Chromatica

In press interviews after it was announced she would embark on one final performance of her 2016 Dive Bar Tour, Lady Gaga hinted new music would be performed and released during the new leg's stop. However, the Dive Bar Tour performance was later postponed indefinitely due to scheduling conflicts.[1] Later, Gaga hinted the release of new music during the globe-crossing Joanne World Tour,[2] however, in an August 2017 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the singer revealed that due to the constraints of the tour production, specifically the strictly scheduled synchronization of its various technologies with the performances, there most likely will not be any new material performed on the Joanne World Tour, let alone any deviation from the structure of the show itself.[3] It was also revealed in the same interview that production had begun on the follow up to Joanne, with Gaga offering that the album was still in the initial writing stage.[3]

Talking about previous record Joanne, Gaga admitted that it was an album that she made for her father, trying to heal his and her family's trauma. She later realized she "can't fix [her] dad", and called the album a "futile effort" to heal him. Her disappointment drove her into depression and chain-smoking, and writing Chromatica was her way for healing.[4] The singer later added that her failed relationships also served as inspiration for writing new songs,[4] and talked about how she was in "a very dark place" when she started to work on them.[5]

Talking about the album's title, Gaga described Chromatica as both "a frame of mind" and a physical place, a planet where equality rules,[6][7] and stated: "I live on Chromatica, that is where I live. I went into my frame. I found Earth, I deleted it. Earth is canceled. I live on Chromatica."[8] The dystopian planet of Chromatica appears in the music video for the song "Stupid Love", where Gaga portrays the warrior leader of the "Kindness Punks", and "follows a narrative about tribes battling for dominance in a world riddled with conflict".[6][9][10] Gaga also confirmed how the concept of the planet Chromatica came about, saying:

BloodPop brought it up, and we talked about how Chromatica was essentially on its own when you first look at it, it seems to be about colors, and all the different colors and also music is made of a chromatic scale. So it's all the colors, all the sounds.. We're talking about inclusivity and life, and also a lot of what we see around us and what we're experiencing is math, which is very much like music and sound is math as well. So we talked about that, and then I sort of went back and I said, 'OK, well, yeah, it's inclusivity but it's really a way of thinking', it's not just, 'Oh, Chromatica, we're being inclusive with all the colors, all the people', and when I say, 'All the colors, all the people', I mean way more than we could possibly fathom.[11]

A temporary cover art was released along with the album preorder, showcasing a symbol over a pink background. It received comparison to the yin and yang symbol.[12] The singer explained that the Chromatica logo "has a sine wave in it, which is the mathematical symbol for sound. And, for me, sound is what healed me in my life period, and it healed me again making this record, and that is really what Chromatica is all about."[11]

On April 5, 2020, the album's official cover was revealed.[13] It shows the singer with "cotton candy pink" hair, wearing a "metallic bodysuit with spikes and studs sticking out of it", "a pair of platform boots with a tusk and a knife for its heels" and a "shoulder-to-fingertip sleeve covered in spikes" on one of her hands. She is laying on a large metal grate illuminated by "hot pink neon" light,[14][15] trapped beneath a massive metal sine wave, which is the previously showcased Chromatica symbol.[16] Trey Alston from MTV described the cover art as "part-Mad Max, Mortal Kombat, and cyber-punk fantasy",[17] while Hilary Hughes from Billboard also found inspiration from the Alien films.[18] The cover photograph was taken by German photographer Norbert Schoerner, with creative direction by Nicola Formichetti.[19][20]

