For the first time in history, you can now refer to “that stupid song by Lady Gaga” and not offend anyone. Lady Gaga released her first solo single in three years, “Stupid Love,” on Feb. 28. The song’s arrival came perfectly in time for leap day so we could all have an extra 24 hours to enjoy it.
“Stupid Love” is the first released single from Gaga’s much-anticipated sixth studio album, “Chromatica,” set to be released on April 10. The so-called unintelligent single suggests “Chromatica” will mark Gaga’s return to the crazy and joyful electro-pop sound that made her famous.
Gaga is easily considered one of the biggest pop stars in the industry even though she hasn’t released a pure pop album since “Artpop” in 2013. In no way, however, does this mean she’s been out of the spotlight.
In 2014, Gaga collaborated with Tony Bennett, a well-known showtunes and jazz artist, to record an album of jazz standards called “Cheek to Cheek.” She then performed a beautiful rendition of “The Sound of Music” in a 2015 Oscars tribute, danced through an energizing Super Bowl halftime show in 2017 and starred in “A Star is Born,” which won her an Academy Award for Best Original Song. If fans didn’t already know how versatile Gaga is already, she’s certainly made it clear she is a musical chameleon of many artistic talents.
Gaga also released “Joanne” in 2016, leading us toward a new style of pop infused with country and plenty of authentic storytelling. The artist spoke out about the change in styles between “Joanne” and her upcoming album, “Chromatica,” in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music.
“On Joanne, I was more in a space artistically of crafting something that, you know, conceptually all kind of went together,” Gaga said. “An album about the trauma of my family, an album about how we pass things on generationally to each other.”
Gaga said her upcoming album will be less emotional and more care-free.
“We are definitely dancing,” Gaga said. “I put all my heart, all my pain, all my messages from the other realm that I hear of [and] what they tell me to tell the world. I put that into music that I believe to be so fun and energetically really pure. I want people to dance and feel happy.”
Judging by “Stupid Love,” I think it’s safe to say we’re definitely dancing too. Gaga’s hopes for her music to brighten her fans’ days seem to be more than working. In fact, a video has gone viral of a serious meeting in Italy about the coronavirus being interrupted by a phone playing “Stupid Love,” followed by several smiles and giggles.
A very colorful music video accompanied the single’s release. The video begins with the exposition of tribes at war and people struggling to maintain peace.
Gaga and her posse then arrive in exclusively pink costumes and deliver a feel-good hit to the people. It’s set against a background of what looks like a poorly CGI’d depiction of a foreign planet, making the metallic pink costumes seem even weirder.
The single is a return to the Gaga we know and love, with a new, modern perspective. Though the song is light-hearted and fun, it still carries a meaningful message.
In the first verse, Gaga sings about how she’s been waiting for someone but realizes, “nobody’s gonna / Heal me if I don’t open the door.” She freaks out because all she ever wanted was this person’s love, and she finds she may be standing in the way of herself.
As expected, the catchy chorus sings, “I want your stupid love” with enough “oh’s” to satisfy about 13 alphabets.
The song is fierce, electric and fun, with a subtle message. “Stupid Love” feels nostalgic, as it’s a familiar sound we grew up listening to from Gaga.
Gaga’s return to classic dance-pop is both unexpected and well-received. Honestly, I think the media would stand behind Gaga in just about anything she decides to do or create. If she announced her classical debut at the Metropolitan Opera, I think there would be Little Monsters pouring out of the mezzanine.
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