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The Fame Monster

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In the music industry , a reissue (also re-release , repackage or re-edition ) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions.

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98-401: The Fame Monster is a reissue of American singer Lady Gaga 's debut studio album, The Fame (2008), and was released on November 18, 2009, through Interscope Records . Initially planned solely as a deluxe edition reissue of The Fame , Interscope later decided to release the eight new songs as a standalone EP in some territories. The decision was also because Gaga believed the re-release

196-533: A gospel style composition. Gaga confirmed that the eight new songs would be released in North America as a standalone extended play (EP). She felt that The Fame Monster should be treated as her sophomore release and did not want to "add, nor take away any songs from this EP. It is a complete conceptual and musical body of work that can stand on its own two feet". The EP was released in North America on November 23, 2009. The deluxe edition double album featuring

294-482: A blond wig and a sleek, angular black coat, the collar of which covers the lower half of her face. The angular obscuring of her face was a reference to the similar cover art for The Fame , but was relegated as "sleek" by Andrew Unterberger from Billboard . He added that "there's a danger in Gaga's eyes this time out, and the feeling of greater depth in its austerity: A star, but one with a lot to say." The second cover artwork

392-405: A bow in front of the audience. Gaga comes back with her dancers to perform the encore. The encore of the tour consisted of "Boys, Boys, Boys" and the original version of "Poker Face". Gaga was dressed in a khaki leotard embellished with crystals. She wore an admiral's cap and gloves on her hands, both were decorated with the word Gaga on them. Sheri Linden from Yahoo! gave a positive review of

490-408: A collaboration with Beyoncé for The Fame Monster . The song talks about the singer preferring the dance floor rather than answering her lover's call, with the verses sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. Gaga explained that the song deals with her fear of suffocation, "fear [of] never being able to enjoy myself. 'Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have

588-411: A double four-square beat and Auto-Tune on Gaga's vocals as she sings the lyrics with a Don Juan womanizer metaphor. The fourth track is the ballad " Speechless ", a 1970s rock -inspired number that discusses abusive relationships with lyrics like "I can't believe how you slurred at me with your half-wired broken jaw". It consists of vocal harmonies and guitar riffs, which according to PopMatters ,

686-433: A fearless fashion sense in several costume changes, none of which covered her bum." Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly gave a mixed review of the concert, saying, "Her onstage banter was at times a bit silly and the visuals occasionally lacking in coherent theme, but her voice was strong and refreshingly free of overbearing tracking vocals. For all her cocky bluster, perhaps the most undeniable aspect of Gaga's talent

784-442: A few tracks to the back end of an album and release one of them to radio, slap on a new coat of paint, and—voila!—a stocking stuffer is born." Examples of such releases include Lady Gaga 's The Fame Monster (2009) following her debut album The Fame (2008), and Kesha 's Cannibal (2010) following her debut album Animal (2010). Some recordings are reissued to celebrate their popularity, influence, or an anniversary of

882-473: A good show...Every show's gonna be an A show by the time I'm done screaming at everyone – 'Hang it! Hang everything! Find a place to hang it!' That's gonna be my motto." The set list consisted of songs from her debut album mainly, but some new songs like "Fashion" from the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack were also considered. In May, during an interview with Edmonton Sun , Gaga announced that

980-425: A good time." In " So Happy I Could Die ", Gaga presents an ode to sexual feeling and actions, stating, "I love that lavender blonde, The way she moves the way she walks, I touch myself, can't get enough." The object of affection in the track becomes Gaga herself as she sings about drinking, dancing, observing, and touching herself, in a sedated, Auto-Tuned voice. The Fame Monster ends with the song "Teeth", which has

1078-403: A lot for it — out of my own pocket. But that's OK. I just don't care about money." Gaga prepared three versions of her show to cater to different sizes of the venues she played. In an interview with Billboard she said, "I am so mental and sleepless and excited for this tour, [...] This is so different than anything you've seen from me in the past year. What's fantastic about [the show]

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1176-616: A low price in venues other than record stores, several record companies started "budget" or " drugstore records " subsidiaries to sell their deleted items at lower prices. This could be where a self-released work in one territory signs a proper record deal in a new territory. For example, an act in North America who self-release an album may re-release it via an official label in Europe a couple of years later. When one record label buys out another record label or acquires an individual recording artist's back catalogue, their albums are often reissued on

1274-518: A mini-concert in Japan for MAC Cosmetics , collaborating with Canadian performance artist, Terence Koh . Billed as "GagaKoh", the concert took place on a rotating stage where Koh had created a statue of a naked woman with rabbit ears. The singer performed "Speechless", "Alejandro", and "Bad Romance" in the event. Gaga had initially planned to accompany rapper Kanye West on concert tour Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga . After his controversy at

