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LoveGame

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"LoveGame"
Song

"LoveGame" is an electropop song recorded by American pop singer-songwriter Lady Gaga taken from her debut album, The Fame. The track was produced by RedOne, who also produced Gaga's previous worldwide hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". It is the album's third single in North America and the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand, France, Sweden and Switzerland after "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)".

The song has been critically appreciated for its catchy tune and the "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" hook. Gaga has explained that the word 'discostick' is a metaphor for the penis and was inspired by her association with a stranger at a night club. "LoveGame" has already started charting in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, where it became another top five hit for Gaga.

The New York underground inspired music video for the song portrays Gaga dancing through an underground metro station and in a car park. The music video was a tribute by Gaga to the New York lifestyle including its glamour, fans and fashion. "LoveGame" has been performed live a number of times by Gaga, including her first headlining The Fame Ball tour where she performed it while wearing a geometric patterned short skirt and holding her trademark disco-stick in one hand.

Writing and inspiration

"LoveGame" was written by Lady Gaga and RedOne who also produced the track. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Gaga explained the meaning of the song and her inspiration behind it, especially for the line "Let's have some fun this beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick". She said,

"It's another of my very thoughtful metaphors for a cock. I was at a nightclub, and I had quite a sexual crush on somebody, and I said to them, 'I wanna ride on your disco stick'. The next day, I was in the studio, and I wrote the song in about four minutes. When I play the song live, I have an actual stick — it looks like a giant rock-candy pleasuring tool — that lights up.[1]

Critical reception

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the song has cheap lyrics and it painfully enunciates without any resemblance of actual sex appeal.[2] About.com reviewer Ben Norman said that "LoveGame" continues the siege war tactical beats of previous single "Just Dance" and "assaulting us with clever lyrics like, 'Let's have some fun/This beat is sick/I wanna take a ride on your disco stick.' Interestingly enough, her live performance involves a disco stick. It's her long-handled microphone." The Dave Aude remix of "LoveGame" was praised.[3] The Boston Phoenix music editor Daniel Brockman said that "With production help from DJ Space Cowboy [...] Gaga ups the ante in terms of catchy song writing and sheer high-in-the-club-banging-to-the-beat abandon." He also commented on the lyrics saying that "'Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick/I want to take a ride on your disco stick' might be the trashiest-yet-awesomest refrain I’ve heard on a major-label record this year."[4] The BBC said in a review for The Fame that the song was robotic with the line "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" deemed as brilliant as well as utterly cold which "leaves us awarding Gaga the yearbook title of 'pop star most likely to kill'"[5] Ben Hogwood from MusicOMH.com declared the song as "top notch, diamond-encrusted pop" along with other tracks like Starstruck and Paparazzi but commented that the lyrics were sometimes odd especially the statement, "I'm on a mission, and it involves some heavy touchin'".[6] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe said that the song has a gutter level quippage with sinuous moves.[7] Priya Elan from The Times was not impressed with the song and called it calculated.[8]

Chart performance

Lady Gaga "LoveGame"
A 23 second sample of Gaga's "LoveGame" where the chorus is played backed by the line "Let's have some fun this beat is sick/I wanna take a ride on your disco stick."
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-six for the issue dated April 4, 2009 but fell of the chart the following week.[9] On the issue dated May 9, 2009 the song re-entered the chart at number ninety-nine[10] and made a leap to eighty-one the following week.[11] The song debuted at seventy-six on the Pop 100 chart for the issue dated May 2, 2009[12] and has since moved up to fifty-two.[11] In Australia, the song debuted at number ninety-two, and then moved up the charts to forty-one the next week.[13] The following week it again moved up the eighteen. It has so far peaked at number four in Australia.[14].

