issue and Gaga is nowhere to be found. I guess that title is highly subjective.
I see her getting the most votes for Entertainer of the Year because she nabbed the most headlines. Let's face it; Throughout 2011, Gaga's been a part of more headline-grabbing shenanigans than any other person on Earth. From arriving to the Grammys in an egg to her many controversial videos and songs, Gaga's never really that far from the public eye. You could say she's a bit overexposed, but only because the media loves capturing everything she says and does.
She's had her own Thanksgiving special, dressed as an Italian-American man, pissed off the Catholic Church with "Judas," started an anti-bullying foundation, met with the president of the United States, got nominated for five Emmys for the "Monster Ball," and is Google's most-searched female musician of 2011. She's the only person on Twitter with more than 17 million followers and has one of the highest-grossing tours of all-time. She's worked with legends like Elton John, Tony Bennett and Cher.
She's done plenty to be named Entertainer of the Year.
Gaga is one of the few musicians who still travels the world, visiting different countries when not on tour. She's trying to make a difference with her music, refusing to let injustice slide. And though some may say Adele or the cast of the Harry Potter films or even the late Steve Jobs should've been given the title, you can't deny the influence and star power that Gaga exudes.
To me, the AP giving Gaga this title is both an honor and a curse. It shows how enormous her star has become but the higher the star, the bigger it falls. I think Gaga needs to slow down and rest up in 2012, which will be hard because she's gearing up for the not-yet-titled tour for "Born This Way" and she's already recording new music for her third studio album.
Gaga's showing no signs of taking time off, so people will have to get used to seeing her in the headlines until her star burns out. While Adele's "21" is breathing life into the music industry and Rihanna and Katy Perry cement their status as singles artists, Gaga's making sure people will remember her name long after she's dead and gone.
