#3 sales debut with 218,000 first week - one of the highest first week sales of 2013 - and a top ten start on the Hot 100, with stability and longevity looking likely due to large streaming points from the music video and several things yet to come - an upcoming VMA performance, an upcoming iTunes performance that will be streamed worldwide, a major ad campaign that will appear on 33,000 movie screens nationwide beginning next week, and who knows what other tricks Gaga has up her sleeve.

Now, I don't know about you, but this seems like a good start to me... even if it may not have been as colossal as a certain, unnamed peer of Gaga's.

So is "Applause" being dragged just so that detractors can have something, even the littlest thing, to use against the most powerful musician in the world, or is its performance truly the worst thing that could happen to her? Discuss. And don't be ashamed to answer honestly - the poll is anonymous.

Yep, we all know these other stans have just been thirsty for blood, waiting for Gaga to slip up to drag her.

No really, it's juts not as good as she (and her base) thinks it is.

Yes. Nothing to be suprised of when you are world's biggest/most powerful musician.

Is this even a question?

I'd say so. If Ke$ha released this song, it'd been acceptable. GaGa has been held to a higher standard for obvious reasons, so to release a song of "Applause" quality, and perform as it has thus far - it is going to be criticized.

It's also being dragged because all of the Monsters had out of this world predictions for its first week and overall slayage, none of which has happened and that's always going to make you fresh meat on this site, no matter who the artist is.

Obviously.
Because she was on the TOP.
Anything she does after that may be called a 'flop'.

'cause it flopped

For a first single, from a new era and from a star like Gaga, it has seriously underperformed while Roar continues to stay at #1.

Honestly, it's her fault that it debuted at #6. It could have gotten #3 if she would just swallow her pride, let it leak, and have it be released along with the video. Or if she would have released the video the day she rush released the song.

Yes because of the talk & promo 2 years in advance everybody was waiting for #1 debut

No the song just isn't good.
In fact it's only semi sucessful because its gaga.

The dragging is mostly the monsters fault.

I'm pretty sure if anyone else released Applause it would flop even harder
it's just a bad song