In Canada, the song debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 in September 2008 at number sixty-eight[15] before its official release as a single. Its second appearance was on the chart of January 10, 2009 at number sixty-eight again.[16] Subsequently "LoveGame" climbed to a peak of five for the issue dated April 4, 2009, making her third straight top five single there.[17] After fluctuating down the chart for a few weeks "LoveGame" reached a new peak of four for the issue dated May 16, 2009.[18]

On the issue dated March 6, 2009 the song entered the Irish Singles Chart at number forty-nine based on digital download.[19] It also debuted at number nineteen in Finland for the issue dated April 15, 2009[20] and has since moved to a peak of twelve.[21] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number thirty-six for the issue dated April 13, 2009[22] and moved up to a peak of twelve.[23]

Despite not being released as an official single, the song has received a small amount of airplay on British radio stations and has also charted on the UK Singles Chart, so far peaking at number eighty-nine due to strong downloads from Gaga's debut album, The Fame.[24]

Music video

Gaga intimidating a circle of men with her disco stick while wearing chain linked glasses in the New York underground inspired music video for "LoveGame"

The music video of "LoveGame" was directed by Joseph Kahn and premiered on February 13, 2009.[25] The video mainly takes place in a subway station. Although the video was shot in Los Angeles in January 2009 alongside with the music video for "Eh, Eh", it has a New York setting. The video faced censorship troubles in Australia where it has been rated M by Network Ten due to suggestive video footage involving bondage and sexual acts. The channel has demanded to be provided with an edited version of the video which would not violate censorship rules. Australian television will still continue to air the video on music program Rage and cable networks Channel V and MTV.[26]

The video starts with the heading "Streamline presents" and three men moving through Times Square. They open a man-hole cover on which is written "Haus of Gaga". Gaga is then shown naked with blue and purple paint and glitter on her body, frolicking with two men who has the words "Love" and "Fame" etched on their hair. The scene shifts to a subway where Gaga starts singing in a grey-white leotard with a hood. She carries her trademark 'disco stick' and wears chain linked glasses made of barbed wire. The chorus starts with Gaga along with her dancers progressing through the subway and dancing down a staircase. Her trademark dogs, two harlequin Great Danes, are also shown on top of the staircase. The video shifts to a train where the second verse takes place amidst choreographed dance routines and Gaga wearing a black jacket. The group move on to a car-park. Gaga is then shown with the two men again and enters a ticket booth with an inspector. This next scene shows Gaga in make-shift kissing and caressing. As the camera pans from right to left the inspector changes from a man to woman in each frame. Gaga is also shown wearing a yellow watch same to that of the "Eh, Eh" music video. The final scene incorporates Gaga in a choreographed dance routine with her crew of backup dancers. The video comes to an end as Gaga and her dancers hold their groins as they gesture towards the camera.

"This is all part of a movement. My artistry is much deeper than fashion or anything like that. I love pop music, and I want to bring it back. [...] People are truly hungry for this. They generally miss the '90s and the superfans flooding Times Square, crying and wailing and doing anything to see the fingernail of a star. I want that back, and [the 'LoveGame' video] is just another move towards that. 'LoveGame' is a genuine New York lifestyle video. It's got that feeling of 'gay, black New York,' of inclusion and glamour," [...] I wanted to really bring forth the girl that I was four years ago, and I wanted to put it in the setting of the underground subway. I worked with Joseph Kahn, and he did an amazing job. He didn't just capture the fashion; he captured the artist."[27]

Gaga spoke to Entertainment Weekly during the Behind the Scenes of the shoot regarding what she thinks about the video and the development of it including the new creative measures undertaken:

I wanted to have that big giant dance video moment, I wanted it to be plastic, beautiful, gorgeous, sweaty, tar on the floor, bad-ass boys, but when you got close, the look in everybody's eyes was fucking honest and scary. [...] The whole idea behind the subway 'Bad' thing is that me and my friends from New York, we're all, like, the dopiest fucking artists,[...] Best designers, performance artists, dancers. The dancers in the video...those are not hot L.A. people that you see in everybody's video. Those are kids who don't get cast, because they're too fucking real. [...] I love the imagery of a downtown, bad-ass kid walking down the street with his buddies, grabbing a pair of pliers, and making a pair of sunglasses out of a fence on the street, [...] I thought that imagery was so real, and it shows that no matter who you are, or where you come from, or how much money you have in your pocket, you’re nothing without your ideas. Your ideas are all you have. The opening of the video is me with this chain link hood and these intense glasses. They look so hard. It looks like I plied them right out of the fence and put them on my face."[28]

