This weekend ‘Mother Monster’ Lady Gaga released her first solo-single in over three years and to put it simply – it’s a banger. This intense, propulsive disco-rock track features Gaga’s raw, untreated vocals; screaming out loud about how her love was simply all too good to be true. “It wasn’t love / It wasn’t love / It was a perfect illusion,” she shouts on each chorus, giving the listeners a sick adrenaline rush whenever it plays.
In the pulsing verses, she alludes to her past relationship as something that was clearly not meant to be, “I don’t need eyes to see / I felt you touching me / High like amphetamine / Maybe you’re just a dream.” Most might assume that this was written about her ex-fiancée, Taylor Kinney, and there is plenty of reason to think that. For example, according to producer RedOne, who has worked with Gaga through her first two albums and earlier singles, she has already recorded and planned to release the first single. It switched from the songs they had worked on together, but suddenly it shifted to Illusion after it was finished.
Only Gaga knows this reason for this shift, and there could be several reasons as to why, but the timing of this song’s release along with the recent end of Gaga and Kinney’s relationship conspires pretty well.
On the other hand, she might have chosen this track as her first single due to the song itself and it’s amazing group of producers. Famously, Mark Ronson helped produce, who’s known for Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, and more recently Uptown Funk with Bruno Mars. Both Kevin Parker from Tame Impala and producer Bloodpop are credited with production on this song as well.
But, even Gaga claims there is more to this song than one might think. According to her interview on BBC’s Radio 1 station, she said the lyrics of Illusion turned into a commentary on social media, and the risks of presenting an idealized version of yourself.
“I believe many of us are wondering why there are so many fake things around us,” she said. “How do we navigate through social media? How do we look through these images that we know are filtered and altered, and decipher what is reality and what is a perfect illusion? There are also a lot of things on the internet that are not reality. And I think people are pressured to keep that personal illusion going on in their real lives,” she continued. “So this song is about raging against it and letting it go. It’s about wanting people to re-establish that human connection.”
The song is currently released on all major music services, including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube. There will also be a music video to follow soon. And, as for the upcoming album to follow this lead-single, Gaga says that she has decided on a title and release date for later this year, making it her fifth album to date.
