'Alejandro'
Development and release
In January 2010, it was reported that Gaga was holding casting calls for the music video of "Alejandro" and was eager for David Walliams to appear in the video alongside his wife Lara Stone.[46][47] On March 23, 2010, Women's Wear Daily reported that photographer Steven Klein would be directing the music video, which Gaga confirmed herself in an interview.[48][49]While touring Australia with The Monster Ball Tour, Gaga was interviewed by Australian radio station, Melbourne's Nova 100, where she talked about the music video. She said,
"I’m so excited about the ‘Alejandro’ video, [...] Actually, we’re shooting it very soon and I don’t want to say who the director is yet because it’s going to give a lot away. [...] Are you absolutely mad? I would never, ever tell you [about the concept of the video]! I would be more likely to lie through my teeth to you [regarding] what the video’s about so that you could all be surprised. But I will tell you it’s not the sequel to the ‘Telephone’ video."[50]
After confirming that Klein was directing her video, Gaga explained that she "doesn't know what [the video is] going to look like until it's finished", and commented that "[Steven Klein is] a very good friend of mine and I love him so much, [...] I have so much respect for him. And we've been excited to collaborate and have a fashion photographer tell us a story, the story of my music through his lens and this idea of fashion and lifestyle." Gaga explained that Klein understood her "I am what I wear" lifestyle, making him a suitable director for the video. She added, "It's all about where I'm from and love of theater and love of music and love of the lie in art, and Steven really knows and understands that, [....] So we're making a beautiful video, and I'm so excited."[51] In May 2010, Gaga told The Times about the concept of the video: "[It's about the] purity of my friendships with my gay friends, and how I've been unable to find that with a straight man in my life. It's a celebration and an admiration of gay love—it confesses my envy of the courage and bravery they require to be together. In the video I'm pining for the love of my gay friends—but they just don't want me to be with them."[52]
A snippet of the video was shown on Larry King Live on June 1, 2010. The clip was from the portion of the video in black-and-white, where Gaga and her dancers perform variations on a sharp military march throughout. Kara Warner of MTV said that it seemed reminiscent of Madonna's "Vogue" video and Christina Aguilera's "Not Myself Tonight", but stated that in "Alejandro", Gaga's style was more cutting, masculine and militant in contrast to Madonna's. Because of the video's military theme, comparisons were also made to Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation".[8] On the program, Gaga said to King that the video has a "homoerotic military theme" [...] "It is a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community, my admiration of their bravery, their love for one another and their courage in their relationships."[53] The video premiered on Gaga's official website and her YouTube/Vevo account on June 8, 2010, at noon EDT (8 June 2010, 16:00 UTC).[54]
[edit]Synopsis
A portion of the video is dedicated to the Broadway musical Cabaret.[55] The video begins with soldiers sleeping in a cabaret with a close-up of a soldier passed out in fishnet stockings and heels as another lone soldier stares into the distance.[55] The scene then cuts to male dancers performing elaborate choreography while marching forward. As the intro of the song begins, Gaga is shown leading a funeral procession, carrying the Sacred Heart on a pillow. When the lyrics begin, she sits on a throne wearing an elaborate headpiece and binocular-like eyepieces, with a smoking pipe in her hand, watching her dancers perform a rigorous routine in the snow.[55] Gaga is then seen as the character Sally Bowles from Cabaret, dancing and simulating sex acts with three men on a stage with twin beds surrounded by spotlights, all wearing nothing but underwear, intercut with shots of Gaga lying on a larger bed dressed in a red latex nun outfit.[56] She subsequently appears dressed in a white hooded robe, reminiscent of Joan of Arc, with her dancers, interspersed with a shot of her as the nun, consuming a set of rosary beads.[57] After this, Gaga and her dancers are shown in a sequence in black-and-white in their military uniforms performing a tribute dedicated to the late choreographer Bob Fosse, who won an Academy Award for his direction of the film version of Cabaret.[58] Gaga is seen in a blonde bob and a similar outfit to one of Liza Minnelli's performance costumes. The video moves to a scene of her wearing a bra equipped with AR-15 assault rifle barrels and her dancers performing another dance routine. She is then shown in the empty club, scenes of war breaking out flash by, and the lone soldier appears again.[59] Going back to the Joan of Arc scene, she struggles with her dancers and disrobes. The video ends with her dressed as the nun, the film burning away from her face outwards.[55] Klein explained that the video was, "about a woman's desire to resurrect a dead love and who can not face the brutality of her present situation. The pain of living without your true love."[60]
'Telephone'Development
The music video was filmed on January 28, 2010, by director Jonas Åkerlund.[42][43] New York magazine reported that the concept of the video involved Beyoncé bailing Gaga out of jail. Published photos from the set showed Gaga and Beyoncé shooting in a car called the "Pussy Wagon", that Uma Thurman's character drove in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film Kill Bill: Vol. 1.[44] Other concepts of the video involves scenes at a diner, a cameo from singer Tyrese Gibson, and a prison shower scene. Gaga and Beyoncé wore "destroyed denim pieces" by designers Frank Fernández and Oscar Olima.[45] In an interview with E! Online, Gaga explained the deeper meaning behind the video.
