By Erica Rocha
Lady Gaga has come up with something new, and no it is not fashion related for which she is widely known and criticized. On Nov. 11, Gaga released an interactive app for her new ARTPOP album which she helped produce along with Zedd, will.i.am., and a couple other producers.
The introduction to the app fuses the art theme with technology and design. The app seems to do a good job of capturing the idea of ARTPOP. The glowing and translucent animation figure that greets the app user gives a creative feel right from the start. The animation, named PetGa, speaks in Gaga’s distinctive voice which allows a more personal connection to the pop-star rather than a pop-up menu with a couple of options to get started.
When the user enters a couple pieces of information, PetGa generates the user’s “aura” so that the user can “exist in the universe of ARTPOP.” PetGa describes an aura as “a unique representation of your existence in the ARTPOP universe that will grow and change over time as you travel through the app discovering new things, creating new projects and meeting new auras.” The idea of the aura and the digitally created PetGa also ties in nicely with the album cover, which includes a nude sculpture of Gaga straddling a blue gazing ball. The ball, according to the creator Jeff Koons, represents the aspect of reflection, your existence, and the ability to transcend changes in your life in art. The introduction, I admit, can be a bit creepy considering PetGa’s tone of voice and her overall alien-like and ghostly appearance. After PetGa generates the user’s aura, a glowing orb is then added to the bottom of the screen in the menu to represent the aura or personal profile.
The menu also contains the options for ARTPOP, ArtHaus, a countdown for Trakstar, and a countdown for GagaTV.
If the app user has already downloaded the ARTPOP album, The ARTPOP option imports the songs from iTunes. The songs play in the app as a record spins on a phonograph. The user’s music history is then added to their aura. I think this feature is not as interesting as the others because it only allows the user to play her songs and that is only if the user has purchased it prior to downloading the free app.
The The ArtHaus option is my favorite feature. It allows all users to create GIFs with the background of their choice and to share their art with others. The artwork is split into three categories: Popular, Recent, and Seen by Gaga. The artwork has yet to be seen by the pop-star.
The Trakstar and GagaTV countdown are features that will be unlocked in April 2014. Other stages of the app will also be revealed later on; PetGa is the first stage. I think theses features will be revealed later on to keep people interested in the app and to build anticipation.
Along with accessing ARTPOP and ArtHaus, users can also login to the app through Gaga’s website (Littlemonsters.com). Doing so will allow them to talk in chat rooms with other Gaga fans, or “little monsters” as Gaga likes to call them. This goes along with the PetGa’s introduction of “meeting new auras.” This is a smart idea to include because if more fans are communicating, it will further increase Gaga’s notoriety.
Overall, the app is successful because it allow Gaga’s fans not only to further interact with her music but also with other fans. The app’s creative feel perfectly relates to the title of her album ARTPOP. With over 1,000 reviews of the app (on iTunes) and with 87 percent rating it five stars, I am certain others agree and will continue to support the app as it will continue to develop.
