Top Stories This Week

Related Posts

Little Monsters rejoice! Lady Gaga announces surprise ‘Harlequin’ companion album to ‘Joker 2’

Lady Gaga is giving Little Monsters a reason to go gaga again.

On Tuesday, the Grammy and Oscar-winning diva announced a surprise album, “Harlequin,” that will serve as a companion to her “Joker: Folie a Deux.” 

The 13-song set will arrive on Friday, a week before the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster “Joker” hits theaters on Oct. 4. 

Lady Gaga plays Harley Quinn in “Joker: Folie a Deux,” which hits theaters on Oct. 4. Warner Bros. Pictures

Gaga, 38, had been hinting at the album with billboards featuring “LG 6.5” written in red lettering that appeared in New York and Los Angeles. She had previously been teasing “LG7” as her upcoming seventh studio album.

The singer-actress had made some cryptic posts on Instagram in the past several days that seemed to suggest something was coming.

“I’m ready for my interview,” read the first post. “Still not October,” she teased on Monday.

And on Tuesday, she revealed what exactly it was: “Harlequin,” which takes its name after her Harley Quinn character who has a “Bad Romance” with Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.

As “Joker 2” brings some musical mayhem to the franchise, Gaga gets to show off her singing talents on standards — something that she has shown herself well equipped to do, from her collaborative albums with the late Tony Bennett to her “Jazz & Piano” residency in Las Vegas.

Among the classic tunes revisited on “Harlequin” are “Get Happy,” “Oh, When the Saints,” “World On A String,” “That’s Entertainment,” “That’s Life” and “Smile.”

Lady Gaga co-stars with Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker: Folie a Deux,” the sequel to 2019’s “Joker” blockbuster. AP

The album — Gaga’s first since 2020’s “Chromatica” — comes on the heels of “Die With A Smile,” her duet with Bruno Mars that dropped last month and is currently No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

“He asked me to come to his studio to hear something,” Gaga told Vogue in her October cover story. “It was around midnight when I got there and I was blown away. We stayed up all night finishing the song.”

Gaga also showed that she was getting her music groove back with her ostrich-feathered performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Lady Gaga attended the 2024 Venice Film Festival with fiancé Michael Polanskky Gigi Iorio / SplashNews.com
Lady Gaga performed at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in July. Getty Images

And there’s even more music on the way. Gaga — who last appeared on-screen in 2021’s “House of Gucci” — also plans to release the first single from “L7” in October.

Gaga told Vogue that her fiancé Michael Polansky — the couple got engaged in April — inspired the direction of “L7.”

Lady Gaga’s “Harlequin” album will serve as a companion to her movie “Joker: Folie a Deux.” Lady Gaga

“Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record,” she said of her partner of five years. “He was like, ‘Babe, I love you. You need to make pop music.’”

Gaga said that “L7” — which is due in February — reflects the joy that she felt touring with Polansky during 2022’s Chromatica Ball.

“I feel like this new album, in a lot of ways, is about that time.”

Stay informed with diverse insights directly in your inbox. Subscribe to our email updates now to never miss out on the latest perspectives and discussions. No membership, just enlightenment.