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Joanne (album)

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Joanne is the upcoming fifth studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It is set to be released on October 21, 2016, by Interscope and Streamline Records.[1][2] "Perfect Illusion" was released as the album's lead single on September 9, 2016, going number one in France and Spain, while reaching the top 20 in more than ten countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Background and development

Gaga's third studio album Artpop was released in November 2013 to mixed reviews.[3] The album debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, and has sold 2.5 million copies as of July 2014.[4][5] Gaga embarked on the accompanying ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour several months later, building upon concepts from her ArtRave promotional event.[6][7] During the Artpop era Gaga split from longtime manager Troy Carter over "creative differences",[8] and by June 2014, she and new manager Bobby Campbell joined Artist Nation, the artist management division of Live Nation Entertainment.[9]

The ambivalent reception towards Artpop led Gaga's management to overhaul an image change for the singer. Along with a more subdued appearance in media, Gaga emphasized on her vocal prowess, and was critically lauded for her tribute performance to The Sound of Music at the 87th Academy Awards, singing a medley of songs from the film.[9][10] She also collaborated with American jazz singer Tony Bennett on their jazz album, Cheek to Cheek, released in September 2014[11] to generally favorable reviews.[12] Cheek to Cheek debuted atop the Billboard 200, becoming Gaga's third consecutive number-one record in the United States,[13] and went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.[14]

Alongside her musical endeavors, Gaga also starred in the fifth season of American Horror Story, subtitled Hotel, which ran from October 2015 to January 2016 and earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.[15][16] While collecting her award, the singer confirmed that she would be releasing her fifth studio album later in 2016, and was working on the logistics and aspects like the looks she would portray for the record.[17][18] Throughout the majority of 2015 and 2016, Gaga teased the creative and recording processes of the album on her social media accounts. She was seen collaborating with longtime producer RedOne, as well as new collaborators like Giorgio Moroder, Mark Ronson and Rodgers, among others.[19]

Writing and recording

Kevin Parker playing a white electric guitar onstage, decked in purple light.
Mark Ronson looking to the camera.
Kevin Parker (left) and Mark Ronson (right)

According to Gaga, she wanted "the fans to be surprised [with the album]... But I will just tell you that it's a wonderful, soul-searching experience. And it's very unlike [Artpop] in that way."[20] In an interview with Billboard, producer RedOne stated that the singer was mentally in a "cleaner" state of mind, hearkening back to her earlier days, which he felt was beneficial.[9] Gaga and Ronson serve as Joanne's executive producers.[21] The two had previously grown up within blocks of one another on New York's Upper East Side, and had collaborated on Wale's song "Chillin" (2009). They reunited in late 2015, when Gaga presented the song "Angel Down" to Ronson at a London studio. Later, the duo worked for six months in Rick Rubin's Shangri-La recording studio in Malibu, while Rubin was between projects. On Gaga and Ronson's first day at Shangri-La, they wrote the song "Joanne", and Ronson encouraged Gaga to write lyrics about "whatever was happening in her life or on her mind."[22]

Recording continued until the album's final mastering session.[22] Gaga was deeply involved with the technicalities of the music being recorded. "She loves just sitting at a piano and barking orders at a drummer and she has an incredible voice," Ronson confessed, adding that they first began with the music and then proceeded with the song.[23] The producer later said that the music recorded with Gaga was "some of my favorite music I've really ever worked on. It's incredible – I love it. I can't wait until you can hear it because the music speaks for itself – it's some of my favorite musicians of all time are working on it."[24] Ronson also hinted the involvement of psychedelic rock band Tame Impala frontman, Kevin Parker, which BBC Music later confirmed to be true.[25]

Many prominent musicians make guest appearances on Joanne. Gaga invited Father John Misty to play drums on the record, while Ronson invited Josh Homme to play guitar on the song "John Wayne", due to Homme's work for the band Queens of the Stone Age; in addition, Homme drummed and performed co-production. Ronson also invited Beck to collaborate on the album, resulting in the song "Dancin' in Circles". Gaga, a longtime fan of Beck's, was initially starstruck upon working with him. Gaga and Florence Welch developed their duet, "Hey Girl", during a meeting at New York's Electric Lady Studios. Ronson crafted the album's organic sound by recruiting musicians he had previously worked with on projects for Rufus Wainwright and Amy Winehouse, but credited the producer BloodPop with "[bringing the album] into the modern era."[22] In the meantime, Gaga collaborated with Elton John; their sessions resulted in the writing of a song titled "Room in My Heart". Previous collaborators Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow have also confirmed having studio time with the singer. John said that Gaga's songwriting would be in the vein of her earlier material such as "Bad Romance" (2009) and "You and I" (2011).[19]

