Joanne (album)
Lyrically, the album delves into the theme of family and life's emotions; the death of her aunt, Joanne Stefani Germanotta, deeply influenced the record.[6] The ambivalent reception to Artpop, controversies surrounding the album and Born This Way (2011) and negative press reactions led Gaga's management to come up with an image change for her.[17] In an interview with Billboard, producer RedOne said the singer was mentally in a "cleaner" state of mind, hearkening back to her earlier days, which he felt was beneficial.[21] Ronson also hinted at the involvement of Kevin Parker, frontman for the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, which BBC Music later confirmed.He felt that with Joanne, Gaga was able to eliminate that redundancy and present herself as an "evolved performer", who could "lay bare" emotions in the songs, rather than "mask" them in electronic music beats.[44] According to Rolling Stone, Gaga "didn't give much thought to genre" while creating Joanne, which ranges "from the dance-rock of [its] lead single[,] 'Perfect Illusion'[,] to the introspective country songwriting of the title track".[48] Gaga's vocals are accompanied by Homme's guitar,[18] and the track talks about her constant need to chase wild men, with comparisons to actor John Wayne.[47][46] The Beck-composed track "Dancin' in Circles" is a pop song with influences of reggae,[50] consisting of a dance beat, a spoken-word bridge and lyrics about having a good time by oneself.[47] The lyrics find Gaga, dancing alone late at night, "fantasizing about a past lover" and masturbating: "I lay around, touch myself to pass the time / I feel down, I wish you were mine".[47][51] According to Mark Savage of BBC Music, "Perfect Illusion" is a disco-rock song, composed around a "building chord sequence", which he felt leads to a "compelling sense of urgency"."[48] Deluxe edition bonus track "Grigio Girls" was written for Sonja Durham, creative coordinator of her team, the Haus of Gaga, who had breast cancer.[64] Three days prior to the official release date of October 21, the album was mistakenly put out for sale in shops in Belgium, leading to additional leaks.[65] Chris Willman of Billboard wrote that the promotional "blitz" for Joanne "felt like something from a bygone era" due to the traditional route taken by Gaga and her team, in place of surprise album launches.[93][94] Album tracks "Come to Mama" and "Angel Down" were performed at presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's final campaign stop in Raleigh, North Carolina.[102] In 2018, Gaga performed "Joanne" and "Million Reasons" on the piano at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, where she was joined on stage by Mark Ronson, who played guitar.[104][105][106] Gaga described the dive bar sets as an opportunity to return to her roots, and said that she aimed to make a closer connection with her audience after her stadium and arena shows.[112] British music journalist Neil McCormick gave the album 4 out of 5 stars in The Daily Telegraph, stating "for all its bravura exuberance and pop slickness it is old fashioned to its core".[117] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing that unlike Gaga's previous endeavors, where she appeared as a "high-wire act", Joanne was more "earth-bound" and is a "record made by an artist determined to execute only the stunts she knows how to pull off. ...[115] Rating it a "B", Zaleski said that "Diamond Heart", "John Wayne", "Sinner's Prayer" and "Hey Girl" were the album's best tracks and highlighted Gaga's vocal prowess.[115] In a 3 out of 5 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.[50] Maeve McDermott of USA Today complimented Gaga for "expanding her artistic vision and toying with different genres [on the album], while still recording the customary pop tracks listeners have come to expect".She 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".[123] Similarly, Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork remarked how Gaga explored an alternative path musically, diverging from the "visual provocations" that had permeated most of her career.[120] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times felt that most songs on the album "lacked strong stories" and were "mere stylistic exercises" on Gaga's part.[116] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times noted the album's elemental sound did not come as a surprise and felt that it was not "daring or radical—it's logical, a rejoinder to her past and also to the candy-striped pop that surrounds her".[136] In the United Kingdom, Joanne debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 26,694 copies, behind Elvis Presley's posthumous release, The Wonder of You, and Michael Bublé's Nobody but Me.[149][150] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) reported that Joanne was Gaga's second consecutive solo album to debut at number two on the chart following Artpop.[160] While reviewing Kesha's third studio album, Rainbow (2017), Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic noted the use of analogue instruments in lieu of electric ones as had been done with the songs on Joanne.[161] In a Vanity Fair article, Josh Duboff wrote that singer Justin Timberlake's "countryfied" musical endeavors with his Man of the Woods (2018) album era recalled Joanne.[163][164] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone observed that Joanne served as singer Noah Cyrus's "muse", leading her to incorporate the country-themes of Gaga's endeavor.
Studio albumLady GagaElectric LadyThe FarmSoft rockAmericanaInterscopeProducerMark RonsonBloodPopEmile HaynieKevin ParkerCheek to CheekA Star Is BornSinglesPerfect IllusionMillion ReasonsJoanneInterscope RecordsJeff BhaskerJosh HommecountryAmerican Horror Storytitle trackBest Pop Vocal Album60th Annual Grammy AwardsBest Pop Solo PerformancecowgirlDive Bar Tourdive barsJoanne World TourSuper Bowl LI halftime showCoachella Festivaldocumentary filmArtpopBillboard 200Troy CarterLive Nation EntertainmentBorn This WayThe Sound of Music87th Academy AwardsTony BennettGrammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Albumanthology television seriesGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmRedOneGiorgio MoroderNile Rodgersexecutive producersBillboardUpper East SideChillinAngel DownRick Rubinmasteringpsychedelic rockTame ImpalaBBC MusicFlorence WelchFather John MistyJohn WayneQueens of the Stone AgeElectric Lady StudiosRufus WainwrightAmy WinehouseElton JohnNetflixelectronic musicTaylor KinneyThe Daily BeastRainer Maria RilkeThe FameThe Fame Ball TourmillinerGladys TamezMarianne Faithfullpastel colorsRolling Stonedance-rockthe title trackballadsgo-go dancercowboyreggaebridgedisco-rockAuto-TuneFulton StreetNew Testamentsforty-day floodNoah's ArkBennie and the Jetstorch songdeath of Trayvon MartinGeorge ZimmermanDavid BowieApple Radio's Beats 1Apple MusicleakedAmazonThe Howard Stern ShowTaylor SwiftSuper Bowlmeat dressBillboard Hot 100Digital Songs ChartRecording Industry Association of AmericaGood Morning AmericaThe New York TimesBest BuyCoachellaSaturday Night LiveThe Late Late Show with James CordenSMAP×SMAPAmerican Music AwardsAli Forney CenterLGBT pride centerHillary Clintonfinal campaign stopRaleigh, North CarolinaVictoria's Secret Fashion ShowWestfield shopping center13th seasonThe X FactorRoyal Variety PerformanceCharles, Prince of Wales