Lady Gaga’s latest album “Harlequin” is yet another testament to Gaga’s talent as a jack-of-all-trades when experimenting with sounds. Lady Gaga released the new album this Friday, to coincide with her co-starring role with Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker: Folie A Deux.” The album has show-tune inspiration in its tracks, a skill Gaga has shown talent in since having partnered with Tony Bennet. Having worked with Tony Bennett previously, Gaga combines the experience with the new inspiration of the role of Harley Quinn to deliver a stunning listen with the
‘Harlequin’
Lady Gaga’s new album is touted as a homage to the Big Band sound of the early 40s. It has 13 tracks, seeing 11 covers of Big Band hits and 2 new tracks, “Folie à Deux” and “Happy Mistake.” Among the Big Band covers is “Good Morning,” a cover of the 1939 Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland classic from “Singing in the Rain.” This single set the stage starting with a dreamy piano and horn section, as Gaga solemnly serenades. This leads to a jaunty tune that’ almost convincingly as if Gaga had been transported into the past, with Mother Monster cheerily singing, “Good morning to you!”
Another cover is the more chill “World on a String,” recorded by singers like Frank Sinatra, which sees initially Gaga singing with a tasteful uppercut of guitar, giving way to a relaxing crescendo of guitar-picking and drums, with Gaga serenading in a style reminiscent of Amy Winehouse. Michael Cragg reviews the song in the Guardian piece, praising Gaga’s mastery of melody by stating, “There’s a lightness to the way Gaga glides around the melody, specifically when she sings “Can’t you see I’m in love?”
Laugh at my Pain
However, to say Harlequin is simply a prop-up piece to the film would be a gross error. The album is semi-autobiographical, having taken inspiration from both Lady Gaga’s early criticism by the public and media, and her role as Harley Quinn. Gaga told Entertainment Weekly that the original composition, a haunting ballad titled “Happy Mistake,” reflects “the way I’ve split off into personalities throughout my career.”
Gaga went on to further detail how she felt as though, like Harley Quinn, juggling between her real self, the Lady Gaga persona, and sometimes finding an occupation as something of both. However, those times of juggling with uncertainty inspired Gaga when taking the role of Harley Quinn, who also experiences dueling identities when meeting the Joker.
Even in Harlequin‘s cover tunes, Gaga puts a personal spin on the songs. This is seen when Lady Gaga sang “The Joker” in the bit, “The Joker is Me” to a thumping bassline. There is something very intimate with Gaga belting with only an accompanying guitar.
Art Mimics Life
HARLEQUIN OUT NOW 🛟 https://t.co/86Y4cI4M2N pic.twitter.com/0wVuWFJPUW
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) September 27, 2024
If there is one person who Lady Gaga can lean on for strength, it is fiance Michael Polansky. In an article from People magazine, it was shown that Polansky served as a co-executive producer on the album with Gaga, and the pair are both credited as co-writers on four tracks: “Good Morning,” “Get Happy,” “On When the Saints” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now.”
However, Harlequin isn’t the only work Polansky inspired Gaga on. When asked about new Mother Monster releases, Gaga told Vogue that it was Polansky who gave the push to create another album. “Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record,” she told the fashion magazine. “He was like, ‘Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music.’ ”
In the same cover story, Polansky added: “Like anyone would do for the person they love, I encouraged her to lean into the joy of it. On the Chromatica tour, I saw a fire in her; I wanted to help her keep that alive all the time and just start making music that made her happy.”
Final Thoughts
The “Joker: Folie A Deux” is yet to be released on October 4th, seeing Joaquin Phoenix star as the Joker and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. The movie is set to be a dark musical; the film shows the Joker struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian career, and meeting the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.
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