So right now it seems like no matter how well Gaga does, everything that has her name on it is considered a flop. In fact, even a single that peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 seems to be considered a complete failure by some.
So the question is, why? 90% of artists can only dream to have a portion of Gaga's success.
So if I understand what you are saying, all those who dismiss Gaga and say she is flopping are really admitting that she's a big star and trying to downplay ha power?
That's an interesting tactic to say the least. I think you may be onto something.
Cause according to gaga's standards, she's under-performing. It has nothing to do with that "the bigger the star, the bigger the target" bs.
Can we define what Gaga's standards are? It's not like she had so many #1's that everyone should've excepted Applause at #1. In fact, Applause at #4 is a very good outcome by her standards. So please explain what you mean.
In the grand scheme of things, she isn't a flop. Much of ATRL is dragging her current performance for the simple fact that a lot of Monsters thought that it would be a mega smash that would "end careers." ATRL is just having fun shoving humble pie down their throats.
This forum also is stuck on the mentality that being anything less than 1 is automatically a flop. Trust me, ALL of the pop girls (or most of them) are dragged when a lead single isn't #1 immediately (Rihanna, Ke$ha, Britney, etc.). I think the Monsters are getting it even harder because of the Katy-Gaga "battle" that ensued earlier last month.
You're doing wayy too much 
