Album Review: Chromatica - Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s latest release, Chromatica is a dance-pop album that, after being delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was released on May 29th, 2020. Gaga’s sixth album came after having been teased since March of 2019. The album includes collaborations with Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, and Elton John. Two tracks were released leading up to the album’s release; “Stupid Love” and “Rain On Me”. Prior to the singles being released, Lady Gaga’s album trended on Twitter in early 2020 due to her single “Stupid Love” making the rounds on the internet after it was leaked. The leak generated so much online chatter, that Gaga made a plea to her fans in an effort to stop people from spreading the leaked audio. Despite a rocky lead up to her launch and subsequent delay, Gaga still scored her sixth no. 1 album on the Billboard 200 early last month.

Joanne, Lady Gaga’s 5th album, was a notable departure from her dance/disco-pop sound and it delved much more into the personal as well as even country in some songs. Now that Chromatica has been released, it’s clear that Gaga is returning to her roots and embracing the sound that launched her career. Chromatica is composed of 13 tracks and three transitional songs (Chromatica I, II, & III). Of all the songs, “Rain On Me” ft. Ariana Grande has skyrocketed to my #1 slot. Like a couple of the songs on the album, “Rain On Me” grew on me more and more with each listen. Similar to “Stupid Love”, the track is an upbeat dance-pop song that closely follows Gaga’s formula. The songs are joyful, energetic, and nostalgic for many fans such as myself. I struggled greatly with where to place most of the songs on my list since I think they’re all enjoyable for various different moods. The album is incredibly consistent in quality with the exception of two songs which fall on the other side of the ranking which are “1000 Doves” and “Babylon”. While the rest of the album is cohesive in terms of quality, “1000 Doves” feels like a song that people unfamiliar with Gaga would dream up when asked to give an example of her sound. While that sounds damning, it isn’t necessarily a bad song. It has its moments. Part of the reason why it ranks lowest on my list is because it bears a similarity to other songs on the album like “Free Woman” and “Fun Tonight”. I think that the former two songs nail that particular sound better, and since it’s repetitive, it ranks last on my list. “Babylon” faces a similar problem, and sounds a little too generic for my liking.

Chromatica is an album that I’d been waiting to hear for over a year. Its release injected much needed entertainment for me in a time where I, like most people, am stuck alternating between several TV shows or movies that I’m re-watching. Obviously, Lady Gaga’s fanbase is overwhelmingly young, having struck a chord with the Gay Community, one that largely skews young. Her album is a strongly desired return to her roots and it’s clear that this is where she is most comfortable. The album, with the exception of one or two outliers on either side of the spectrum, is extremely consistent in quality and is very cohesive. The tone is classically Gaga overall and there is absolutely something for every one of her fans to find in this album. Gaga also succeeded in bringing new people into her fandom by collaborating with BLACKPINK, a South Korean girl group with a large fan base, as well as Ariana Grande, who has her own large dedicated fanbase. In her return to form, Lady Gaga has reinvigorated her fans and delivered a fantastic and well-crafted album.

Rating: 10/10