Lady Gaga is known for her eccentricities and definitive musical style, and while most of her recent albums, especially "Born this Way" and "Artpop," are full of her unique and bold music, "Joanne" has a bit of a different flavor. "Joanne" was released on October 21 and includes current and soon-to-be hits like "Perfect Illusion," "A-YO," "Diamond Heart," and "Dancing in Circles." Most critics are seeing "Joanne" as an album where Gaga is being the most authentic version of her true self while recording an album to date. As of October 30, the only songs to make the iTunes charts are "Million Reasons," "A-YO," and "Perfect Illusion," but I feel sure that we'll see some other songs from the album rise to popularity soon.
Many folks are confused and even upset about Gaga's new album because it is far more "tame," so to speak, than her past releases. Gaga herself has stated that this album is a look inside herself and her interests that happen to differ from the music she typically releases. An article from The Washington Post even claims Gaga's previous weirdness is a facade, stating, "What if all these fantastic characters that Gaga has played — meat-frock maven, alien pod hatchling, estranged David Bowie cousin — were mere disguises for a careerist with no greater goal than her own success? " While some people are upset with the lack of typical "Gaga-ness" on the album and feel like she might have been lying to the world about being a strange woman herself, other folks are concerned about the album having low sales numbers. The album had a 47% drop in sales in comparison to "Artpop," which is pretty worrisome.
Even though some Little Monsters and critics aren't huge fans of Gaga's newest release, many fans who couldn't get behind the electronic and bizarre aspects of mid-to-late Gaga albums were able to connect with "Joanne" far more than they were able to with albums like "Artpop." "Joanne's" "genre fluidity" shows the versatility of this pop queen's vocal ability. If you're still skeptical about the album, here's a brief analysis of the tracks.
1. Diamond Heart
"Diamond Heart" sounds like a Lana Del Rey/Halsey-esque track at the beginning, but once the bridge and chorus start, bits of the Gaga we all know and love start to flow through. The pop-rock tune is written by Gaga, Mark Ronson, and Josh Homme of the Queens of the Stone Age and receives an "explicit" warning for throwing around a curse word or two. Gaga hasn't specifically mentioned the inspiration for this song yet, but this Bustle article is pointing to it being about her ex-fiance, Taylor Kinney, mainly because of the diamond heart engagement ring he gave Gaga upon his proposal in 2015. No matter the backstory, this song has solid lyrics and a great rhythm.
2. A-Yo
If this song doesn't make you want to dance, there's something wrong. This pop-y song reminds me of Gaga's "The Fame" days with itss highly energetic sound and general feel-good vibes. It talks about smoking pretty much the entire time, and a Mic article put it best when the author said Gaga used smoking as a "vindictive act." Even though this is probably the most light-hearted song on the entire album, it's a great dance track and appears at #16 on the iTunes songs chart.
3. Joanne
The title track of the album is slower, somber and relies heavily on an acoustic guitar. If Bob Dylan and Lady Gaga had a baby, this is what his or her music would sound like. A Refinery29 article says "Joanne" is about Gaga's aunt of the same name who passed away when she was only 19. The emotional and nostalgic lyrics definitely point to this theory being true, and that only makes the title track more meaningful.
4. John Wayne
Is an artist really an artist if they don't pay homage to John Wayne at some point in their career? Gaga's song is pop-esque and seems to describe a roller coaster love affair with a "real wild man." I can't help but be reminded of "LoveGame" when I listen to this song because it's super cheeky, just like the previously mentioned hit from "The Fame." The lyrics also remind us not to settle for anyone because one day, our John Wayne will come along.
5. Dancing in Circles
Zumba or Club Jam needs to put this song on their list of tracks to make workouts to because even though the tempo isn't extremely fast, doing a workout to this song is totally do-able and would be freaking awesome. This song definitely reminds me of "The Fame Monster" days (definitely because of the arrangement), and I can't help but dance to it every time I hear it. After listening to the song or looking at its lyrics, one could easily see that this song is about having "fun" with yourself, and we all know I'm not talking about having a "treat yo'self" day at the mall. Even though the song is lewd, it's an amazing tune and Beck even had a hand in its creation.
6. Perfect Illusion
"Perfect Illusion" screams "Artpop" and classic Gaga from the moment it starts to the second it ends. The high energy track was used in promos for season six of American Horror Story, and I heard a metric ton of complaints about this song sounding extremely basic and the lyrics being nonsensical. Before "Joanne" was released, this song had me worried about how the rest of the album would sound, and I am glad Gaga took a different route. I was not happy with "Artpop," so this song is not a favorite of mine, but it is super stinkin' catchy.
