Lady Gaga releases Chromatica!

Lady Gaga has been an inspiration of mine since she burst onto the music scene. Beyond her hit songs, she is a woman who doesn't shy away from dealing with issues head on. She started a foundation called Born This Way Foundation that focuses on mental Hhalth. She is a freedom fighter, she speaks up and gives a voice to the marginalized groups of people. I've met Lady Gaga and had conversations with her, and she is truly an amazing person! On Friday, it was one week since Lady Gaga released her highly anticipated sixth studio album, “Chromatica.”  “This music actually healed me,” she tells Apple Music about her new album.  Music is a form of therapy for Lady Gaga.  She has tried to heal many parts of her past across her back catalogue of hit albums.  After trying to fix her Dad with her last album, “Joanne,” she sunk into a deep depression when she realized that she couldn’t.  It was at that time that she started writing music for “Chromatica.”  When she was able to embrace her own struggles with mental health, trauma, and addiction, she was able to become free enough to dance again.  She realized that these things didn’t have to stop her.  They could just be a part of her and she could keep going.  And that, she did!  She poured her heart and soul, struggles and tears, into this album and the result is a masterpiece.  “Chromatica” is a concept album, of a world full of colors.  A world where equality rules.  In short, it is Lady Gaga’s world that she lives in.  Lady Gaga hopes that people can use the album as inspiration to dance through their own struggles and come out a better person in the end.  

Listen to Chromatica here: smarturl.it/Chromatica

Here is my review of Chromatica, song by song:

