There’s a war underway in Hollywood.
If you pay any attention to the pop music scene, you probably already know that Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are all releasing highly-anticipated albums over the next few months. This has caused passionate fans on sites like Twitter and Tumblr to start pitting the artists against each other.
But it’s not a competition…or is it? Britney and Gaga have been out of the music scene recently. Their last albums, Femme Fatale and Born This Way, respectively, came out in 2011. Katy, on the other hand, has had the pressure of following up her double platinum-selling album Teenage Dream, which spawned five Billboard Hot 100 number one singles since its release in 2010.
It’s difficult to predict who will come out on top. If the success of the lead singles and the early reviews are any indication of how the albums will sell, Katy’s album Prism will prevail.
The lead single “Roar” skyrocketed to the top of the iTunes charts after its release and went on to become her eighth Billboard Hot 100 number one single. Gaga’s “Applause” and Britney’s “Work Bitch,” on the other hand, both struggled to reach the top of the charts.
“Roar” doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but its empowering and catchy lyrics have made it an instant hit. However, the various promotional singles and song previews from Prism show that Katy’s experimenting with a new sound. Critics and fans alike have been praising the gritty trap beats used in “Dark Horse.” Meanwhile, “Walking On Air” is a ‘90s-inspired electronic dance track that is sure to be blowing up speakers in clubs around the world.
Nonetheless, we shouldn’t rule out Britney. Though she has not given fans much insight, this album is reportedly her most personal one yet. The lead single “Work Bitch” is a club-smasher that sounds unlike anything she’s ever released. She’s working with singer-songwriter Sia Furler on a song that is “both beautiful and heartbreaking” and “evokes SO much emotion,” she said on Twitter in August. She’s brought several other new songwriters into the mix, including Emeli Sandé and Charli XCX. If that’s any indication of how her album will sound, we should prepare ourselves for a diverse and unique assortment of songs.
Gaga’s new music, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. At the iTunes Festival in September, she premiered seven new songs from her album ARTPOP, including “Swine,” “Aura,” and “Manicure.” The songs show growth as an artist for Gaga, featuring a mix of genres ranging from hip-hop to electronic. However, they simply don’t have the instant impact that past hits like “Just Dance” and “Telephone” boasted.
The real competition seems to be between Katy and Britney. However, Gaga’s passionate Little Monsters will definitely put up a good fight to get her to number one.
This may be one of the biggest pop music showdowns in years. Not since Christina Aguilera and Britney’s rivalry back in the early 2000s has there been such competition for the top of the pop charts amongst female artists.
Prism is due out on Oct. 22, ARTPOP on Nov.11 and Britney’s currently unnamed album is out Dec. 3.
