Last Friday, cryptic messages started appearing on Lady Gaga’s Instagram feed, followed by different ones each day. Monday, Little Monsters were met with mysterious billboards that popped up in Los Angeles and New York City, with cropped photos of Gaga with text across every image saying “LG 6.5”. Rumours started speculating that we were getting a 7-8 song EP, so it came as a surprise to many when, on Tuesday, Lady Gaga announced her new album, Harlequin, would be released on September 27th with 13 tracks. The tracklist features some of the same songs that will be apart of Joker: Folie à Deux, but with her own spin to it. In a recent interview, Gaga said that once the sequel to Joker had finished filming and everyone was done with their roles, she wasn’t done with Lee (this is how Gaga had been referring to Harley Quinn) and got in the studio to create LG 6.5, Harlequin.
Some of Lady Gaga’s cryptic Instagram posts
Harlequin consists of 11 covers and 2 original songs. I can assure you that you may not be familiar with all the song titles, but once you start listening, you’ll recognize some of them. The 2 original songs on the album are “Folie à Deux” and “Happy Mistake”. “Happy Mistakes” has instantly been dubbed by fans as her best ballad, as it is a reflection of Gaga looking back at herself and her previous albums; how that broken girl ended up creating a name for herself while healing herself through darkness. “Happy Mistake” is one of the few songs on the album not to be featured in Folie à Duex, as Gaga had originally written the track by the same name for the film. The album opens with songs “Good Morning” originally written by Arthur Freed & Nacio Brown, “Get Happy (2024)” originally written by Harold Arlen & Ted Koehler, and “When the Saints Go Marching In” which is a traditional song that is believed to have originated from the Bahamas. The first three tracks have such an elegant Broadway feel to them that are sure to get you up off your feet dancing as if it’s still the roaring twenties.
Lady Gaga photographed by Scarlett Carlos Clarke for Harlequin
Lady Gaga tests the tale of time by modernizing more classics, but still reminiscent of the early days in which they originated. Keeping things in tempo with the album, Gaga’s vocalization shines through with “World on a String” and “That’s Entertainment”, before tantalizing listeners with her first ever waltz “Folie à Deux”, which will make you want to dance under a hotel’s neon lights like Joker & Harley themselves. The strongest covers on the album in my opinion are “The Joker” which was originally written by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley and “Close to You” originally written by Burt Bacharach & Hal David. “The Joker” takes its tones further away from the original source as it features more rock and raw elements whereas the original is more of a blues & jazz song. Gaga’s take on “The Joker” is a strong reminder of her natural vocal days from her fifth studio album Joanne, and almost reminds me of the song “Diamond Heart” from that album. “Close to You” is a more upbeat pop rendition of the track, giving it room to be something that could have been found on the A Star Is Born soundtrack or as a Born This Way outtake if Gaga had written it herself. It could serve as a complimentary track to the recently released collaboration between Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars “Die With A Smile”, which on the charts doesn’t show any signs of dying yet.
Lady Gaga releases a snippet of “The Joker”
Fans in the week leading up to the album's release flooded X (formerly known as "Twitter") and Instagram with fan art, theories, and edits, as finally after a four and a half year wait Gaga has a new album to drop. Keeping it classic, modern, and in respectful taste to the originals, Lady Gaga seems to find herself time and time again proving she can remain relevant in a fast paced, ever changing industry. You can listen to Harlequin below on Spotify, and don’t forget, the Joker: Folie à Deux soundtrack releases October 4th along with the movie itself. Little Monsters can also look forward to even more music, as Lady Gaga prepares to release her next studio album sometime in February, with the lead single dropping in late October. After a long drought from Lady Gaga, she is now here to show fans that it’s always worth being patient.
