Lady Gaga

In the article Lavish Worlds, and the Headwear to Match, the author, Jon Pareles, reviews the artist Lady Gaga, shedding a very positive light on her performances and persona. In this article, he hopes to attract a younger audience of concert-goers, who seemingly are attracted to the performance style of someone as eccentric and unpredictable as she. Pareles mentions artists such as Madonna and Jason Derulo, honing in on the strong pop influence in Lady Gaga’s work. With pop music being incredibly popular among teens and young adults in this country, much more of the younger generation would be not only open to reading this review, but would understand the comparisons better than a person of an older generation. Along with this, Pareles really accentuates the high energy, originality and the amount of entertainment received from attending Lady Gaga’s concert. He makes it clear that this is something that people who enjoy concerts would really appreciate and adore. 

Examples such as her peculiar wardrobe, her love for her fans and love for performing, are central to helping the author hook a reader and interest them in the work of this particular artist.  All of these things are very important to a concert-goer, and by highlighting them, the author can be confident that he will be able to create some desire in seeing this artist live, as opposed to just reading about her. Pareles writes, “She first appeared behind a scrim showing a computerized grid, with a lighted costume that made her more a collection of white dots than a body: a figure in an electronic universe, like a digitalized pop star.” Through his extensive description, the reader can really tell how serious she is about her wardrobe as relates to the section of the performance. Not only is she serious about her fashion and presentation of her hard work, but she is extremely serious when it comes to her fans. Pareles takes a direct quote from her show that reads, “‘When they ask me why I spent all my money on my show, I tell them, because my fans are sexy.’” It’s very clear that he wants the reader to appreciate her love for her fans as much as he does. The exuding respect and appreciation for this artist and performance are the last things that stand out, helping Pareles to transfer this energy to the readers and attract the audience that the text was meant for.