Lady Gaga finally released her highly anticipated album “Joanne” on October 21st. The album had been teased with her Lady Gaga x Bud Light dive bar tour, where she sang a few songs off the album, including lead single “Perfect Illusion”. The tour started in Nashville with her father in the audience, whose deceased sister is the namesake of the album. The tour’s stop in New York City was packed, and included everybody from Robert De Niro to Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer of Broad City.
The album is dedicated to her father, who lost his sister when she was only nineteen. To the crowd at the final New York show, set at her old favorite spot The Bitter End, she said:
“[Ronson and I] wrote this song about my father’s sister Joanne, who passed away in 1974. She was a victim of sexual assault who was so traumatized by her experience that it flared up her existing disease. She had lupus, and she died very quickly after that. This tragedy stayed with my family a very long time … We wrote this song not only in her honor but in the honor of so people who have lost ones that they love. Or maybe there’s a pending loss. So terrifying. You just don’t want to say goodbye.” -Lady Gaga
Her song Grigio Girls is also dedicated to her friend Sonja, who is currently battling late stage cancer. Her sensitivity only continued to show with the inclusion of 15 hearing impaired individuals at her Nashville show, who were provided with onstage interpreters and specialty vests that vibrate in tune with the music.
The singer concluded her mini tour and celebrated the release of her album by performing on Saturday Night Live, combining one energetic performance of “A-Yo” with a stripped down one of “Million Reasons”, joined on stage by co-writer of the track Hillary Lindsey.
The full album Joanne includes eleven tracks and is available for download and purchase now.