1372-424: A monologue about the year "3009". And says that "The kids came out of New York and shot the paparazzi." followed by saying "It was a thousand years before when the monster first entered the city, vanished for our hearts and for our brains and for our faces (referencing to the three video interludes of the tour)" and "we knew we could co-exist with this monster with our MUSIC!!! With our art and with our fashion. My name

1470-468: A positive review saying "The tongue-in-cheek tabloid-victim shtick that provides some laughs on The Fame grew somewhat tiresome at the Wiltern, especially when the singer started spewing half-baked media-studies nonsense like, 'Some say Lady Gaga is a lie'... Fortunately, this is a woman who knows how to lighten a mood: Within 10 minutes or so, she'd donned a flesh-colored leotard and a bedazzled admiral's cap and

1568-427: A rating of A−, describing the tracks as "streamlined pop machines". Christgau further elaborated that "after being overwhelmed by the sheer visibility of her warp-speed relaunch did I realize how enjoyable and inescapable her hooks and snatches had turned out to be." NME ' s Ben Patashnik described The Fame Monster "as pristine as you'd expect, but has a sub-zero core of isolation and fear". She went on to call

1666-579: A revamp was needed as the original tour was constructed in a very short span of time. The new theme narrated a story where Gaga and her friends, traveling through New York, get lost while going to the Monster Ball. The show was divided into five segments with the last one being the encore. Each segment featured Gaga in a new dress and was followed by a video interlude to the next one. The tour grossed an estimated US$ 227.4 million from 200 reported shows attended by an audience of 2.5 million, making it

1764-512: A similar manner; Taller in More Ways following Mutya Buena 's replacement with Amelle Berrabah , and Sweet 7 after Keisha Buchanan 's replacement with Jade Ewen . " Do What U Want " by Lady Gaga featuring R. Kelly was removed from all streaming and online versions and new vinyl and CD pressings of Gaga's third studio album Artpop in light of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly . Some reissued albums were released for making sequel of

1862-437: A similarly colored vespa . She then starts singing "The Fame". This is followed by a speech. Gaga said she's been "travelling the whole world, but when I get back, I can still smell the stench of greed." And then she performs "Money Honey" with the dancers who are wearing backpacks. " Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) " starts immediately, accompanied by hand-waving and Gaga wore a hat made of toppled dominoes . Gaga then leaves

1960-540: A song, " Monster ", by March 2009. She sought for a darker and edgier concept than she had previously done, and cited her love of horror films and "the decay of the celebrity and the way that fame is a monster in society" as creative inspirations for The Fame Monster . Gaga explained in an interview with Daily Star : I have an obsession with death and sex. Those two things are also the nexus of horror films, which I've been obsessing over lately. I’ve been watching horror movies and 1950s science fiction movies. My re-release

2058-411: A stage that looked like a frame with the show fitted within it. The singer felt that the design would allow her creative control. Since the album dealt with the paranoias faced by Gaga over the year, the main theme of the show became evolution, with Gaga portraying growth as the show progressed. The set list consisted of songs from both The Fame and The Fame Monster . For the 2010 shows, Gaga felt that

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2156-679: A standalone entry. It debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart and in its 18th week, the record climbed to number one. It received a quadruple platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 280,000 copies of the album. In Japan, after being present on the Oricon Albums Chart for over 20 weeks, the album reached its peak position of number two in May 2010. By July 2011,

2254-423: A wealthy person's life. After the worldwide success of The Fame , the idea of a re-release arose. However, Gaga felt that re-releases were a disservice to music artists because "it's artists sneaking singles onto an already finished piece of work in an effort to keep the album afloat." Her label, Interscope Records , initially wanted three songs for the project, titled as The Fame Monster . Gaga had already composed

2352-427: Is Lady Gaga." and tells the crowd she feels "beautiful and dirty rich" and sang "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich". This leads to the end of the first part wherein a video introduction called "The Brain" starts with Gaga appearing again as Candy Warhol and brushing her hair. After the video ends, Gaga appears on the stage in a black and white leotard with high-pointed "puff" shoulders and lightning shaped symbols, while riding on

2450-919: Is a pop experimentation with industrial/Goth beats, 90's dance melodies, an obsession with the lyrical genius of 80's melancholic pop, and the runway". In an interview with MTV News , Gaga said that The Fame and The Fame Monster were like yin and yang because of their contrasting styles and concepts. The final cut of The Fame Monster contains eight tracks on the standard edition. The record showcases Gaga's taste for pastiche , drawing on "Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco, and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q ", according to Rolling Stone . Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph felt that while not as thematically unified as its predecessor, The Fame Monster had engaging songs composed by virtue of Gaga's "vivacious energy, bold melodies and almost comically relentless sensationalism". The lyrics contain zombie metaphors in songs like "Monster" ("He ate my heart..."),

