"Perfect Illusion" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released for digital download on September 9, 2016, through Interscope Records as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). The track was written and produced by Gaga, Kevin Parker, Mark Ronson and BloodPop. A dance-rock, synth-pop, electro-rock, and pop rock song, "Perfect Illusion" lyrically delves on the singer's "highest of highs and lowest of lows" in a relationship, and is ultimately a commentary on social media. Gaga wrote the lyrics using her Underwood typewriter; after numerous permutations the composers derived the final track. Speculation that the song referred to Gaga's ex-boyfriend Taylor Kinney was refuted by the singer.
The recording's release was preceded by multiple teasers and collage of images on the singer's social media accounts. Music critics gave mixed to positive reviews for "Perfect Illusion", with many of them noting similarities to the work of American musician Bruce Springsteen. Commercially, the song reached number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as entered a number of subordinate charts. It achieved the top position in France and in the digital charts of Finland and Greece, and the top 10 in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Scotland and Slovakia.
The music video that accompanied "Perfect Illusion" was directed by Ruth Hogben and Andrea Gelardin. It premiered during the second season of television series Scream Queens on Fox. The video shows Gaga dancing and singing the song in a desert during a rave, with guest appearances by the songwriters and producers. Critics both praised and gave negative feedback regarding the simplicity of the clip. Gaga performed "Perfect Illusion" on her Dive Bar Tour and Joanne World Tour, as well during television and media appearances.
Background and development Following the release of her third studio album, Artpop (2013), Gaga changed management and joined Artist Nation—an artist management division of Live Nation Entertainment—along with her manager Bobby Campbell. She also underwent an image overhaul, showcasing more stress on her vocal prowess and subdued image in the media. Among other musical endeavors, Gaga released a collaborative jazz record with American singer Tony Bennett titled Cheek to Cheek in 2014, which won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In January 2016, Gaga confirmed that she would be releasing her fifth studio album later that year, with her working on the logistics and aspects—including the looks she would portray for the record.
Throughout the majority of 2015 and 2016, Gaga teased the creative and recording process of the album on her social media accounts. It was also reported that she was seen collaborating with longtime producer RedOne, Giorgio Moroder, Mark Ronson, and Nile Rodgers, among others. Ronson confirmed their collaboration and added that the music recorded with Gaga was "some of [his] favorite music [he has] really ever worked on. It's incredible – [he loves] it. [He] can't wait until you can hear it because the music speaks for itself – it's some of [his] favorite musicians of all time are working on it." The producer additionally hinted the involvement of Kevin Parker, the frontman for the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, which BBC Music later confirmed to be true. In an interview with fashion website Buro247, Ronson claimed that it was one of his favourite recording that he had worked, and commended the associated musicians and writers.
Writing and recording
Gaga co-wrote and co-produced "Perfect Illusion" with Parker and Ronson, with additional production from BloodPop. The song fruited from a demo called "Illusion" which Parker developed and presented to Gaga and Ronson. The latter recruited BloodPop at the end of May 2016, after liking an album he was working on at the time for another singer. They met up in Malibu and completed "Perfect Illusion" within the first few days of their recording sessions. According to BloodPop, there was no conversation about what the song should sound like, they "all kind of spoke a similar language". The track's arrangement was done by Ronson who played synths and guitar with Parker. They were joined by Josh Homme on the guitar, while BloodPop developed the rhythm and synthesis, alongside Parker playing drums. Ronson and BloodPop's production were bridged together through Parker's use of Ableton.
At the session, Gaga led the direction of the production based on her preferences and influences, and used a piano and guitar to compose the song. Ronson explained that during their sessions Gaga was deeply involved with the technicalities of the music being recorded. Concerning this he confessed, "[Gaga] loves just sitting at a piano and barking orders at a drummer and she has an incredible voice," further clarifying that they would begin with the songs first and then go with the other aspects of the composition. In an interview for Rolling Stone, BloodPop recalled the singer being omnipresent always and it was her decisions which finalized the track's sound.
