Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux hit theatres in October of last year with high expectations among fans but with a few raised eyebrows owing to the pre-announced musical element. Safe to say, no one left the theatres satisfied, the majority of viewers claiming it did not live up to its predecessor, Joker.
Now, in a recent interview with Elle, Lady Gaga, who played DC’s beloved Harley Quinn in the film, broke her silence on the poor performance of the sequel. Talking about accepting failure, the 38-year-old singer-actor said, “People just sometimes don't like some things. It’s that simple. And I think to be an artist, you have to be willing for people to sometimes not like it. And you keep going even if something didn’t connect in the way that you intended."
She further added that fear of failure can be catastrophic. “When that makes its way into your life, that can be hard to get control of. It’s part of the mayhem.”
The 13-time Grammy award-winning singer is currently gearing up for the release of her seventh solo studio album, Mayhem. Proud of the “utter chaos” she’s created, the Telephone singer said, 'Mayhem is about following your own chaos into whatever cranny of your life that it takes you to. And in that way, it was about following the songs. Writing as many songs as I did for this album was a labour of total love. And then you just have to be very cutthroat by the end.'
Gaga’s fiancé Michael Polansky was also present at the interview and lauded his future wife on her effort. “This album was so much fun to watch her make... The thing that surprised me most was how fast she is. I couldn’t believe how quickly a song would take shape. Within five minutes, 80 per cent of the song would have come from nothing, and then, listening to the finished tracks a year later, I’d remember how quickly the idea came out of her.”
Featuring fourteen songs, including previously released Die With a Smile, a collaboration with Bruno Mars, Mayhem is set to release on March 7, 2025.
