Lady Gaga surprised her fans by unveiling this Friday, September 27, a new album entitled Harlequin. Announced only two days before its release, this musical project is neither the official soundtrack of Joker: Folie à Deux nor the long-awaited pop album due next year. Harlequin is rather a work inspired by the character of Harley Quinn, whom the artist plays in the film by Todd Phillips, alongside Joaquin Phoenix.
After the filming of Joker: Folie à DeuxLady Gaga felt the need to prolong her immersion in the skin of this complex character. “I wasn’t done with Harley Quinn,” she said. The idea of Harlequin was therefore born from this desire to extend the artistic experience beyond the film. The album consists of thirteen tracks, including ten covers of American standards and two unreleased songs. One of the new songs, titled Folie à Deuxis accompanied by a clip shot in the emblematic setting of the Louvre in Paris.
The covers of Harlequin navigate between jazz, blues and pop, paying homage to artists such as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. The pieces Get Happy, That’s Life et Smile coexist with the unpublished Happy Mistake et Folie à Deuxsongs imbued with melancholy that explore love, madness and the complexity of the relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker.
The album, co-produced by Michael Polansky, Lady Gaga’s fiancé, and Ben Rice, shows a new side of the singer, which mixes chaos and romanticism. As Gaga explained, this album is her “farewell to the character” of Harley Quinn and a way to “celebrate the complexity of Harleen Quinzel.”
This album is part of a busy year for the artist. As she prepares to unveil a seventh studio album in February 2025, Lady Gaga continues to explore new artistic territories with this project. Harlequinwhich she describes as a “modern version of vintage pop”, is inserted between her latest album Chromatics and his future productions, affirming the artist’s ability to reinvent himself.
Alice Leroy
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