Music Review: Lady GaGa "Paparazzi"

Lady GaGa

Paparazzi

Album: The Fame

Year: 2009

              Lady GaGa will do anything to be with her rock star crush in the pitiable “Paparazzi.”

        Expectant synths open the song, setting an worshipping tone.   In the first verse, she’s at the meet-and-greet, waiting with anticipation for her him to come out. She checks her camera to make sure it’s charged. Then, she checks her makeup and flicks a piece of lint off her clothing. Getting the picture with him might mean that he will eventually go out with her. She believes they would be an awesome couple. Us Weekly would talk about them all time.  (“We are the crowd, we're comin' out/Got my flash on, it's true/Need that picture of you/It so magical, we'd be so fantastical.”)

        She doesn’t understand his image. It doesn’t matter to her. She thinks he’s still hot anyway. He talks to her at the meet-and-greet about their favorite songs. He gave her a hug when she asked and didn’t think she was silly for being nervous. After finally meeting him and taking her picture with him, she’s believes that he will call her once he’s done with the show. (“Leather and jeans, garage glamorous/Not sure what it means/But this photo of us it don't have a price/Ready for those flashing light/'Cause you know that baby, I.”)
         

      In the chorus, she says she has seen all his music videos and read every tweet.  She will respond to each one and go to every concert until he notices her. He’s her favorite celebrity and no one will ever take his place. (“I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me/Papa, paparazzi/Baby, there's no other superstar, you know that I'll be/Your papa, paparazzi.”)

     She continues to say that she won’t write him threatening letters or break into his home. However, she will pursue him by sending him complimentary tweets about his photos and artwork. She’s attend his concerts and sit in front row in each of them. (“Promise I'll be kind/But I won't stop until that boy is mine/Baby, you'll be famous, chase you down until you love me/Papa, paparazzi.”)

     In the second verse, she says she would be a supportive girlfriend. When he’s finished performing for the night, she’ll be there to take him away from the other screaming fans who really don’t know him and the people who are only out to exploit his talent. (“I'll be your girl backstage at your show/Velvet ropes and guitars/
Yeah, cause you're my rock star in between the sets/Eyeliner and cigarettes.”)

      From the stage, the lights have turned his shadow yellow. He dances around, stopping to slap a few fans’ hands, including her own. She and her friend squeal from excitement. She is crying from the feeling that he remembered her. Being in love with him completes her in a way that no one else can. (“Shadow is burnt yellow, dance and we turn/My lashes are dry, purple teardrops I cry/It don't have a price, loving you is cherry pie/Cause you know that baby, I.”)

              The chorus is sung again.

               In the bridge, she sees them in the recording studio. She’s helping him to record his next album. They are writing lyrics together. She’s reassuring him that his songs are better than what’s on the radio. She knows their life isn’t real and they are an image people read about, but they enjoy it. (“Real good, we dance in the studio/
Snap, snap to that shit on the radio/Don't stop for anyone/We're plastic but we still have fun.”

           The chorus is sung again to end the single.

      “Paparazzi” explores the idea of a celebrity love interest. Nearly everyone has a celebrity crush. Matthew Gray Gubler from Criminal Minds is my tv boyfriend. Sometimes, this involves a mini- marathon of episodes or reading his Twitter.

      However, some people get hardcore. The Supernatural fandom is known to be so crazy that it’s thinks Jensen Ackles’ and Jared Paladecki’s marriages are a sham. The Twihards went nuts after Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart broke up. They believed the photos of Stewart with her Snow White director were photoshopped. With social media like Twitter and Facebook, it’s easy to feel like regular people “know” celebrities. But they don’t know anything about them other than what they can find out online.  

      Lady GaGa is one delusional superfan. Her enchanted vocals are sweet and loving. She wouldn’t ever hurt him. She is self-aware enough to know that physically stalking him is illegal and a major turn-off. However, she’s enthralled with the idea of being a celebrity herself, too.

       Her vocals are undermined by beats changing tones throughout the song. During the verses, the beats stretch and linger, becoming eerie. Then, once the chorus starts up, they spring and bubble.

       “Paparazzi” handles the topic of fame with wonder but it ignores it’s own darker subtext.