Live performance

Gaga wearing a black dress with a triangular piece and holding her discostick, performs "LoveGame" on the Fame Ball tour - March 23, 2009, Mezzanine, San Francisco.

Gaga performed "LoveGame" live on the UK programme The Album Chart Show on February 14, 2009 as promotion for The Fame.[29] On March 20, 2009, the song was also performed live at the AOL Sessions along with Gaga's other singles such as "Just Dance", "Paparazzi", "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" and an acoustic version of "Poker Face".[30] An acoustic version was performed at the MTV Sessions in January.[31] The song was a major part of Gaga’s performance in her first headlining Fame Ball tour as the second number of the setlist and was performed alongside "Starstruck". Gaga wore a silver and black short skirt like a tutu shaped like a peplum[32] with a triangular piece set on her right breast[33][34] and high heeled ultra spike shoes. Gaga's hair was made an austere blond bob and she wore black sunglasses.[33][35] She was surrounded by her dancers holding plates which were encrusted with crystals and completely hid them.[36] The plates were angled similar to the dress she wore. As the performance of the opening number "Paparazzi" ended, the plates opened up and Gaga started singing the song "Starstruck" while standing on the platform.[37] The stage was surrounded by mechanical fog and heavy lighting was being emitted from the background.[33][35] The song progressed and after the first chorus of "Starstruck", Gaga started singing "LoveGame" while moving her hands in choreographed dance moves along with her dancers moving the plates in the same rhythm.[33] Pre-recorded music and mixing were provided in the background by DJ Space Cowboy. Gaga also brought out her "trade-mark" disco-stick for the performance of "LoveGame". It ended with Gaga coming down to the front of the stage and saying the line "People say some really terrible things about me, [...] I've thought about it, and they're mostly true" before leaving the stage as the second video interlude, "The Brain" starts.[38] Gaga is set to perform the song on May 17, 2009 at the Australian television show Rove.[39]

Track listings

Australian CD & iTunes Single[40]
  1. "LoveGame" (Album version) - 3:33
  2. "LoveGame" (Robots to Mars Remix) - 3:13
Canadian iTunes Remix Single[41]
  1. "LoveGame" (Space Cowboy Remix) - 3:19
  2. "LoveGame" (Robots to Mars Remix) - 3:13
American iTunes Remix Single[42]
  1. "LoveGame" (Dave Aude Radio Edit) - 3:32
  2. "LoveGame" (Space Cowboy Remix) - 3:20
  3. "LoveGame" (Robots to Mars Remix) - 3:13

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[14] 4
Canadian Hot 100[18] 4
Finnish Singles Chart[21] 12
Irish Singles Chart[19] 49
New Zealand Singles Chart[23] 12
UK Singles Chart[24] 89
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 61
U.S. Billboard Pop 100[11] 43

Release history

Region Date Format
Canada March 24, 2009 Digital download[41]
Australia March 23, 2009 Airplay[citation needed]
May 1, 2009 CD single[40]
North America March 31, 2009 Digital download[42]
May 12, 2009 Airplay[43]
France May 11, 2009 CD single

