Why Harlequin Exists: A Theory

[Nycboy 831]

After seeing JFAD, it all clicked to me. Clearly the film did not portray Gaga’s talents in the best light. For the most part, Gaga was made to sing in character with her “bad” voice. The musical numbers were not very powerful in the film. Gaga created a phenomenal song for the movie (Folie a Deux) and it was paid dust in a 20 second scene. As a result, the film’s soundtrack is probably not so great and as a viewer of the film you don’t see all of Gaga’s talents shine through. I strongly believe Gaga began to realize this as the film was being edited, and decided to change the narrative. 

She comes up with the idea of Harlequin, a companion album, in which she can sing to the best of her abilities and showcase her real talent. Her fans get to hear her original songs in full plus how well she can actually cover the songs used in the movie. It’s almost like an “F you” to the director. 

Further to this point, you cannot tell me that Die With A Smile was not for Joker. It literally has “die” and “smile” in the title. I bet Gaga created it for the movie, and that Todd scrapped it. Gaga knew it was amazing, and just as she did with Harlequin, she needed to find a way for it to see the light of day. 

If my theory is true, I really give kudos to Gaga for not letting others squander her creative output. 

[salty like sodium 1,003]

this is my theory too. DWAS 100% felt like a duet for her and joaquin.

[Rahrahbitchson 15,877]

Wasn't DWAS Bruno's song? I heard that he asked her to jump on it, what is the truth?

[The Ew from Judas 28]

I really think that Harlequin may exist as a way for her to dissociate from the movie-so that her fans think of the album first and not the movie

i mean, think about her press appearances in the last week. They may be for JFAD but she’s dressed for and talking about Harlequin. She kinda took it and did her own thing, and part of me wonders if she knew people would be disappointed in the movie and she’s kinda doing damage control

[Nycboy 831]

1 minute ago, Rahrahbitchson said:

Wasn't DWAS Bruno's song? I heard that he asked her to jump on it, what is the truth?

I know she said that. But the more I think about it, I don’t believe it. Gaga is a PR mastermind and knows that it would be strange to market the song as a Joker reject. It’s same way The Cure was clearly for ASIB. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Nycboy

[holy scheisse 21,333]

10 minutes ago, Nycboy said:

She comes up with the idea of Harlequin, a companion album, in which she can sing to the best of her abilities and showcase her real talent.

The narrative since 2014 her trying to showcase/prove her talent… we already know she’s talented

[Real Panda 7,292]

4 minutes ago, Rahrahbitchson said:

Wasn't DWAS Bruno's song? I heard that he asked her to jump on it, what is the truth?

The truth is in her red lipstick

[OliviaRodrigoStan 3,080]

I feel like a lot of her screentime got chopped, written out, etc. Yes, I do think the album is a small glimpse of what could've been. 

She got hired for a musical, and barely had any singing in the film, it's so ridiculous 💀

[elijahfan 24,586]

I think her saying she wasn't done with Lee is a polite way of saying they did her dirty with this film. I do agree with this theory, the motivations behind Harlequin became abundantly clear after seeing the film. Like... imagine if we didn't have Harlequin to enjoy right now? 

I feel like Warner Bros might take it as unfair competition as it directly clashes with the movie's soundtrack that many Gaga fans, including myself, won't be choosing to purchase over Harlequin... Then again, they might be getting a slice of the paycheck.

Edited 1 hour ago by elijahfan

[RichAssPiss 4,496]

I think A LOT was cut from Joker and the writing was on the wall in terms of her screen time.

It feels like a lovely way to honor that performance and character while it was diminished in Joker.

I also think it was a strategic way to test the waters on solo Jazz music without going all-in on a standalone album. It's a concept record, a character piece. It's also the first solo Gaga Jazz record but being tethered to the film release makes it less vulnerable. I think otherwise the reviews and press for the record would of harped on whether she can "make it" without Tony. Whereas now they were all about Lee, and the mystery of the record as it relates to the film.

I do think recording your own take on your film's soundtrack and releasing it the week before is an antagonistic power move. Studios have investments in soundtrack albums. In a way, Gaga has siphoned away all the Little Monsters streams that would have went to the Joker soundtrack.

Edited 1 hour ago by RichAssPiss

[Red 92,485]

Well, we will only know the truth years in the future cause we are not gonna hear Gaga throwing shade at the director of the movie she is promoting right now lol

[Anderson123 34,488]

Die With A Smile was a Bruno song and he called her to listen to it and finish it together. I also disagree with Gaga doing all of that as a "F* you" to the director. Gaga and Todd are clearly in good terms. Pls don't try to make drama where there is not lol.

[xanny 238]

29 minutes ago, Rahrahbitchson said:

Wasn't DWAS Bruno's song? I heard that he asked her to jump on it, what is the truth?

This. Gaga even said it herself, no? 

[Nycboy 831]

6 minutes ago, xanny said:

This. Gaga even said it herself, no? 

I know, but it’s just so hard for me to believe that. Like WHAT are the chances that it’s so Joker coded, and released weeks before the film. I believed her…until I saw the film, and saw how much she was underutilized. 

Just like there’s scenes of the film on the cutting room floor…I’m sure there’s also music that was sadly cut.

I feel like Joker should have been an ACTUAL musical, Todd did Gaga dirty, and DWAS could have been the film’s Shallow moment.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Nycboy

[Reality 70,154]

I feel like a lot of people want to use this narrative that "Gaga made Harlequin because she wasn't in the film a lot and she wanted to do more with the character," but the timeline of that just doesn't make sense...

Gaga was in the process of making Harlequin when they were making the movie. Even though she has a lot of deleted scenes, I wouldn't surprised if she was always supposed to be a supporting character. Like, let's be real. To all the people complaining about her "deleted scenes"...with the scenes we know were deleted, what more could they have added? The scene of them dancing on the staircase? It would've been just another musical number (and people are already complaining that there are too many). Same with her performance of That's Entertainment on the staircase. The shot of her getting into the elevator? Maybe they could've shown her getting dressed up for her final confrontation with Arthur/Joker, but again, what else would that have added? 

It's not like she saw the final cut of the film, said "F*ck you" to Todd Phillips, and then made Harlequin to compensate for that. And if she had such an issue with it, she could've just quit the movie entirely.

Also, we've been over this with DWAS. It was a song Bruno started and then Gaga jumped on board. It has nothing to do with Joker.