Get your waist-high, electric-pink, high-heel, leather boots because it is time to dance for your life in ‘Chromatica’
On the night of May 29th, Lady Gaga’s latest album came to public light, LG6, aka Chromatica. This album is composed of 16 songs that take you from your living room (not the club, yet) to a neo-pink cyberpunk world where, in her own words, “no one thing is greater than the other,” where equality and freedom are demanded. This is her dance floor, her world, her songs, and in a very deep way, her truth. On the visual side of the record, she gives us images from a dystopian world. Great attention is paid to fashion and the use of a chromatic palette with a strong emphasis on electric pink and dark green.
She covers various topics like fame, monsters, consequences, craving for healing, self-awareness, and the ability to look for help. The lyrics contrast in a strange but satisfactory way with energetic and bright, upbeat rhythms — a sort of techno dance and house sound from the 90s and an 80s disco vibe.
The whole record is divided into three acts, each with their own respective orchestral overture. The orchestral pieces add breaks to the upbeat dance style of the album, and takes us, with smart and smooth transitions, from one part of the album to the next. In the first act, she dives deep into her trauma and the ways she fought it. The second act takes us through different struggles and fights that she faced during the creation of this record. Ending with the third act, she explores healing and self-discover, finding her purpose and embracing her vulnerability, and finally celebrating her uniqueness.
The record is created to be listened to chronologically from beginning to end. So let’s dive into some of the lyrics and secrets that Lady Gaga gave us. But just a few, you guys need to find the rest on your own.
We start with “Chromatica I,” “II,” and “III.” Yes, I’ll talk about them at the same time since they are orchestral pieces with the same characteristics, just developed in different ways. They take us from section to section in a very smooth and almost dramatic way, giving us an idea of what comes next and increasing our anticipation of what we will find there. This is especially true for “Chromatica II.”
Don’t call her Alice
Then we fall down the rabbit hole with “Alice,” and we arrive at — wonderland? Yes, Gaga uses this song to describe her craving for something she still doesn’t know, referring to it simply as wonderland. She asks herself who she is, how she got here, what she had to leave behind, and why she’s still looking for that wonderland.
My name isn’t Alice
But I’ll keep looking, I’ll keep looking for Wonderland
Time to get wet
After that, we now get wet with “Rain on Me,” her duet with Ariana Grande. This is her latest song that just debuted number one on the Billboard 100 List. So yes, it’s a banger, with its upbeat techno dance rhythm. The lyrics are full of analogies, like the rain that symbolizes sadness, and how to embrace it, accept it, and learn from it. You can find more about this in our recent review of this song.
I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive
Rain on me, rain, rain
Feeling Free
Next, is there a better way to put your tears away and accept your true self than by discovering you are a “Free Woman.” This track is an empowerment song where she explores the trauma she’s left in the past. Even though you can definitely rock to this song in the club with your friends, you may feel sad when you hear the lyrics. It’s the story of a girl that walked alone wanting to have the world but not able to because a man was in her way. Now she is dancing and owning her own dancefloor, her own downtown. The pain that is suffered can be healed, and it can give freedom. It needs to be embraced.
I’m not nothing without a steady hand
I’m not nothing unless I know I can
I’m still something if I don’t got a man
I’m a free woman, oh-oh (Be free)
Let’s have fun
Have you ever felt betrayed and cheated? Well, that’s how I felt with this next song. But don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing. We start with the name “Fun Tonight.” You may say, “Ha! That sounds fun!” Then you play it, “Oh, it’s good. Nice beat!” But then, BAM! The chorus hits you, and you discover the sad truth; this song is nothing but a cry for help. It’s her way of telling us how cruel and vicious fame can be and the pressures it carries. She created these lyrics — with nods to previous songs like “Paparazzi,” “The Fame,” and “Artpop.”
You love the paparazzi, love the fame
Even though you know it causes me pain
I feel like I’m in a prison hell
Stick my hands through the steel bars and yell
What happens now? I’m not okay”
Someone call 911
After the second interlude — which includes a great transition into the next song — the album flows with disco fun and a 90s techno vibe. And it covers topics Gaga has spoken on before, drugs and mental health. In this one, she uses “911” as the title and a reference for the last resource she has to fight the extreme pain and PTSD she has from her past and from fibromyalgia. She talks about how she discovered a problem with herself and how she sees herself as her number one enemy. All of this on top of a good tempo, robotic voices, and the flavors of a 90s techno house song.
