The moment little monsters have been waiting for has finally arrived.
Lady Gaga just unleashed her latest project Harlequin today (September 27), which is a soundtrack album for the upcoming film Joker: Folie et Deux with Joaquin Phoenix debuting next Friday (October 4).
Several songs are interpolations and covers, including songs from Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, Carpenters, Anthony Newley, Charlie Chaplin and more. There are also brand new songs, including “Happy Mistake” written with BloodPop and “Folie à Deux,” ultimately topping our New Music Friday playlist this week.
The singer recently spoke about the making of the record, saying “The film had so much music in it, so much music I love, and I was able to discover the character through the story, through the music that we did live every day as well as dance and the costumes and the makeup. So I kind of had this deep experience with the character and she just didn’t really leave me creatively and I decided I wanted to make a whole album inspired by her.”
“If I want it to be blues, it’ll be blues. If I want it to be funk, it’ll be funk. If I want it to be soul, it’ll be soul.”
Affectionately dubbed LG6.5, Harlequin is an exploration of the raw, emotional complexity of a woman who thrives in chaos, a genre-defying force who cannot be contained. Just like Harley Quinn and Gaga herself, this album is unpredictable, full of contrasts, and unapologetically bold.
Other artists featured on this week’s playlist are Linkin Park, U2, Chicago, Michael Bublé, Stevie Nicks, John Legend, Nina Nesbitt, Matt Hansen, Leon Bridges, Saweetie, Alex Warren, Lil Durk, Shakira, Katie Gavin, Kimbra, Towa Bird, YDE, NLE Choppa, Madison Bailey, Montell Fish, Alex Sampson, Iann Dior, Damiano David and Almost Monday.
One of our favorite parts of New Music Friday playlist is all of the collaborations. Be sure to add “Timeless” by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti, “Dope Boy” by Young Thug and Nigo, “Stars Will Align” by Kygo and Imagine Dragons, “Mystery” by Allen Stone and PJ Morton, “Voided Velvet” by New Translations and Michigander, “Backup Plan” by Nat and Alex Wolff, “Pissed Off” by Bia and Lil Yachty and “Wassup” by Ciara and Busta Rhymes.
We are also celebrating two anniversary albums – The 25th Anniversary of Christina Aguilera featuring “Genie In a Bottle” featuring mgk and “What a Girl Wants” with Sabrina Carpenter and Gavin DeGraw’s Chariot 20.
Keep scrolling to see our picks and let us know what you think of them by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
