People seem to be getting very caught up in the whole Madonna/Gaga thing. Here's my take on it.

First of all, I think Lady Gaga is great. In fact, I think she's the most exciting and interesting pop star out there at the moment. She makes great pop music, changes her image all the time, rubs people up the wrong way and is a strong female. Sounds familiar, right? Since she came on the scene, Gaga has been compared to Madonna. And rightly so. Her attitude is the same as Madonna's which is what I admire about her the most. She does what she wants and doesn't care what people think.

These are the same things that have kept me a loyal Madonna fan for 20 years. So why the drama?

Over the last few months, many people, including Madonna fans have started to say Madonna's 'lost it' and Gaga has taken over. True? I don't know. All I know is, they're both great and I can't wait to see what they both do next. Wendy Melvoin who plays guitar on 'She's Not Me' on Hard Candy recently said that Gaga had taken 'Esther's place,' and that M was 'no longer a pop star.' What I have found disappointing is the fact that so many people, including Wendy who only recently worked with M, have quickly dismissed M as a 'has been'.

Is it not possible for two, or even more, female artists to be out there at the same time, making interesting work? Why does one have to be better than the other? This has happened when Cyndi, Janet, Whitney, Mariah, Britney, Christina et al came on the scene. All of a sudden, it's war.

Madonna's next album could be her best, or it could just be an ok album, who knows? Until then though, we should all wait and see. If you like Gaga, great! If not, don't hate on those that do. It's a waste of time. Everyone is different and we all have different tastes and points of view.

Remember: M is a Gaga fan and vice versa. There both different women and different artists. How can you measure who's 'the best'? Record sales? Concert returns? Awards? Maybe, but why do we have to choose who is 'the best' in the first place?

Think about it.