Oh don't get me wrong, I love the song itself. But my problem with it is that it's not a Lady Gaga single in the traditional sense. Poker Face, Just Dance, Telephone, Judas... and then You And I? It doesn't fit the style that the general pop radio listener knows as Gaga's.
Edge of Glory isn't really Gaga-ish for me, in fact it's almost kind of... generic. I don't mean this is in a bad way, I think it's a great song, but it doesn't have the trademark Gaga stamp on it. Yet it reached the top ten in most countries and the top twenty in Switzerland. When I went to New Orleans, I heard the damn song like three times a day blasting out of shop radios, and I definitely ran into it on a bunch of radio stations I was going through.
My point is that Gaga could release a song not identifiably "Gaga" and it could still chart. (I think Speechless could have been a hit, actually, but it's too late for that)
This could turn out to be good for her, or it could bomb on radio worse than Judas, which reached #15 on pop radio, as opposed to her 7 #1 hits and 2 #4 hits. If You And I flops, her shot at Mariah's opening streak is killed, and that streak means a lot to me. It will effectively validate her place in history, and I really want that to happen.
I want her to get that top ten, too. However, even if she doesn't get it, it doesn't mean her chance at history is ruined. I recall hearing that Jimi Hendrix only ever scored one top 40 hit and he remains revered and famous today.
Out of curiosity, "Eh eh (Nothing Else I can say)" failed to chart in the US. Is this single being taken into account? She has 8 top ten singles since then, so is that where the counting starts?
T_T
Yes it does, at least I think so.... Remember Monster and Dance In The Dark? I'd hate for the most amazing tracks on this album (Heavy Metal Lover and Scheisse) to receive the same neglect. I think HML, despite it's somewhat odd structuring, could be a massive hit. I say it or Scheisse should've been the lead single, because they fit the Gaga style most closely and sounded like what most people expected from the album.
The thing with Heavy Metal Lover is that it's sort of... heavy. I listen to it and it feels almost kind of ominous, definitely not something fun and light. It's not even fun and dark, like Bad Romance, it's just kind of dark. I like Heavy Metal Lover and after listening to it more, I've grown to love it, but I would not be too comfortable about its potential as a hit single. It's definitely very variable. "You and I" is just sort of familiar rock 'n' roll, nothing new and scary there. It's very dependable and catchy - like Edge of Glory.
Also, the beginning totally makes a not-so-veiled reference to oral sex and I'm not sure how radio stations would feel about playing a song that starts "I want your whiskey mouth all over my blonde south."
I think Sheisse would have been a better choice if you're going for something more traditional Gaga style. Someone mentioned that the German rap was probably keeping it from being a single, and although I love the silliness of the German rap, it
is an unpredictable factor. Will people love it and be going "ich lieben auste bie klair" or will people go "wtf" and change the station? There's also the undeniable similarity between "Ladies' Night" and the verses of "Sheisse." The rhythm and melody are very similar. Perhaps they want to play down this similarity by not releasing it as a single and avoid uncomfortable talks of plagiarism.
I will agree with that on the basis of radio reluctance to play a song about hookers, because musically it could be a decent hit. I love it but unfortunately radio might not.
The faux-opera introduction might deter some people, too. Other than that, I really do love it musically and lyrically.