BloodPop once again returned as an executive producer on Gaga's album, after co-producing all 11 tracks on the standard edition of Joanne. Though he hadn't committed to making Gaga's follow-up LP, it changed after playing the demo of "Stupid Love" to the singer at the Kansas City stop on her Joanne World Tour.[21] Gaga referred to BloodPop as the "centre" and her "nucleus" of production while creating the album,[9] and said that they recorded the majority of the album while staying in her studio house, which used to be Frank Zappa's old studio.[22] She noted that she found the recording process difficult due to suffering from fibromyalgia; the severe pain made her unable to "get off the couch" to compose and record the songs. She cited BloodPop as the main reason she was able to finish the work, as he motivated her to "push forward" to continue the process, and also helped her to get over feeling "miserable" and depressed.[9][22] They talked about how almost every song on the album started with Gaga or the both of them playing the piano, and they "would build the track up after a semblance of a song existed".[21] Gaga divulged how her intuition had evolved since the production of her last album, especially with the "real" and "honest" nature of this record's production virtually halting her inclination to second guess her creative output.[22]

After starting the work together, Gaga and BloodPop begin recording the album with the involvement of various producers, whom they invited "based on their strengths to re-imagine the song or production."[21] Scottish musician Sophie was the first producer BloodPop recruited to work with them, and although her early demos did not make the album, he said they "still plan to finish those songs and present something special within the Chromatica universe."[21] Other involved producers included Burns, Axwell of Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Madeon (who had previously worked with Gaga on her third studio album, Artpop), Tchami, Boys Noize and Benjamin Rice.[23] In discussing the large collaborative atmosphere that enveloped the album's production, Gaga said, "It's easy to go into a computer and find a cool loop, but the producers I work with don't work this way. When they're inspired, they embroider things."[9] Talking with Beats 1's Zane Lowe, she added that she had "never seen so many producers be willing to pass around music [...] and have it be a conversation",[22] and that every song had many different iterations as they were developing them to "sound the best that it could be" and "interpret what [she is] saying the best that it can interpret."[4]

Gaga collaborated with Ariana Grande on the song "Rain on Me".

Gaga collaborated with Elton John on the song "Sine from Above", whom she described as her "mentor" and someone who played a significant role in her road to recovery.[24] Axwell had worked with Elton on an unreleased track that would later become "Sine From Above", and upon working with Gaga, he decided to contact Elton to finish the song as a duet with her, when he remembered Gaga and Elton were close friends.[21] The album also includes a collaboration with Ariana Grande on the track, "Rain On Me", whom Gaga described as an artist "who [had similarly experienced] immense trauma while in the public eye", which brought them together for the creation of the song.[9][25] Gaga collaborated with K-Pop girl group Blackpink on a song titled "Sour Candy". In an interview for Japanese entertainment site TV Groove, Gaga stated that "when [she] called them and asked if they wanted to write a song with [her], they were so happy and motivated" and that she wanted "to celebrate them". The group's members sing in both English and Korean on the song.[5]

After Chromatica was mostly finished, Gaga felt that the album had distinct acts, and "something about it felt cinematic". BloodPop recruited musician Morgan Kibby to compose three orchestral interludes to tie the album together. Kibby and Gaga spent two weeks working on the interludes, and assembled a 26-person orchestra to record the pieces.[21] Kibby explained that she sat down with Gaga and at looked at pictures, paintings, and films for references, and commited to creating musical pieces that match the energy of the album and can seamlessly connect to the already existing songs. She added: "The soul of the album was already there, and so the arrangements were written with the intent to further amplify the nooks and crannies of the emotional themes; they became almost the Greek chorus of Chromatica." The main theme they explored was "light and darkness, the push and pull... [of] our shared and relatable human experience." The compositions were finished only days before the album was mastered.[26]

Chromatica is a primarily 1990s-influenced[27] dance-pop,[28][29][30][31] electropop,[27][32] and synth-pop album[33] with influences from house,[27] techno,[34] disco,[35] funk,[27] trance,[36] Eurodance,[36] EDM[37] and new wave.[35] It is a departure from the country-rock sound of its predecessor Joanne (2016) and a return to the music of her early albums.[38] According to Axwell, the group of producers intended to create "full-on dance music", leaning on "old-school, retro house" and garage scenes rather than just EDM.[21][39] The most prevalent theme behind Chromatica is being able to feel happiness and dance to it even at the same time when experiencing difficulties and sorrow.[9] It touches topics such as mental health, depression, loneliness, finding love through hardship, suffering from PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) due to sexual assault, and self-worth.[4][9][40][41] Despite dealing with dark themes, most of the songs have a positive vibe, as the singer aspired to make "fun and energetically really pure" music, something that a big part of the world can hear and "become a part of their daily lives and make them happy every single day."[22]

