Lady Gaga’s avant-garde image masked thoroughly conventional pop conventions.

Evidence

Music critic Simon Reynolds noted, “Everything about Gaga came from electroclash.” Her debut single, “Just Dance,” epitomized this synthesis, blending David Bowie-inspired makeup, Karen O’s fashion, and the party visuals of the Cobrasnake’s indie sleaze photography. … Reynolds observed that beneath the avant-garde veneer, her songs were “ruthlessly catchy noughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B-ish beats,” giving the impression of innovation while remaining rooted in familiar conventions. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 249