Celebrity Culture
What Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Teaches Us About the World
I had Chromatica on replay for a week and these are my takeaways
She belted out the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner, sending chills down the spines of all who listened.
She sang and she grooved to 70s jazz music dressed in a tuxedo and a top hat.
She lept from the top of the stadium and launched into a medley of her greatest hits at the Super Bowl Halftime Show for twelve minutes without co-headliners.
She was the face of One World: Together At Home, the global fundraising event that raised $127 million for the fight against the Coronavirus.
She is none other than Stefani Germanotta, more commonly known as Lady Gaga. Gaga’s latest album, Chromatica, has just become Gaga’s sixth studio album to reach the top spot on the charts. I have been listening to Chromatica on repeat since its release on May 29, and I am listening to it as I draft this story. I have also embedded the album here so you can listen to it while reading the rest of this article.
I am the sort of person that listens to the same album continuously for weeks. My friends say it is weird — and at times infuriating — to live with me when the same tracks are on replay at every hour of every day. I find it hard to disagree with them. After all, I did listen to Taylor Swift for a whopping 38,411 minutes in 2019.
Usually, I would play albums on shuffle to mix it up a little. Listening in no particular order also changes the experience for me each time. For Chromatica, I broke away from my habits and I listened to all of the tracks in order. Strange, right? Let me explain why.
Unlike most albums, Chromatica progresses through three acts, with musical interludes and commentaries by Gaga preceding each act. I do not know much about music, but to me, these interludes are works of art with string instruments that transition seamlessly into the album’s main tracks. These ‘extras’ are only available on Spotify and each act revolves around a theme:
- Act 1: Conflict between vision and reality — explores utopianism and alcoholism
- Act 2: A world connected by love and kindness — delves into alcoholism, feminism, and finding oneself
- Act 3: Chromatica represents an endless journey to process the world — religion plays a major part in this final section
The essence of Chromatica
After Artpop, Joanne and A Star is Born, Chromatica marks a shift towards electronic dance music (EDM). It is tempting to conclude that Gaga has come full circle and is returning to her dance music ‘roots’ that first launched her Grammy award-winning career. However, Chromatica is more than that.
Chromatica addresses social issues with the aim of “healing the world”. Chromatica is a departure and a growth from singing about sex, fame, and money. Chromatica puts things in perspective. It is honest. It is vulnerable. And it is ‘real’.
It evokes all of these candid emotions because Gaga’s distinct voice permeates the album. Only in very few instances does her voice sound autotuned and non-humanlike. If you watched A Star is Born and was impressed by Gaga’s soulful voice, Chromatica will not disappoint you.
In an interview with Zane Lowe, Gaga remarks that:
“… working with the World Health Organization and Global Citizen was a way for me to talk about kindness and the things that I believed in, in a very focused way as opposed to a more abstract way, which for me is what Chromatica is. [Chromatica] is a beautiful abstraction of my perception of the world.”
- Lady Gaga in an interview with Zane, 2020
Gaga meant for Chromatica to carry a deeper message that reflects both the good and the bad of the world. Through music, Gaga conveys her observations of the world and expresses her views on the human condition. The following are three of my takeaways from Chromatica.
#1 Keep fighting for your ideals
“My name isn’t Alice But I’ll keep looking, I’ll keep looking for Wonderland”
- Lyrics to Alice from Lady Gaga’s Chromatica
The first track on the album explores the dichotomy between vision and reality. Alluding to Alice in Wonderland, Gaga asserts that she is not Alice who goes down a rabbit hole and ends up in Wonderland. Instead, Gaga’s persona searches for a place called Wonderland.
Wonderland in this track symbolizes Gaga’s utopian vision of a world of kindness. In a previous article, I discussed how utopias are guiding posts for what an ideal world should be. I believe that is the spirit that Gaga is trying to convey. A Wonderland may be wishful thinking, but it is still meaningful to endeavor to get as close as we can to an ideal state.
In a time of unrest and unhappiness, perhaps ‘searching for Wonderland’ is the mindset we should all adopt. Fighting for justice in the world may seem daunting but if we can move even an inch closer to ‘Wonderland’, it is still a laudable improvement to the status quo.
#2 Support, not compete
“Lift me up, give me a start ’Cause I’ve been flying with some broken arms Lift me up, just a small nudge And I’ll be flying like a thousand doves”
- Lyrics to 1000 Doves from Lady Gaga’s Chromatica
Before launching to stardom, producers told Gaga she was not blonde enough, and even her boyfriend “hoped [she would] fail.” The music industry can be competitive and demeaning, but Gaga has consistently supported other artists in the industry. On the contrary, Gaga disassociates herself from the rat race to clinch the next Grammy award or the ‘Top Artist of the Year’ accolade. For instance, when Cardi B was criticized for not being ‘good enough’ when she won her first Grammy, Gaga stepped up and defended Cardi.
We have all heard of stories of mad kings who rise to the top and proceed to commit every heinous act possible to remain at the top. Gaga is nothing like that.
In many ways, Gaga’s attitude towards her peers reminds me of the support — that I have often been on the receiving end of — among the writers on Medium.
#3 Ignore the critics and the naysayers
“Strut it out, walk a mile Serve it, ancient-city style Talk it out, babble on
- Lyrics to Babylon from Lady Gaga’s Chromatica
A track about the gossip train is a fitting end to an album that seeks to empower its listeners. In Babylon, Gaga dismisses the people that try to put us down. Celebrities are often the target of tabloids, but many of us have probably also been a target of gossips and rumors at some point. In response, Gaga advises fans to “strut it out” and not let our critics affect us.
As Gaga states in a separate Instagram post:
“Be you, and be relentlessly you. That’s the stuff of champions.”
Final Thoughts
Gaga was the first pop artist I ever listened to, and I have followed every era of Gaga’s career since my music teacher played Poker Face in class when I was nine. Chromatica is a culmination of how far Gaga has come as a creative artist. Her journey taught me that just because the world expects you to start in a niche and to stay in your lane, it does not mean you must conform. You, too, can explore other options and stretch your wings a little before you soar.
So, have you listened to Chromatica? If you have, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. If you have yet to give the album a listen, I hope that I have nudged you towards giving Chromatica a chance.
As the world goes through a traumatic period, perhaps Chromatica is just what we need to keep “dancing through the pain.”