Maps of Music

Chromatica (2020)

Where the lyrics of Chromatica take you, and where it was really made.

The album was largely recorded in a Hollywood Hills house studio that had once belonged to Frank Zappa.

Key places

Main recording studio (2020)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Most of the album was recorded at Henson Recording Studios and at Gaga's in-home Hollywood Hills studio. Henson is the studio listed for the recording relationship in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording studio (2020)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood is listed among the recording locations for Chromatica. The exact sessions held there are not specified in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Chromatica: fifth solo studio album by Lady Gaga, sixth overall
• Released May 29, 2020 by Interscope Records and its subsidiary Streamline
• Dance-pop record inspired by early 1990s house music
• Concept album centering on unwavering happiness and the pursuit of healing
• Songs draw on failed romance and mental health struggles in Gaga's private life
• Guest vocals from Blackpink, Ariana Grande and Elton John
• Remix album Dawn of Chromatica released September 3, 2021

Background

• Returns to Gaga's dance music roots, eschewing the stripped-down style of Joanne (2016) and A Star Is Born (2018)
• Most of the songwriting comes from mental health struggles precipitated by fame
• Gaga said she was in a 'dark place' during recording
• Joanne did not bring catharsis for her grieving father and family, so writing Chromatica felt therapeutic
• Early April 2020 release date postponed as the COVID-19 pandemic spread
• Gaga re-emerged with a cyberpunk-inspired stage persona for the album cycle

Recording

• Most of the album recorded at Gaga's in-home Hollywood Hills studio, previously owned by Frank Zappa, and at Henson Recording Studios
• BloodPop is co-executive producer and this is his second album with Gaga
• Producers include Axwell, Skrillex, Madeon, Tchami, Boys Noize and Benjamin Rice
• Between 50 and 100 tracks were created in total
• Morgan Kibby composed three orchestral interludes, recorded with a 26-person orchestra

Cover

• Front cover photo shot by veteran photographer Norbert Schoerner
• The cover's sine wave is the symbol of the planet Chromatica and the mathematical symbol for sound
• Most of Gaga's wardrobe sourced from Spanish designer Cecilio Castrillo

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City.
• Signed with Interscope Records in 2007; Streamline Records was an Interscope imprint.
• Debut album The Fame (2008) and reissue The Fame Monster (2009) brought global recognition.

Career

• Born This Way (2011) debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 1.1 million first-week sales in the US.
• Expanded into jazz with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek (2014) and Love for Sale (2021).
• Acting: American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016), A Star Is Born (2018), House of Gucci (2021).
• Chromatica (2020) and Mayhem (2025) returned to pop; the Mayhem Ball concluded in April 2026 as her highest-grossing tour.
• Estimated sales of 124 million records; 16 Grammy Awards; 22 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Philanthropy and activism focus on mental health and LGBTQ rights; founded the Born This Way Foundation in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score of 79 from 25 reviews, based on mainstream critics
• Reviews compared the album favorably to Gaga's catalog as a more concise body of work
• Craftsmanship and the handling of the themes drew the main praise
• Rolling Stone's Kory Grow called the music 'therapy pop'
• Dense house production drew criticism for being too polished and derivative in some reviews

Reappraisal

• Some publications later noted that Chromatica and Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia helped bring house music back into mainstream pop

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 274,000 album-equivalent units in the first week
• Gaga's sixth consecutive Billboard 200 number-one album
• UK Albums Chart: number one, with 52,907 units in its first week
• Nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards
• 'Rain on Me' earned Gaga's second Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy
• Top Dance/Electronic Album at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards
• Certified Platinum by the RIAA

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Gaga first proposed 'Free Woman' as a working title, but felt her internal struggles called its integrity into question, so she chose Chromatica.
• The album's planet concept links color and sound, a framework Gaga shared with BloodPop.
• The producers finished the orchestral compositions only days before they were scheduled to master the album.
• On 'Sour Candy', the Blackpink members sing both English and Korean lyrics.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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