Lady Gaga defends Harlequin (but not ARTPOP, Joanne & Chromatica) on TikTok

[Ziggy 11,737]

I don’t think she understood the meme and thought it was praise for those albums lmao remember that she kinda became illiterate after ARTPOP 

[lastpopicon 29,476]

19 minutes ago, PartySick said:

She really said "f*ck that f*g specifically"  

I mean, I'm not really surprised about the (apparent) phasing out of those albums for this era so far...though there has only been one setlist so let's try not to be too dramatic yet  we'll see if it holds true for the rest of Mayhem's lifespan, we all know she's not gonna abandon any released work of hers permanently.

For Mayhem, she "returned to her roots". And not like Chromatica either, she literally went back to making the kind of music she made for TF, TFM, and BTW which are three albums I've always considered linked anyway. Their eras overlapped and they're all similar in tone, showing growth from one album to the next.

ARTPOP was such a huge tone shift in her career and it really stands on its own apart from the rest of her discography. The dark pop Mother Monster suddenly exploded in colors, bright sounds, her most wild fashion, and some of her loudest music to date.

Joanne was yet another hard turn away from anything she's done before. No more blood fountains or gothic castles, no horror show visuals or seashells on her boobs. She bore her soul in tamed fashion and personable, intimate music that fittingly was first played in dive bars instead of clubs or fashion shows.

Aside from specific songs in specific situations, it's hard to make the two of them synergize with the rest of her discography. Usually it has to be the other way around. Slamming Judas into the artRAVE or shoehorning Scheiße and Bloody Mary into the JWT. They're out of place but the shows compensated by bringing the albums' themes to a more neutral point within her artistry.

It's for that reason that I don't think you can rule any song or album out for the tour 'cause who knows what this woman's gonna do next  she took an album full of disco, rock, and industrial pop and made an "Opera House in the Desert"

And Chromatica...idk  I feel like she's the only one that actually deserves a bit of shunning 'cause it never felt like a Gaga album to begin with. It wasn't just sonically and lyrically weak, it lacked the vibe, the spirit, that her music usually has. It still feels anemic, sterile, and synthetic to this day even though I do jam to some songs (justice for Enigma!).

My opinion, of course. I'm sure others would say this about Joanne (despite it literally being her most personal album but hey, some of us like real guitars and grit and others like synth.mp3 over looped kick.mp3 as long as she's wearing weird sh*t while they play it in the clubs, it's cool ).

Anyway, yeah, imagine her shows are meals and her albums are all different foods. TF, TFM, BTW, and Mayhem all compliment each other like ingredients and sides to a great pasta dish. That delicious garlic, the savory sauce, the bread on the side, the bright garden salad, and then here comes ARTPOP (chicken, she would never mix it with pasta, she's too Italian for that), Joanne (chocolate cake, really? After all that pasta?), and Chromatica (potatoes, way too much starch, you won't poop for a week).

She's just not serving up those dishes right now, let's see her menu later on  

 

I can't out write you But you nailed it in the head with this post. 

And I think there's some interesting parallels to draw on the huge shifts on both Joanne and ARTPOP and how that seemingly affected her, I'm really starting to think she see's the TFM/BTW Gaga as the "true Gaga", i think much of Mayhem is telling that story actually, but I'm not smart enough to explain it lol the Coachella show, both Abra and Disease music videos and Lady mayhem, plus the perfect celebrity lyrics, i think she's trying to tell us something. Maybe I'm just reading way to much into it.

And I def think we are getting some Chromatica/Joanne/ARTPOP added for mayhem ball and ****cabana, they are longer shows and she's afforded a bit more flexibility. 

Perfect Illusion would fit nicely from Joanne, maybe million reasons for the piano. 

From ARTPOP I can see Applause blending in very well on the set list.

From Chromatica the only song that I really would want is enigma, I want the vocals

[elegidadedios 1,926]

12 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

I don’t think she understood the meme and thought it was praise for those albums lmao remember that she kinda became illiterate after ARTPOP 

I believe she did in fact understand the meme, but now that I think of it she may just say that because Harlequin is her most underperforming project comercially + it came along with Joker 2 (oh well). After many interpretations, I do think this is just her stating "hey out of all these albums Harlequin deserves love from all of you just like you constantly show to the rest of my projects"

Edited April 14 by elegidadedios

[Celloo Deng 54,811]

I mean, it makes sense that she’d acknowledge Harlequin not being in the setlist because it hasn’t had a proper moment to shine unfortunately. 

[PartySick 159,817]

7 minutes ago, lastpopicon said:

 

I can't out write you But you nailed it in the head with this post. 

And I think there's some interesting parallels to draw on the huge shifts on both Joanne and ARTPOP and how that seemingly affected her, I'm really starting to think she see's the TFM/BTW Gaga as the "true Gaga", i think much of Mayhem is telling that story actually, but I'm not smart enough to explain it lol the Coachella show, both Abra and Disease music videos and Lady mayhem, plus the perfect celebrity lyrics, i think she's trying to tell us something. Maybe I'm just reading way to much into it.

And I def think we are getting some Chromatica/Joanne/ARTPOP added for mayhem ball and ****cabana, they are longer shows and she's afforded a bit more flexibility. 

Perfect Illusion would fit nicely from Joanne, maybe million reasons for the piano. 

