Whether good, bad, ugly, or somewhere in between, 2019 brought with it some of modern Pop culture’s most memorable moments.
Now, as the year draws to a close, TGJ is reflecting on 31 moments that rocked – and to some degree maybe even reshaped – the Urban and Pop musical landscape as we know it.
Next, we’ll look back on how the monstrous success of Mother Monster’s ‘Shallow’ not only penciled her name in history books, but reaffirmed her position as one of Pop culture’s leading forces.
Details inside:
There’s no way to spin the seemingly sudden, yet very real demise of Lady Gaga‘s popularity following the unexpectedly (and comparatively) poor performance of her third studio album, 2013’s ‘ArtPop.’ Albeit a chart-topping effort, much like the Tony Bennett-assisted Jazz effort that followed, the decline in sales and influence suggested a progressive wane.
2016’s ‘Joanne’ may not have been the blockbuster force needed to push the Pop diva back to the stratosphere, but it was certainly a precursor to “the new Gaga” – an artist opting to abandon eccentricity and gimmick (to degree) in place of letting the art speak for itself. The interest in content from the LP, skyrocketed by her 2017 Super Bowl performance, undoubtedly laid the groundwork for the success of the ‘A Star is Born’ film and accompanying soundtrack.
Peppered with Oscar buzz ahead of its official premiere, the 2018 revamp of the classic ‘Star is Born’ tale zoomed to the top of box office charts. Mirroring the performance of its soundtrack on the Billboard 200, the enduring success of the album’s content – thanks to an aggressive promo schedule by Gaga and co. – kept the music atop iTunes sales tallies for weeks after its release.
As if that wasn’t rewarding enough, ‘Shallow’ – the first single from the ‘Born’ soundtrack – dominated radio, streaming, and sales listings well into the next year. Renewing public interest after every live showing (see: Grammys, Academy Awards, etc.), the song’s buoyancy on Billboard charts was only rivaled by its sweep of nearly every major award show that season.
The result of it all? ‘Shallow’ sits in history books as the most awarded song ever. Unseating Beyonce‘s ‘Formation’ to nab the title, look below to see a list of just a few of the many trophies it collected along the way:
We can’t wait to see what LG works up for 2020. The pressure is on.