I can’t see me cry
Can’t see me cry this is the end (Ooh)
My biggest enemy is me
Pop a 911
Sweet and sour
The duets on this album aren’t stopping. Teaming up with international sensation, BlackPink, she offers us “Sour Candy” with its supermodel-runway style. With a sample from Maya Jane Coles’ “What They Say,” it may sound similar to “Swish Swish” by Katy Perry, whose song also used that sample. But, hey, that’s not the deal, music is music, and both are great songs utilizing this cool and high-fashion beat. Let’s enjoy the bridge where Gaga’s deep vocal rap gives me a girl-boss vibe playing the mentor role for the younger women. Meanwhile, the BlackPink girls, with those sweet and bright timbers, learn the lesson that she gave them about playing with dualities. Love and sex, rough and soft, being bitter on the outside but sweet on the inside. Give me that sour candy!
I’ll show you what’s me
Close your eyes, don’t peek
Now I’m undressing
Unwrap sour candy
Wrapped in an enigma
“Enigma” is an anthem to pure love. In it, she pictures a couple’s conversation, where she confesses her fear of falling in love. But, she’s willing to stay — “even just tonight” — and be his lover. She’s ready to be that enigmatic person that can take him to ecstasy and heal him. This is all set to a great trumpet arrangement creating a beautiful light and almost ephemeral sound. This blends very well with the passion she infuses with her powerful chest voice during the chorus. This song is revitalizing and makes you want to stand up, shout, and sing along. But don’t go too fast. Gaga is also giving us more than one meaning in the lyrics. Even though it’s a beautiful story on the surface, on the down-low, we find this great duality between the enigma and the real person. Lady Gaga, the character, is giving her voice and strength to the vulnerable and scared Stefani, her authentic self. She is saying: Don’t be afraid. If you are scared, I’ll be your face, your makeup, your person — I’ll be your Enigma.
We could be lovers, even just tonight
We could be anything you want
We could be jokers, brought to the daylight
We could break all of our stigma
I’ll, I’ll be your enigma
Show me a ‘sine’
I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t give you my thoughts about this song since it is one of my favorites from the record. That’s right; the collabs on this album are still serving, and it’s none other than her duet with Sir Elton John. With another transition from Chromonica III, we are transported into what I believe is the cathartic moment of the album in “Sine From Above.” If I could describe this song in two words, I would say magical and celestial. With beautiful strings and deep piano notes, Gaga grabs you hard, telling you how difficult this journey has been, how deep and low she has felt going through severe trauma. When she feels like nothing is worth the effort, she hears a “sine,” and that celestial moment helps her to heal and realize her true love. She uses the double entendre to signify both sign and sine. The first is a celestial symbol she was granted to guide her on her real path or purpose. The second is the sinusoid wave symbolizing sound that split her in two and healed her throughout the making of this record. Elton and Gaga play inside this beautiful dynamic where they both sing about their trauma as equals. They create a humble and powerful connection between their voices, and you can feel how much fame can hurt and take you to dark places. At the end of the song, you may be struck by this crazy techno explosion, and I get you; I felt the same. But after hearing it a few times, I could understand how beautiful and smart this song is.
I heard one sine from above
Then the signal split in two
The sound created stars like me and you
Before there was love, there was silence
Destination: Babylon
Now to close out the album — and my long review — we have what, for me, is the gay anthem we were waiting for. And we are here to enjoy it. From lost lands and times, we enter into “Babylon.” This song is the perfect mix between a battlefield and the dance floor. I clearly can hear RuPaul saying, “Dance for your life!” every time I play this song. But first, let’s address the tea, honey. Yes, it sounds like “Vogue.” Yes, that “Vogue.” It clearly sounds like a 2020 version of Madonna’s 90s hit. If you’re still mad about that little feud from past years — well, let me tell you something girl, it’s freaking 2020, and we do have greater issues to address now. So just enjoy this gay dance anthem. In Babylon, Gaga creates a battlefield to fight against all the gossip, lies, and fake people that fame has brought. She uses a similar sound in the lyrics “Baylon,” “Babble on,” and “Battle on” that gives a repetitive rhythm to the song. I would expect this song to be mandatory in every club, dancefloor, and TikTok dance.
Strut it out, walk a mile
Serve it ancient city style
Talk it out, babble on
Battle for your life, Babylon!
Final Word
So that’s it little monsters. This album could be compared to Born This Way, but with a more mature point of view. She’s grown, and we see it in the way she expresses herself. The album mixes different topics that she has spoken about before in previous works like fame, mental health, drugs, anxiety, and depression. I would say this is a balance between the uniqueness and musical experimentation from ArtPop and the raw reality of self-discovery that Born This Way gave us. Now I invite you to be transported and let your body be filled with this techno-dance-electro-pop album that is Chromatica.