From ARTPOP I can see Applause blending in very well on the set list.

From Chromatica the only song that I really would want is enigma, I want the vocals

I just like yappin'  

There's definitely a bit of internal war there. It's not the "Lady vs Gaga" thing that fans have speculated about though, more like several versions of Gaga fighting amongst themselves and she said "f*ck it, you're all named 'Mayhem' now, enjoy being part of the same brain but also fight me if you're bad"

Wait...is HBDUWM about like..."how badly do you desire me?" or is it "how bad do you want me to be? 🫦"....questions for later

But yeah, fans expected "Mayhem" to be chaotic and it kinda is in a way but internally for her rather than being a jarring and disjointed listening experience

11 minutes ago, lastpopicon said:

And I def think we are getting some Chromatica/Joanne/ARTPOP added for mayhem ball and ****cabana, they are longer shows and she's afforded a bit more flexibility. 

Perfect Illusion would fit nicely from Joanne, maybe million reasons for the piano. 

From ARTPOP I can see Applause blending in very well on the set list.

From Chromatica the only song that I really would want is enigma, I want the vocals

I forgot I censored that  

Plenty of songs could fit sonically! It really just depends on the tone of that specific show and what aspects of Mayhem she decides to shine a light on those nights

Like others have said, the whole "inner conflict" thing is all over ARTPOP, Joanne, and Chromatica so if she wants to make a show around that, she'll probably dip into those albums (and maybe Happy Mistake please )

I will absolutely take Enigma live again though, she owes me from the last time we were in Miami

[MOT 3,018]

All hail Harlequin. It's great. I'll be going back to it when I wear out Mayhem.

[lastpopicon 29,476]

11 minutes ago, PartySick said:

I just like yappin'  

There's definitely a bit of internal war there. It's not the "Lady vs Gaga" thing that fans have speculated about though, more like several versions of Gaga fighting amongst themselves and she said "f*ck it, you're all named 'Mayhem' now, enjoy being part of the same brain but also fight me if you're bad"

Wait...is HBDUWM about like..."how badly do you desire me?" or is it "how bad do you want me to be? 🫦"....questions for later

But yeah, fans expected "Mayhem" to be chaotic and it kinda is in a way but internally for her rather than being a jarring and disjointed listening experience

I love how we can theorize and talk so much about MAYHEM, it really goes to show the amazing and deep album she gave us.

11 minutes ago, PartySick said:

I forgot I censored that

I noticed lmao

[Starmie25 18,240]

55 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

I don’t think she understood the meme and thought it was praise for those albums lmao remember that she kinda became illiterate after ARTPOP 

She clearly knows about meme culture 

Girl lives on tiktok these days 

[gagzus 15,829]

2 hours ago, NUTELLA said:

A Harlequin Act II would be so funny

I think she will definitely make another theatrical Jazz album like Harlequin because she won’t stop doing Jazz now just because Tony has passed.

So we’ll definitely see another album like Harlequin in the future I think

[Luv u Sum 2,366]

i need a jazz album full of original songs so bad 

[PartySick 159,817]

12 minutes ago, lastpopicon said:

I love how we can theorize and talk so much about MAYHEM, it really goes to show the amazing and deep album she gave us.

I noticed lmao

Why is why it's my second favorite Gaga album now  

It's a masterpiece. Rework HBDUWM, add Can't Stop the High* to the standard, and kick DWAS back to 2024 where she belongs and it's literally perfect  

*It's so weird how I feel like she's saying more in a song with lyrics like "so f*cked up but the party wants me" than in a song that says "my biggest enemy is me"

Just goes to show that subtext and vibes will always hit harder and deeper than coming out and just saying the thing you wanna say

[Bronco 10,710]

1 hour ago, Gagaism said:

It’s so funny how she lowkey sets fire on her own fanbase sometimes even knowing how annoying LMs can get 

it gives me 

She fully dropped this comment then put her phone on DND

[Emvee 8,348]

Nah the shade is getting borderline annoying lol 
 

It’s the way ARTPOP, Joanne, and Chromatica LITERALLY encompass an entire decade (the majority) of her career if you count the lead up to ARTPOP and the end of the Chromatica ball. If we’re really gonna start labeling them as “inconsistent” or “lackluster”… like, damn sis spent 10 years on that.   

 

Edited April 14 by Emvee

[chathonnete 751]

It's SO funny help 

She dgaf I love her 

BTW Joanne was amazing idc what people think

[lastpopicon 29,476]

3 minutes ago, PartySick said:

Why is why it's my second favorite Gaga album now  

It's a masterpiece. Rework HBDUWM, add Can't Stop the High* to the standard, and kick DWAS back to 2024 where she belongs and it's literally perfect  

*It's so weird how I feel like she's saying more in a song with lyrics like "so f*cked up but the party wants me" than in a song that says "my biggest enemy is me"

Just goes to show that subtext and vibes will always hit harder and deeper than coming out and just saying the thing you wanna say

Ranks top 3 for me

HBDUWM is cute The Coachella performance was lovely, i think she just wanted to do something very different and HBDUWM fit the bill. It will never be a fan favorite though And that's for a good reason, much stronger songs on the album, and both bonus tracks clear it. Kill for love would fit nicely after Shadow of a man.