Kory Grow from Rolling Stone referred to the music of the album as "therapy pop".[42] Katherine St. Asaph from Pitchfork called the album "an unabashed revival of ’90s house music", and argued that while Joanne was also named the singer's most personal album, Chromatica fits that description much better: "Joanne was 'personal' in the same way all pop stars' unplugged albums get called that: the arrangements had acoustic guitar, and the AutoTune was kept to a tasteful touch-up. Chromatica loses the guitars but certainly handles heavy subject matter."[41] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic thought that the singer revokes memories of her 2009 EP The Fame Monster and "leans into her status as a veteran on Chromatica, making only the mildest attempts to sound modern... [The album] willfully ignores trap and the other dour pop trends of the late 2010s for exuberant disco and house, styles that are not only in her musical comfort zone but allow her the freedom to explore personal pain and loss..."[43]

Songs

The track "Alice" makes references to the 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.[44]

The album is divided into three unique segments, with the first part symbolizing "the beginning of [the singer's] journey to healing."[4] It opens with an orchestral piece, "Chromatica I", described by Gaga as a "grave string arrangement, where you feel this sort of pending doom that is what happens if I face all the things that scare me."[4] This theme continues in the song "Alice" with the line "My name isn't Alice but I'll keep looking for Wonderland”, meaning that the singer is not giving up, she is "not throwing in the towel".[4] The song talks about mental illness[4] and Gaga's struggle to find a place where she belongs.[45] It is a '00s post-rave dance, house and electronica song[46][47][48] that follows a '90s EDM beat with kick drums and shimmering synths and Gaga using her lighter high notes.[27][45][46][49]

"Stupid Love" is a "disco-infused" dance-pop and electropop song,[50][51][52] which is about the "joyful foolishness of loving someone"[9] and gathering the courage to love again after a heartbreak.[53] Talking about the song, Gaga said the following: "...When we all decide to be vulnerable [...] it’s very scary for a lot of people and there’s all kinds of laws and constructs and things that have built all around us... I’d love for it to collapse as many of those walls as possible and people to be saying, ‘I want your Stupid Love. I love you.'"[22] "Rain on Me" contains elements of French house,[54][55] while blending multiple genres including dance-pop,[56] disco,[57] house[58] and electropop.[59] It features an upbeat production consisting of a synth-disco beat, synth claps, steady bass lines, funk guitar strums and rolling synths.[60][61][62][63] The song talks about "persevering through hardship" and healing, and uses the metaphor of rain for alcohol used to numb pain.[55][64] It was described by Gaga as a "celebration of all the tears": "It's two women having a conversation about how to keep going and how to be grateful for what you do."[9] Vocally, it includes robotic spoken word deliveries by Gaga,[54] Grande's "signature" high note octave,[65] and the two of them "belting" their lines in the final chorus.[66]

