2018 has been a busy year for the ‘Perfect Illusion’ pop icon, following a last minute emergency cancellation of the remaining 10 European dates of her ‘Joanne World Tour’ in February. Gaga- real name Stefani Joanne Germanotta- suffers from Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition which causes extreme pain all over the body, insomnia and triggers emotional distress. A cure for the long term condition is yet to be found and treatment for sufferers remains very limited.
Germanotta, however, is putting her recovery time to good use and is confirmed to be recording her sixth studio album, LG6 (a working title) at Electric Lady Studios in her home city, NYC, as well as attending NYC Pride, filming A Star Is Born and reportedly getting engaged to her talent agent, Christian Carino.
When can we expect new Lady Gaga music?
As of now, no new release has been announced. However, looking through the artist’s discography you can notice a pattern of a new album being released roughly every two years: ‘ The Fame’ (2008), ‘The Fame Monster’ (2009), ‘Born this way’ (2011),’ ARTPOP’ (2014), ‘Cheek to Cheek’ (2015) and ‘Joanne’ (2016).
Therefore, a betting person might suggest we can expect her new record later this year, however this theory will be challenged by the release of ‘A Star is Born’ in October, in which the six-time Grammy winner takes a leading role alongside director and writer Bradley Cooper.
Although followers of Mother monster will be thrilled to see her in a lead role, this does mean that LG6 is likely to be pushed back until some point in 2019. Gaga has also confirmed that she will be providing the soundtrack for the film and footage of her conducting an orchestra has been linked to the soundtrack, another skill that can be added to her repertoire.
Who is Lady Gaga working with?
The American Horror Story actress’ fifth studio record saw her team up with the likes of Beck, Father John Misty, Florence Welch, Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. Fans are eager to see who will help bring LG6 to life.
DJ Whiteshadow, the producer of ARTPOP hits ‘Applause’ and ‘Do what U want’, as well as large portions of ‘Born this Way’, has confirmed his involvement in LG6 via a now deleted Instagram post.
Bloodpopm, the electropop producer, real name Michael Tucker, produced every song on ‘Joanne’ and has worked with HAIM and Britney Spears. Tucker has been spotted on multiple occasions entering Electric Lady Studios.
Sophie, the Scottish avant-pop producer, had been anticipated to join forces with Gaga after the release of her debut album ‘Oil of every pearl’s Un-Insides’ Sophie confirmed the rumours when asked by fans, stating “I’m working on a lot of different things. If it comes out, then that’s cool. But yeah, she’s a cool person”
okay so i met SOPHIE last night after her show and she CONFIRMED THAT SHE’S WORKING WITH GAGA OMG
PLEASE RETWEET THIS SO EVERYONE KNOWS PLEASE @BraveForGaga95 @ladygaga_JWT @LGMonsterFacts @gagasyuyi @fkajack @AMENARTPOP @ladygaga pic.twitter.com/cxucufWINR— mirrored heart ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* (@artangelssssss) July 8, 2018
Mark Ronson, the man behind ‘Uptown Funk’, Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘Villains’ and Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’ played an integral role on ‘Joanne’. In the process he and Gaga became close friends, as shown in the 2017 Netflix doc Five Foot Two, which featured Mark and documented the life of Lady Gaga during the recording of ‘Joanne’. It is no surprise that Ronson will return for LG6.
Boys Noize– the German DJ revealed this surprise collab via a tweet saying Gaga had spilled water over his equipment, she later responded saying that she had “resurrected it with a blow dryer. It was a christening” This spillage mishap confirmed their joining of forces.
Lady Gaga spilled water over my modular system ?
— Boys Noize (@boysnoize) April 18, 2018
Will there be collaborations?
It has been heavily rumored that Miley Cyrus will feature on LG6. The ‘Malibu’ singer has been frequenting Electric Lady Studios to record her seventh studio album. Therefore, Miley is often in the studio at the same time as Gaga and is said to be working with Mark Ronson too. A fan claims Miley told him that she could “neither confirm nor deny” a collab, adding fuel to the fire. Lady Gaga collaborations are few are far between but when they happen they are great – Florence Welch on ‘Joanne’ track ‘Hey Girl’ and Beyoncé on ‘The Fame Monster’ megahit ‘Telephone’ are a few examples.
What will Lady Gaga’s sixth album sound like?
‘Joanne’ was a departure from Gaga’s signature electropop avant-garde style and took an earthier and toned down approach, incorporating piano, brass and guitar. Some diehard Little Monsters were reluctant to accept the more country and rock influenced direction and found solace in the party anthems ‘John Wayne’ and ‘Dancin’ In Circles’.
What’s next for Mother Monster is a mystery. With the likes of Sophie and Boys Noize joining team Gaga, an experimental edge to LG6 is highly likely. The return of Mark Ronson promises listeners catchy and elevated songs and Bloodpop is sure to bring his unique flair. DJ Whiteshadow marked the fourth anniversary of ‘ARTPOP’ on Instagram stating “I can’t wait to introduce you to your little sister. #LG6.”
This hints at a return to the arty-EDM of tracks such as ‘Donnatella’ and ‘Swine’
Perhaps the next album will mix the styles of Gaga’s earlier pop anthems to her more recent country and jazz endeavors. The current list of producers suggests a return to electropop but then again, this is Lady Gaga we are talking about, and one thing is for sure – we will be surprised.
Will Gaga be touring?
The ‘Born this way’ songstress has signed a two-year contract for a Las Vegas Residency beginning December 2018. Whether her next solo record will receive its own tour is unknown as the residency may very well be showcasing songs from LG6 and could counterfeit as a tour for the album. International Little Monsters will hope Gaga tours worldwide considering the vast majority of the Joanne world tour was set in North America and the European dates were postponed and then cancelled indefinitely. The Las Vegas ticket package is reportedly titled ‘Enigma and limited Jazz& Piano engagement’.
The title has lead to speculation that LG6 will be called ‘Enigma’. The jazz and piano engagement sparks anticipation that she will reunite with her ‘Cheek To Cheek’ collaborator Tony Bennett. In her press release, Gaga says “It’s the land of Elvis, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, the Rat Pack, Elton John, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli. It has been a life-long dream of mine to play Las Vegas.”
Tickets for Lady Gaga’s Las Vegas residency are not yet on sale.
By Kyle Campbell