As far as show business careers go, there are few better to mimic than Madonna's. A megastar for nearly 30 years, the singer/actress/director has become more an icon than celebrity, the kind of shining, one-name-only fixture in our cultural sky. As such, you couldn't really blame a singer for following that path to success. But Lady Gaga doesn't want to hear that.
For the singer who claims she was "Born This Way," her originality is currency, and accusations of facsimile are akin to calling her a fraud. Unfortunately for Gaga, those accusations have been coming in more frequently than ever, even if she thinks they're "retarded."
With her Catholic-challenging dance beats and ever-changing style, Gaga is most certainly the most successful pop star since Madonna, but she'd prefer the comparisons end at Billboard position comparisons. Still, the newest chapter in The Wrap's three part look at Gaga, whose album dropped on Monday, probes into the two stars, finding similarities between diva past and present too striking to ignore.
That being said, estimates are that Gaga's album should sell one million copies in its first week; it's already at the top of the iTunes charts. So if she is a Madonna a ripoff, she can at least say she's the absolute best one yet.