Even the most die-hard monster has to admit their career trajectories at the moment follow a Madonna (Katy) & Cyndi (Gaga) dynamic. Gaga is my fave and even I can admit she will probably
never compete with Katy on singles and may even lose the overall album battles.
However Gaga will
always have the critical upper hand and most likely the stronger touring force, especially in the twilights of their respective careers.
Another question is if Katy could reinvent herself a la Madonna to keep her career going and if she would even want to. My personal guess is Katy will make 2 or 3 more albums after
Prism, take her money and leave, a very smart and respectable choice.
However with Gaga I see a more Cher type path, always being somehow involved in the entertainment industry, whether or not she will be at all successful is another story.
To answer your question, personally on the
Prism snippets and the stuff we have heard so far from
ARTPOP, I prefer the latter, but I am undoubtably biased.
In terms of the commercial battle between
Prism v.
ARTPOP, Katy will win the singles by an enormous margin and the albums will be close (Gaga will probably win).
Of their overall careers, who knows.
