Talk:The Fame Monster/GA3

GA Review
The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.''

Reviewer: FrB.TG (talk · contribs) 16:49, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

To celebrate the FA success of Lady Gaga, I will review this. My comments will come in parts. I will make tweaks as I go along; please double check them.


 * Lead
 * "A super deluxe edition of The Fame Monster including The Fame and additional merchandise, including a lock of her wig" - repetition of "including" in close proximity.
 * "Musically, The Fame Monster is a pop album..." Not sure if we need musically. From the description, it is pretty obvious that the album is being musically described.
 * "The cover artwork was created by Hedi Slimane and has a Gothic theme, due to which they were originally declined" - what was declined? If we are talking about the artwork, why are we using they here?
 * If we're going to mention "Dance in the Dark"'s Grammy nods, the wins (or the number of wins) for "Bad Romance" should most definitely be mentioned.
 * Not sure if the usage of the second cover adds to the article. Does it really pass WP:NFCC?
 * Addressed all. I think the alternate cover usage was multiple times discussed for passing NFCC. Though when I have tried to delete it I have been opposed multiple times. — I B  [ Poke  ] 13:23, 11 December 2017 (UTC)
 * do you intend to return to this? I’d like to close it soon. FrB.TG (talk) 14:32, 16 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, I'm working on it as we speak. — I B  [ Poke  ] 07:01, 17 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Just realized have to leave now. Will finish all of it tomorrow and make it ready for you to re-review. — I B  [ Poke  ] 07:46, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

