Pop Talk by George Varga

Has the title of Lady Gaga's recent Grammy Award-winning album, "The Fame Monster," turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy for her?

Is Gaga's superstardom, and the pressures and expectations that come with it, starting to devour her sky-high career? Or is Gaga, the biggest pop-music sensation of the past two years not named Justin Bieber, poised for a new triumph with "Born This Way," her new album?

These are questions to ponder as her Monster Ball Tour crisscrosses North America.

Never mind that this is essentially an extension of the same tour Gaga launched in 2009, with the same name, albeit with a bigger budget and more flashy stage show. And never mind that the flamboyant Gaga, whose fame was starting to skyrocket in late 2009, became an even bigger sensation in 2010.

In October, she reached the one-billion mark for YouTube viewings of her music videos. In August, she surpassed Britney Spears to earn the most Twitter followers, with a total of 5,712,175. In July, Gaga topped President Obama with her number of Facebook followers (10,673,476 to 9,820,000). And when her new single, the title track for "Born This Way," was released last month, it sold a reported one-million digital downloads in barely a week.

Based on sheer numbers alone, it is clear she has struck a resounding chord with her fans, or "little monsters," as she likes to call them. Indeed, in an image-over-content world, the gender-bending Gaga — whose "embrace your inner freak" persona and eye-popping attire suggests a missing member from disco kings the Village People — seems perfect for this moment. But how long will her moment last?

Consider "Born This Way's" dance-happy title track, which sounds uncannily like "Express Yourself," the 1989 hit by Madonna (Gaga's biggest role model, visually, musically and as a savvy self-marketer). The similarities between the songs are so pronounced that the Material Mom could probably file a lawsuit.

More troubling, Gaga's swift rise to fame may well have come at the expense of the time that truly notable artists need to develop and hone their music and stagecraft.

She has, undeniably, made such infectious dance-pop hits as "Poker Face" (a song she says was inspired by her bisexuality), "Bad Romance" and her 2010 duet with Beyonce, "Telephone."

But too many of Gaga's other songs are slick pastiches that — much like her now infamous "meat dress" at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards — offer little beneath their surface.

Then there was the plastic, egg-shell-like cocoon she used to make her arrival at the 2011 Grammy Awards, a stunt that didn't make much of an impression on fellow pop sensation Justin Bieber.

"People say it's artistic and stuff," Bieber said of her no-yoke Grammy entrance. "I'm just like, 'You're an egg'."

Gaga's 2009 San Diego Sports Arena concert, which came barely 10 months after her local debut at House of Blues, seemed like much too much, much too soon. It suffered from dim lighting, a sparse stage set, clumsy choreography and consistently muddled sound (even though much of the show's "live" music appeared to have been pre-recorded).

Buoyed by the mega-buzz she was generating, Gaga's San Diego Sports Arena concert sold-out two weeks in advance. Yet, despite going on sale Sept. 28, tickets were still available the night of her March 29 concert at San Diego's similarly cavernous Viejas Arena.

Why did Gaga sell out in San Diego in 2009, but not now, when her fame is even greater and her new album is due out in May? Apparently, the price of newfound superstardom doesn't come cheap.

The top ticket price for her 2009 San Diego Sports Arena show was $45. Reflecting the higher ticket prices at each stop on her ongoing tour, the lowest price for her Viejas Arena concert is $67.50, with a top price of $205 (plus service charges). VIP ticket packages cost $235 to $435 each.

During Gaga's 2010 summer tour of England, similarly inflated prices in some instances led to tickets being slashed by 50 percent, in a last-minute effort to fill unsold seats. In good times and bad, offering value for money never goes out of style. That's a lesson Lady Gaga might do well to remember next time around.

TWO SCOOPS OR NONE?

The exotically attired and coiffed Lady Gaga has many things. A sense of humor may not be one of them.

Earlier this month, she had her lawyers file a cease-and-desist order against Icecreamists, the London-based makers of Baby Gaga, a vanilla/lemon ice cream that also contains human breast milk. It's "nausea-inducing," said Gaga, who also objected to the name Baby Gaga.

Responded Icecreamists' owner Matt O'Connor: "This from a woman with a penchant for wearing rotting cows' flesh? At least our customers are still alive when they contribute to our 'art.' She claims we have 'ridden the coattails' of her reputation. As someone who has ... recycled on an industrial scale the entire back catalogue of pop culture to create her look, music and videos, she might want to reconsider this allegation.

To find out more about George Varga and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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