Fame killed: Kanye West, Lady Gaga and the missed opportunity

 
While I may or may not be of a minority opinion, I’ll stand firm in my conviction: The cancellation of the Kanye West/Lady Gaga “Fame Kills” tour, quite frankly, stinks. It’s also a sad commentary on the state of modern pop music, which could have benefited from something so inspired.

At its best, pop music is thrilling, sexy and occasionally brilliant, but quite almost always controversial. When it works, it elevates beyond music to a larger pop cultural stage, and provokes more than just a conversation. Between the two of them, Lady Gaga and Kanye West have done all of the above and more. They’ve affected the cultural zeitgeist and are walking among the biggest pop stars in the world because of it.

The aptly titled "Fame Kills" tour was an intuitive juxtaposition of the new pop power structure. West’s panoramic hip-hop appeal with Gaga’s even broader reach -- one that includes the gay/lesbian community -- was sure to draw a mind-bogglingly cross-cultural crowd.

The few leaked details on the actual show made it sound like a truly ambitious undertaking, with both artists on stage at the same time:

“The storyline is that Kanye is on one end of the stage and I’m on the other, and the whole show, we are trying to get to where each other is,” Lady Gaga told the London (Ontario) Free Press. “I want something that he has, which is the fame, and he wants something that I have, which is home, and my humble beginnings. So we battle each other throughout the entire performance to steal each other’s spaces.”

She continued, “So I’m essentially on a quest to kill Kanye West to steal his fame.”

The quintessential modern hip-hop star and pop’s reigning drama queen embroiled in an onstage battle certainly sounds much more entertaining than most arena shows of the recent past. Two such dynamic performers teaming up for one grand spectacle held nothing but promise.

Of course, West’s MTV VMA outburst at the expense of Taylor Swift, and the national outcry it inspired, changed the dynamic dramatically. It brought up the very issues of race and sex that this tour was ideally built to challenge. It also elevated the very concept of the tour. It was almost always guaranteed to be entertaining, but now it stands as a missed opportunity.

Instead, we’re left wondering what could have been, and a couple of useless tickets.

-- Scott T. Stering

Comments

[adisa]

$129.50 ticket price? WTF?

If I'm reading that ticket correctly, that's most likely what killed the interest of the target audience.

If I ever, EVER pay $130 to see somebody jump around on stage while yelling into a microphone, please put me away. Just send the people in the white coats, and tuck me away.

[Kansas City DJ]

Kanye West is reaping what he has sown. Nothing new here. He lacks wisdom.

[The guitar]

Maybe the tour cancellation would matter if either Kayne or Gaga were actual musicians. But alas they are just poseurs, so why would anybody care?
"At its best, pop music is thrilling, sexy and occasionally brilliant, but quite almost always controversial. When it works, it elevates beyond music to a larger pop cultural stage, and provokes more than just a conversation"
With all due respect (none) that statement is as wrong as it can be. It is because of attitudes like this that we must deal with these two talentless clowns.

[Johnny]

i think it was for the best. kanye really screwed up and gaga fans didn't want to support him. everything was to his benefit including presale club fee's. i will see gaga next year.

[Brad]

Scott,
In regard to West's MTV VMA outburst, what "issues of race and sex" are we talking about here? I'm pretty sure the only "issue" that was raised by that event was how full of himself Kanye is. Hopefully the loss of popularity and public interest he has "suffered" will lead him to a little humility. I doubt it though.

[DavidJuaquin]

I wonder how much my Fame Kills Tour shirt will go for on eBay.

[fay Kaiser]

Who gives a flying crap. These people are overpaid,uneducated losers. Their talent lies in production numbers. If they had to sit all alone on a stage and sing, neither one of them would amount to anything. It is about time we start valuing kind giving people who don't strut around a stupid stage screaming and wanting attention. Go back to school and get over your selves. Really, what do they offer?

[me]

Until I hear/read differently it is the market that killed this concert. It seems like the public is not paying the ticket prices being asked by these two artist, which I consider average at best. How many hit songs do these two artist have? I only know of two, and if that is the case then why would people pay $129 for it.

[Sleepy One]

'Go back to school and get over your selves.' I don't see what education has to do with it honestly? Lady Gaga is a talented musician and excellent on piano. Do some homework before you dismiss people.

[ian cross]

Lady Gaga trying to get to Kanye West so she can "steal his fame" is brilliant? That's the best they could come up with for a concept? It really is the dumbing down of society. If you've ever seen shows by Radiohead, Prince, U2, or Sly and the family Stone you would know where talent, inspiration and pure musicianship can take an audience. Not some ridiculous concept thought up over a bottle of cognac. I'll take the undeniable talent of JayZ and Alicia Keys with the incredibly shot scenes of new york behind them any day of the week.

[Parsifal]

The writer of this article is moronic and naive. Aside from the fact the theme of the show sounds completely self-aggrandizing and idiotic, saying that the show 'was sure to draw a mind-bogglingly cross-cultural crowd' but not bothering to mention that this specific cross-demographic situation would most probably have led to violence and (very likely) death is the ultimate in being stupidly myopic and self-consciously politically correct.

[Stellag]

From the article: "Of course, West’s MTV VMA outburst at the expense of Taylor Swift, and the national outcry it inspired, changed the dynamic dramatically. It brought up the very issues of race and sex that this tour was ideally built to challenge."
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What a pretentious load of garbage. The issue that the outburst brought up was that Kanye West is (as he has shown over and over again these past few years) a rude, unprofessional, childish, classless boor - period.

[Conllo]

The Irony that I see behind a lot of the comments made here regarding Lady Gaga as “no talent” is totally ludicris comments that come from an assortment of the peanut gallery under the Isle marked frozen foods.
The fact of the matter is that all the speculation in the world will suffice nothing the response from Lady Gaga regarding the cancellation was due to mutual agreement between the two artist, be it conflicting idea’s, or whatever the excuse may be, still ends with the tour having been cancelled and all the rest is an attempt to bash one or the other performing artist.
While ticket prices may very well have been set to high as a reason for the lack of public interest, one can also note that Madonna while not a very good comparison as she is a dominating figure in the POP culture industry had only recently completed a very successful tour marketing over 405 million in its completion.
So while this then leaves little to speculation, if the reason for the cancellation is because of the acts commited by Kayne West at the VMA’s, all injured parties have accepted Mr. West apologies and Mr. West has also offered his apologies to the general public for his behavior, so let’s move on.
Lady Gaga is proceeding with her own solo tour ticket sales and more information regarding the star will be out in November, while many here still feel the need to post hate ask your self this very simple question, if it where you daughter or son that was being talked about here would your response still be the same, move on there is enough hatred in the world