2548-658: Is another prolific reissue label that licenses recordings from other labels. The Fame Ball Tour The Fame Ball Tour was the debut concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga , in support of her debut studio album The Fame (2008). North American shows began in March, followed by dates in Oceania and a solo trek through Europe. Dates in Asia soon followed, as well as two performances at England's V Festival and two shows in North America that had been postponed from April. Gaga described

2646-426: Is called The Fame Monster so I've just been sort of bulimically eating and regurgitating monster movies and all things scary. I've just been noticing a resurgence of this idea of monster, of fantasy, but in a very real way. If you notice in those films, there's always a juxtaposition of sex with death. Unlike her debut album, the new record was inspired by the singer's personal experiences. The early musical direction

2744-427: Is comparable to the work of Freddie Mercury and Queen . Gaga's inspiration for the track was her father's heart condition. She recalls how her father used to call after having few drinks, but the singer was speechless in her response, fearing for his death. Produced by Ron Fair , "Speechless" was recorded with all live instruments such as drums, guitars, bass and piano played by Gaga. The album's fifth track, "Dance in

2842-420: Is mainly divided into four parts with the last part being the encore. The main show began with a video introduction called "The Heart" where Gaga appeared as alter-ego Candy Warhol . She was shown dressing up and displayed the symbol of a pink heart on her T-shirt and said "My name is Lady Gaga, and this is my house." The video was projected on a giant screen in front of the stage. As the video approached towards

2940-486: Is reminiscent of Gaga's appearance as "Stefani" before she became famous and developed her image. In this photo, Gaga is draped in thick brown hair similar in style and color to her natural hair with heavy, streamy black eyeliner running down her face to represent tears. In interviews, Gaga explained that the two album covers are part of the "yin and yang" concept depicting who she was before and after achieving fame. A vinyl picture disc edition of The Fame Monster features

3038-470: Is this: The girl can, and does, sing." The show was described to be a "sartorial experimentation that it made Rocky Horror look like cotillion. One presumed the Lady approved – and somewhere, to be sure, Andy Warhol stirred in his grave." Andy Downing from Chicago Tribune was impressed by the show at House of Blues and said "The work is paying off. Just weeks into her first nationwide headlining tour,

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3136-581: The 2009 American Music Awards , The Jay Leno Show , The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The X Factor UK . She then performed "Speechless" at the Royal Variety Performance . Gaga appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in January 2010, and performed a medley of "Monster", "Bad Romance", and "Speechless". At the 52nd Grammy Awards , the singer opened the show by performing a medley of " Poker Face ", "Speechless", and " Your Song " with Elton John . At

3234-551: The 2010 Brit Awards , Gaga sang a ballad version of "Telephone" and then "Dance in the Dark", in memory of designer Alexander McQueen . In March 2010, "Bad Romance" and "Monster" were added as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series , along with " Just Dance " and "Poker Face" from The Fame . Gaga appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross , and sang "Brown Eyes" (from The Fame ) and "Telephone". The next month, she held

3332-596: The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards , including Gaga's second consecutive Album of the Year nomination. It won three, including Best Pop Vocal Album . " Bad Romance ", the album's lead single, was a commercial success, topping the charts in more than twenty countries and reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The next two singles, " Telephone " and " Alejandro ", reached the top ten in multiple countries worldwide. " Dance in

3430-1142: The Billboard Hot 100. "Dance in the Dark" was then released as the fourth and final single from The Fame Monster in France and Russia in the second half of 2010. It had minor chart placements, reaching number 24 in Australia and number 30 on the French Digital Charts. Promotion for The Fame Monster began with a performance on Saturday Night Live , which contained segments of a piano version of "Bad Romance". Gaga also appeared on various talk shows, such as It's On with Alexa Chung and Germany's Wetten, dass..? . On November 16, 2009, Gaga performed "Speechless" at Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art 's 30th Anniversary celebrations. She collaborated with artist Francesco Vezzolli and members of Russia's Bolshoi Ballet Academy . Same day she performed "Bad Romance" on CW 's Gossip Girl , during an episode titled " The Last Days of Disco Stick ". Gaga also performed "Bad Romance" at

3528-522: The Cossack like music in " Teeth " ("Take a bite of my bad-girl meat..."), and " Dance in the Dark " (" Silicone , saline , poison, inject me..."). The last of those lyrics also refer to famous people who met a tragic end: Marilyn Monroe , Judy Garland , Sylvia Plath , Princess Diana , Liberace , and JonBenét Ramsey . Recording sessions were held in Los Angeles , London , Osaka , and Amsterdam . Four of

