Lady Gaga Discusses the Impact of Her Joker: Folie à Deux Character on Her New Album Harlequin

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix’s highly anticipated movie, Joker: Folie à Deux, is scheduled for theatrical release on October 4, 2024. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Gaga discussed how portraying her character, Harley “Lee”Quinn, inspired her to create her new album, aptly titled Harlequin.

Gaga explained that Lee did not “leave [her] creatively,”prompting her to work on this album. The artist, known for tracks like Bad Romance, shared that Lee had a “profound effect”on her.

“This idea of dual identities was always something that was a part of my music making. I was always creating characters in my music and when I made Lee for Joker, she just really had this profound effect on me,”the singer told Zane.

Lady Gaga noted that the film possesses “so much music,”which significantly aided in her development of Harlequin. She highlighted that the music, alongside the storyline, dance, costumes, and makeup, played a crucial role in bringing Lee’s character to life, resulting in a “deep experience with the character.”

“So I kind of had this deep experience with the character and she just didn’t really leave me creatively and I decided I wanted to make a whole album inspired by her,”Gaga remarked.

The multifaceted artist stated that Lee is a complex persona who motivated her—as a “woman in music and a female producer”—to produce the 13-track album. Lady Gaga reprises her role as Harley Quinn in this musical psychological thriller, following Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker, in the 2019 film Joker.

Lady Gaga’s Harlequin Album Soars to No. 1 on iTunes

In the weeks leading up to her album announcement, Lady Gaga teased fans about a surprise project titled LG 6.5. On September 24, 2024, she confirmed that the Harlequin album would be available on Friday, September 27, 2024.

Within its first 24 hours of release, the album quickly surpassed numerous other new entries, achieving the number one position on the US iTunes albums chart.

The Harlequin tracklist features selections that will appear in Joker: Folie à Deux, complete with original compositions and renditions of classic songs. These include reinterpreted show tunes like If My Friends Could See Me Now from Sweet Charity and Good Morning from Singing in the Rain.

Original songs include Folie à Deux and Happy Mistake. Gaga shared that she co-wrote the latter with Bloodpop, describing it as encapsulating Lee’s character and deeply resonating with her own essence.

Here is the complete tracklist for Lady Gaga’s latest Harlequin album:

Good Morning
Get Happy (2024)
Oh, When The Saints
World On a String
If My Friends Could See Me Now
That’s Entertainment
Smile
The Joker
Folie à Deux
Gonna Build A Mountain
Close To You
Happy Mistake
That’s Life

Gaga expressed that the album-making process was enjoyable and liberating, noting that labeling it LG6.5 allowed her to avoid the constraints of “pop music or pop culture”that might typically accompany her other works.

“It was completely freeing because calling it LG6.5, it’s kind of not beholden to pop music or pop culture in the same way that some of my other releases might be. And it kind of gave me freedom in that way.”

Zane Lowe characterized the album as “half Gaga and half Lee,”highlighting its enjoyable and liberating experience for the artist.

Lady Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux will be released in theaters across the United States on October 4, 2024, featuring Gaga as Harley Quinn, the iconic love interest of the Joker. According to the film’s synopsis on IMDb, the story follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) during his institutionalization at Arkham as he awaits trial for his Joker-related crimes, where he meets Lee and discovers love along with “the music that’s always been inside him.”

Scott Silver penned the screenplay, while Todd Phillips took the helm as director. The film also stars Zazie Beetz, Harry Lawtey, and Catherine Keener, among others.

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