Joanne (album)

Joanne
Left profile picture of Lady Gaga wearing a wide pink hat, in front of a sky-blue background.
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 21, 2016 (2016-10-21)
RecordedLate 2015 – September 17, 2016
Studio
  • Pink Duck (Burbank)
  • GenPop Laboratory, Green Oak, Vox (Los Angeles)
  • Dragonfly, Gypsy Palace, Shangri-La (Malibu)
  • NegroNododle Entertainment (New South Wales)
  • Diamond Mine, Electric Lady (New York City)
  • The Farm, Zelig, 123 (London)
Genre
Length39:05
Label
Producer
Lady Gaga chronology
Cheek to Cheek
(2014)
Joanne
(2016)
A Star Is Born
(2018)
Singles from Joanne
  1. "Perfect Illusion"
    Released: September 9, 2016
  2. "Million Reasons"
    Released: October 29, 2016
  3. "Joanne"
    Released: December 22, 2017

Joanne is the fifth studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on October 21, 2016, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Gaga, Mark Ronson and BloodPop handled its production. Other collaborators include Kevin Parker, Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker and Josh Homme. Musically, Joanne is a stripped-down, soft rock and Americana record with country elements, with a focus on Gaga's vocals. Lyrically, the album delves into the theme of family and life's emotions; the death of her aunt, Joanne Stefani Germanotta, deeply influenced the record. The singer's experience acting on the television series American Horror Story also influenced its creative process.

Joanne became Gaga's fourth consecutive album to debut atop the US Billboard 200 and reached the top ten in over 25 countries, earning certifications in some of them. Three singles were released: "Perfect Illusion", "Million Reasons" and the title track. "Perfect Illusion" was released as the album's lead single on September 9, 2016, and reached number one in France, while "Million Reasons" reached number four in the United States. A piano version of the title track was released to radio in selected territories as the album's third single. The album received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised Gaga's musical direction, vocals, production and lyrical content. However, some critics found that the album lacked cohesiveness. Joanne was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. "Million Reasons" and "Joanne" were nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance in separate years, for which the latter won the award.

The release and promotion of the album marked a softening of Gaga's image, who took on a more singer-songwriter oriented look in promotional materials, wearing a pink, wide-brimmed cowgirl hat, vintage denim and pastel colors, evoking the 1970s. She promoted the album with her Dive Bar Tour, a promotional concert in dive bars in the United States, and the Joanne World Tour, which began in August 2017 and ended in February 2018. Gaga also did some television appearances, and headlined the Super Bowl LI halftime show and the 2017 Coachella Festival. That same year, she released a documentary film, titled Gaga: Five Foot Two, showing the production of the album and her halftime performance.