Lady Gaga - John Wayne (Music Video) FIRST TIME REACTION
Added 2025-03-03 19:55:06 +0000 UTCMAYHEM drops this Friday, March 7th! It's officially Lady Gaga Week 👾
John Wayne marks the end of the JOANNE music videos. I'll be checking out a couple live performances and then going into the next album. If I don't make it to the Five Foot Two doc or her Coachella performance before Friday, don't worry, I plan to watch them sooner or later. I want to hear at least one more of her albums before the new one though. Super excited for Friday :)
ALSO! There will obviously be more videos from other artists dropping this week. We're rollin' baby!! Hope you had a great weekend 💙
Comments
I’ve always felt like the “John Wayne” music video was a visual metaphor for Gaga’s journey through each of her eras — and rewatching it, it all clicks. It starts with her riding a horse in red boots and a blue outfit: her Red and Blue era, pre-fame, before The Fame. She’s new, she’s barely hanging on, and the industry is steering. She’s yelling “faster” — a nod to how fame wasn’t coming quickly enough. The branches hitting her face? The setbacks, like getting dropped from Def Jam before landing with Interscope. But more on that when you get to The Fame. Then we meet the drunk guys in the car, who could be the Little Monsters — always cheering her on. When she hops on the motorcycle, we enter Born This Way. She’s following the industry’s path, but she’s clearly more in control now. The beer bottle hitting her face? Maybe a nod to the public's harsh reactions to “Born This Way” (the Madonna comparisons), but she literally dusts herself off and rides on. This was her most confident and polished era — even doing stunts while riding. Then comes the chaotic, colorful car — ARTPOP. Everything’s messy. Gaga is back after her hip surgery, trying to reclaim control of her art. But she’s fighting with the driver (the industry again?). She’s not fully behind the wheel — not because she doesn't want to be, but because the chaos won’t let her. There are signs like “Explosive” and a gas can — it was always going to crash. She’s still putting on a show, but it spirals. Then we literally see ARTPOP burn. Cut to The Fame / Fame Monster era — the temptress. Gaga knew how to play the game back then, and it worked. She could do it again. But we flash back to ARTPOP’s crash, and Gaga’s mind is torn. Fame is tempting, but she doesn’t want to go back to the version of herself that was just “playing the part.” Then comes the breakthrough — Red & Blue Gaga (her roots) smashes ARTPOP’s window with Joanne’s guitar and frees Joanne-era Gaga. The gun heels? Gaga’s always been a fighter. Someone carries her away (Tony Bennett? her medication?), but she’s still being haunted by The Fame version of herself. She makes a choice — and kills her. She’s done with being “The Fame” Gaga. Then we see Joanne’s eyes. This is who she is now. Whether people like it or not. And remember — Gaga recently said during her Mayhem era that even though Joanne was stripped down and grounded in her roots, she felt more lost than ever. That disconnect, that searching for something real again, is what makes this video — and this whole arc — hit so hard. P.s. it was so much I asked AI to help me put my thoughts together so please ask if you have any questions lol. Also, the music video directed for John Wayne also directed Paparazzi and Telephone.
Juan Barrera
2025-04-21 14:59:06 +0000 UTCThanks Wayne! Cant wait
Daniel Juke
2025-03-04 13:57:36 +0000 UTCThank you for confirming!! Honestly surprised I got that correct off intuition lol. I actually didn't mean to make that joke (I was thinking tunnel vision or something lol) but chuckled when I was editing the video hahah ARTPOP is next :)
Daniel Juke
2025-03-04 13:57:25 +0000 UTCOkay I'll be checking today. Thanks!
Daniel Juke
2025-03-04 13:55:34 +0000 UTCThere's A LOT going on haha
Daniel Juke
2025-03-04 13:55:20 +0000 UTCI wish more people would notice a couple other "weird" things like the dancer spitting fire, and Gaga's snake tongue when she's in the car, but they are so quick and easy to miss...
fozzi boo
2025-03-03 22:49:55 +0000 UTCps: Just sent you through details re. ARTPOP.
Michael Hardwick
2025-03-03 21:17:30 +0000 UTCNot going to lie, I wouldn't mind a week of just GAGA content. GAGA Week. There is so much to unpack.
Michael Hardwick
2025-03-03 21:12:43 +0000 UTCThe fact that you (correctly) used the word “campy” to describe a Lady Gaga video… this is why the gays adore you 😂 I don’t think you meant to make a joke but “I feel like I’m thinking a little too straight on this one” was a great pun! Lmao Camp can be over-the-top strange, over-the-top sexy, any direction you wanna take it in. And it’s not always meant to be perfectly understood. Just have fun with the confusion/embrace the nonsense haha. Bullets out of the heels is pure camp. Simple as that. Speaking of camp, if ARTPOP is your next album, that’ll be such a fun reaction from you. It’s in my top 10 albums of all time.
Dennis Roberts
2025-03-03 20:18:30 +0000 UTCWelcome to the fandom. Love your reactions 🖤 #mayhemiscoming
Wayne McCutcheon
2025-03-03 20:08:48 +0000 UTCShe definitely did this video to give her fans a taste of the old GAGA in this era.
Michael Hardwick
2025-03-03 19:57:10 +0000 UTC
