Earlier this week, Lady Gaga surprised fans by announcing that she was releasing Harlequin, a companion album to her new film Joker: Folie à Deux. But though she’s a musician first and actress second, Gaga says she’s more worried about what the reaction will be to the album than to the film.
Harlequin is out now; the movie arrives Oct. 4. Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Gaga said, “I am super ready for people to see the movie … I think I’m even more nervous for Harlequin to come out because it’s all the music from the film, but it’s all my versions and it’s completely original production.”
She added, “I put so much of my heart and soul into it and so many different genres. Navigating my way around some jazz inspired tunes – that was my first time doing it without Tony as well, and that was really cool.”
Gaga’s friend and musical collaborator, legendary crooner Tony Bennett, died in 2023.
Harlequin was inspired by Gaga’s character in the movie, Lee, who she calls “really complex,” and that carried over into the music. Some songs are blues, some are funk, and some are soul, and since it’s not really an official Lady Gaga album — she refers to it as LG 6.5 — it didn’t have to be one genre or another.
“Calling it LG 6.5, it’s kind of not beholden to pop music or pop culture in the same way that some of my other releases might be,” she told Zane. “And it kind of gave it a freedom in that way.”
Gaga’s actual next album, which she refers to as LG7, is due in February.
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