Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. The full-length The Fame proves she's more than one hit and a bag of stage tricks.
  2. Listen a little closer to the sly, snarky lyrics and glam grooves on this feisty debut and you'll hear that this former downtown New York spice girl has at least a few things on her dirty mind.
  3. GaGa ups the ante in terms of catchy songwriting and sheer high-in-the-club-banging-to-the-beat abandon.
  4. Fueled by heavy dance tracks and popping electronic beats, The Fame, the first album by the glamorous Lady Gaga, is a well-crafted sampling of feisty anti-pop in high quality.
  5. 70
    Drawing on ’70s disco and ’80s electro pop for the 12 tracks that make up The Fame, Gaga writes deluxe ditties that compel the listener to “Just Dance.”
  6. The Fame isn’t a defining moment in pop culture, but it is a promising sign for Lady GaGa, with plenty to dance to.
  7. Empty lyrics are all part of the game when it comes to creating pop music--and Lady GaGa looks to have hit the jackpot here with her blend of sassy attitude, metallic beats and sharp, incisive songwriting.
  8. The Fame is still a solid dance album.
  9. In this economy, though, her high-times escapism has its charms.
  10. Scaled-back tracks like 'Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)' and the dreadful 'Brown Eyes' are done no favors by Gaga's limited pipes; luckily, the majority of the album is fueled by a glitter-laced, dance-inciting energy that bodes well for extended club play, which is really the whole point.
  11. Icy love songs, shameless pop music that comments on its own shamelessness as it goes along: it's hard not to feel that you've heard a lot of this before.
  12. The Fame is a very unusual beast: a sparkling pop album crammed with infectious melodies that you somehow never, ever want to hear again.
  13. Gaga's lyrics alternate between cheap drivel and nonsensical drivel, and her vocal performances are uneven at best....The songs that work--and there are plenty, including 'Poker Face,' 'Starstruck,' 'Paper Gangsta' and 'Summerboy'--rest almost solely on their snappy production and sing-along hooks and reveal Gaga as the Xtina/Gwen/Fergie hydra monster that she is.
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 1674 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. szapphiref
    Sep 11, 2009
    10
    She' s got the voice, the artistry, the theatrics, the imagery, the fashion and most of all the chutzpah into the album that it feels She' s got the voice, the artistry, the theatrics, the imagery, the fashion and most of all the chutzpah into the album that it feels like the album is alive and breathing. The greatest pop album in this generation. It's also clever. Hiding the depth of its commentary on women and society under the skin of pop music. Full Review »
  2. J.M.
    Mar 25, 2009
    10
    One of the best albums in a good while. She cares about what she is doing. She designs her own clothes, writes her own songs, and works head One of the best albums in a good while. She cares about what she is doing. She designs her own clothes, writes her own songs, and works head on with the producers to make sure she gets the song that she has crafted. Full Review »
  3. GW
    Apr 9, 2009
    10
    I think Lady Gaga is amazing - not all songs on this album are winners, but the ones that have made it to the top, are there for good reason. I think Lady Gaga is amazing - not all songs on this album are winners, but the ones that have made it to the top, are there for good reason. What a delightful entertainer - she's got a style like none other and that's what's going to push her over-the-top. In my estimation, she's geniusly brilliant in all she does - with an innocence and coyishness that's fully deceiving. Her brilliance in the song "Just Dance" comes through with each 'voice' she finds to carry on a full conversation between 'voices' - each with their own unique attitude. I believe she is either a highly intelligent social commentator on (and engineer of) pop culture, or else a complete fool. That's what's so crafty about her. Either way, she's got the drive and the style that will send her to the Fame position she seems destined to have. I can't wait for the next album!! Full Review »