In 2009, Lady Gaga stunned the world with her third EP (The Fame Monster) and its “Telephone.”
You can tell a Lady Gaga song because you’re still humming it three weeks after you caught a few seconds of it when you were walking past someone else’s radio. Just mentioning this track is probably enough to get it stuck in your head because, as with many of her other hits, including “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” and “Paparazzi,” “Telephone” is one of those songs that’s never entirely left the public consciousness. It’s high-energy, catchy, and, most importantly, it’s Gaga through and through.
What’s the secret to this great earworm? Well, for a start, “Telephone” isn’t your standard Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus structure. It’s more of a build-up with new motifs being introduced and then incorporated into the song as it goes forwards. We start quiet, with relatively little instrumentation, giving Gaga’s opening vocals a moment to stand out on their own. Against the soft plucking of a harp, her voice is distinctive and powerful.
Next, enter the drums as we build towards the first chorus. So far, so good, and the song follows a relatively basic structure. The next verse, however, though it has somewhat similar instrumentation, completely breaks the lyrical structure so far, introducing rap beats which then lead into the bridge, where we hear Beyoncé for the first time.
That’s right, this song features not one but two of the music industry’s most iconic performers, blending their styles into something new and original. The rest of the song consists of another verse and another chorus, this time using both singers with the energy rising steadily towards the song’s climax.
Although Gaga originally wrote this piece for Brittney Spears, Spears never used the song, and instead, we got to hear it performed by these two fantastic artists. Whether or not the Spears version would’ve worked as well, or even better, is hard to say. A leaked demo of her understanding of the song exists, but the track is a rough cut with no actual mixing. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting artifact for fans of the song, and it’s enough to show that Britney could undoubtedly have done it justice. Still, it’s just too unpolished to give an accurate idea of what a final track might have sounded like or how it might’ve differed from the Gaga/Beyoncé version.
We can say that the existing version of “Telephone” was a massive hit, topping charts internationally and winning over critics and fans alike. That being said, it’s uncertain how Gaga feels about the song herself. When asked in interviews about it, she’s the impression that she has mixed feelings towards the piece. Though she likes the music itself, she has a strained relationship with it though she’s never elaborated on what exactly that may be, implying that it has something to do with behind-the-scenes drama.
Over a decade, this song has lost none of its appeals. It’s as enjoyable now as it was in 2009. If you’re going to revisit it, consider checking out the 9 minutes, Quentin Tarantino-inspired music video. As with her video for Paparazzi, the music video is shot as a short film, with interludes for dialogue between the music. If you want some classic 2010 vibes, then watching Beyoncé help Lady Gaga escape from prison, all set this Dance-pop masterpiece is the way to go.
