Gypsy (Lady Gaga song)

"Gypsy"
Song by Lady Gaga from the album Artpop
Released November 6, 2013
Format Digital download
Recorded Record Plant
(Hollywood, California)
CRC Studios
(Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length 4:09
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Artpop track listing

"Dope"
(13)		 "Gypsy"
(14)		 "Applause"
(15)

"Gypsy" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga, for her third studio album Artpop (2013). It was written and produced by Gaga with French DJ Madeon, with additional writing credits from RedOne and Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair. The song was developed with Madeon after Gaga's Born This Way Ball tour performance in France, where the two had interacted. Gypsy" was described as Artpop's most personal song, about travelling the world and the loneliness associated with it. An Europop and electropop song, "Gypsy" is a 1980s style "anthemic" track with piano and guitar instrumentation, and lyrically talks about Gaga's fans as being the people she feels closer. The track was mistakenly assumed to be the third single from the album when Interscope Records listed it on their SoundCloud page reserved for future releases.

"Gypsy" received generally positive reviews from music critics who praised the composition, the simplicity of the production, the anthemic nature, as well as being reminiscent of Gaga's own song, "The Edge of Glory". Gaga first performed the song during a listening party for Artpop in Berlin, wearing a moustache. Subsequent performances happened at her ArtRave concert, Saturday Night Live television show, Lady Gaga and the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular Thanksgiving special, as well as the encore on her 2014 ArtRave: The Artpop Ball world tour.

Background and development

RedOne smiling
Black-and-white photo of White Shadow wearing sunglasses
RedOne (left) and DJ White Shadow (right) co-wrote "Gypsy" with Gaga and Madeon.

Development of Lady Gaga's third studio album, Artpop, began shortly after the release of her second one, Born This Way (2011), and by the following year, the album's concepts were "beginning to flourish" as Gaga collaborated with producers Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow.[1][2][3] As Gaga travelled the world for her Born This Way Ball tour, she also collaborated with producer RedOne, working remotely with each other. "We've been sending ideas. We couldn't get together in the studio, but we've been sending ideas back and forth, and it's very focused on writing really good songs and, of course, with the vibe of different sounds, different kinds of productions" RedOne clarified. With Gaga he intended to write good dance songs, which would make their collaboration historic again like "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face".[4]

In the meantime Gaga also worked with French DJ Madeon. This was his first experience collaborating with a vocalist in real life face-to-face.[5] With MTV News he clarified that he had "always wanted to work with pop artists and my #1 on my list was Lady Gaga. So when I had the opportunity to do that, I was really thrilled". Madeon was associated with co-writing and co-producing three songs on Artpop, "Venus", "Mary Jane Holland" and "Gypsy".[6] In August 2013, while being interviewed by French radio station, Fun Radio, Gaga confirmed that she had recorded "Gypsy" with Madeon and RedOne, along with White Shadow.[7] Having mutual respect for each other's work, Gaga praised Madeon's production skills saying, "He is so amazing. He has such an understanding of music at such a young age. He reminds me of myself so much. He's obsessed, so obsessed with music".[7] "Gypsy" was described as Artpop's most personal song, about travelling the world and the loneliness associated with it. The song showcases Gaga's fans as being the people with whom she feels at home.[8]

In January 2014, Interscope Records had uploaded "Gypsy" on their SoundCloud account as list of singles they would send for radio play. This led to speculation in the media that "Gypsy" would be released as the third single from Artpop, following "Do What U Want".[9] Gaga also announced plans of filming a new music video, which tied in with the single release rumours.[10] In March 2014, NBC announced that the next Artpop single would be "G.U.Y." instead of "Gypsy" and that they would premiere its music video on March 22.[11]

Recording and composition

Madeon co-wrote the song with Gaga after visiting her at the Paris performance of Born This Way Ball tour. He also co-produced the track with the singer.

