Wikipedia:Good article reassessment/Paparazzi (Lady Gaga song)/2

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Paparazzi (Lady Gaga song)

Article (edit | visual edit | history) · Article talk (edit | history) · WatchWatch article reassessment pageMost recent review
Result: List/Keep as GA per consensus below. One objection was raised, but I have commented on this below. Geometry guy 20:36, 17 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I recently reviewed and passed this article, however, another editor is now challenging my decision to list it, so I'd appreciate outside opinion. Thank you, HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 14:53, 23 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support listing: The article is comprehensively referenced, images appear to be correctly licensed, reception is covered, including some not particularly positive, would have liked more detail on production, but that may not be available; and I see that GaGa wrote, produced, played on and performed the track, so there may not be more to say on this. My only (minor) criticism would be that the article (like the video perhaps!) might be too long. –– Jezhotwells (talk) 22:48, 23 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Where's the discussion about why not to list it? - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 01:18, 24 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment As being the nominator, I'm not sure whether I am allowed to say anything, hence just wanted to say that the challenger of the listing, has previously made dubious and ridiculous claims that in order to pass the article, one should contact the artist's management and get their consensus. --Legolas (talk2me) 03:19, 24 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Neutral There are a few minor issues, the inaccurate use of Britian in the lead. An unreferenced Credits section. I find the tone good. There are quite a few quotes but I think they are in balance, it certainly is a valid point to consider them but on the whole I think the objections to GA based on that is overstated. I lean towards support listing especially if the rather trivial correction of Britian and the credits refferences are resolved. Regards,
    talk) 02:47, 25 March 2010 (UTC)[reply
    ]
Because comparisons with other encyclopedias may not be valid, it is a matter for community consensus to determine what is or is not appropriate content for a Wikipedia music article. It is not appropriate for GA to take a position in that discussion, beyond ensuring that music articles meet the GA criteria. (Similarly, it is not appropriate for other projects to add to the GA criteria for music articles, beyond helping reviewers interpret the criteria based on consensus.)
Anyway, I checked out the article with a view to closing this GAR, but found a couple of minor problems. The prose is a bit choppy, with a few examples in the lead that don't meet 1a in my view.
  • "Initially, "LoveGame" had at first been planned to be released as the third single release in the United Kingdom, but it was decided that Paparazzi would be released instead because of the potentially controversial lyrics and music video of LoveGame." This repeats "initially" and "at first"; it also uses awkward passive tenses in both clauses ("had been planned" and "it was decided" - by whom?). I also wonder how much of this sentence is lead material anyway.
  • "It is a mid-tempo dance song whose lyrics show a stalker following somebody to grab attention and fame." The body of the article has "up-tempo", but I'm not sure what these terms mean. Also I wanted to change "show" to "describe", but I'm not sure this is accurate.
  • "The song was written by Gaga to portray her struggles for fame." I suggest either "struggle for fame" or "struggles with fame": the body of the article suggests the latter interpretation, or possibly even an expanded phrase such as "her struggles with her quest for fame". Or it could be completely rewritten :)
  • " 'Paparazzi' has been critically acclaimed for its fun-filled, club-friendly nature and is considered the most memorable and telling song from the album." This is hyperbole. The reviews in the article contain both positive and negative views. One review refers to it as the most memorable, and another as "telling", but the latter review is discussing how much the song tells about Lady Gaga's approach to her music career. Using "telling" in the unqualified narrative voice is unclear and not neutral.
  • "The accompanying music video shows Gaga as a doomed starlet hounded by photographers, and in the process almost killed by her boyfriend." This is a garden path (the process was almost killed by her boyfriend?). It could simply be reordered as "almost killed by her boyfriend in the process", but the reader may wonder "what process?".
  • "Gaga performed the song live at her first headlining The Fame Ball Tour, where it was the opening song; the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects awards; and on Saturday Night Live in October 2009." In trying to be efficient this sentence does too much: The Fame Ball Tour was her first headlining tour, not her first "headlining The Fame Ball Tour". Also, I may be old fashioned, but semicolons are not used like that; they are used in one of two ways: to join two closely related sentences; or to separate items in a list after a colon. Personal preferences aside, this sentence needs reconsideration.
  • "On the second leg of the tour Gaga performed the song in a Wizard of Oz inspired dress alongside a giant fish creature." To avoid the awkward long noun phrase, and disambiguate the likely cultural reference, I suggest something like "On the second leg of the tour Gaga performed the song in a dress inspired by
    The Wizard of Oz
    , and alongside a giant fish-like creature
    ".
I also found one (possibly) unsourced statement, which I've tagged, but I expect that can easily be fixed. Geometry guy 21:48, 12 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for this wonderful review Geometry guy. I corrected them. Please check. --Legolas (talk2me) 17:04, 13 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Got to agree. Great comments by Geometry guy. Regards,
talk) 22:17, 13 April 2010 (UTC)[reply
]
Thanks. I checked, and this looks better now. Geometry guy 21:27, 14 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Notification of intention to close. Per my above comments, I believe this reassessment can be closed if no further objections are received in the next 48 hours. I am willing to do so if no one else closes it sooner. Geometry guy 21:27, 14 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]