The Fame Monster
The Fame Monster is a reissue of American singer Lady Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame (2008), and was released on November 18, 2009, through Interscope Records. Initially planned solely as a deluxe edition reissue of The Fame, Interscope later decided to release the eight new songs as a standalone EP in some territories. The decision was also because Gaga believed the re-release was too expensive and that the albums were conceptually different, describing them as yin and yang. The deluxe edition is a double album featuring the eight new songs on the first disc and The Fame on the second disc. A super deluxe edition was released on December 15, 2009, holding additional merchandise, including a lock from Gaga's wig.
The Fame Monster
November 18, 2009
2009
- Record Plant, Darkchild (Los Angeles)
- FC Walvisch (Amsterdam)
- Metropolis (London)
- Studio Groove (Osaka)
- 84:28
- 34:09 (EP)
- Streamline
- KonLive
- Cherrytree
- Interscope
An electropop record, The Fame Monster has influences of disco, glam rock, and synth-pop music of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as industrial and gothic music. The album was also inspired by fashion shows and runways. According to Gaga, the album deals with the darker side of fame, with its theme lyrically expressed through a monster metaphor. The album's two covers were shot by Hedi Slimane. One of the covers has a Gothic theme and was declined for release by her record company, but Gaga persuaded them.
The Fame Monster received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album charted as The Fame in some countries, and topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Finland, New Zealand, and Poland. In the United States, the EP reached number five on the Billboard 200 and topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. It has since been certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated in a total of six categories at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, including Gaga's second consecutive Album of the Year nomination. It won three, including Best Pop Vocal Album.
"Bad Romance", the album's lead single, was a commercial success, topping the charts in more than twenty countries and reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The next two singles, "Telephone" and "Alejandro", reached the top ten in multiple countries worldwide. "Dance in the Dark" was released as a single only in select territories, achieving moderate chart success. To promote the album, Gaga embarked on The Monster Ball Tour (2009–2011), which became the highest-grossing tour in history by a debut headlining artist.
Promotion
Singles
The album's lead single, "Bad Romance", was released for digital download on October 23, 2009.[5] The song topped numerous record charts, as well as reaching a peak of number two in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, and Switzerland,[29][30] ultimately selling 12 million copies worldwide.[31][32] The accompanying music video, featuring Gaga inside a surreal white bathhouse, garnered acclaim from critics, who praised the risqué and symbolic nature of the plot, as well as its artistic direction and vivid imagery.[33][34] In 2011, the music video was voted the best video of the 2000s (decade) by readers of Billboard.[35]
"Telephone" was released as the album's second single on January 26, 2010.[36] The track reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gaga's second consecutive UK chart topper and fourth in total.[29] It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her sixth consecutive single to reach the top ten.[37] "Telephone" also reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, tying with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the chart's launch in 1992.[38] The music video is a continuation of the clip for Gaga's previous single, "Paparazzi" (2010), with the plot showing Beyoncé bailing Gaga from jail and together going on a murder spree.[39]
"Dance in the Dark" was intended by Gaga's record label to be the third single. However, Gaga chose "Alejandro" after a confrontation with her label and it was released on April 20, 2010.[40][41][42] "Alejandro" reached the top five of the Australian and Canadian charts, as well as the top ten of the charts of other nations.[29] In the United States, it reached number five, becoming her seventh consecutive top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100.[30] "Dance in the Dark" was then released as the fourth and final single from The Fame Monster in France and Russia in the second half of 2010.[43] It had minor chart placements, reaching number 24 in Australia and number 30 on the French Digital Charts.[44]
Commercial performance
In the United States, the individual disc of The Fame Monster charted at number five on the Billboard 200 with sales of 174,000 copies while the double disc deluxe edition, including the original The Fame, moved up from number 34 to number 6 with sales of 151,000 copies.[81] The album also topped the Digital Albums chart with sales of 65,000. Seven of the eight songs from the record also charted on the Hot Digital Songs chart, led by "Bad Romance" which held the top position for the second week with sales of 218,000 copies. In total Gaga had 11 songs that week charting on the Digital Songs.[82] The Fame Monster topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart, replacing The Fame and becoming Gaga's second number one album on the chart.[83]
In March 2020, the album was certified quintuple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of five million copies.[84] As of February 2018, The Fame Monster has sold 1.65 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.[85] For the 2010 Billboard year end tabulation, The Fame Monster was ranked at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[86][87] In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at number six on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart.[88] It was the 23rd best selling album in the country for 2010.[89]
In Australia, The Fame Monster initially charted with The Fame, but was later considered as a standalone entry. It debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Albums Chart and in its 18th week, the record climbed to number one.[90] It received a quadruple platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 280,000 copies of the album.[91] In Japan, after being present on the Oricon Albums Chart for over 20 weeks, the album reached its peak position of number two in May 2010.[92] By July 2011, the album had sold 548,000 copies in Japan and ranked at number 14 on the year end list for 2010.[93][94]
In the United Kingdom, The Fame Monster was only available as a deluxe edition, not as a standalone album, hence it charted as part of The Fame.[95] After The Fame Monster's release, The Fame moved from number 55 to number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.[96] All the new tracks from The Fame Monster charted within the top 200 of the UK Singles Chart.[97] On the week ending March 6, 2010, The Fame reached the top of the chart.[98] Because of its chart activity across the European markets, The Fame Monster peaked at number 13 on the European Top 100 Albums chart.[99] It was certified triple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipment of three million copies across the continent.[100]
Recognition
In 2010, Gaga won the "Outstanding Music Artist" award for The Fame Monster, during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.[101] The album and its songs were nominated in six categories at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Fame Monster was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Pop Vocal Album.[102][103] "Bad Romance" won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video, while "Telephone" and "Dance in the Dark" were nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Best Dance Recording, respectively.[102][104]
The album earned Best Album nominations at the 2010 International Dance Music Award and the Meteor Awards.[105][106] It won the Best English Album at the Premios Oye! 2010 awards in Mexico.[107] At the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, it earned an entry in the category for Top Electronic/Dance Album.[108]
Time magazine listed The Fame Monster in their "Top 10 Albums of 2009" list, noting that it demonstrates "a complete understanding of what dance audiences require and vocal talent that's easy to forget underneath all that platinum hair."[109] Spin ranked the album at number 197 on their list of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years" and characterized it as Gaga's magnum opus and a "mini-masterpiece".[110]
In 2012, Complex listed it at rank six on their countdown of The 50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years. Dale Eisenger from the publication called both covers as "alluring and gorgeous", adding that Gaga's look was followed by a number of artists emulating it in later years.[111] In 2015, Billboard included the standard album cover on their list of the "50 Greatest Album Covers of All Time".[112] Andrew Unterberger from the publication wrote in a 2016 article that the cover arts were "much starker and more angular than the party-diva framing of [The Fame]. It's still very sleek, but there's a danger in Gaga's eyes this time out, and the feeling of greater depth in its austerity: A star, but one with a lot to say."[113] In November 2016, Billboard named The Fame Monster Gaga's best album.[114]