Lady Gaga’s 2024 album Harlequin is a piece of art that exists as an extension of her role as Harley Quinn in the recent musical film Joker: Folie à Deux (2024). This album consists mostly of reimagined versions of songs that were in the film, which are themselves reimagined jazz and Broadway standards. Essentially you can consider this album Joker: Folie à Deux (Gaga’s Version). Note: Spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux.

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You can listen to the album here.

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The album allows the listener to feel the hectic, performative lives of Harley Quinn and the Joker. Although the songs are all originally quite upbeat, the energy of the album is not sincere or happy, but rather an ironic perversion of the fairytale that Hollywood loves to present. This speaks to the way society expects people to “put on a happy face” (Joker [movie], 2019) to please others, even when they are miserable. 

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Lady Gaga opens the album by greeting the audience with a cover of the 1939 song “Good Morning”, featuring updated lyrics. The piece begins with quiet, romantic vocals describing Harley Quinn’s love affair with the Joker, and quickly becomes more uptempo. The lyrics remind the listener that this song exists in the Joker universe: ‘When the inmates began to sleep…Now the warden’s on his way” and “Bang-bang, you’re black and blue.”. This song is followed by “Get Happy (2024)”, which sounds joyous, but contains opposing lyrics like “...come on…get happy/Get ready for the judgment day” and “You call the doctor, he says “Get happy”/When your delusions are getting low/You had a drink, now you’re feeling happy.”

The album speaks to similar themes as the movie, examining the apathy rampant in society, and exploring how fans turn celebrities into symbols of their own hopes and dreams. This is exemplified in the song “If My Friends Could See Me Now”, which is a jazzy, hectic, upbeat number with an instrumental break that just makes you want to dance along. The song includes relevant thematic lyrics like, “To think this famous man…Should pick an unknown gal/Which there’s no doubt is me.” “That’s Entertainment” is another lively jazz song that has Gaga singing about how society will make anything a show, including the suffering of others (such as Joker’s murder of his mother). She emphasizes that pain is acceptable as long as you're making them money, and as long as you're “entertaining.”

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The standout song from the album is “The Joker,” which is the embodiment of female rage. I must admit I’ve listened to this track a few too many times on repeat because I love the campy melodrama of the song (but also because I’ve been wanting a Harley/Joker musical for years, and this song really captures the character’s dynamic for me). The song is originally from the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd. Joaquin Phoenix, the actor who plays the Joker, covers this song in the film, but very differently. Phoenix sings in traditional Broadway fashion starting at a slow pace and building up to a fast and angry ending. (Listen to Phoenix’s version here). 

Phoenix’s version mourns the life of an abused man, overlooked by society, who finally comes to terms with his villainous identity. Gaga’s version is a song of anger, deception and power, in which Gaga (who plays Harley Quinn and not Joker), repeatedly belts “The Joker is me!” She has producer credits on the piece and has added new lyrics, turning this mediocre and unknown Broadway track into a theatrical pop/rock power ballad that boasts outstanding personality and vocals. This song exemplifies why I call this album Joker: Folie à Deux (Gaga’s Version). For obvious reasons, this was the first song from the album that fans got to hear a good portion of. 

The song "Folie à Deux” is the most traditionally romantic song on the album (although “Close To You” comes close) despite  still having the warped lyrics that characterize the rest of the album: “They might say that we’re crazy/But I’m just in love with you.”. The song is followed by the gospel style song “Gonna Build a Mountain.”. I prefer the film version of the song, which is a duet by Gaga and Phoenix, offering a chaotic sound that plays off the tension between Joker and Harley. In the movie this song is the standout number, while Gaga’s album version is not as memorable for me because it cuts the frenzied bridge of the film version, that brings a catharsis to the emotion of the whole film.

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The second last track on the album, “Happy Mistake”, is an original song co-written by Gaga. It is a guitar ballad, giving some Bo Burnham Inside vibes (including lyrics like “comedy with tragic words.”). This song feels incredibly personal, drawing parallels between the characters of Harley Quinn and the Joker with the public persona of Lady Gaga. The song includes the lyrics,“How’d I get so addicted/To the love of the world?/I can try to hide behind the makeup, but the show must go on.” Gaga’s stunning vocals are absolutely heartbreaking, making this tear jerker another standout for me.

The album concludes with “That’s Life”, a crooner style song that ends with a belt/scream vocal by Gaga that provides emotional intensity. This track includes an ironic conclusion to the album, almost dismissing all that both Harley Quinn and Gaga have been through, and referencing the role that both women play for their fans, “I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pawn, and a queen.”

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I would say Harlequin could be enjoyed without watching the movie, as there is a lot to take in from Gaga’s vocal performance and the instrumentation alone. However, watching the movie first will allow listeners to appreciate the full nuances of the album.

‍Harlequin reminds me of The Normal Album by Will Wood, which similarly distorts retro styles of music to comment on mental health, image, and performativity. The album, like the film, offers meta commentary about the nature of stardom, and what we as a society find entertaining. The album references the world of the film, but also the real-life fans of the Joker and Harley Quinn. It also comments on Lady Gaga‘s own creation of an exaggerated version of herself in order to become famous. She worries that no one cares about the real person behind the charade.