Good work on what I believe is Gaga at her best. I think this needs quite some work. I will read it again when you have addressed my comments. Until then, on hold. FrB.TG (talk) 20:33, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Background and development
 * "Consisting of Electropop and synthpop songs, the songs on the album offered a commentary on the structure of fame" - no need to capitalize electropop since it is not a proper noun; close repetition of songs. Also, if you read this literally, the songs consist of electropop and synthpop songs.
 * "Unlike The Fame, the new album was inspired by the singer's personal experiences and brought the analysis of fame to an entirely new level" - in encyclopedia, we don't say things like brought to a new level. Too POV-ish I think.
 * "On May 22, 2009, Gaga tweeted just the word "monster" and explained in an interview with Daily Star:" - do we really need to be so specific with the date here? This was not a very significant event for the album. Just in May 2009 should be enough I think.
 * If we are adding alt texts, we should be consistent. It should be either for all or none, not for some.
 * Themes and composition
 * "drawing on "Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco, and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q" according to Rolling Stone" - comma before according.
 * "The latter's lyrics also refer to famous people who met a tragic end" - I think "latter" should only be used in series of two (the former vs. the latter). Should be better as "the last of these".
 * "A "catchy" chorus and a club-like beat is the crux of the song, talking about how hurts in both good and bad ways, making it "grand and tawdry and joyful and melancholy"" - not sure we need catchy and the quotes. Also, talking about how what hurts?
 * "The refrain of "Bad Romance" has similarities to the songs by Boney M and the composition is reminiscent of Depeche Mode's fifth studio album Black Celebration (1986)" This is a little interpretive. Needs attribution.
 * "Gaga recalls that her father "used to call after he'd had a few drinks and I wouldn't know what to say. I was speechless and I just feared that I would lose him and I wouldn't be there. I wrote this song as a plea to him." This quote can happily be summarized.
 * "Later, Gaga recorded it as a collaboration with Beyoncé" - wiki-link Beyonce here.
 * "Gaga's voice sounds sedated in the song" - again this is interpretive. Needs attribution.
 * Release and artwork
 * "Initially conceived as part of a double-disc deluxe reissue of The Fame, Gaga later confirmed" - maybe it's just me but this implies that Gaga was initially concieved as part of a double-disc deluxe reissue of The Fame.
 * You should really spell out EP on its first instance with a wiki-link.
 * "At first Gaga had a dispute" → "Gaga initially had a dispute"
 * "However, Gaga explained to them that both would be suitable with the yin and yang concept of the album and ultimately they agreed" → "Gaga convinced them by explaining that both would be suitable with the yin and yang concept of the album"
 * Performances
 * "Gaga also appeared on various talk shows, such as It's On with Alexa Chung and Germany's Wetten, dass..?[27][28]" The sentence is missing a full stop. It ends with a question mark but that does not count as it is part of Wetten, dass..?'s title.
 * "Other songs that were referenced and played in the episode were "Alejandro", "Dance in the Dark", and "Telephone".[30]" The source only says that Gaga performs "Bad Romance" in the episode. I don't remember these songs being referenced (probably bad memory), although I do remember Blair talking about "Poker Face" just before Gaga begins to perform "Bad Romance".
 * ""Bad Romance" was also performed at the 2009 American Music Awards, The Jay Leno Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Not fan of the passive voice here. Would be much better as "Gaga also performed "Bad Romance" at the 2009 American Music Awards, The Jay Leno Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show".
 * "During December, Gaga travelled to the United Kingdom, where she sang "Bad Romance" at The X Factor UK and "Speechless" at the Royal Variety Performance" → "In December Gaga ..." Also I think this sentence can be shortened and merged with the previous one.
 * "At the 2010 BRIT Awards Gaga crooned a ballad version of "Telephone" and then "Dance in the Dark", in memory of designer Alexander McQueen." Comma after "Awards".
 * "In March 2010, "Bad Romance" and "Monster" were added as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series, along with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" from The Fame." Poker Face overlinked here.
 * Not sure we need things like "travelled to UK", "returned to US", "returned to US". These look all trivial.
 * "The singer" is being overused in the second paragraph. Alternatives like Gaga or she would be better.
 * Singles
 * The first two paragraphs of the section can be combined together.
 * "On February 13, 2011, the song received the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance; the accompanying video won Best Short Form Music Video.[50]" I don't think we need this sentence, as the awards are mentioned in Recognition section.
 * ""Telephone" was released as the album's second single on January 26, 2010.[51] 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 they go on a murder spree.[52] On March 22, 2010 it reached number one.." - I would suggest discussing the commercial success of the song and then its music video, like the above paragraph about "Bad Romance".
 * "The track received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.[55]" Per above. FrB.TG (talk) 16:52, 30 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Critical reception
 * "At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it received" - I would use semi-colon after critics.
 * The section is overall ok, but it reads a little repetitive with A said B, C said D. It could use some edits for a better flow.
 * Commercial performance
 * "The Fame Monster topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart, replacing The Fame and became Gaga's second number one album on the chart." Grammar (becoming not became).
 * "It was certified triple Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipment of a three million copies across the continent." Three not a three.
 * Recognition
 * "In 2010, Gaga won the "Outstanding Music Artist" award for The Fame Monster, during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards." → "At the 21st GLAAD Media Awards, Gaga won the "Outstanding Music Artist" award for The Fame Monster."
 * This seems like something worth including.
 * Legacy
 * Something has to be done about this section; it cannot stay as a hidden note forever. It should either be worked on and let be part of the prose or go.
 * References
 * Source 2- wikilink Rolling Stone here.
 * Source 9 - same as above.
 * I don't believe PR Newswire needs italics.
 * Source 18 - no wiki-link for Billboard needed here.
 * Source 21 - the publisher for this is missing.
 * Source 25 - overlinking here.
 * Source 28 - wiki-link Glamour. Source 31, 45, 48, 80: ditto.
 * Source 146 and 147 - overlinking here although I believe it is automatically linked in the template.
 * Thanks for taking this up, sorry I had been on vacation. I will start this one now. — I B  [ Poke  ] 16:06, 7 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Addressed the prose concerns, will work on the ref links now and the legacy section. 15:07, 19 December 2017 (UTC)

Hi everyone! What is the status of this review? It looks like no progress has been made in a month.-- Dom497 ( talk ) 03:06, 21 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Except for the Bare URLs in the section which I fixed with reFill (save for a dead NY Times link), it looks like it was done a month ago and nobody said anything. Ref formatting specifics beyond accessdates and bare urls typically aren't a GA concern, that's typically an FA requirement, but it varies by reviewer, I guess.  danny music editor  Speak up! 19:00, 23 January 2018 (UTC)
 * The reason it took so long to conclude is because the legacy section needed to be worked on. The nominator, inactive since Christmas, said of working on it. I have worked on it a bit myself. The prose could still be bettered in some places, but I think it satisfies the GA criteria now. Passing. FrB.TG (talk) 20:24, 25 January 2018 (UTC)