Themes and influences

The singer's experience working on American Horror Story influenced the creative process of Joanne, with Gaga mentioning: "I have returned to something I've believed in so much, which is the art of darkness."[26] Being on the show also affected her vocals, in which she explained the she would "listen" more to the music and then write; afterwards adding that the album will talk less about her painful time during the Artpop era and would have more clarity; "Now I'm thinking more about what it is I want to say and what I want to leave on Earth. It's less an expression of all my pain," she concluded.[19] During a 2015 interview with The Inquirer, Gaga said that while making her new album she had discovered a new darker side to herself, darker than what fans might expect from her:

I am finding a million new things about myself, what I want and who I want to be but most importantly, I have actually found a place to put so much pain and anguish that I have nowhere to put. You can put it in your music but that’s not always what people want from me in my music... They want a sweet, delightful, 'Just Dance' kind of girl or they want 'Bad Romance' and that's fine... I am happy to give people that but maybe with my song 'Dope' or some of the things I did on Artpop, you saw a kind of dark side, wrapped up in colors. But maybe that was not always what people want to see. They want to see the perfection... it's the imperfection that is the win.[27]

On September 9, 2016, during her European radio circuit promoting first single "Perfect Illusion", Gaga gave some more insight into the album's contents, revealing that it will feature collaborations with Beck, Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine), and Father John Misty.[28][29] Speaking specifically about her duet with Welch during her interview with BBC Radio 1, Gaga stated, "I started to work on an idea for a song that I really wanted to do with a girl. You'll see why when you see what the song is about. I just thought, 'Who do I want to sing with?' [Florence]'s really to me if not the best, one of the greatest vocalists in the world. She's incredible."[30] Days later, she revealed in an interview with New York City radio station Z100 that the duet with Welch is titled "Hey Girl", and that her collaboration with Beck is a "great dance song" they made together after a night of leisure at her Malibu home.[31]

Promotion

See also: Dive Bar Tour

"Perfect Illusion" was released as the album's first single on September 9, 2016.[32] It debuted at number one in France[33] and Spain.[34] She will be performing on Saturday Night Live on October 22, 2016.[35]

Critical response

Joanne
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[36]
Review scores
SourceRating
CelebuzzA-[37]
The Daily Telegraph[38]
Digital Spy[39]
The Guardian[40]
The Independent[41]
Metro[42]
The New York Times40/100[43]
Slant Magazine[44]
The Plain DealerB+[45]
London Evening Standard[46]

Joanne has received generally positive reviews from music critics. British music journalist Neil McCormick gave the album a four-out-of-five-star rating, in his review published in The Daily Telegraph. He complimented the old-fashioned songs present in Joanne, saying: "With big songs and big production, Joanne certainly sounds like the business. Yet while its modernity is expressed by mixing and matching genres or adding digital zing to familiar tropes, for all its bravura exuberance and pop slickness it is old fashioned to its core."[38] In a three-out-of-five-star review for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani criticized the album for its oversung ballads and lack of strong hooks, but deemed it more consistent and focused than Artpop.[44] Andy Gill gave the album three out of five stars in a review for The Independent. Gill said that the album's rock leanings largely work, praising Homme's work on "A-Yo" and "John Wayne" as highlights, though he called "Perfect Illusion" dull.[41] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan considered Joanne to be a "brave move" for Gaga and admired it. In her three-out-of-five-star review in the newspaper, Sullivan explained that "Gaga’s huge voice adds a self-protective veneer, as does the presence of the other musicians, but at least she’s done the groundwork for future albums that might show her with true transparency."[40] Jon O'Brien of Metro wrote "Unlike with predecessor ARTPOP, Gaga has this time been able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk."[42] Digital Spy's Lewis Corner wrote,"Joanne is clearly Gaga's most personal album, popping aside the synthetic personas for something more honest and, well, human. Mother Monster may be retired for now, but Lady Gaga's sheer musical brilliance still shines through."[39]