Chromatica I There’s something very cinematic about this all instrumental song that opens the album.  It seems like it would fit as the intro to a Star Trek movie while talking about exploring a new galaxy. You definitely feel like you’re at the beginning of an epic journey Alice “Chromatica I” segues right into “Alice,” a disco thumping song that will make anyone want to dance.  In this song, Lady Gaga sings about perseverance.  The first verse is “Could you pull me out of this alive?  Where’s my body, I’m stuck in my mind.”  For those of us who have struggled with anxiety, this hits the nail on the head!  “I’m in a hole, I’m falling down, down, so down, down, she sings.  In the chorus of the song Gaga sings “My name isn’t Alice, but I’ll keep looking for Wonderland.”  “Set me free!,” she she almost screams as a vocal ad lib in the chorus.  Lady Gaga says “This is me saying I’m not sure if I’m going to make it, but I’m going to try.  And that’s where the album really begins!” Stupid Love This is the first single from the album.  “Stupid Love” is a killer dance song, sounding like a futuristic 90’s dance song with rock influences thrown in.  Lyrically, Lady Gaga sings about wanting to overcome mental health issues while also giving herself to a relationship.  She feels she has found the right partner, but is there enough of her to give to a relationship while dealing with her own issues?  “You’re the one that I’ve been waiting for...no one’s gonna heal me if I don’t open the door,” “all I ever wanted was love,” “I want your stupid love!” Rain On Me (with Ariana Grande) This is the album’s second single, and currently, the number one song in the USA.  The song is a super smash, and you can definitely see why.  Who knew you could be dancing to a song that is talking about suffering from mental health issues?!  This song is about Acceptance, a crucial part of recovering from anxiety and depression.  “It’s coming down on me....water like misery....it’s coming down on me....I’m ready - rain on me!”  “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive, rain on me!”  I’ve learned that we must step into the storm and be ready, accept it - let it rain on you! Free Woman This song is about self-esteem, knowing your worth, and empowering yourself to feel free.  Lady Gaga sings of knowing her worth even while she struggles with mental health issues (“I’m not nothing without a steady hand”).  She sings of knowing her worth as a single woman (“I’m still something if I ain’t got a man - I’m a free woman!”). Sonically, this sounds like a song you would want to play while you drive with your top down to in the summer.   My favorite lyric from this song is “This is my dance floor, I fought for,” where Gaga owns everything that she is! Fun Tonight “Fun Tonight” is an uptempo song about the two sides of Lady Gaga, one the artist, and one the human being.  This song is written from eyes of Lady Gaga, the human being.  The lyrics detail the struggle that she goes through, not wanting the spotlight and attention that comes along with being a music artist.  “I feel like I’m in a prison hell, stick my hands through the steel bars and yell,” she sings, with the chorus of the song being “I’m not having fun tonight.”   Chromatica II Coming right after the lyrics “I’m not having fun tonight,” this instrumental interlude seems to be something you would hear in a movie as you empathize with the main character as you learn what their conflict is. 911 The end of “Chromatica II” kicks into a hard beat and segues right into “911.”  This is one of my FAVORITE tracks on the album simply because of its beat!  On the album’s first listen, I instantly recognized this track as special and started dancing.  The beat thumps so hard and Gaga’s vocals are robotic in cadence for the verses.  Lyrically, she is singing about an anti-psychotic pill ( a 911) that she takes if  she is having a psychotic episode.  “I can’t see me cry, can’t see me cry, this is the end.  Pop a 911.”  One of my favorite lyrics in the song is “Keep repeating self-hating phrases, I have heard enough of these voices, almost like I have no choice.”  At times it can be hard to take control of our mind and it can feel like our thoughts run us...but we have the power, as we can choose how we react to our thoughts. Plastic Doll Lady Gaga shows vulnerability in this song and sing about loneliness.  She compares herself to a plastic doll and singing she’s “no toy for a real boy.”  “I’ve spent too long dancing all alone, dancing to the same song” “Don’t play with me...it just hurts me, I’m not your plastic doll” Gaga sings.  My favorite lyric of this song is during the bridge, she sings “who’s that girl, Malibu Gaga,” for some reason I always love when she sings her name. Sour Candy (with BLACKPINK) So, I had no idea who BLACKPINK was when I heard this song.  I read up on them, and haven’t heard any of their own songs,  but I understand they are a K-Pop group and have a huge following.  They sound great on this song with Gaga.  The beat of this song is dirty and would rock a club.  Lyrically the song is comparing themselves to Sour Patch Kids (First their sour, then they’re sweet - is the candy’s tagline).  “I’m sour candy...so sweet then I get a little angry” “I’m hard on the outside, but if you give me time, then I could make time for your love,” they sing.  The song is full of sexual innuendos about candy, unwrapping it, etc. Enigma Enigma is the name of Lady Gaga’s residence show that she did in Las Vegas.  An enigma by definition is something that is mysterious, puzzling, or hard to understand.  Lady Gaga has always been over the top and seen as weird and crazy, and she is embracing that here, singing “We can be anything you want...I’ll be your enigma,” against a thumping house track.  Gaga’s vocals are a highlight here.  She sings in a rock n roll style that suits her so well. Replay It may seem strange to dance to a song about processing trauma, but that’s what “Replay” will make you do.  A rocking disco beat bums along while Lady Gaga sings lyrics like “I’m completely numb...why you acting dumb,” and the chorus being “the scars on my mind are on replay, replay.”  My favorite lyric in this song is “Every single day, yeah I dig a grave, then I sit inside it, wondering if I’ll behave.” Chromatica III The final instrumental interlude reminds me of a storm coming to an end....the clouds parting and the sun shining down. Sine From Above (with Elton John) This is Lady Gaga’s song about recovery.  Sine, in this song, refers to sound waves.  This music healed her, and she wanted to pay tribute to the very thing that revived her...music!  “It healed my heart, heard a sine!”  Lady Gaga mentioned in an interview the concept that God created the universe with a sound (the Big Bang) and that sound waves (sines) was the energy that created everything, “before there was love, there was silence.”  Elton sounds great on this track! 1000 Doves Lady Gaga reveals her human side again on this beautiful song, admitting her struggle.  “I cry more than I ever say,” she confesses.  The chorus is is perfect...“Lift me up, give me a start, cause I’ve been flying with some broken arms, lift me up, just a small nudge, and I’ll be flying like a 1000 doves.”  In the second half of this song, she sings the chorus in this beautiful upper-range that is captivating. Babylon A perfect ending to the album!  This song was definitely inspired by Madonna’s classic hit “Vogue.”  Another pumping 90’s house track that makes you want to strut down a catwalk while the choir sings in the background.  Lyrically, the song is about gossip.  Gaga explains that gossip used to run her life and make her feel so small.  Now, she is ready to let it bounce off of her.  It doesn’t have the hold on her that it used to.  She has fought and battled to get this far, and sings “gossip - babble on, battle for you life Babylon!”  And, so we will!ttings New!