3626-587: The "100 Best Albums". According to Billboard , as of 2022, The Fame Monster is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. With the release of The Fame and The Fame Monster , Gaga was attributed to reviving electronic dance music in the late 2000s era of popular music by professional critics, DJs Tommie Sunshine and Calvin Harris , and radio personality Zane Lowe . Additionally, Andrew Unterberger of Billboard stated that "Gaga raised

3724-405: The "Outstanding Music Artist" award for The Fame Monster , during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards . The album and its songs were nominated in six categories at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards . The Fame Monster was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Pop Vocal Album . "Bad Romance" won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video , while "Telephone" and "Dance in

3822-585: The "blonde" cover on the A-side and "brunette" cover on the B-side. Gaga initially had a dispute with her record label over the artwork; Interscope found the brunette cover to be too dark and gothic for a mainstream release. However, Gaga convinced them by explaining that both would be suitable with the yin and yang concept of the album. The font used on the cover is the sans-serif letterform used by Christian Dior in their campaigns. The album's lead single, "Bad Romance",

3920-559: The 1970s and 1980s, as well as industrial and gothic music . The album was also inspired by fashion shows and runways. According to Gaga, the album deals with the darker side of fame, with its theme lyrically expressed through a monster metaphor. The album's two covers were shot by Hedi Slimane . One of the covers has a Gothic theme and was declined for release by her record company, but Gaga persuaded them. The Fame Monster received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album charted as The Fame in some countries, and topped

4018-483: The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards with Taylor Swift , West announced that he was taking a break from music. All the Fame Kills tour dates were immediately cancelled and Gaga confirmed that she was going on tour alone to promote The Fame Monster . Described by Gaga as "the first-ever pop electro opera", The Monster Ball Tour started from November 2009 and finished in May 2011. Gaga and her production team initially developed

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4116-606: The 2010 Billboard year end tabulation, The Fame Monster was ranked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at number six on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart . It was the 23rd best selling album in the country for 2010. In Australia, The Fame Monster initially charted with The Fame , but was later considered as

4214-532: The 22-year-old New Yorker [...] already commands the stage like a seasoned pro." Jill Menze from Billboard also gave a positive review for the performance and complimented songs like "Just Dance", "LoveGame", "Poker Face", "Boys Boys Boys" and the fame obsessed "Paparazzi". The reviewer also said that "[From] her chart success, Lady Gaga has proven herself to be an of-the-moment pop sensation. Dig deeper, and it's clear she's versatile and talented enough to have staying power." Mikel Wood from Rolling Stone also gave

4312-554: The Block 's New Kids on the Block: Live tour, as well as The Pussycat Dolls ' Doll Domination Tour . Gaga stated, "I consider what I do to be more of an Andy Warhol concept: pop performance art, multimedia, fashion, technology, video, film. And it's all coming together, and it's going to be traveling museum show." Gaga started planning for the show while on the tour with The Pussycat Dolls. In an interview with MTV News , she described

4410-463: The Dark " was released as a single only in select territories, achieving moderate chart success. To promote the album, Gaga embarked on The Monster Ball Tour (2009–2011), which became the highest-grossing tour in history by a debut headlining artist. Lady Gaga released her debut studio album, The Fame , in 2008. Consisting of electropop and synthpop songs, the album offered a commentary on fame, duality between celebrity and fan base, as well as

4508-510: The Dark" was intended by Gaga's record label to be the third single. However, Gaga chose "Alejandro" after a confrontation with her label and it was released on April 20, 2010. "Alejandro" reached the top five of the Australian and Canadian charts, as well as the top ten of the charts of other nations. In the United States, it reached number five, becoming her seventh consecutive top ten single on

4606-878: The Dark" were nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Best Dance Recording , respectively. The album earned Best Album nominations at the 2010 International Dance Music Award and the Meteor Awards . It won the Best English Album at the Premios Oye! 2010 awards in Mexico. At the 2011 Billboard Music Awards , it earned an entry in the category for Top Electronic/Dance Album. Time magazine listed The Fame Monster in their "Top 10 Albums of 2009" list, noting that it demonstrates "a complete understanding of what dance audiences require and vocal talent that's easy to forget underneath all that platinum hair." Spin ranked

4704-454: The Dark", talks about a girl who likes to have sex with the lights off as she is ashamed of her body. Gaga has "resolute" vocals in the song, and the synths ultimately lead to the chorus where she belts, "Baby loves to Dance in the Dark, 'Cause when he's looking she falls apart". " Telephone " was originally written by Gaga for singer Britney Spears 's sixth studio album, Circus (2008), but Spears' label rejected it. Gaga later recorded it as