Gaga wrote the lyrics using her Underwood typewriter. They were developed several hours into the session, though according to BloodPop, "Every few days, a lyric would change and it'd get better and better". In an interview for BBC Radio 1, Gaga explained that they "would bounce lyrics back and forth", adding: "We stripped everything away. Changed the melody, shifted it. I sat at a piano, Kevin was on guitar, Mark was on the bass." Recording took place at various studios across the United States to fit in with each contributor's schedule. In Malibu, they recorded at Shangri-La Studios, which BloodPop preferred since it was outside the influence of city life. A few days of recording also took place at Gaga's home, and her vocals were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Music and lyrical interpretation "Perfect Illusion" is a pop, dance-rock, synth-pop, electro-rock, and pop rock track, which is composed around a building chord sequence, which BBC music reporter Mark Savage felt leads to a "compelling sense of urgency". The singer's vocals are kept raw and untreated on the song, eschewing Auto-Tune. The composition consists of "pulsing verses" and a guitar-and-vocal breakdown before the final chorus, with Gaga singing the main title multiple times. Around the two minute mark, there is a key change before the final chorus. Lewis Corner from Digital Spy felt that the track alluded to Gaga's previous album eras. He called its core a "simple pop song" which harked back to the singer's initial releases like "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" (both 2008). The mixture of guitar and the "grumbling" synths reminded Corner of Gaga's single "Marry the Night" from her second studio album, Born This Way (2011), along with the "thumping" beat. There were also allusions to the Artpop era due to the verse and the refrain being connected in an unconventional manner. Glamour and Rolling Stone reported that some listeners found similarities between the song and Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" (1986); in response to the comparisons, Ronson told the latter magazine, "Obviously, that was some kind of accident".
During an interview with Rolling Stone, BloodPop stated that "Perfect Illusion" is "a big rock song that makes you want to dance". According to him, during recording sessions they had not discussed about the actual sound of the track, rather make it non-derivative of anything on the radio. BloodPop also detailed the track as containing traditional songwriting and influences of soul, but not in a literal way. "Perfect Illusion" is written in the key of F minor with a tempo of 125 beats per minute. The song is composed in the time signature of common time, and follows a basic chord progression of Fm–E/G–Dmaj7–Cm7, and Gaga's vocals span from F3 to D5.
Lyrically, "Perfect Illusion" delves on the "highest of highs and lowest of lows" encountered in a relationship which has turned sour, hence the song's name. Gaga described it during an interview with iHeartMedia as being "about modern ecstasy [...] We found our sweet, simple, ragey way of saying it. I get this sick adrenaline rush every time I hear it". The singer further clarified that the lyrics ultimately was a commentary on social media and the problems one face trying to present a perfect representation of themselves. Media reports speculated that the lyrics alluded to the singer's breakup from her boyfriend, actor Taylor Kinney, around July 2016. Samantha Schnurr from E! decoded the lyrics, saying that the repetition of the phrase "perfect illusion" was about their relationship. Gaga retorted during an interview with SiriusXM that the song was not for Kinney, and was not a "revenge" track. "I love Taylor so, so much and this song is not a hit out against him [...] It's a record about all of us. And I would never use my song or want to use the public to hurt anyone that I love so much," the singer added.
Release and artwork
In May 2016, Idolator reported that Gaga had been in recording studio with Ronson, along with BloodPop and Parker. Ronson later uploaded an image of the group working together on his Instagram account, captioning it as "illusion". Following her appearance at iHeartMedia, Gaga revealed the name of the single by uploading a series of twelve images on her Instagram account, creating a mosaic which spelt out the song's name. According to Sasha Atkinson from Bustle, the bright color scheme of the announcement was pop art like Andy Warhol and alluded to Artpop.
According to WKKF radio station in New York and KIIS 106.5 in Sydney, Australia, the single would be premiered on radio on September 9, 2016. The date was mistakenly revealed through the source code of Gaga's official website, which also listed the URL of four snippets of the track. Following this, Gaga confirmed the release date through her social media accounts. She also unveiled the single's artwork—showing Gaga on the side of a cliff singing into a microphone—along with lyrics of the song through a collage of images. Another photo was a shot from the music video, showing Gaga sitting on someone's shoulder and swerving her microphone over a crowd. The artwork was photographed by Ruth Hogben and Andrea Gelardin, according to V magazine. Writing for Paper, Carey O'Donnell called the cover "iconic", comparing Gaga to Canadian singer-songwriter Alice Glass and complimenting the metal and punk look. Sophie Atkinson from Bustle also complimented the image, which she found to be unusually "straightforward for [Gaga]" but was not a traditional beauty shot. Instead Atkinson described the artwork as "incredibly personal" which excited her for being different.
A 16-second video snippet was posted on Gaga's Twitter, showing Gaga dancing in a desert with strobe lights flashing around her, with the same chord beats being repeated. Gaga appeared on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast Show on September 9, 2016, alongside host Nick Grimshaw and premiered "Perfect Illusion" for the radio. The singer described the release as "overwhelming" and like a "rebirth" while adding that she had been "in the studio for months and months and now it's in the world [...] It feels like the first time. Something about this song, it feels like I'm a new artist." She also sang a few lines of the track.
Critical reception