"Free Woman" is a euphoric Eurodance and house anthem, containing elements of acid house.[47][49][34][48] The song sees the singer reclaiming her identity and gender after a sexual assault[7] with a "rousing" chorus,[35] a "fun" electronic beat,[67] an EDM drop,[68] and a midtempo gospel groove from a keyboard line.[69] Gaga talked about the origin of the song, saying it "came from thinking on some days I was going to die. I was like, 'I'm going to die soon, so I better say something important.' Now I listen to it and know that I'm going to live." The song tackles her need to be with someone "in order to survive" while trying to be a free woman, a topic she discusses in the lyrics "I'm not nothing without a steady hand".[9] "Fun Tonight" continues the Eurodance of its predecessor[48] while also including electropop and dance music genres, with an EDM drop.[70] It is categorized as a "breakup anthem"[32] with mentions of fame and paparazzi.[37] The song features a "melancholic" with an "emotional" vocal delivery by Gaga[49] where Gaga uses falsetto in the chorus.[71] According to Gaga, it is about how there were many nights when people who loved her would try to make her smile or be optimistic, but she had no ability to be happy[4] while also seeing her reflect on the disconnection between her professional power and personal sadness.[29] It was also described as a conversation between Stefani Germanotta and Lady Gaga.[7]

The grand string swells of "Chromatica II" crescendo and swerve into "911",[7] a Euro disco[72] song dealing with the singer's antipsychotic medication.[4] The song sees Gaga using monotonous,[73] robotic vocal effects[28] along a techno robo-funk groove,[29][46] industrial synths,[47] and a "trippy" chorus.[38] In the verses Gaga lists how mental illnesses have affected the world around her while the choruses see her fully acknowledging her mental illness and referring to herself as her own worst enemy.[39][49] In "Plastic Doll", Gaga confronts how she is objectified,[49] comparing herself to a barbie by the way others have treated her.[36] It is a Eurodance and disco song,[49][27] that features a punchy and scintillating production[70] containing "synthetic" drum snaps[74] where Gaga delivers an anguished falsetto.[71] "Sour Candy", Gaga's collaboration with Blackpink, sees the singers addressing a potential lover to not attempt to change their damage.[75] The song is multilingual containing English and Korean[76] and sour candy is used as a metaphor for how the singers function in a relationship.[77] It is a blend of multiple genres including dance-pop,[78] electropop,[77] bubblegum pop[79] and deep house[80] and follows a house,[78] dance[77] and electronic beat.[81] The groovy house[28] and disco-influenced[46] dance-pop[82] anthem, "Enigma" emphasizes Gaga's desire for mystery.[49] It sees Gaga telling a lover she can be anything they desire.[49] The song features an electropop production including[46] "woozy" horn loops[32] "swirling" strings,[83] '80s synths,[67] "soaring" vocals and a "funky" '90s backdrop[37] while the middle of the chorus features drum kicks.[46] The record continues with the Hispanic-influenced French house,[47] nu-disco[49] and electropop[84] track "Replay", that contains deep house elements,[46] disco synths,[38] and ghost-like vocals.[72] It sees Gaga addressing her past[49] and being in an unhealthy relationship with herself.[46]

"Chromatica III", a "dramatic" string arrangement,[49] goes into Gaga's collaboration with Elton John, "Sine from Above", that talks about the healing power of music[4] and Gaga's relationship with a higher power.[85] Influenced by electronica,[45] it blends multiple genres including electropop,[86] Euro disco,[28] dance-pop,[33] trance,[37] and house music,[7] while also featuring trance synths,[87] a panpipe-inflected beat[47] and includes a drum n' bass breakdown at the end of the song.[88] "1000 Doves", a trance song,[71] contains "sparkling" synths,[70] a piano-driven house beat and "ethereal" backing vocals.[49] A "graceful" cry for help,[36] Gaga professes her love for her fans, wanting them to see her as a human.[49] The album closer, "Babylon" is a disco-influenced '90s-house and hi-NRG song,[37][49][84] which talks about gossip, something that "used to run" the singer's life and made her feel "small and chained".[4] The track received comparisons to "Vogue" by Madonna.[37][27][42][72] The Target and international deluxe edition contains bonus track "Love Me Right", a downtempo "vulnerable" song, differing from the songs on the album's standard edition.[89]