References

  1. ^ Scaggs, Austin (February 19, 2009). "The "Just Dance" singer on leotards, the first lady and raunchy lyrics". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone; Jann S. Wenner. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  2. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (October 25, 2008). "Lady Gaga: The Fame review". Slant Magazine. www.slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  3. ^ Norman, Ben (October 2, 2008). "Lady Gaga - 'The Fame'". About.com. dancemusic.about.com. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  4. ^ Brockman, Daniel (October 22, 2008). "Lady GaGa:The Fame". The Boston Phoenix. Thephoenix.com. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  5. ^ Kraines, Talia (January 9, 2009). "Lady GaGa The Fame Review". BBC. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  6. ^ Hogwood, Ben (January 12, 2009). "Lady Gaga - The Fame". MusicOMH.com. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  7. ^ Rodman, Sarah (October 27, 2008). "Lady Gaga The Fame". The Boston Globe. www.boston.com. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  8. ^ Elan, Priya (January 10, 2009). "The Big CD: Lady GaGa - The Fame". The Times. Entertainment.Timesonline.com. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  9. ^ Caulfield, Keith (March 12, 2009). "Miley Cyrus' 'Climb' Debuts High On Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  10. ^ "Lady Gaga - LoveGame - Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  11. ^ a b c d "Lady Gaga - Artist Chart history". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  12. ^ "Lady Gaga - LoveGame - Pop 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  13. ^ "Australian Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. acharts.us. March 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  14. ^ a b "Australian Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. acharts.us. May 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  15. ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. acharts.us. September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  16. ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  17. ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. acharts.us. April 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  18. ^ a b "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. acharts.us. May 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  19. ^ a b "Irish Singles Chart". Irish Recorded Music Association. acharts.us. March 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  20. ^ "Finnish Singles Chart". Mitä hittiä. acharts.us. April 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  21. ^ a b "Finnish Singles Chart". Mitä hittiä. acharts.us. April 22, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  22. ^ "New Zealand RIANZ Top 40". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. acharts.us. April 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  23. ^ a b "New Zealand RIANZ Top 40". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. acharts.us. May 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  24. ^ a b ""LoveGame" Chart Positions and Trajectories". The Official Charts Company. chartstats.com. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  25. ^ "Joseph Kahn "Eh, Eh" and "LoveGame". josephkahn.com. Janmedia Interactive Inc. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  26. ^ Adams, Cameron (April 07, 2009). "Lady GaGa Love Game video banned from Australian TV". The Australian Daily Telegraph. News.com.au. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Montgomery, James (March 13, 2009). "Lady Gaga's pop revolution continues with 'LoveGame'". MTV. MTV Networks Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  28. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (February 2, 2009). "On the Scene: Lady GaGa's 'LoveGame' Video". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  29. ^ "LoveGame - The Album Chart show". Interscope Records. ladygaga.com. February 14, 2009.
  30. ^ "LoveGame - AOL Sessions". Interscope Records. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  31. ^ "Lady Gaga - LoveGame". MTV United Kingdom. MTV Networks Entertainment Group. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  32. ^ Abraham, Tamara (May 4, 2009). "Madonna and Cyndi Lauper take style notes as Lady Gaga parades latest leotards in concert". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  33. ^ a b c d Harrington, Jim (March 16, 2009). "Lady Gaga delivers crazy dance-pop show". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  34. ^ Downing, Andy (March 26, 2009). "Lady Gaga delights". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  35. ^ a b Pastorek, Whitney (March 14, 2009). "Lady GaGa live in L.A.: EW photo blog!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  36. ^ Saxberg, Lynn (Mach 28, 2009). "Concert Review: Lady Gaga's Fame Ball". The Ottawa Citizen. Canwest Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ Rosen, Craig (March 15, 2009). "Lady GaGa wows with big beats, bluesy surprises". The Hollywood Reporter. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  38. ^ Muther, Christopher (April 2, 2009). "Lady GaGa shines in song and spectacle". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  39. ^ Knox, David (May 8, 2009). "Rove: May 10 / 17". Rove. TVTonight.com.au. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
  40. ^ a b "Australia release date". jbhifionline.com.au. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  41. ^ a b "LoveGame Canadian iTunes remix". iTunes. Apple.com. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  42. ^ a b "LoveGame American iTunes remix". iTunes. Apple.com. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  43. ^ "LoveGame radio airing date". Radio & Records. May 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
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