Why Doesn't Lady Gaga Release Better Singles?

Really, what is with the choice of her singles from Born This Way? The album is really not that bad. Compared to her previous albums it's a little more adventurous and less mainstream pop, but it still has the potential to be just as big. Lady Gaga is known for being catchy. She's known to get songs stuck in your head, whether you like the song or not. She's known for taking over your radio stations so even when you flip the station you just can't avoid her. She has plenty of upbeat, catchy songs on her newest album, so why isn't she releasing them? The one good single that she did release failed to chart well (Judas) because god knows why, is that why she's taking a different approach?

I'm of the opinion that Judas should've been released as the lead single from the album. It's a much more powerful song, and way catchier. It represents the essence of Lady Gaga while still depicting themes from her new album. I think the only reason that Judas performed so bad is because it was overshadowed by both the single Born This Way and the album release of Born This Way. Likewise, the only reason the single Born This Way did so well is because it was released in the midst of all the hype created prior to it. Judas was just squished between so much else going on with Gaga that it didn't have time to stand out on its own. Really, not only the song, but even the music video was just epic beyond words:

I previously wrote an article about why Lady Gaga's reign is officially over, and that is partly due to the fact that she's releasing the wrong singles. I'm not god so I can't say that if she had played her cards differently she would've had more chart success with this album, maybe it was just bound to happen, but a lot of her fans agree with the fact that there were so many better songs on the album than what she released as singles.

Her newest single You and I, while a good song... is well, kinda plain. Especially at a time like this when there are so many country songs crowding the radio all of a sudden (Dirt Road Anthem, If I Die Young, etc...) did she really have to choose this one? Yes we get it this album is about exploring other genres but this just isn't very Lady Gaga. It's a nice song for the album, but definitely not for a single release. The Edge of Glory is a great song, and really not that bad of a single choice, but there are so many better songs on the album to choose from. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

Heavy Metal Lover - This song is the most over-produced, heavily auto-tuned and synthesized song Lady Gaga has ever released. It kind of sounds like something that would come up if you put Lady Gaga and Ke$ha into a blender. The song starts off with the now infamous "I want your whiskey mouth all over my blonde south" and goes onto sing other lyrics depicting drinking, sexual metaphors and other carefree acts. The best part of the song however, is the simple "Ooooo Ooooo" chorus that has the catchiest melody by far on the album. It's truly beautiful but in the strangest way, with harsh electric guitars roaring in the background and rough vocals that follow. We then get two refrains in the song that go "I could be your girl girl girl, girl girl girl, but would you love me if I ruled the world world world" which sort of has a sad vibe to it and really expresses the emotion strongly. Overall I don't really understand the song, it's kind of just a "I don't care let's get smashed and do stupid sh**" song but there are really strong elements to it which is why I like it so much.

Scheiße - This I guess is the female empowerment anthem of the album, even though it starts off with the first verse being "I'll take you out tonight do whatever you like." But then it goes on to sing about expressing your woman kind and such. So again, another song I don't really understand but so insanely catchy. You can't not dance to this song; you'll actually have to use effort to control yourself from tapping your foot to the beat. Oh and yeah, some of the lyrics in this song are supposedly German, but a lot of people are calling her out for it. She says it right at the beginning of the song, "I don't speak German but I can if you'd like" so don't blame her!

Government Hooker - Such a dirty song, I like to compare this song to Lovegame or Teeth. The song starts off with some high pitched Opera-like intro from none other than Gaga herself. It's really weird, I couldn't decide if I like it or not at first but then before I knew it was replaying it constantly. If she made a music video for this, she could really get creative. It almost makes me want to pole dance. Almost. I think the lyrics to this song are actually supposed to be meaningful and represent Marilyn Monroe or something. I'm not too big on politics nor do I care to look too deeply into Lady Gaga lyrics, but let's just assume this song actually makes sense. It's a shame that it's censored though, she drops a few f-bombs at the end. Maybe one day she'll release an uncensored version like she did with The Fame Monster album.

Americano - The Alejandro equivalent on the album. Not too popular among most fans of the album, but one of my favorites still. It's such a weird song, like really it makes me question if the song is even music. It starts off in yet another opera-style intro, and then goes into harsh singing. It's supposed to have a lesbian take on her pro-gay theme from the album, from what I understand anyway. Frankly I didn't even know what she was singing for the first 10 or so times I heard the song, I simply liked it because it was yet another insanely catchy song. The outro is my favorite part where she says "Don't you try to catch me..." and the instruments in the background are continually getting more dramatic. The instruments are the best part of the song, some great producers she had here.

Marry The Night - This song is pretty popular among the fans, but I can't say I like it too much. I don't know why, but it's supposed to be one of the best songs from the album and probably will go on to be released as the next single. The only reason I'm putting it on the list is because most people that have listened to the album do actually like this song. It just didn't grow on me.

Any of the aforementioned songs could have served as great singles. I'll even give honorable mention to a few other songs such as Hair (jumped high on the charts during the release of the album), Bloody Mary, and The Queen. Instead she chose You And I as the 4th single. Perhaps the record company or Lady Gaga herself has something that a mere lay man like myself can't understand about this decision, so we'll have to wait and see where things go with this.