For the song's recording Gaga did not spare any free time and would usually start the sessions after the Born This Way Ball show performances were over, to which Madeon noted: "She would still give everything – even on the demo take! She's really impressive".[5] Madeon's production in Artpop was different than his usual endeavours, and he helped take the mood of the song from being a ballad to being an anthem, but still retaining the sentimental and inspirit aspects of it.[12] With French radio Hit West, Madeon recalled that in September 2012 he had gone to see Gaga at her Born This Way Ball show at Paris' Stade de France. After the performance, Gaga took Madeon to her hotel room. Madeon played her some chords he had been working for sometime. Gaga immediately started singing the main melody of "Gypsy", and then the main song "flowed out", leading to her and Madeon write a demo the same night. Since Madeon had brought his computer with him, he recorded these ideas developed with Gaga so that he did not forget them. Afterwards, the song went through various changes and more musicians were added for the final version on the album.[13]

"Gypsy" was written and produced by Gaga and Madeon, with additional songwriting from RedOne and White Shadow. The song was recorded by Dave Russell, Bill Malina, Ghazi Hourani and Benjamin Rice at Record Plant Studios, with additional recording carried out by Malina at CRC Studio in Hollywood, California. Andrew Robertson and Daniel Zaidenstadt assisted Rice in the recording sessions, while Steve Faye assisted Malina. Gaga did the guitar and piano arrangements for the song alongside Tim Stewart, who worked on the acoustic guitars. Gaga also added the background vocals on "Gypsy" with Nicole and Natalie Ganther, and Lyon Gray. The song was mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee North Studios; further mixing was carried by Madeon at Popcultur Studio in France. Gene Grimaldi mastered the song at Oasis Mastering Studios, in Burbank, California.[14]

"Gypsy" is an Europop[15] and electropop song[16] with classic rock and house influences.[17][18] Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly said "Gypsy" contains "barroom ivory-tickling" and a swooping hook.[19] Rolling Stone described the song as an "eighties-style anthem".[20] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Gypsy" is written in the key of C major and composed in the time signature of common time. The song moves at a tempo of 134 beats per minute, and Gaga's vocals span from G3 to D5. The verses of the song follow a chord progression of C−G−Fmaj7−Gsus−G, and the chorus follows in the progression G−Am−F−C (V−vi−IV−I).[21] It begins with the sound of soft piano and then changes into a high-energy electro song.[22] The composition is in a sing-along manner, with Gaga belting out "I don't want be alone forever, but I can be tonight" during the chorus, talking about navigating an unknown road based only on her instincts.[17] The lyrics also talk about falling in love while being true to oneself, which became an initial inspiration of the track.[8] She compares herself like "Dorothy on a yellow brick, Hope my ruby shoes get us there quick", referring to the fictional yellow brick road traveled by Dorothy Gale in the 1900 children's novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.[23] The line refers to the singer approaching at a crossroad with her relationships, however she feels safe with her fans—Ericka Welch from The Huffington Post explained that "[even] with the looming sense of loss, Gaga can't be sad when she sees all the stamps on her passport and realizes that she has the whole world in front of her".[24]

Critical reception

Gaga performing "Gypsy" in Montreal in July 2014, during her ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour

"Gypsy" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Adam Markovitz from Entertainment Weekly considered the track one of Artpop's best outputs, calling it "enjoyable".[19] Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone praised the song's simple lyrics, describing it as an "Eighties-style anthem where Gaga admits her love of performing... [The track] works because [it wasn't] born from the chilly conceit that art and pop need an arranged marriage to get busy".[20] Mike Diver from Clash said that "Gypsy", along with "Applause" and "Mary Jane Holland", were able to "tick all of the prerequisite Gaga boxes—dazzling production, a clutch of clever couplets, choruses you can demolish a tower block with".[25] A positive review came from Bradley Stern from MuuMuse who wrote in detail:

"Gypsy" is the kind of arena anthem that already sounds like it's being belted in the middle of a sold-out Madison Square Garden. It's a slow and steady build, but once it reaches that Journey-esque chorus ("I don't want to be alone forever, but I can be... TONIGHT!", theres no going back. Cue the endless intercontinental shout-outs at the end ("I don't speak German, but I try!" — a cute nod to "Scheiße"), and you've got an instant classic from Artpop.[26]

Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine compared "Gypsy" to stand-out tracks from Gaga's Born This Way, and found comparisons to the song "The Edge of Glory" from the album. Cinquemani felt that the track was much more effective in portraying the yearning of fame, than the lead single "Applause".[27] Kevin Fallon from The Daily Beast compared it to the work of singer Bruce Springsteen, adding that the "power ballad is the kind destined for last-call sing-a-longs at those bars with peanut shells on the floor, with Gaga belting over tickling ivories about trusting instincts and charging into the unknown".[18] Michael Cragg from The Guardian called "Gypsy" an "epic narrative about fame and loneliness" with the composition comparable to "The Edge of Glory" and a vocal riff similar to that of "Poker Face".[16] Comparisons to "The Edge of Glory" was also present in Robbie Daw's review of the album for Idolator.[28]

Chris Bosman from Time, thought that "Gypsy" serves as the "epic end-of-album track" along with "Dope", but criticized the songs for not being unique enough, saying that one song would have done "the job better than both".[29] Similar thought was echoed by Andew Barker from Variety who found that Artpop did not have any songs worthy of release as singles, and RedOne's contribution, "the 'Edge of Glory' sequel 'Gypsy', doesn't exactly scream 'crossover hit' either".[30] The Varsity's Iris Robin found issues of "racism and cultural appropriation" in the track when Gaga claims to "love a gypsy life", since the historical and oppression surrounding the Gypsies are well-known.[31]

Live performances

Gaga wearing a long white wig and a dress with long white train while performing "Gypsy" on the ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour, 2014

Gaga first performed "Gypsy" on a grand piano for guests at a listening party for Artpop in Berlin's Berghain nightclub.[32][33] She said of the song: "I wrote this song as I was travelling around the world... They say 'a Gypsy doesn't have a home.' But I do have a home. I have a home with you always."[34][35] Seated atop a piano wearing a bra and short blond hair, Gaga performed an acoustic version of the song, singing with a heavy German accent while sporting a moustache. Brenna Ehlrich from MTV noted that "Throughout the performance, fans looked on with tears in their eyes, watching as Gaga unfurled the simple love story with nothing but her voice and piano".[36] Malene Arpe, entertainment contributor to the Toronto Star, said her performance was goosebump-inducing and caused viewers to forget about the moustache "right in the middle of her face".[37]

Gaga next performed "Gypsy" at her ArtRave concert in November 2013 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where she sang along with a live band.[38] During the performance, Gaga gave a shout-out to artist Jeff Koons, who was heavily involved in the visuals related to the Artpop era and its campaigns, and dedicated the song to him.[39] She again performed "Gypsy" on a piano at the Saturday Night Live show later that month, wearing a rainbow colored leotard with giant shoulder pads.[40] Around the one minute mark, when the tempo of the song changed from a ballad to its original anthemic composition, a band stepped onstage from the shadows behind as well as dancers, who danced and created a party atmosphere.[41] Hillary Hughes from The Village Voice found similarities in Gaga's vocals to that of singer Lana Del Rey's. Hughes praised the performance saying that "Gaga plowed into 'Gypsy' with the aplomb of a Vegas lounge goddess from the future... Girl hit her notes, and well, and I'd take 'Gypsy' over 'Applause' or 'Born This Way' any day of the week, but 'Gypsy' on SNL was a bit of a confusing display from beginning to end."[42]

"Gypsy" was performed on The Howard Stern Show on November 12, 2013.[43] During her second Thanksgiving television special, Lady Gaga and the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular, which aired on ABC, Gaga sang "Gypsy" as a duet with Kermit the Frog. Myles McNutt from The A.V. Club criticized the performance saying that "[the performance] Kermit was earnest and well [executed], but it didn't feel like the product of a Lady Gaga and The Muppets special; it felt like Kermit making a cameo in a Lady Gaga special, a problem given the shared billing in the title".[44] Conversely Rolling Stone's Marissa Muller listed it as one of the five memorable moments from the special.[45] "Gypsy" was the closing song for Gaga's 2014 ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour, where she sang it wearing long white wig and a dress with a long white train.[46] Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone criticized the choice of the song as the show's finale, saying that it felt anticlimactic. "After a one-song encore of 'Gypsy', the house lights came up... it was startling to realize the show was already over. [Gaga] didn't have superstar moves or hits saved up for the big finale—she decided not to do a big finale at all," he concluded.[47]

