The Fame Monster

Performer: Lady Gaga
Artist: Beyonce
Distributor: Fontana North Distributio

Notes: Initially planned solely as a standard double-disc reissue in the wake of the blockbuster success of The Fame, Lady Gaga decided to release the new material as a separate EP called The Fame Monster in addition to the standard two-CD set, where it's tacked onto a now standardized version of her debut. It's a nice move for fans, plus it helps emphasize the new material, which does act as a bridge from the debut to a forthcoming full-length. Everything on The Fame Monster bears a galvanized Eurotrash finish, as evident on the heavy steel synths of "Bad Romance" and the updated ABBA revision "Alejandro," as it is on the rock & roll ballad "Speechless" -- its big guitars lifted from Noel Gallagher -- and the wonderful, perverse march "Teeth." Even the stuttering splices on "Telephone," a duet with Beyonc�, leans to the other side of the Atlantic, which just emphasizes the otherness that's become Gaga's calling card. And even as she's becoming omnipresent, with her songs mingling with those who co-opt her on the radio, she is still slightly skewed, willing to go so far over the top she goes beyond camp, yet still channeling it through songs that are written, not just hooks. The Fame Monster builds upon those strengths exhibited on The Fame, offering a credible expansion of the debut and suggesting she's not just a fleeting pop phenomenon. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (p.89) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[S]turdy club-thumpers....'Bad Romance' makes her name a Teutonic chant; 'Alejandro' is a loving Abba spoof."

Lady GaGa is a dance-pop singer from New York City. Born Stefani Germanotta in Yonkers in 1986, she attended the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU while performing at open-mic nights. A collaboration with rapper/producer Akon led to her signing with Interscope Records, which released her debut album THE FAME in October 2008. She scored a number one hit and a Grammy nomination with "Just Dance," which topped the charts in several other countries, but The Fame truly exploded in 2009 thanks to the single "Poker Face." By 2010, Gaga was one of the biggest stars in the world, aided by her new EP The Fame Monster and its single "Bad Romance."

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