7. Million Reasons
One of the few ballads on the album is "Million Reasons." I'm in love with this song because it shows Gaga's raw emotions and can make you cry if you're in a certain spot (like after you failed a test, realized you don't have a boo-thang, and see that your fuel light is on and you only have $4.57 in your bank account... or if you're normal, when you're going through a break-up or rough patch in a relationship). Taylor Kinney could definitely have inspired this song, too, but I'm only speculating. The way the track was recorded also says a lot about the song's overall or intended meaning by putting a focus on Gaga's voice, meaning the message of the singer is far more important and meaningful than the instruments and background vocalists that also play a part in the recording.
8. Sinner's Prayer
"Sinner's Prayer" brings in aspects of what we perceive to be Gaga's personal demons. In an interview, Gaga says " ["Sinner's Prayer"] is about singing to a man just telling him, ‘Look I just don’t want to break the heart of any other man but you, but I know that I’m a sinner.’ " Gaga is admitting she isn't perfect and that she only wants to love the man she's singing to, but she also feels the need to make him aware of what's going on within her. The intro to the track reminds me of an old Western movie (looking at you too, "John Wayne"), and I like the slightly indie twist of the music, too.
9. Come to Mama
Anything that sounds like an old song will likely be a favorite of mine, so needless to say, "Come to Mama" is one of my all-time favorite Gaga songs now. When I listened to "Come to Mama," I was already in love with it from it's opening lyrics that begged everyone to love one another, but once I realized the direction the music was headed toward, I was too excited. Gaga's activism and firm stance on promoting social justice are shining through beautifully. The lyric "the only prisons that exist are the ones we put each other in" is especially poignant and powerful. "Come to Mama" won't gain much traction, I'm sure, because society got fed up with songs that romanticized the musical styles of the past, especially those of the 1960s, when Meghan Trainor made her explosion into the music scene a few years back, but this song does not need to go unnoticed.
10. Hey Girl (featuring Florence Welch)
The only song on this album I love more than "Come to Mama" is "Hey Girl." When I first heard this song, I was putting on mascara and I got so into the song that I stabbed the crap out of my eye. I didn't even care because the song was so dang good! As I previously stated, I love old songs and songs that sound old. With Prince's recent passing, I can only hope that this was an homage to him mixed with some awesome elements of girl power and a little Elton John. I never knew I needed a Florence and Gaga duet in my life until now, but I'm so glad they blessed us with this song. The funk and post-disco elements of this song plus the positive and uplifting lyrics ("If you lose your way, just now that I got you") make this song a total hit to me. The radio will likely not agree, but this song is awesome and shows us a new and retro side of Gaga.
11. Angel Down
Gaga said herself that "Angel Down" is about the shooting of Trayvon Martin and even performed the song as "Trayvon Angel" while on her "Dive Bar Tour." In an era where stars from all backgrounds and areas are using their fame as a means of sharing and spreading their activism, it is no surprise that Lady Gaga feels obligated to use her platform to bring important issues to light. The song is extremely pointed and emotional, and it will hopefully garner the exposure Gaga is hoping for within the circles of race and justice system problems.
12. Grigio Girls
Another girl power track on this album has very personal ties to Gaga. The woman who inspired this song, Sonja, is one of Gaga's close friends, and as described in this article from Radio.com, the song is about Gaga and her friends keeping it together while Sonja, who has stage 4 cancer, is not with them to hang out. This personal track is definitely a friendship anthem, and I love the passion Gaga has for her friend in this song.
13. Another Day
"Another Day" reminds me way too much of some of Queen's Vaudeville-esque tracks, like "Seaside Rendezvous" or "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon." Freddie Mercury is definitely smiling down on his Radio Gaga from above because of this song. Gaga is obviously having fun and showing her vocal skill in this song while also showing her versatility with the style of this song.
"Joanne" is one of my favorite albums from this year, and I'd rate it an overall 4.2/5 stars. It is definitely a taste of Lady Gaga's true self, and I don't love anything more than authenticity.
My Top 5 Tracks:
1) Hey Girl
2) Come to Mama
3) Million Reasons
4) Diamond Heart
5) Grigio Girls
If you'd like to listen to the album, purchase it through iTunes or stream it here through Spotify.
How would you rate "Joanne" by Lady Gaga? Let us know in the comments below!