Credits and personnel

Management

Personnel

  • Lady Gaga – songwriter, lead vocals, producer, guitars, piano
  • Madeon – songwriter, producer, mixing
  • RedOne – songwriter
  • Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair – songwriter
  • Dave Russell – recording
  • Benjamin Rice – recording
  • Bill Malina – recording
  • Ghazi Hourani – recording
  • Daniel Zaidenstadt – recording assistant
  • Andrew Robertson – recording assistant
  • Steve Faye – recording assistant
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Chris Gallant – mixing assistant
  • Delhert Bowers – mixing assistant
  • Tim Stewart – guitar
  • Nicole Ganther – background vocals
  • Natalie Ganther – background vocals
  • Lyon Gray – background vocals
  • Ivy Skoff – union contract administrator
  • Gene Grimaldi – mastering

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Artpop.[14]

Charts

In South Korea, following the release of Artpop, "Gypsy" debuted at number 35 on the Gaon Singles Chart, with sales of 3,549 digital downloads and ended up with 4,768 sales.[48][49]

Chart (2013) Peak
position
South Korea International (GAON)[48] 35
US Pop Digital Songs (Billboard)[50] 26

References

  1. ↑ Shewey, Don (July 30, 2013). "Lady Gaga's 'ARTPOP': What We Know So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  2. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (November 28, 2011). "Lady Gaga 'Doing Prep' for Tour, Next Album". MTV News. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (December 6, 2011). "Lady Gaga Says Next Album Is 'Beginning to Flourish'". MTV News. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  4. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (January 1, 2012). "Lady Gaga Has One Goal With ARTPOP: To 'Make History'". MTV News. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Carol, Grace (March 20, 2013). "Lady Gaga producer Madeon praises 'amazing' ARTPOP studio sessions". Gigwise. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (November 8, 2013). "After Lady Gaga, Madeon Wants Kanye West Next". MTV News. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Wass, Mike (August 26, 2013). "Lady Gaga Announces RedOne/Madeon-Produced 'ARTPOP' Track 'Gypsy'". Idolator. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Shorey, Eric (December 12, 2013). "Lady Gaga Explains 'ARTPOP' Track-by-Track: LISTEN". Logo TV. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ Corner, Lewis (January 27, 2014). "Lady Gaga's next ARTPOP single to be 'Gypsy'?". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Lady Gaga Fans Speculate After Rumours 'Gypsy' Will Be Next 'ARTPOP' Single". Capital Radio. January 23, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ Wass, Mike (March 20, 2014). "Lady Gaga's Next Single/Video Is "G.U.Y." According To 'Dateline'". Idolator. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ Farella, Dylan (November 6, 2013). "Editorial: What every electronic music fan should know about Lady Gaga's 'Artpop'". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  13. ↑ Madeon (November 28, 2013). J'ai Joue Avec Coldplay et Lady Gaga (streaming) (in French). Paris: Hit West. Event occurs at 20:00.
  14. 1 2 Gaga, Lady (2013). "Digital booklet". Artpop (Liner notes). Lady Gaga. Santa Monica, California: Interscope Records. 687955814.
  15. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (November 7, 2013). "Lady Gaga: Artpop". The Guardian. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  16. 1 2 Cragg, Michael (November 4, 2013). "Lady Gaga: 10 things we learned from hearing ARTPOP". The Guardian. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  17. 1 2 Lipshutz, Jason (November 5, 2013). "Lady Gaga, 'ARTPOP': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  18. 1 2 Fallon, Kevin (November 11, 2013). "ARTPOP' Review: Lady Gaga's Album Wants to Be Everything, But Is Nothing at All". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  19. 1 2 Markovitz, Adam (December 13, 2013). "ARTPOP Album Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  20. 1 2 Ganz, Caryn (November 13, 2013). "Lady Gaga Artpop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Lady Gaga 'Gypsy' Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  22. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (November 12, 2013). "Lady Gaga: ARTPOP". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  23. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (October 23, 2013). "Lady Gaga Slows Down For Sincere 'Gypsy' Premiere". MTV News. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ Welch, Ericka (November 7, 2013). "10 Reasons to Not Roll Your Eyes at Lady Gaga's ARTPOP". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  25. ↑ Diver, Mike (November 13, 2013). "Lady Gaga – Artpop". Clash. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  26. ↑ Stern, Bradley (November 13, 2013). "Lady Gaga 'Artpop' (Album Review)". MuuMuse. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  27. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (November 13, 2013). "Lady Gaga: Artpop". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  28. ↑ Daw, Robbie (November 26, 2013). "Lady Gaga's 'ARTPOP': Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  29. ↑ Bosman, Chris (November 11, 2013). "Lady Gaga's New ARTPOP Doesn't Always Live Up to Title". Time. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  30. ↑ Barker, Andrew (November 11, 2013). "Album Review: Lady Gaga, 'Artpop'". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  31. ↑ Robin, Iris (November 23, 2013). "Album Review: ARTPOP by Lady Gaga". The Varsity. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  32. ↑ Deen, Sarah (October 25, 2013). "Lady Gaga debuts new track Gypsy at ARTPOP listening party". Metro. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  33. ↑ Avery, Dan (October 25, 2013). "Lady Gaga Sings Acoustic Version Of "Gypsy," Sports Wacky Mustache". NewNowNext.com. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  34. ↑ Brandle, Lars (October 24, 2013). "Lady Gaga Performs 'Gypsy' in Germany". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  35. ↑ Martins, Chris (October 24, 2013). "See Lady Gaga Belt Out Her Nomad's Ballad 'Gypsy' Live in Berlin". Spin. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  36. ↑ Ehlrich, Brenna (October 25, 2013). "Lady Gaga Premiers New Song 'Gypsy' In Berlin". MTV News. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  37. ↑ Arpe, Malene (October 25, 2013). "Lady Gaga sings 'Gypsy' live in Berlin". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  38. ↑ Hampp, Andrew; Lipshutz, Jason (November 11, 2013). "Lady Gaga's artRAVE Party: 'ARTPOP' Performance, Flying Dress & Costumes Galore". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  39. ↑ Muller, Marissa G. (November 11, 2013). "Lady Gaga Shows Off Flying Dress at 'ArtRave'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  40. ↑ Warlow, Molly (November 17, 2013). "Lady Gaga Owns 'SNL' With "Gypsy," "Do What U Want"". Fuse. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  41. ↑ Coleman, Miriam (November 16, 2013). "Lady Gaga Heats It Up With R. Kelly on 'SNL'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  42. ↑ Hughes, Hilary (November 18, 2013). "Lady Gaga Was a Glorious Hot Mess on SNL". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Lady Gaga Tells Her Stories to Howard, Song By Song". The Howard Stern Show. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  44. ↑ McNutt, Myles (November 27, 2013). "Lady Gaga And The Muppets' Holiday Spectacular". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  45. ↑ Muller, Marissa G. (November 27, 2013). "Five Memorable Moments From Lady Gaga's Muppets 'Holiday Spectacular'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  46. ↑ Carlson, Adam (May 7, 2014). "Lady Gaga's artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball Shape-Shifts Through Atlanta". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  47. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (May 14, 2014). "Lady Gaga's Live Artflop: NYC Ghosts and Flowers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  48. 1 2 "South Korean International 2013년 47주차 Download Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  49. ↑ "Online download – 2013 Month End Chart – October/November" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. To view sales from October and November 2013, select "2013–10" and "2013–11", respectively. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  50. ↑ "Pop Digital Songs: November 30, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2014. (subscription required (help)).

External links

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