4802-644: The Digital Songs. The Fame Monster topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart, replacing The Fame and becoming Gaga's second number one album on the chart. In March 2020, the album was certified quintuple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of five million copies. As of February 2018, The Fame Monster has sold 1.65 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan . For

4900-577: The EP "largely on point," and gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. He also said that "half the disc is Madonna knock-offs, but that's part of the concept—fame monsters needn't concern themselves with originality." Edna Gundersen from USA Today observed that on The Fame Monster , "Gaga's icy aloofness and seeming aversion to a genuine human connection leave a disturbing void. With an avant-garde intellect, pop-electro eccentricities and freaky theatrics competing for attention, there's no room for heart." Ed Power reviewed

4998-487: The United States, The Fame Monster was also released as a separate standard EP. On May 3, 2010, The Fame Monster Limited Edition USB flash drive was released. It included the explicit version of the tracks, as well as nine remixes, eight music videos , a digital booklet , single cover artworks , and a photo gallery. Two covers were created for The Fame Monster , both of which were shot by French photographer Hedi Slimane . The first cover artwork features Gaga sporting

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5096-580: The album at number 197 on their list of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years" and characterized it as Gaga's magnum opus and a "mini-masterpiece". In 2012, Complex listed it at rank six on their countdown of The 50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years. Dale Eisenger from the publication called both covers as "alluring and gorgeous", adding that Gaga's look was followed by a number of artists emulating it in later years. In 2015, Billboard included

5194-509: The album for Ireland's Hot Press magazine where he complimented Gaga's ability to "always brings her A-game" in her musical outputs. Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph commented that the album has "an irrepressible quality that is given full rein. [...] Although not as thematically integrated as the original [ The Fame ], Gaga's vivacious energy, bold melodies and almost comically relentless sensationalism keeps things interesting." Josh Modell of Spin gave positive feedback regarding

5292-532: The album had sold 548,000 copies in Japan and ranked at number 14 on the year end list for 2010. In the United Kingdom, The Fame Monster was only available as a deluxe edition, not as a standalone album, hence it charted as part of The Fame . After The Fame Monster 's release, The Fame moved from number 55 to number 7 on the UK Albums Chart . All the new tracks from The Fame Monster charted within

5390-529: The album number 151 in their "Best Albums of the 2010s" list, acknowledging that although it was officially released in November 2009, they made an exception as the album "cast such a long shadow over this decade". The Fame Monster placed at number 45 on Consequence ' s The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, while at six on their Top 75 Albums of the Last 15 Years. The publication commented about its relevance since it

5488-499: The album was not a huge leap forward for Gaga, but provided "small, if fleeting, glimpses behind the pretense." Simon Price of The Independent called it "a whole new piece of art in its own right." Kitty Empire from The Observer said that the album is "a lot more splendidly deranged" than the work of the Pussycat Dolls . MSN Music ' s Robert Christgau found it to be of "comparable quality" as The Fame and gave it

5586-629: The album's release as "the moment Gaga cements herself as a real star". Evan Sawdey from PopMatters commended Gaga for being "willing to try new things" and felt that the album shows "she's not complacent with doing the same thing over again [...] Gaga is allowed to make a few mistakes on her way towards pop nirvana —and judging what she's aiming for with The Fame Monster , there's a good chance she's going to get there sooner than later." Mikael Wood from Los Angeles Times felt that The Fame Monster continued to demonstrate Gaga's creative ambition and stylistic range. Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone called

5684-465: The artist or the recording. Some recordings are reissued soon after their original release because one of the tracks was seen in a negative light. " Cop Killer " by Body Count was one such example. Some recordings are remixed and reissued in an effort to erase prior band member's contributions. Two such examples were Ozzy Osbourne ’s Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman . British girl group Sugababes reissued two of their studio albums in

5782-431: The center wearing her video sunglasses which display the line "Pop Music Will Never Be Low Brow". A remix of the intro for " Just Dance " started and Gaga was joined by her dancers on stage. When the song shifts to the bridge, Gaga once again is handed her disco stick and performs the bridge with it. The ending shifts to a remixed version of the song. Then Gaga and the dancers, joined by DJ Space Cowboy or DJ Nicodemus, take

5880-452: The charts in Australia, Belgium, Finland, New Zealand, and Poland. In the United States, the EP reached number five on the Billboard 200 and topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. It has since been certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated in a total of six categories at

5978-574: The concert in House of Blues and said "The combination of song and spectacle was crowd-pleasing and exhilarating. Her club-ready songs were delivered by a woman who is clearly studied, intelligent, and talented." Lynn Saxberg from the Ottawa Citizen was also positive in her review, which she wrote after the concert at Bronson Centre in Ottawa and said, "Accompanied by a DJ who also played a funky electric guitar,

