Few pop stars could feel quite as suitable for the weird and crazy role of Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux. On Lady Gaga's latest album, she's stayed somewhat in character.
Childlike vocals and reinterpreted jazz classics - instead of thumping beats and pop hooks, this album is about bringing a film character to life.
Harlequin is the name of the latest album from pop star Lady Gaga – and it's anything but ordinary.
It's a companion album to the new film Joker: Folie à Deux, getting a cinematic release in early October, she announced on Instagram, taking many fans by surprise. On the album cover, she is seen soaking wet under a shower, wearing a red life jacket and white dress, her make-up smeared.
The new album contains many songs from the new film, a continuation of the 2019 prize-winning thriller Joker, with the 38-year-old Lady Gaga playing her second lead role as Harley Quinn.
She's joined by Joaquin Phoenix, returning to the role of the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, living on the fringes of society as Batman's antagonist.
Lady Gaga has based her album on the film role. After filming was completed, she realized that she was not yet ready to leave the character behind.
"I had such a deep relationship with Lee," she told Rolling Stone magazine. "And when I was done filming the movie, I wasn't done with her."
The pop musician is already known for establishing a very close relationship with the characters she plays. During the shooting of the film House Of Gucci, she also stayed in character off camera – even speaking with her character's accent outside of filming.
In Joker: Folie à Deux as well, according to her record label Interscope Records, she "meticulously researched, elaborated and embodied" her Harley Quinn role.
So much so, that she began to imagine how an album sung from Harley Quinn's perspective might sound. The new album poses her farewell to the film character.
"It's a Lady Gaga record, but it's also inspired by my character and my vision of what a woman can be," she told Rolling Stone. The album was meant to reflect the character's broad range: "her darkness, her chaos, her vibrancy, her manic nature."
Lady Gaga said she experimented with her own voice during the recording sessions. "There's moments where I definitely tap into Lee's voice and her childlike immaturity with song."
The world star says the 13 songs on Harlequin represent a "modern interpretation of vintage-pop." Among them are new interpretations of the Frank Sinatra classic That's Life (1966) and the song Good Morning (1939) sung by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.
"It's nice to be able to show how these things can be reimagined beyond just the notes and the style of the way they were written," Lady Gaga told Rolling Stone.
I've Got the World on a String, crooned many times since 1932, here becomes a rock song.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, sounds passionate in the new album, and she shows off the versatility of her voice and music.
She had already proven her ability to perform jazz standards in her two albums, Love for Sale and Cheek To Cheek, alongside Tony Bennett (1926-2023). The varied cover and big band songs on Harlequin seem perfectly arranged and harmonious, with the voice alternating between Lady Gaga and Harley Quinn – even if the depth of the film character doesn't always come through.
The singer is set to return to the pop sphere with her seventh studio album in February of next year. The first single release from it is set to take place in October, with an exact date yet to be announced.
Perhaps the song Happy Mistake, which is the only one from the new album not to appear in the film, already gives a foretaste of the themes for her upcoming music.
Backed by an acoustic guitar, she sings about the struggle with life in the public eye: "How'd I get so addicted to the love of the whole world?"
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