I write for the music not the charts

In October 2013, after Katy Perry's "Roar" had trumped "Applause" to the top of the charts, a rather disgruntled Gaga took to Twitter to express her opinion on it.

Mocking the Katy vs Gaga sentiments that were rife at the time, she exclaimed "APPLAUSE didn't DEBUT AT #1! KATY IS BETTER THAN HER!", and then added "#UWontUseMyMind I write for the music not the charts".

This declaration of "writing for the music, not the charts" is rather at odds with what she'd tweeted in the August of that year, when "Applause" was in direct competition with Katy Perry's "Roar". The release date of "Applause" had been brought forward a week, because a low quality clip of it had leaked onto the internet. Gaga announced it as a "POP MUSIC EMERGENCY".

The day after this "emergency", Lady Gaga took to twitter again, tweeting to fans to screenshot their "Applause" purchases and request the song on the radio. She dangled a metaphorical carrot in front of them, by telling them that the 2 fans with the most purchase/gift screenshots and radio requests would fly international to see her show at iTunes Fest, AND also meet her.

 

Of course, she was quick to point out that it wasn't just about purchases (yeah right), and that it was also about "creativity", and that the "TechHaus" would collect the "data" and she/they would choose "creative monsters".

This in itself is a rather large contradiction - because if it's about creativity, and not just purchases, then why bother telling your fans in the first place that the ones with the MOST purchases will see the show and meet her???

All this encouragement, temptation, and bribery, coming from the woman who a few short months later claimed "I write for the music, not the charts".....