Troye L. Smith from The Plain Dealer wrote,"Joanne seems more like a natural progression than anything Gaga has done in recent years. Thus, despite a few flaws, it's one of her most endearing efforts."[45] David Smyth of London Evening Standard wrote,"Gaga drops the strangeness for an album that could win her mainstream attention again."[46] Matt Russoniello of Celebuzz praised the album, calling it Gaga's "best album to date".[37]

Jon Caramancia from The New York Times did not give Joanne a rating in his review of the album; review aggregator Metacritic assigned a 40 out of 100 score to his review.[36] Caramancia noted that the album's elemental sound did not come as a surprise. "Lady Gaga was always simply too focused a singer to be strictly defined by her presentation," he wrote. "[Joanne] isn't daring or radical — it's logical, a rejoinder to her past and also to the candy-striped pop that surrounds her."[43] He described the album as confused and incoherent, adding that the collaborators, with the exception of songwriter Hillary Lindsey, lack their respective charms.[43]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Diamond Heart"
3:30
2."A-Yo"
  • Ronson
  • BloodPop
  • Gaga
3:28
3."Joanne"
  • Germanotta
  • Ronson
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:17
4."John Wayne"
  • Germanotta
  • Ronson
  • Tucker
  • Homme
  • Ronson
  • BloodPop
  • Gaga
2:54
5."Dancin' in Circles"
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:27
6."Perfect Illusion"
  • Ronson
  • Parker
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:02
7."Million Reasons"
  • Germanotta
  • Lindsey
  • Ronson
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:25
8."Sinner's Prayer"
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:43
9."Come to Mama"
  • Ronson
  • Haynie
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
4:15
10."Hey Girl" (featuring Florence Welch)
  • Germanotta
  • Welch
  • Ronson
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
4:15
11."Angel Down"
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:49
Total length:39:05
Deluxe version bonus tracks[47][48]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Grigio Girls"
  • Germanotta
  • Lindsey
  • Ronson
  • Tucker
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
  • BloodPop
3:00
13."Just Another Day"Germanotta
  • Ronson
  • Gaga
2:58
14."Angel Down" (work tape)
  • Germanotta
  • Khayat
  • Khayat
  • Gaga
2:20
Total length:47:23
Japanese CD bonus track[49]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Million Reasons" (work tape)
  • Germanotta
  • Lindsey
  • Ronson
 

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Joanne.[50]

