Lady Gaga on Tony Bennett and ‘Harlequin’ Album and Sound
Tony Bennett Would Praise Lady Gaga's Album
Written by Jason P. Frank, a writer for Vulture who focuses on comedy, theater, and music.
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Lady Gaga is back to creating timeless music with her latest (and a half) album, Harlequin, and this time she’s venturing into this territory without Tony Bennett. Following two duet albums featuring classic tunes—Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale—she’s now bringing a playful twist to the genre, drawing inspiration from her character Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gaga mentioned, “I think this meta-modernism really influenced our approach in the studio.” But what would Bennett have thought about her taking this new direction with the classics? Gaga mused, “If I had introduced rock-and-roll elements to a record I made with Tony years back, I’m not sure he would have been thrilled. Tony wasn’t a fan of rock music. But he probably would have said, ‘Wow, that’s impressive.’” So, is she suggesting that he might have been a little disingenuous, but in an endearing way?
Gaga mentions that Bennett was a genuinely kind and accepting individual who never questioned things like her outfit choices, her singing style, or the dramatic nature of her performances. While it's perfectly reasonable for him to have those thoughts, there's an interesting suggestion that he might have had them nonetheless. So here's to Tony Bennett: a man who understood what words to hold back when it came to Lady Gaga.
