Joanne Album • Lady Gaga • 2016

Joanne is the fifth studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on October 21, 2016, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Gaga, Mark Ronson and BloodPop handled its production aside variety other collaborators, such as Kevin Parker, Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker and Josh Homme. Musically, Joanne is a stripped-down, pop rock, soft rock, and dance-pop record with country elements, aimed to focus on Gaga's vocals. Lyrically, the album delves into the theme of family and life's emotions; the death of Gaga's aunt Joanne Stefani Germanotta deeply influenced the record. The release and promotion of the album marked a softening of Gaga's image, who took on a more singer-songwriter-oriented look, consisting mainly of a pink, wide-brimmed cowgirl hat, vintage denim and pastel colors, evoking the 1970s. The singer's experience working on the television series American Horror Story influenced Joanne's creative process. To promote the album, three singles were released: "Perfect Illusion", "Million Reasons" and the title track. "Perfect Illusion" was released as the album's lead single on September 9, 2016, and reached number one in France, while "Million Reasons" reached number four in the United States. A piano version of the title track was released to radio in selected territories as the album's third single. Gaga promoted the album with her Joanne World Tour which began in August 2017 and ended in February 2018. Joanne received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised Gaga's musical direction, vocals, production and lyrical content, but had ambivalent reactions for its lack of cohesiveness. It became Gaga's fourth consecutive album to reach number one in the United States and also topped the charts in Brazil, Mexico, the international charts of Japan and Korea, as well as reached the top ten in over 25 countries. It earned certifications in some of them. Joanne was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. Two of its singles, "Million Reasons" and "Joanne" were nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, for which the latter won the award.