Maps of Music

Love for Sale (2021)

Where the lyrics of Love for Sale take you, and where it was really made.

Nearly every music video for the album was shot in the same New York studio where its songs were recorded.

Key places

Electric Lady Studios, where the album was recorded (2021)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Recording sessions for Love for Sale took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York between 2018 and early 2020. The point marks the studio at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Love for Sale is the second and final collaborative album by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
• Released 30 September 2021 by Columbia, Streamline and Interscope Records
• Bennett's 61st and final studio album; Gaga's seventh studio album
• All songs written by Cole Porter; the record is a tribute to him
• Standard edition has 10 tracks; the deluxe edition adds two bonus tracks
• Title track named after a song that was Bennett's favourite, chosen after the whole set was reviewed

Background

• Follows Cheek to Cheek (2014), the duo's first collaborative album
• Bennett and Gaga first met in 2011 at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City
• Bennett announced Love for Sale as his final album after his 2016 Alzheimer's diagnosis
• Gaga's other projects, including the film A Star Is Born and the solo albums Joanne and Chromatica, delayed the sessions
• The COVID-19 pandemic also delayed recording

Recording

• Recording sessions took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York from 2018 to early 2020
• Songs include Night and Day, Let's Do It and Dream Dancing among the Porter standards

Cover

• Standard and digital covers show Bennett holding a sketchbook with a profile sketch of Gaga
• On the cover, Gaga leans down to fix Bennett's bowtie
• Target editions use alternative artwork: Gaga in a black gown, Bennett in a tuxedo holding her arm

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

• Generally favourable reviews from music critics, most highlighting the vocal chemistry between Bennett and Gaga
• Rolling Stone: Joe Gross called the collaboration a superhero team-up that produced another album of rock-solid takes on the American songbook
• The Independent: Helen Brown praised the versions of Cole Porter songs and said the duo have a chemistry that crackles against the odds
• Under the Radar: Austin Saalman called it one of the finest jazz releases in a long while
• The Observer: Cragg Michael found the album ebullient and immaculately produced, a fond farewell rather than a solemn goodbye
• NME: El Hunt said the best moments come when the two artists playfully trade lines and sing in unison
• Slant Magazine: Eric Handerson slammed the album, criticizing Gaga's jazz vocals and the use of Bennett's illness
• Metacritic: weighted average score of 70 out of 100 from 11 professional reviews

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at number 8, the duo's second top-10 entry in the US
• First week: 41,000 album-equivalent units, including 38,000 sales and 3,000 streaming units
• Topped the Traditional Jazz Albums and Jazz Albums charts
• UK Albums Chart debut at number 6; ARIA Albums Chart debut at number 11
• 64th Grammy Awards: won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; nominated for Album of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bennett broke the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material, at 95 years and 60 days.
• Gaga has a tattoo of a sketch Bennett made of Miles Davis' trumpet; she changed one lyric to refer to it, and Bennett responded with delighted laughter.
• After the whole set was finished, Gaga and Bennett reviewed every song before choosing the title.
• Bennett set a record with 15 number one records on the Traditional Jazz Albums chart, the most in its 54-year history.
• All released music videos were shot at Electric Lady Studios during each song's recording sessions, except for the sketch session video for I Concentrate On You.
• The duo's final televised performance together aired on MTV Unplugged on 16 December 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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