Lady Gaga is relaunching her Jazz & Piano residency show in Las Vegas, which began in 2018.
The residency combines music from the Great American Songbook with stripped-down versions of her hits. Gaga’s work with the late Tony Bennett came to define her extraordinary career, but it’s a world apart from the pop singer with razor-blade sunglasses and a meat dress.
Still, it also shows her incredible range and diversity of creativity. She’s often, rightly, compared with David Bowie and Madonna. However, Lady Gaga exists in her own universe, and she created one of the most enduring moments in pop culture with “Bad Romance.”
“Bad Romance” follows Gaga through a tale of dark desires using the language of Alfred Hitchcock. Her epic goth banger is full of hooks and gibberish chants.
Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah
Roma, Roma-ma
Gaga, ooh-la-la
Want your bad romance
I want your ugly; I want your disease
I want your everything as long as it’s free
Stefani Germanotta created Lady Gaga’s persona from various influences, but the name originates with Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga.” Like Freddie Mercury, Gaga isn’t interested in subtlety, and “Bad Romance” is her character’s mission statement on desire.
I want your love, and I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love and all your lover’s revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
The French line, J’veux ton amour, et je veux ta revanche, translates to “I want your love, and I want your revenge.”
Moroccan-Swedish producer RedOne (born Nadir Khayat) co-wrote “Bad Romance” with Gaga. Two weeks before the single’s release, Gaga previewed the song during a performance on Saturday Night Live. She presented a subdued piano version of the song in a costume of metal rings while turning her SNL appearance into a cosmic medley.
Additionally, RedOne co-produced and co-wrote heavily on The Fame, including Gaga’s massive single “Poker Face.”
The Haus of Gaga collaborated with director Frances Lawrence in a visual homage to Stanley Kubrick.
A multitude of plotlines occur, including a scene where supermodels kidnap Gaga and pour vodka down her throat before selling her to the Russian mafia.
The music video earned 13 MTV Video Music Award nominations and won the coveted Video of the Year prize. During her acceptance speech, Gaga announced her second album. She told the audience, “I promised that if I won this, I would announce the name of my new album. It’s called Born This Way.” She ended by singing the chorus to the title track.
In 2018, Billboard named “Bad Romance” the Greatest Music Video of the 21st Century.
The magazine’s critics said the video “went beyond the kind of spectacle that rising superstars like her had the resources to pull off. It offered a glimpse into an entire cinematic world that thrilled and disturbed in equal measure, expanding the possibilities of what a music video could achieve.”
In 2009, Gaga released an expanded edition to her 2008 debut, The Fame. The reissue, called The Fame Monster, added eight new songs to the existing album and featured a Beyoncé collaboration called “Telephone.”
“Bad Romance” introduced the new set as the first single.
Ziggy Stardust consumed Bowie’s glam years, and the character reflected his awareness of the pitfalls of fame. Moreover, Gaga’s debut album and reissue reflect her commentary on fame and celebrity culture—specifically a star’s relationship with her fans and the paparazzi.
Her cautionary tale of celebrity status also turned Gaga into a superstar and leading fashion icon.
In 2011, former President Bill Clinton celebrated his 65th birthday at the Hollywood Bowl, where Lady Gaga channeled Marylin Monroe’s infamous birthday moment with President John F. Kennedy.
She turned “Bad Romance” into “Bill Romance” for a birthday party that doubled as a fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation.
Meanwhile, Gaga’s hit has another exceedingly famous fan, too.
Adele began a Las Vegas residency in 2022 and mentioned during an appearance that her favorite karaoke song is “Bad Romance.” She added, “… except when she [Gaga] starts speaking French, I’ve got no idea what she’s saying.”
Early in her career, Lady Gaga’s outrageous fashion—like David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust—defined her. But she didn’t perfect the art of reinvention; she disassembled it and pushed it forward.
“Bad Romance” echoes Bowie’s portrait-painting debauchery on Diamond Dogs. While that album was Bowie’s final chapter in glam, The Fame Monster is the point solidifying the iconic status of Gaga’s glam, art, and theatrics.
Now, future artists will be compared to Lady Gaga.
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Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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