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6076-452: The concert saying "Gaga's first theater tour is a hot ticket – and the Lady did not disappoint. Borrowing from Madonna , Grace Jones , David Bowie and Daryl Hannah 's Blade Runner replicant , Gaga put on a compelling show revolving around her mysterious persona, a trio of leather-jacketed dancers, multiple costume changes and props and a lone DJ providing musical accompaniment." Christopher Muther from The Boston Globe reviewed

6174-424: The concert series: "It's not really a tour, it's more of a traveling party. I want it to be an entire experience from [the] minute you walk in [the] front door to [the] minute I begin to sing. And when it's all over, everyone's going to press rewind and relive it again. [...] It's going to be as if you're walking into New York circa 1974: There's an art installation in the lobby, a DJ spinning your favorite records in

6272-473: The curvy dynamo (Gaga and Space Cowboy) fronted one of wildest spectacles ever mounted at Bronson Centre, an action-packed circus of sound, lights, video images, fog and choreography. Though heavy on theatrics, there was no skimping on the music." She also commented on Gaga's fashion sense and style in her costumes by saying, "In an hour, Gaga proved her star power by packing in all her hits, displaying influences that ranged from Motown to 80s pop , and exhibiting

6370-554: The double disc deluxe edition, including the original The Fame , moved up from number 34 to number 6 with sales of 151,000 copies. The album also topped the Digital Albums chart with sales of 65,000. Seven of the eight songs from the record also charted on the Hot Digital Songs chart, led by "Bad Romance" which held the top position for the second week with sales of 218,000 copies. In total Gaga had 11 songs that week charting on

6468-466: The early 1980s. With the introduction of the LP record in 1948, some collections of 78 rpm records were reissued on LP. More recently, many albums originally released on CD or earlier formats have been reissued on SACD , DVD-Audio , digital music downloads , and on music streaming services . Beginning with Pickwick Records , which acquired the rights to reissue many of Capitol Records ' non-current albums at

6566-533: The effect on the attire of Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry at the show. Jon Caramanica from The New York Times in his article "Girl Pop's Lady Gaga Makeover" states: "It's Halloween -costume empowerment, sure, but her fingerprints are all over the revised images of Christina Aguilera , Rihanna , Katy Perry and Beyoncé; and on new artists like Kesha , Janelle Monáe and Nicki Minaj" and that "the work she's done since her 2008 debut album [...] has nudged loose conventional boundaries." In 2019, Pitchfork ranked

6664-426: The eight new songs on the first disc and The Fame on the second disc—was launched the same day. The limited edition, which included a lock of her wig, followed three weeks later. Interscope had planned to release only a double-disc deluxe edition of The Fame , but Gaga fought with the record label arguing that her fans who already purchased The Fame should be able to purchase only the new tracks. So in countries like

6762-402: The end, a countdown from ten to one happened, Gaga's face was shown wearing the video sunglasses, and flames engulfed the screen as it dropped. Gaga appeared in the middle of the stage being surrounded by her dancers holding glass encrusted plates which camouflage them. She wore a futuristic black dress in geometric patterns with a triangular piece on her right breast and peplum . DJ Space Cowboy

6860-424: The fast-paced songs on the record, but felt that "When Gaga reaches for sincere balladry [...] she sounds lost". Writing for The Times , Sarah Hajibagheri criticized the album due to its "lack [of] the beat and bite that made us all go Gaga for the eccentric New Yorker". In the United States, the individual disc of The Fame Monster charted at number five on the Billboard 200 with sales of 174,000 copies while

6958-406: The first North American leg of the tour. The show has received critical acclaim with critics complimenting her vocal clarity and fashion sense as well as her ability to pull off theatrics like a professional artist. The tour was officially announced on January 12, 2009, through Gaga's official Myspace page. It was her first headlining tour; she has previously served as opening act for New Kids on

7056-514: The highest grossing tour by a debut headlining artist. A tour special was filmed by HBO during Gaga's February 2011 shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Fame Monster received generally positive reviews from music critics . At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received an average score of 78, based on 14 reviews. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine felt that

7154-403: The late 2000s to early 2010s, reissues of studio albums with expanded track listings were common, with the new music often being released as stand-alone EPs . In October 2010, a Vanity Fair article regarding the trend noted reissues and post-album EPs as "the next step in extending albums' shelf lives, following the "deluxe" editions that populated stores during the past few holiday seasons—add

