After leakers got their hands on it over the weekend, an angry Lady Gaga officially released new single, “Applause,” today, a week earlier than planned.
The propulsive, driving track is a layered, dance twirler about how Gaga lives for, you guessed it, “Applause.”
The song opens with a staccato beat (a la “Paparazzi”) as Lady Gaga sings in a very mannered, dramatic fashion, “I stand here waiting for you to beat the gong/to crash the critics saying, ‘Is it right or is it wrong”?.”
The song quickly bursts into a full-on dance track full of hand claps (as well as live audience applause later), and weaving synthesizers and echoes. If Lady Gaga has drawn plentiful comparisons to Madonna, here she’s in Annie Lennox mode when it gets to the bridge.
The production is an in-your-face assault of 3D sounds coming at you over and over as she reminds us again and again that she lives for her Little Monsters. While it’s a bit overbearing, it”s a nice message for the fans to hear as she comes back with “ARTPOP” on Nov. 11. If this song is any indication, the album will explore her role in pop culture.
The song”s release comes two days after Katy Perry put out her new single, “Roar.”
Which song do you prefer?