Where is the soul? What is this?! The social media reactions were unanimous, save for the obvious media outlets: Lady Gaga‘s wildly hyped David Bowie tribute at the Grammys was an absolute mess of passionless color-by-numbers flamboyance. The dearly departed icon deserved so much more soul, more artistry than this vapid, self-indulgent talent show.
With a stellar backing band led by Nile Rodgers – who produced Bowie’s multi-platinum Let’s Dance album – and a world still hurting from the unexpected loss of a legend, a Bowie tribute should’ve been a slam dunk. Instead, Gaga and band raced through a multi-song medley across 9 of Bowie’s best-known songs in just six minutes: “Space Oddity,” “Changes,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Suffragette City,” “Rebel, Rebel,” “Fashion,” “Fame,” “Let’s Dance,” and “Heroes,” with a little hint of “Under Pressure.”
Yeah, it felt like having a spider on your face. Looking like the pedo villain from Howard The Duck for half the performance, she was disturbing to watch, not captivating. Spastically jumping from one song to the next, there was no cohesion to the performance and you could barely hear her voice in the mix for the majority of the experience.
Is this greatest hits gauche floparound the tribute an icon who destroyed all borders and rules deserves?
No. It’s absolutely not. Bowie’s friend and collaborator Trent Reznor could’ve – would’ve delivered a groundbreaking reinterpretation. Marilyn Manson. Florence. Hell, Justin Bieber could’ve done better than this frantic disaster.
same pic.twitter.com/2JUNFJnG37
— jeff in real life (@thecultureofme) February 16, 2016