References

  1. ^ Sadlier, Allison (September 15, 2016). "Lady Gaga announces new album Joanne, out Oct. 21". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  2. ^ Phillips, Amy (September 15, 2016). "Lady Gaga Announces New Album Joanne". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  3. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (August 4, 2015). "The Do's and Don'ts of Lady Gaga's Next Album". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Caulfield, Keith (November 20, 2013). "Lady Gaga Scores Second No. 1 Album With 'ARTPOP'". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. ^ Siegel, Ben (July 7, 2014). "Lady Gaga dazzles fans with fun, solid show". The Buffalo News. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  6. ^ "Lady Gaga'S artRave: THE ARTPOP BALL" (Press release). PR Newswire. December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  7. ^ Allen, Bob (December 5, 2014). "Rolling Stones & Lady Gaga Wrap Up Their Tours on Top". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  8. ^ Rivera, Zayda (November 5, 2013). "Lady Gaga, longtime manager Troy Carter split over 'creative differences'". Daily News. New York. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c Hampp, Andrew (March 8, 2015). "Inside Lady Gaga's Latest Reinvention (It's All Part of a Long-Term Plan)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Fallon, Patrick (February 22, 2015). "Oscars 2015: The Show". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  11. ^ "Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Album of Classic Jazz Standards To Be Released September 23" (Press release). Toronto: Universal Music Canada. July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  12. ^ "Cheek to Cheek – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga". Metacritic. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 1, 2014). "Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga's 'Cheek To Cheek' Debuts at No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  14. ^ Rosen, Christopher (February 8, 2015). "Grammy Winners List For 2015 Includes Beyoncé, 'Frozen' & Kendrick Lamar". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  15. ^ Falcone, Dana Rose (September 10, 2015). "Lady Gaga joins American Horror Story Season 5". CNN. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Franich, Darren (January 14, 2016). "American Horror Story: Hotel finale recap: 'Be Our Guest'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  17. ^ "Lady Gaga Hints at New Album Release in 2016". Billboard. January 11, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  18. ^ Bell, Crystal (January 11, 2016). "Lady Gaga Confirms New Album in 2016, And A New Look". MTV News. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c Corner, Lewis (August 3, 2016). "Lady Gaga's new album: Release date, songs, credits, collaborations and everything else you need to know". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  20. ^ "Lady Gaga Reflects On Her Year With Tony, Taylor, and the Acid-like Effect of ArtPop". Yahoo!. December 22, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  21. ^ Joanne (liner notes). Lady Gaga (artist). Streamline/Interscope Records. 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ a b c Browne, David (October 18, 2016). "Lady Gaga's 'Joanne': Mark Ronson on Producing 'Raw and Exposed' New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  23. ^ Daw, Robbie (February 18, 2016). "Mark Ronson Opens Up About Working On Lady Gaga's New Album". Idolator. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  24. ^ Daly, Rhian (August 3, 2016). "Mark Ronson says Lady Gaga's new album is 'incredible'". NME. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  25. ^ "This is what we know about Lady Gaga's upcoming album". BBC Music. August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  26. ^ Stack, Tim (August 27, 2015). "Lady Gaga Says American Horror Story Experience Will 'Inform' Her Upcoming Music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  27. ^ Nolfi, Joey (August 17, 2016). "Everything we know about Lady Gaga's next album". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  28. ^ Young, Alex (September 9, 2016). "Josh Homme, Florence Welch, Beck appear on Lady Gaga's new album". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  29. ^ Monroe, Jazz (September 9, 2016). "Lady Gaga Album to Feature Beck, Father John Misty, Florence, Josh Homme". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  30. ^ Kaufman, Gil (September 9, 2016). "Lady Gaga's New Album Features a Duet with Florence Welch". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  31. ^ Kaufman, Gil (September 12, 2016). "Lady Gaga Talks Working With Beck, Florence Welch, Mark Ronson on New Album". Billboard. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  32. ^ Levine, Nick (September 24, 2016). "Lady Gaga's new album 'Joanne': Check out the full tracklist". NME. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  33. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 37, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  34. ^ "LADY GAGA - PERFECT ILLUSION (SONG) chart history". Spanish Charts. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  35. ^ Kelley, Seth (October 7, 2016). "Tom Hanks and Emily Blunt to Host 'Saturday Night Live,' Lady Gaga to Perform". Variety. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  36. ^ a b "Reviews for Joanne by Lady Gaga". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  37. ^ a b Russoniello, Matt (October 20, 2016). "REVIEW: Lady Gaga's Big Risks Pay Off on 'Joanne,' the Album She Was Born to Make". Celebuzz. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  38. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (October 19, 2016). "Lady Gaga, Joanne, album review: it turns out Gaga is a rock and roll showgirl at heart". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  39. ^ a b Corner, Lewis (October 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga's new album Joanne reviewed". Digital Spy. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  40. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (October 18, 2016). "Lady Gaga: Joanne review – bold rebrand peels away the look-at-me layer". The Guardian. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  41. ^ a b Gill, Andy (October 19, 2016). "Album reviews: Lady Gaga – Joanne, Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker, Pretenders – Alone, and more". The Independent. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  42. ^ a b O'Brien, Jon (October 20, 2016). "So, is Lady Gaga's new album Joanne any good? A track-by-track review". Metro. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  43. ^ a b c Caramancia, Jon (October 19, 2016). "Lady Gaga's Stripped-Down New Album Fishes for Inspiration". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  44. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (October 18, 2016). "Lady Gaga: Joanne | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  45. ^ a b Smith, Troye (October 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga strips down musically for 'Joanne'". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  46. ^ a b Smyth, David (October 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga – Joanne review: 'a collection of serious, well-crafted songs'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  47. ^ "Joanne (Deluxe) by Lady Gaga on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved October 6, 2016. {{cite web}}: templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  48. ^ "Booklet Credits". Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  49. ^ "Joanne [Japan Bonus Track]". CDJapan. Neowing. Retrieved October 6, 2016. {{cite web}}: templatestyles stripmarker in |work= at position 1 (help)
  50. ^ Joanne (CD liner notes). Lady Gaga. Interscope Records. 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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