Lady Gaga Discusses the “Deep Experience” That Shaped Her ‘Harlequin’ Album from ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’
Lady Gaga is set to play Lee, also known as Harley Quinn, alongside Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker in the upcoming musical sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, releasing on October 4. Recently, she opened up about the inspiration behind her companion album, Harlequin.
In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Gaga talked about balancing her identity with that of her character Lee while creating the album, which features 13 tracks and will be released this Friday.
“For me, the concept of dual identities has always been part of my music-making,” she explained. “I’ve always created characters in my work, and when I embodied Lee for Joker, she had a profound impact on me. The film was rich with music that I love, and I discovered the character through the story, the live music, dance, costumes, and makeup. I had this deep experience with Lee, and she stayed with me creatively, inspiring me to make an entire album based on her.”
Gaga described her character as “really complex,” emphasizing the fun of exploring her artistic freedom as a woman in music and a female producer. “This album will be what I want, when I decide. If I want it to be blues, it’ll be blues. If I want funk, it’ll be funk. If I want soul, it’ll be soul,” she said.
Earlier this week, Gaga teased fans about the surprise project before officially announcing Harlequin. Spotify shared a preview of the tracklist, which includes titles like “Good Morning,” “Get Happy (2024),” “Oh, When the Saints,” “World on a String,” “That’s Entertainment,” “Smile,” “The Joker,” and “Folie à Deux.”
Lowe described the album as “LG 6.5,” meaning it’s “half Gaga and half Lee,” noting that it sounds “really, really fun” and “really free.”
“Yeah, it was really fun,” Gaga agreed. “It felt completely freeing. Calling it LG 6.5 means it’s not beholden to pop music or pop culture in the same way as some of my other releases, giving it a sense of freedom.”
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters on October 4.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
