Isn't Gaga basically putting a little glamour into pop - as Bowie did to rock in the 70's? So why all the hate?

I don’t hate her, I just don’t think she’s particularly awesome. I’m an Industrial fan, so she doesn’t surprise me much when it comes to being unique or wanting to stick out. Plenty of others like that, and I got my own niche.

ehh, she’s ok.
was not a fan of the whole “meat dress” thing.

Edit: and I’m not in the older crowd… ,.

Her music is good, right? Meh. Not any more than all the other Top 40 songs, and significantly less than many of them.

She’s entertaining, right? I guess, but not in a way that I’m glad for. I’d kind of rather not have to formulate an opinion on wearing raw meat as a dress. Mostly, she seems like an attention whore (more so than all the other attention whores in the media) so she kinda irritates me.

She’s interesting and surprising, right? With the meat dresses and other get-ups? Sure, but again, I’m not really thrilled about it. Musically? No. I find her music to be excessively bland and generic.

She sings well, writes and plays instruments. So do lots of other people. I don’t hold this against her, I just don’t care.

She seems to have a good message of love and tolerance. So? So does Sesame Street, but I don’t feel the need to make them part of my everyday life.

Look, I don’t hate her. I just don’t care for her, or ever wish to listen to her songs. And I really don’t get all the hype.

Gaga is making the best of her 15 minutes of fame. Unlike synthetic pop stars like Taylor Swift, Gaga is working her [lovely] butt off, can sing without AutoTune and is a good pianist and composer.

I dunno if she is a Bowie, I’m not even a fan, but I give her credit and wish her well!

Taylor Swift doesn’t need a meat dress for attention.

No hate for Gaga, but no love either. Meh is a good word to describe how I feel about her. Taylor Swift on the other hand delivers some good music and messages for my 7 year old daughter that I prefer over Gaga.

No matter how good any popular singer is these days, they’re gonna be hated by a certain group of people; I call them the anticonformists. Conformists like things because other people like them. Anticonformists dislike things because other people like them. (The happy medium is nonconformists, who don’t conform just for the sake of conforming, but they don’t make a point not to conform either.) They’re those kids you hear saying “I hate everything on the radio” and “I liked _______ before they were popular” etc. These are not people who honestly dislike popular music (though people of that sort exist too). There are people for whom there is a complete refusal to like anything that is popular. I don’t know why this mindset exists, but it absolutely does.

Not that that’s the only reason to dislike Lady Gaga, mind you. There are plenty of people who dislike her for much more valid reasons, such as that her music simply doesn’t appeal to their tastes.

As for me, I don’t love Lady Gaga, that’s not the style of music I really listen to, but I respect her for a lot of the reasons you listed. Mainly I like her messages of acceptance. I also like that she’s found a middle ground between two of the really prevalent female musician stereotypes:

On the one side you have the Ke$ha-esque lyrics that usually go something like “yeah boy I’mma let you do the dirty all over me, call me a slut boy yeahhhh” and on the other side you have Taylor Swift yelling “She’s such a ho, I can’t believe you like her better than me! I’m a pretty princess and I never do anything wrong, why don’t guys like me?” Lady Gaga has found a way to accept and express her sexuality in a way that is classy and self-respectful. Her lyrics don’t degrade women but they don’t try to repress sexuality or pretend it doesn’t exist. That’s the biggest thing I like about her.

I like some Gaga songs but don’t consider myself a fan, nor am I a hater.

As for why the haters, haters are everywhere. You can be _____(insert adjective of your choice) and still, no matter what, have hordes of haters.

The main reason I like Lady Gaga is because she’s a freak. I like that she draws so much attention and that people are riled up by her. I’m not a huge drooling fan of hers, there are many artists I like better, but I do enjoy her music and find it catchy. I also like her music videos and find her to be somewhat “badass” in some situations. So I admire her.

Also, GA to @Mariah, especially the part about her lyrics; that’s an excellent way of assessing it. Of course, I also like Ke$ha because she doesn’t give a fuck.

I like her. I like what a crazy artist she is. I think she’s better than Madonna. If I remember correctly she once said she was a weird kid who dressed like Boy George in high school. She’s different. Just look at how intense this video is. I think comparing Britney to Madonna is more accurate.

I used to enjoy her music and her personality, but to be honest it’s gotten to be a bit annoying in my opinion. She tries too hard to stand out and be original and cool, and her more recent music is mainly just annoying and I don’t think it’s very good, with the exception of maybe one song. I think it’s nice to be original and to promote individuality, but it’s gotten to be a bit ridiculous and just plain attention seeking at this point, and it surprises no one when she goes to an awards ceremony in a crazy outfit. For me, her novelty has worn off and I just find her annoying.

Another reason many people don’t like her is her fanbase. People who deem themselves “little monsters” often obsess over her, and act like she’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. They act as if she’s a goddess and talk about her 24/7, and constantly say she’s better than any other artist out there. People who are obsessive and just plain annoying about her tend to make others dislike her as well.

@jonsblond I’m even less of a fan of Taylor Swift than I am of Lady Gaga, to be honest. Pretty much all of her songs sound the same, and I frankly don’t find her music to be very good at all, it’s pretty bland.

Gotta say I do also agree with @mangeons on this one. Gaga herself is a bit of an anticonformist!

Ok @zen fess up, you had a date with her last night dintcha? : )

She wishes.

I don’t adore her, but I do respect her a lot more than most other current famous singers. She gets annoying sometimes and I don’t really love most of her music, but I like her.

She’s the most interesting current pop star by far, and I think being ‘eccentric’ – even frustratingly so – is the best part of pop music. I hate that pop has become so grossly bleak. Almost every pop star follows the same Britney Spears or Taylor Swift formula and it’s just not interesting in any way, especially when you don’t even have the talent to make up for it. I think pop stars should be absolutely ridiculous. The way I see it, most pop stars are more famous for their persona than their talent, and that’s not really a bad thing. It’s fun.
People are always on her about ‘trying too hard to get attention’. She’s a celebrity. Celebrities are celebrities because they have attention, and celebrities remain celebrities because they keep that attention; saying she wants attention is just stating the obvious. Every celebrity has some kind of gimmick. Taylor Swift is the darling angel who is always wronged by every gosh darned meaniehead boy she meets because she doesn’t wear her skirts short enough!!! Miley Cyrus is pulling the Britney Spears line (Disney star gone bad!). Katy Perry sings about kissing girls and then writes songs like ‘ur so gay’. I really don’t think Lady Gaga has the worst gimmick.

I like that she uses her fame to encourage good qualities. If the person who is preaching about acceptance and equality wants to wear a dress made of Kermit the Frogs, what do I care?

I feel like Lady GaGa is trying too hard to “reinvent” Madonna and I don’t respect that. If you’re going to claim yourself as some kind of innovative, edgy, different artist don’t copy someone elses formula and expect people to respect you. In my opinion, she is taking the luster off of Madonnas legacy. Get your own agenda GaGa. Just for the record, I had hope for her at one point.