Charo, who you may recall as the Spanish actress/comedienne/singer/Flamenco guitarist from the '70s or Las Vegas, is the latest nobody to sneak in their two cents in about Lady Gaga. Okay, calling her a nobody might be a little harsh, as some of us may recall her catchphrase "cuchi cuchi" and appearances on The Love Boat, but compared to GodGa (what some of her Little Monsters have been calling her as of late) -- she is an old hag nobody!
Nonetheless, she made an appearance on Frank DeCaro's Sirirus XM OutQ radio show yesterday and this came out in her signature super-thick accent:
What I don't like is when somebody copies somebody and just adopts it. Like, their own idea. You want me, I go a little further I can tell you, to me, Lady Gaga is Madonna with diarrhea!
I'm sure even Gaga herself would laugh out loud if she heard the remark, but Charo just sounds like a crotchety curmudgeony old bat!
The thing is ... I am pretty sure the only people (Charo included) who make comments like that are people who have only really spent two seconds paying attention to Ms. Stefani Germanotta. They see the crazy costumes and catch a clip of a wild performance on an awards show. But, they honestly have no clue. I'm not saying you have to be a mega-Little Monster in drag to understand the significance or originality of Gaga's genius. But you have to invest more than a couple of seconds listening to "Poker Face."
As a Gaga fan, I actually have begun taking a LOT of offense to the assertions that Gaga is directly imitating Madonna. I'm a Madonna fan, too, and yes, I see the on-surface similarities: Gay following, constantly evolving image, blond hair, cone bra, etc. HOWEVER ...
Madonna does not compose her own music or actually play an instrument, unlike Gaga, who mastered classical piano as a child, after beginning to learn by ear. Madonna is also not as amazingly original as pop purists would have you believe. For instance, think "Vogue" was 100% a Madonna creation? Hell no. She pilfered that directly from the underground gay dance scene of the late '80s in NYC.
Of course, both artists have been "influenced" by the culture that has come before them or exists around them. My feeling is that Gaga pays tribute and riffs on some of what Madonna and other cultural icons have done in the past 30 years, but she's also more talented in some ways and making her own mark in many other ways. (Also, has Madonna or any other pop queen before Gaga been SO active or outspoken on behalf of some of their most devoted followers, the LGBT community? I didn't think so.) In other words, Charo and any other ignorant naysayers, you need to shush and RESPECT Gaga. She's one in a million.
Image via charo.com
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Comments 21
Good job on a well written article! I do see the comparisons that some people can make between Madonna and Gaga, but like you mentioned, I feel Lady Gaga is certainly more talented, and more caring towards her fans' hardships. As far as I know, Madonna never really did much for the LGBT community. Maybe because it wasn't considered as acceptable as it is today and she feared a backlash, but I still feel that if a group of people loves you as much as the LGBT community does Madonna, she should have spoken up for them even in the more homosexually oppressed time she debut. But if she did, and I'm not aware, then I apologize. I'm a bit young for the Madonna era.
And in our times, where pretty much everything has been done before, it's almost impossible to be a completely original artist. Ever heard the phrase "Simpson's did it"? It's a joke from a South Park episode, but it makes a lot of sense. I'd love to see someone who is completely their own. Fresh, with a spanking new idea, but it'd be so hard to do in these days. I will say that I have never heard of a person wearing a dress made out of meat, though. So good on Gaga for finding something that is completely her own.
I've been a Little Monster for a few years now, and I love Gaga for more than the music she puts out. I love her for being weird, for saying that it's okay to be weird, and standing up for what she believes in. I also love her for the part her music played in the role of my son being created ;) My husband hates when I tell our friends that if it wasn't for Lady Gaga, our son might not be here, lol. For some people, Marvin Gay puts them in the mood. For me, it's Gaga.
I see the haters have arrived. Pffft jealously looks good on you. Charro sounds jealous. In this day and age it's hard to be an orginal. Keep doing your thing mama monster!
Thanks for generalizing a huge group of people, Mandie. I listen to all kinds of music, and rarely ever listen to the radio. The only reason I heard of Lady Gaga was because she came on the radio. In my friend's car.
And I consider myself very musically educated. But I'm also not a music snob and I listen to whatever I damn well please to. And I would never consider someone a "mindless follower" just for their musical taste. Stop being so damn uppity. You might find you enjoy life a little bit more.