In response to tabloid reports saying she might be pregnant, Gaga tweeted on March 12, 2019, "Rumors I'm pregnant? Yeah, I'm pregnant with #LG6."[90][91][92] Several news outlets speculated the tweet alluded to a release within a nine-month window, the typical span of a human pregnancy, but the anniversary has since come and gone, proving the theory to be false.[91] In October 2019, she jokingly announced via Twitter that the album would be called Adele after the English singer-songwriter of the same name.[93] In January 2020, several news outlets reported that the album's lead single was scheduled to be released in early February, with the album's release following soon afterwards.[94]

On March 2, 2020, Gaga announced the name of the album and that it will be released on April 10, 2020. The pre-order for Chromatica was made available with the announcement.[95][96] On March 24, Gaga announced in a statement on Instagram and other platforms that the release would be postponed until later that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[97] She later elaborated on the decision: "It's been a very difficult time for a lot of people, and we stopped the drop of the record and everything that we were doing because I really wanted to be more specific at one point. I wanted to do something to help the world, that was very focused. And working with the World Health Organization and Global Citizen [on the televised benefit concert, Together at Home] was a way for me to talk about kindness, and the things that I believe in, in a very focused way, as opposed to a more abstract way, which for me, is what Chromatica is."[98]

The album was released on May 29, 2020.[99] On the same day, Spotify unveiled "Welcome to Chromatica", an enhanced album, where the tracks of the album are interspersed with video messages of Gaga delivering her personal "Chromatica Manifesto", and exclusive photos and downloadable posters are also included.[100]

Gaga planned an album listening party on the day of the release, but postponed the event due to the protests for justice after the killing of George Floyd, saying that "our kindness is needed for the world today."[101] Teaming up with Adobe and Live Nation, Gaga announced an online competition with a $10,000 cash grand prize, where participants have to design and illustrate "what Chromatica means to them", using Adobe creative apps.[102]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Album of the Year	77/100[120]
AnyDecentMusic?	7.6/10[121]
Metacritic	79/100[122]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[43]
The A.V. Club	B[27]
DIY	[123]
Entertainment Weekly	A–[69]
The Guardian	[47]
The Independent	[48]
NME	[28]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[41]
Rolling Stone	[42]
Slant Magazine	[83]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Chromatica has an average score of 79 based on 24 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[122] Album of the Year collected 28 reviews and calculated an average of 77 out of 100.[120] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[121]

Jason Lipshutz of Billboard dubbed the album a "summer [escape] of the highest quality".[29] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album a four-out-of-five rating and called it "a comeback album from an artist who has never gone away". He added: "Maybe she's lost her appetite to be a weird provocateur, but she has learned how to sharpen and stylize her attack, and that focus makes Chromatica one of her most consistent and satisfying albums."[43] Patrick Gomez of The A.V. Club gave the album a "B", writing that although it is "at times frenetic and disjointed", the songs are generally strong and varied.[27] Michael Cragg from The Guardian gave the album a 4 out of 5, saying the album "represents not only Gaga’s most personal record, but her most straightforward" and compared it to the electropop from earlier works. However, he felt some songs ran too short on the album, and felt "claustrophobic" and "overworked".[47] Katherine St. Asaph from Pitchfork opined that "the pop diva returns to her dance-pop days with a fabulously fun and deeply personal album that is at turns bizarre, theatrical, and ambitious."[41] In a positive review from from Variety, Jem Aswad wrote that the album has "consistency and sonic unity, even as the songs wander thematically and melodically all over the map" as well as calling it a "rock-solid foundation for the next phase of [Gaga's] remarkable career".[35] Hannah Mylrea of NME gave a positive review calling the album "pure joy" specifically calling the record's production "glossy."[28]

