Yet there were those who, in the days of the success of Poker Facehe had defined it as a possible one hit wonder. Instead Lady Gagawho at the time of her first hit single was already a solid author of successful songs, has churned out number ones repeatedly. And, sixteen years after that exploit, which still sounds very fresh today, she is still more than ever in the news. As a singer she has shown that she knows how to go beyond her genre: not only dance and pop music, but also jazz, which we appreciated in the albums with Tony Bennett, and then country and rock, in the songs of A Star Is Born. A film that showed how Lady Gaga could also be a great actress, emotional and thrilling.
Lady Gaga and Todd Phillips on the set of Joker 2
And this is, again, his moment. Just think of Gaga Chromatica Ballthe Lady Gaga concert film, available on Sky and streaming on NOW. In addition to the video clips, the Venice International Film Festivalthen the time has come Joker: Madness for Twoin which the diva – who took her stage name from the song Radio Gaga I gave Queen – interprets Harley Quinn next to Joaquin Phoenix. For the occasion, between Joker 2 e Gaga Chromatica Ballwe retrace the career of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta through his best videos.
1. Poker Face (2008)
Lady Gaga in the video for Poker Face
It is the second single from his debut album Fame (the first one was Just Dance) and it is the song that revealed Lady Gaga to the world. The novelty of the song is that the electro-pop and dance sounds here merge with darker tones. That “Mum-mum-mum-mah” it’s a quote from the 1977 song Mrs. Baker dei Boney M. A robotic verse and an irresistible chorus they are the strength of the song.
What is it? dedicated to Lüc, her ex-boyfriend: a friend told her “You don’t understand how to deal with a guy like Lüc. You have to show him your poker face.”. The video, directed by Ray Kay and Anthony Mandler, is set in a villa with a swimming pool. Initially it was supposed to be at the seaside, with Lady Gaga emerging from the sea waters as “a kind of Halle Berry in Die Another Day”.
2. Paparazzi
Paparazzi It’s one of the most intense songs from Lady Gaga’s first album, with a strong a chorus that focuses on the star’s vocal ups and downs. It’s a song that talks about the difficulty balancing success and loveand is dedicated to his companion at the time, Lüc Carl. The video is a short film directed by the specialist Jonas Åkerlundstarring Lady Gaga and Alexander Skarsgård: R__olling Stone called it a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The Woman Who Lived Twice. Lady Gaga plays the lead role of a star who is about to be killed by her boyfriend, but ultimately gets her revenge and reclaims her fame and popularity.
3. Bad Romance
Bad Romance It is the first single from Lady Gaga’s second album, The Fame Monsterand is introduced by the theme of the Fugue in B minor BWV 869b by Bach. The story It is inspired by the paranoia the singer faced during her first tour in Australia. The sound explicitly recalls that of Poker Faceand the words, which tell “a bad love story” they do reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s films (“I want your psycho, your vertigo stick/ Want you in my rear window”). The video is by Francis Lawrence and the clothes are from Alexander McQueen: The story takes place in an all-white morgue where Lady Gaga is robbed, drugged and sentenced to be a sex slave by the Russian mafia.
4. Telephone
Lady Gaga at the Lollapalooza Festival in 2010
The second single from The Fame Monster And Telephonesung in duet with Beyoncé Knowles. A song he had written for Britney Spearsbut then it was discarded. Lady Gaga, who took the song back, was supposed to sing it with Britney but in the end she chose Beyoncé. Telephone It talks about the fear of not being able to let go and take time for yourself if you are in a relationship.
The video It is the sequel to Paparazzi and picks up right where it left off, when Lady Gaga is taken to prison for killing her boyfriend. Still directed by Jonas Åkerlund, it sees Lady Gaga and Beyoncé in prison and then on the “Pussy Wagon” car, which Uma Thurman had driven in Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino. The video, as is clear from the “opening credits“, is a tribute to Kill Bill e a Pulp Fiction.
5. Alejandro
Lady Gaga photographed in OUT magazine
Also the third single from The Fame Monster it’s a hit: the Latin name makes it the perfect summer hit. But Alejandroand the related video, have caused discussion in various countries for religious references and contents considered sacrilegious. This, as Madonna knows well, obviously played a part. Alejandro is an electro-pop song and has influences that come from Europop, that is, the style of ABBA (the reference to their song Fernando is clear) (1976) and Ace Of Base. The song, according to Lady Gaga, talks about her “fear of sex”The video, directed by Steven Klein, It has been compared to some Madonna clipscome Vogue, Like A Prayer, Justify My Love e Human Nature. For the military theme, a Rhythm Nation on Janet Jackson. “This is a celebration of the purity of my relationship with my gay friendsand how I have not been able to find the same sensations with a heterosexual man until now” Lady Gaga herself declared about the video.
6. Born This Way
Speaking of Madonna, Born This Waythe first single and title-track of the following album, is perhaps the song in which the relationship with Louise Veronica Ciccone is most evident: it almost seems like a tribute to Express Yourself. The video was directed by Nick Knigh and depicts the birth of a new race. Lady Gaga enters history as a queen, floating in space, who gives birth a race that cannot experience feelings of hatred. In the video dance in lingerietogether with a dance troupe, while some sequences show her giving birth, dressed in a jacket, with a pink ponytail and zombie makeup. She eventually finds herself in a factory where the eggs she gave birth to are kept.
7. Judas
Lady Gaga and Rick Gonzalez are Mary Magdalene and Christ in the Judas video
Judas It is the second single from Born This Way and it’s another song that, together with its video, seems made on purpose to amaze. Judas talks about how often the right choices are not made: This is not the biblical Judasbut of repeatedly falling in love with the wrong man. The video, directed by Lady Gaga herself and her choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, does capture those religious references: Norman Reedus plays Judas Iscariot, Lady Gaga those of Mary Magdalene and Rick Gonzalez those of Christ. The clothes, which take us into a world of sixties bikers, are by Thierry Mugler.
8. Shallow
One of the high points of Lady Gaga’s career is her participation in the film and soundtrack of A Star Is Born by Bradley Cooperfor which she collaborated with Mark Ronson, after her fifth studio album, Joanne. Among the songs, there is perhaps the most beautiful song by Lady Gaga, Shallowwritten by singer-songwriter Ronson with Dirty Pretty Things’ Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt.
It’s a key moment in the film.: the lyrics talk about Ally and Jackson’s need to get to the bottom of their relationship. It’s a wonderful crescendo balladwhich relies on the acoustic guitar and piano. The video is very simple, since it includes a series of clips from the film. But it is perfect for this song. And in fact it was the artist’s second video, after Bad Romance, to reach one billion views on YouTube. The song won Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
Extra: Bloody Mary
Jenna Ortega in the famous Raven scene from the series Wednesday.
Another video, but of a different kind. In December 2022, the song Bloody Mary (taken from the second album Born This Way (2011) was released as a single following the success achieved through una coreografia su TikTok inspired by the Netflix series Wednesday. The song, in the video, is sped up, and is linked to the Jenna Ortega dances in Raven, the school dancewhich in the series happens on the song Goo Goo Muck dei Cramps.