Lady Gaga’s new album, Harlequin, was released on Friday.
Lady Gaga surprised fans this week with the announcement – and subsequent release – of a new album, Harlequin. The thirteen-track album, released Friday, is described as a companion to Joker: Folie a Deux and although the album is mainly composed of covers of iconic jazz standards and classics of the last century, some of which will be featured on the highly anticipated Joker sequel with two original songs — “Folie à Deux” and “Happy Mistake,” there’s still something we can learn from Harlequin and how the music shapes both the upcoming film and Lady Gaga’s Harleen “Lee” Quinzel.
One of the big takeaways from Harlequin is the exploration of Lady Gaga’s identity. The Oscar-winning actress has never been shy about talking about how immersive her creative experiences are, and it’s clear the same is true when it comes to creating Lee for Joker 2. For Lady Gaga it was about the idea of ”double identity” and how she was able to use music to find her persona.
“This idea of dual identity has always been a part of my musical output,” Lady Gaga told Apple Music. “I was always creating characters in my music and when I made Lee for Joker, she really had a profound effect on me. The film had so much music in it, so much music that I love, and I was able to discover the character through the story, through the music that we experienced every day, as well as the dancing and the costumes and the makeup. So, I had this deep experience with the character and she just didn’t leave me creatively and I decided I wanted to make a whole inspired album. to her.”
The idea of finding an identity is a concept, even in terms of simple character development, that has strong ties to the themes of Joker more broadly. One of the main themes of 2019 Joker it’s Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, in a twisted sense, finding his Joker identity as the failed clown and the aspiring stand-up comedian’s disturbing descent into mental illness not only sparking a revolution, but finding a new version of himself in the process. THE Harlequin album, and Lady Gaga’s use of music to find her character’s identity creates an interesting parallel.
Lady Gaga also made a reference Harlequin not only as an album, but also as a Harley Quinn album, further pushing the idea that the album, in a broader sense, functions as a pseudo-origin for the character.
“I see it as both, actually,” he said (via Forbes). “It’s a Lady Gaga record, but it’s also inspired by my character and my vision of what a woman can be. That’s why the album doesn’t stick to one genre.”
“I had this deep experience with the character, and she just wouldn’t let me down creatively, and I decided I wanted to make an entire album inspired by her,” he said. “She’s a really complex woman.”
Outside of Harlequin exploring Lee’s character, the album’s song choices are also interesting in terms of Joker: Folie a Deux. While we don’t know exactly which of the album’s covers will also appear in the film in some way, it was confirmed earlier this year that the actual film soundtrack will feature fifteen covers and we’ve already gotten a taste of that with some of the film’s promotional material, which included renditions of “Get Happy” – which is also featured on Harlequin — as well as “That’s Life,” “For Once in My Life” and “What the World Needs Now is Love.” Given that the majority of Harlequin is made up of covers in the same style as those songs, the album also serves to give fans not only a sense of Lady Gaga’s Lee, but perhaps also what the film itself will sound like, though perhaps interpreted at a “lesser” level. ” standard of what fans of the musician have come to expect. Phoenix previously explained that he had to get her to “sing badly” while making the film to match her character’s energy.
“I encouraged her to sing badly,” Phoenix said. “I remember asking her to sing without vibrato. She has a beautiful vibrato, too beautiful. I think she felt naked without it. But as soon as she got away from the technique, she unlocked her character’s voice.”
While Harlequin it’s not likely to offer any major insight into the plot when it comes Joker: Folie a DeuxLady Gaga’s album still offers a lot to DC fans, giving them a bit of insight into Lee and helping set the sonic stage for the film. Between this album and the film’s official soundtrack – also released this week – we’re getting a better picture of what to expect as we catch up with Arthur Fleck when the film hits theaters on October 4th.
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