Furthering with positive reviews, Nick Smith of musicOMH concluded his review by saying: "There may not be anything really new here, but why mess with this formula when it can produce such engaging slaps and dancefloor empowerment?"[37] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt thought that "nearly every one of its 13 tracks reaches for a kind of delirious excess: thunderous hard candy bangers designed to press on the brain’s pleasure centers until they submit, again and again, to the replay button."[69] Kory Grow from Rolling Stone thought that "mostly, Gaga has focused Chromatica's spectrum on the kind of body-moving music that comes naturally to her" and said that "her pop renaissance couldn’t come at a better time."[42] Clash gave the album a rating of 8/10 stating, "Across its sixteen tracks, Chromatica is entirely over-the-top, but in the best possible way. Every song is an anthem of defiance and empowerment, turned up to 11 and genetically engineered for maximum danceability."[88] The Telegraph's Neil McCormick wrote that "Chromatica offers Gaga at her most energetic and forceful, and that is something to behold."[124] Alexandra Pollard of The Independent called it "extravagant" but "overblown", although she suspected that "it will keep revealing itself over time."[48] Writing for PopMatters, Evan Sawdey called the album a "full-bore masterwork" praising the song's music choice and lyrical content.[72] Sarah Jamieson from DIY described it as "a record packed to the brim with euphoric beats and sizzling grooves" and "also one of her most honest and open records yet".[123] Laura Alvarez from Forbes named it "pop's strongest album of the year", and praised Gaga for "the bravery in her songwriting".[125]

In a mixed review from Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani wrote that Gaga "continues to mine the same territory, both musically and conceptually, suggests the empress truly has no clothes."[83] Simon K. of Sputnikmusic also gave a mixed review writing that it is a "solid" return but is too "indecisive."[74] Jeremy J. Fisette from Beats Per Minute gave the album a 64 out of 100 rating, and said that the production "becomes a bit samey by record's end, leading to a dull predictability", although "Gaga's vocals [...] save the day much of the time."[40] Dan Weiss from Spin highlighted some of the songs with "slam dunk" hooks, but overall criticized the music for being "unnecessarily disciplined", and called it "her least sonically diverse album ever."[126]

In June 2020, the album was included on Billboard, Variety, and Rolling Stone's lists of the best albums of 2020 so far.[127][128][129]

Chromatica debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with 274,000 album-equivalent units (including 205,000 pure album sales) moved during its first week, becoming the biggest opening week sales for a female artist in 2020, and fifth overall. It became the second album by a female artist to reach number one in 2020, following Rare by Selena Gomez. Billboard noted that 75% of the total units came from album sales, which were bolstered by "dozens of merchandise/album bundles sold via her official webstore, and a concert ticket/album sale offer with her three upcoming US stadium shows scheduled for August". The album also accumulated a total of 87.16 million on-demand streams of individual album tracks in the week ending June 13. Gaga became the eighth woman to have more than six number one albums in the US, joining Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Janet Jackson. Gaga also broke the record for taking the least amount of time to achieve six number-one albums for a female artist, having achieved the feat in nine years and two days, besting the previous record set by Swift (ten years, nine months).[130]

In the United Kingdom, Chromatica sold 52,907 units which landed it at number one on the UK Albums Chart and became the biggest opening week sales of the year so far. When broken down, the units equate to 6,305 digital downloads, 14,893 streaming-equivalent sales and 31,709 physical copies sold.[131] Of the physical sales, 8,500 sales were for vinyl copies of album, which the Official Charts Company noted as being significant as this also represented the fastest selling vinyl record of the year so far. Additionally, according to Official Charts Company, who compile the UK charts, the album sold more than the rest of the top-ten combined. It is also Gaga's fourth number one following The Fame (2008) / The Fame Monster (2009), Born This Way (2011), and Artpop (2013), or fifth UK Chart topper if Gaga's cast appearance on the A Star Is Born (2018) soundtrack is also included. Chromatica also surpassed the first-week sales figures of Gaga's previous three releases, A Star Is Born, Joanne (2016), and her collaborative album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek (2014).[132]

In Japan, the album debuted at number three on the Oricon Albums Chart and the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart, with 14,238 units sold.[133][134] In France, Chromatica debuted at number one with 21,746 units.[135]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Chromatica.[23]