This is a theory of how Gaga's career is a story of the rise and the decay of the superstar, and how I think Gaga has figured this out a long time ago. Before Gaga got famous, she studied the fame. Instead of just studying the rise of the artist she also studied the DECAY of the artist (which is exactly what 27 club is about), and she has said that she's planned the ARTPOP "project" ever since she released The Fame. Gaga always uses her own body and fame to make artistic statements about fame and society. It seems natural to me that she would do the same thing with the "decay of the artist", since she's been fascinated by this from a young age, caused by Princess Diana's death. And what other year would be more suitable to make a statement about this decay, when Gaga herself turns 27 this year? Also, Gaga always does unexpected things. What's more unexpected than her destroying what she's built up by herself, destroying what she's worked for by using drugs etc. THESE are some of the things she's been doing to break her own rules; 1. She's been wearing flat shoes, which she's said she'd NEVER let her fans see her do. 2. She's been smoking weed in public, the ultimate sign of a decaying artist. 3. She's become a brunette because the media "destroyed" or "killed" the blonde. Just look at Gaga's Paparazzi performance from VMA 2009, and I think you'll understand what I mean. She's been planning this all along. Remember the 60 minutes interview, when she said that everyone wants to see her decay? That is what she's letting us do right now. By making an artistic statement about the decay of the artist she can tell not only her own story, but also the stories of Amy Winehouse, Princess Diana, and every other celebrity whose death has been caused by the dark sides of fame. Remember when Amy died and Gaga said that her death was a lesson for the media, not the pop star? I think that's what she'll try to make clear. We have already seen proof of how the media has treated Gaga's "decay". I mean, just look at how they judge her for gaining weight without showing any compassion for her. And we all know that the exact moment when the artist dies, the media starts praising them. Just look at Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Princess Diana; not even half as many people praised them before they died. Gaga is a master of fame and therefore I'm quite sure she knew that the media would treat her like this all along. She knows that she, as the biggest pop star on the planet, can make ART out of the decay. As Gaga herself described it in the 60 minutes interview, it will be about the "Art of Fame". She makes art out of the most dark and shameful parts of fame. By doing so she can show the media and the entire world what they do wrong, which in turn can make them change. To make it clear, I'm NOT saying that Gaga will kill herself on purpose this year. I do however think some kind of "fake death" would be in line of what she's done before (for example referring to VMA 2009 again). A fake death doesn't have to be what you think of, it can be something artistic or visual, not necessarily a definite death the way we imagine. But it's probably more likely that she uses the decay to make a statement and that would be it. One example of what she could do is to make the music video continuation of Telephone show her death, and how the world praises the superstars once they're gone, instead of when they're alive. The music videos for Paparazzi and Telephone both show a decaying star, a pop singer who kills her boyfriend, gets in jail etc, while the media watches closely and without compassion. It's also possible that she will show the decay in another way during the ARTPOP era, and later "rise above" the decay and survive. I'm not saying the entire era will be about this decay, but I personally believe she will do SOMETHING reffering to it. In fact, she did release something reffering to it in 2012; the Fame perfume. It is a perfect example of something Gaga does to make a statement about the fame. PS: This is JUST a theory, you don't have to believe in it. But it's fascinating to imagine that Gaga has had this plan ever since The Fame was released. There's nothing wrong with analyzing and coming up with theories, remember that :) // @almaricano