7252-490: The main room, and then the most haunting performance that you've ever seen on the stage. [...] I'm on the phone every minute of every day, talking to people, being creative, planning this Ball, and my tour manager is constantly saying, 'Come on, we have to go, we've got to go right now,' [...] But to me, the Ball is so important. I want so much to make every depression dollar that everyone spends on my show worth it. And, yeah, I'm paying

7350-529: The musical contents of the original disc must remain the same on a reissue for it to count towards certification. Some record labels specialize in reissuing recordings originally released on other labels. Four of the biggest reissue labels are Rhino Records , Craft Recordings , Hip-O Records , and Legacy Recordings . Each of these companies reissues material from the labels of a major music conglomerate : Warner Music Group , Concord , Universal Music Group , and Sony BMG , respectively. Collectables Records

7448-527: The plot, as well as its artistic direction and vivid imagery. In 2011, the music video was voted the best video of the 2000s (decade) by readers of Billboard . "Telephone" was released as the album's second single on January 26, 2010. The track reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gaga's second consecutive UK chart topper and fourth in total. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 , making it her sixth consecutive single to reach

7546-453: The previous EP. Another example is Twicecoaster: Lane 2 by Twice . The repackage album is the sequel of their previous EP, Twicecoaster: Lane 1 Common additions to reissued albums include: For the purposes of quantifying sales, an album's original and subsequent releases are counted together. For example, if an album sold 300,000 of its original release and 700,000 in reissues, it would be entitled to platinum certification. However,

7644-450: The promotion project. This is different to special or limited album, where both special and limited album were released for certain event like Christmas or group's anniversary. An example is Funky Town by T-ara , where this repackage album was released as the sequel of their previous EP, Black Eyes . The album was released for their drama video project where the video was released as the sequel of their previous drama video, Cry Cry from

7742-512: The purchasing label. For example, Polydor Records reissued many of James Brown 's albums which were originally released on his former label, King Records . King Records had itself previously reissued albums and singles by Brown that were originally recorded for its subsidiary label, Federal Records . Recordings are reissued to meet continuing demand for an album that continues to be popular after its original release. In other cases, albums are reissued to create interest in and hopefully revive

7840-424: The sales of a release which has sold poorly. For example, the heavy metal label Roadrunner Records is notorious for reissuing their artist's works' only months after releasing the original album. According to US music magazine Billboard , reissues target "casual consumers who hadn't picked up the album when it was originally released, as well as obsessives who need to own every song in an artist's catalog." In

7938-537: The song, talking about how love hurts in both good and bad ways. There is a sing-along hook—"Rah, rah, ah, ah, ah/Roma, roma ma/Gaga, ooh la la"—present in between the verses. Second track, " Alejandro ", incorporates elements from music of ABBA and Ace of Base , with the lyrics talking about Gaga fending off a harem of Latino men. The lyrics were also interpreted as bidding farewell to a lover, accompanied by RedOne's production. "Monster" consists of stuttering synths and instrumentation from heavy drums. The intro contains

8036-401: The songs were primarily produced by RedOne , with additional productions on the other songs by Ron Fair , Fernando Garibay , Tal Herzberg, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins , Teddy Riley , and Space Cowboy . Gaga was the co-producer on all the tracks. The Fame Monster begins with the track " Bad Romance ", which Simon Price from The Independent felt set the tone for the album. He added that

8134-453: The stage only to appear shortly after in a dress completely made of plastic bubbles. She sits in front of a glass piano and starts singing an acoustic version of " Poker Face ". She sometimes puts her leg on the piano and even plays it with her stilettos. And then, thanks the audience and surprises them by performing an unreleased and new song called "Future Love" whose lyrics referenced far-off galaxies, mechanical hearts and constellations. She

8232-551: The standard album cover on their list of the "50 Greatest Album Covers of All Time". Andrew Unterberger from the publication wrote in a 2016 article that the cover arts were "much starker and more angular than the party-diva framing of [ The Fame ]. It's still very sleek, but there's a danger in Gaga's eyes this time out, and the feeling of greater depth in its austerity: A star, but one with a lot to say." In November 2016, Billboard named The Fame Monster Gaga's best album. In 2024, Apple Music placed it at 89 on their inaugural list of

8330-577: The standards for ambition in pop", concluding that she "took American mainstream music at one of its least-interesting and most star-power-deprived moments and made it bigger, weirder, more visual and infinitely more personality-driven – in other words, much more fun." Critics acknowledged that The Fame Monster also had an influence on the images of pop stars, beginning a trend of wearing bizarre and outrageous outfits. Tracie Egan Morrissey from Jezebel , said that 2011 MTV Video Music Awards 's red carpet "reeks of Lady Gaga's influence", particularly noticing