There was this really amazing quality in 'Paparazzi', where it kind of had this pure pop music quality but at the same time it was a commentary on fame culture ... I wanted to do the same thing with this video ... There certainly is a Tarantino-inspired quality in the ['Telephone'] video ... His direct involvement in [it] came from him lending me the Pussy Wagon. We were having lunch one day in Los Angeles and I was telling him about my concept for the video and he loved it so much he said, "You gotta use the Pussy Wagon."[46]
On February 5, 2010, Gaga was interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM. She commented on the video saying, "What I like about it is it's a real true pop event, and when I was younger, I was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that's what I wanted this to be."[47] Rock band Semi Precious Weapons confirmed to MTV news that they have a cameo role in the music video.[48]
[edit]Synopsis
The music video is over nine minutes long[49] and begins where "Paparazzi" left off after Gaga was arrested for killing her boyfriend by poisoning his drink. She is taken to a women's prison where she is led to her cell by two prison guards, who strip her of shoulder-padded dress and left standing nude, while she is mocked by the other prison inmates. One of the guards comments, "I told you she didn't have a dick", referring to the rumors that Gaga is intersex.[49][50] For three minutes, the video shows Gaga's activities in the prison—including kissing another female prisoner in the exercise yard, wearing sunglasses made out of half-smoked cigarettes, and catfights in the commissary. Gaga's sister, Natali Germanotta, makes a cameo in the commissary scene.[51] After that, Gaga answers a call from Beyoncé, and begins to sing the song. She performs the first verse and chorus with other scantily clad inmates, followed by a bridge featuring Gaga wearing only yellow "Caution" tape.[49]
Gaga is bailed out and exits to find Beyoncé waiting for her in the "Pussy Wagon". Beyoncé is nicknamed Honey Bee, a reference to the character Honey Bunny in Tarantino's 1994 crime film Pulp Fiction.[52] After an exchange of dialogues, they travel through a desert and pull over at a diner.[50] Beyoncé sits opposite to Gibson, but tires of his stupidity and poisons him, but it does not kill him like she had hoped.[50] The video then shifts to an intermediate sequence called "Let's Make a Sandwich".[49] Gaga stands in a kitchen, wearing a folded-up telephone on her head, while dancers cavort behind her, holding salad tongs and assorted cutlery. Ultimately, she prepares a sandwich and eats it, after a dance sequence.[49] In the meantime, she mixes poison into all of the dishes she is preparing for the unsuspecting customers causing Gibson and everybody else, including characters played by Semi Precious Weapons and her Great Dane, Lava, to die. Gaga and Beyoncé perform another dance sequence, wearing American flag inspired garments and shredded denims, while strutting around the dead bodies.[50] They then leave in the "Pussy Wagon" and travel on a highway as news reporter (played by Jai Rodriguez) reports the murders. The last shots show Gaga and Beyoncé travelling through a desert with police sirens wailing in the background. The video ends with the line "To Be Continued ..." followed by end credits.[49]
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