8428-726: The top 200 of the UK Singles Chart . On the week ending March 6, 2010, The Fame reached the top of the chart. Because of its chart activity across the European markets, The Fame Monster peaked at number 13 on the European Top 100 Albums chart. It was certified triple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipment of three million copies across the continent. In 2010, Gaga won

8526-477: The top ten. "Telephone" also reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, tying with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the chart's launch in 1992. The music video is a continuation of the clip for Gaga's previous single, " Paparazzi " (2010), with the plot showing Beyoncé bailing Gaga from jail and together going on a murder spree. "Dance in

8624-686: The tour as a traveling museum show incorporating artist Andy Warhol 's pop-performance art concept. Tickets were distributed for charity also. Alternate versions of the show with minimal variations were planned by Gaga to accommodate different venues. The show consisted of four segments, with each segment being followed by a video interlude to the next segment, and it ended with an encore. The set list consisted of songs from her debut album, as well as an unreleased track called "Future Love". Gaga's performance involved multiple costume changes, and included an innovative dress made entirely of plastic bubbles. An alternate set list with minor changes were performed after

8722-411: The tour would continue through European festivals in summer. She also declared plans for a bigger North American tour including Canada. Gaga explained that the show is supposed to be much bigger than the previous version. She said, "Oh, you have no idea, [...] The tour that we're about to announce is such a dream that I have to pinch myself almost every day to remind myself that it's happening." The show

8820-407: The track contained a "dominant atmosphere and a Gothic aesthetic , from the monochrome cover artwork of the single version to the crucifix logo". For Paul Lester from BBC, the refrain of "Bad Romance" has sonic similarities to songs by Boney M , and the composition is reminiscent of Depeche Mode 's fifth studio album, Black Celebration (1986). A "catchy" chorus and a club-like beat is the crux of

8918-578: Was I was able to plan it while I was on another tour that was on a much smaller scale, opening for the Dolls. This is going to be, like, the ultimate creative orgasm for me 'cause I'm ready to move on. I'm not restricted to a certain structure for my show anymore. No limitations. I'm free. [...] I want to have a clear schedule of the dimensions for each venue so that we can properly execute all the technology and visuals. I need to mentally prepare days in advance if things are going to be taken out; otherwise, I won't have

9016-517: Was also shaped by Gaga's touring experiences with the Fame Ball Tour , during which she allegedly encountered "several monsters" that encapsulated her biggest fears. These fears were divided into various monster metaphors, such as the "Fear of Sex Monster", "Fear of Love Monster", "Fear of Alcohol Monster", and so forth. "I spent a lot of nights in Eastern Europe ," the singer said. "And this album

9114-424: Was present at a corner, playing the backing music. Gaga came out in the center as the plates rolled around and started singing " Paparazzi ". The performance ends with continuous clicking of the camera. Gaga comes to the top of the pillar and sings a combination of "Starstruck" and " LoveGame " as she is joined by her dancers in tracks and jackets and hands Gaga her trademark disco stick. After "LoveGame", she talks

9212-420: Was released for digital download on October 23, 2009. The song topped numerous record charts , as well as reaching a peak of number two in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, and Switzerland, ultimately selling 12 million copies worldwide. The accompanying music video, featuring Gaga inside a surreal white bathhouse , garnered acclaim from critics, who praised the risqué and symbolic nature of

9310-605: Was released, stating that the album "laid a certain groundwork for many women in pop to follow." Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Fame Monster . Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Reissue Recordings originally released in an audio format that has become technologically or commercially obsolete are reissued in new formats. For example, thousands of original vinyl albums have been reissued on CDs since introduction of that format in

9408-441: Was rhyming 'boys in cars' with 'buy us drinks in bars'." Craig Rosen from The Hollywood Reporter said that "Lady Gaga showed she's a serious contender to Madonna's crown [...]. She might be a relative newcomer, but the artist born Stefani Joanne Germanotta commanded the stage with a royal air during her hourlong set, at times even sporting a glowing scepter." This set list was used from March 12 to June 19, 2009. This set list

9506-558: Was surrounded by a glowing mannequin while singing the song. The stage had a blue setting with mechanical fog. Gaga left for a costume change as the third video interlude titled The Face starts. After the video ended, she then came on the stage wearing a tutu shaped dress with pointed shoulder pads and peplum. Her dancers were clad in Louis Vuitton Steven Sprouse printed trousers which matched Gaga's shoes. The backdrop changed to show blinking disco lights and Gaga stood in

9604-457: Was too expensive and that the albums were conceptually different, describing them as yin and yang . The deluxe edition is a double album featuring the eight new songs on the first disc and The Fame on the second disc. A super deluxe edition was released on December 15, 2009, holding additional merchandise, including a lock from Gaga's wig. An electropop record, The Fame Monster has influences of disco , glam rock , and synth-pop music of

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