- Order:
- Duration: 9:31
- Published: 15 Mar 2010
- Uploaded: 20 Aug 2011
- Author: LadyGagaVEVO
Name | Telephone |
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Cover | Telephone-LadyGaga.jpg |
Alt | In the upper left corner, a woman with long wavy blond hair holds up her right hand with her index finger extended. On her head, is a headdress made of several blue dials. She wears a white frock over her shoulders. In the lower right corner, a dusky complexioned woman with long wavy brown hair, looks towards the camera. She wears a blue military coat with gold tassles on the shoulders. In the upper right corner, the words "Lady Gaga" in red, "and" in white, and "Beyoncé" in orange are written in a rounded cursive font. In the lower left corner, the words "in" and "Telephone" are both in that same font in white. |
Artist | Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé |
Album | The Fame Monster |
Released | |
Format | Digital download, CD single, 7 inch |
Genre | Electropop, dance-pop |
Length | 3:41 |
Label | Streamline, Kon Live, Cherrytree, Interscope |
Writer | LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin, Stefani Germanotta, Rodney Jerkins, Beyoncé Knowles |
Producer | Darkchild |
Chronology | Lady Gaga singles |
Last single | "Bad Romance"(2009) |
This single | "Telephone"(2010) |
Next single | "Alejandro"(2010) |
Misc |
"Telephone" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released from her third extended play (EP) and second major release The Fame Monster (2009). The song, featuring American R&B; singer Beyoncé Knowles, was written by Gaga and Rodney Jerkins. Inspired by her fear of not being able to enjoy herself because of her dedication to her career, Gaga explained that the lyrics portray herself preferring the dance floor instead of answering her lover's phone call and noted that the telephone addressed in the lyrics of the song is, in reality, a person telling her to continue working harder.
Musically, "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge, verse-rap and an epilogue where the voice of an operator announces that the phone line is unreachable. Knowles appears in the middle of the song, singing the verses in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. The song charted in a number of countries due to digital sales following the album's release, namely in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Hungary. The song was particularly successful in Europe where it reached the top of the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. According to IFPI, the single sold 7.4 million copies in 2010. A critical success, most contemporary critics frequently noted it as a stand-out track from The Fame Monster and it was Grammy-nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2011. The accompanying music video is a continuation of the video for her 2009 song "Paparazzi" and is also shot as a short film. After being bailed out of prison by Beyoncé, she and Gaga go to a diner where they kill the guests having breakfast. Upon escape from the diner, the two end up in a high speed police chase. The video referenced Quentin Tarantino and his films Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Pulp Fiction (1994). Many critics praised the video, but some criticized its violence and themes. In memory of Alexander McQueen, Gaga performed an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" mixed with "Dance in the Dark" at the 2010 BRIT Awards. It was also added to the set list of The Monster Ball Tour in 2010.
BackgroundLady Gaga originally wrote "Telephone", with Rodney Jerkins, for Britney Spears. However, after Spears' label rejected it Gaga recorded the song as a collaboration with Beyoncé Knowles for The Fame Monster. Gaga said, "I wrote it for her a long time ago and she just didn't use it for her album. It's fine because I love the song and I get to perform it now." Additionally, the guest vocalist was originally going to be Spears, but ultimately Gaga made Knowles the featured vocalist instead. The main inspiration behind the song was Gaga's fear of suffocation as she felt that she seldom found time to just let loose and have fun. She further clarified,Fear of suffocation—something that I have or fear is never being able to enjoy myself, ... 'Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time. ... I don't go to nightclubs, ... You don't see pictures of me falling out of a club drunk. I don't go—and that's because I usually go and then, you know, a whiskey and a half into it, I got to get back to work.In May 2011, Gaga said her "emotional connection" with the song was difficult. When she was asked if it was because the song was originally written for Britney Spears, she answered: "Well that’s not exactly what happened, but I don’t want to delve into that. I could delve into it if you turn that (motions to recorder) off... But ultimately the mix and the process of getting the production finished was very stressful for me. So when I say it’s my worst song it has nothing to do with the song, just my emotional connection to it."
Composition"Telephone" was written by Lady Gaga, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin and Knowles. Although constructed as a duet, Knowles first appearance is in the middle verse. She sings her lyrics through a brief interlude, and later backs the chorus during the rest of the song. Essentially, Gaga is in a club and her boyfriend keeps ringing, but she cannot talk as she was drinking and dancing to her favourite song. The chorus runs as follows: "Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore." "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge, verse-rap and an epilogue where a voice announces that the telephone line is not reachable at that moment."Telephone"'s lyrics relate to the singer preferring the dance floor to answering someone's call. The verses are sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. According to Gaga, the phone addressed in the lyrics of the song is not a physical phone, but a person in her head telling her to keep working harder and harder. Gaga explained, "That's my fear—that the phone's ringing and my head's ringing, ... Whether it's a telephone or it's just the thoughts in your head, that's another fear." Popjustice gave the song a positive review: "It's a little bit like Gwen's 'What You Waiting For?' meets Timbaland's 'The Way I Are' meets about fifty other things ... The structure's quite exciting ... there is something tumultuously brilliant about Beyoncé's contribution that makes everything seem fine and as if it was the plan all along." Evan Sawdey from PopMatters said that "The much talked-about Beyoncé collaboration 'Telephone', which—with its double-time beat and rapid-fire verses—proves to be one of the most adrenaline-pumped songs that Gaga has yet crafted, the whole thing feeling like it's about to veer of [sic] the tracks at any moment simply due to the giddy excitement shared between the two divas, easily turning it into the unquestioned highlight of The Fame Monster". Amy Phillips from Pitchfork.com placed "Telephone" at number 55 in its "Top Tracks of 2010" saying it was "one of the less weird tracks on The Fame Monster..." Bill Lamb from About.com listed it among the top tracks on the album and said: "The Beyoncé assisted 'Telephone' is a club stomper that will draw in R&B; and Hip Hop fans as well on the radio." In a separate review, he compared it to the "Just Dance" era and commented: "An odd track for a lot of reasons. Lyrically, it is a successor to 'Just Dance'. The lyrics involve Gaga talking about not wanting to use her phone in the club. Having a track like this, when it feels like 'Just Dance' was so long ago and a different Gaga, is a little awkward. Especially when it is a planned single ... It's fun and disposable but there are better tracks on The Fame Monster to offer as singles". Mikael Woods from Los Angeles Times felt that "Telephone" is " a carefully considered meditation on how annoying it is when a dude keeps calling you while you're throwing down at the club." Nicki Escuerdo from Phoenix New Times listed "Telephone" as a stand-out track from the album. Sarah Hajibagheri from The Times and Armond White, music and film critic for the New York Press, were not impressed with the song. Hajibagheri said "The appearance of Beyoncé's vocal alongside ringtones on Telephone adds to the sense of utter chaos." White elaborated that "[The song] celebrates a heedless refusal to communicate; to mindlessly, heartlessly indulge pop culture—Tarantino style." Melanie Bertoldi from Billboard gave the song a positive review, stating "Much like Kesha's 'Blah Blah Blah', 'Telephone' sets out to silence bugaboos, with whom featured artist Beyoncé is all too familiar. ... By the time "Telephone" surges through a wall of cellular bleeps to return to its simple introduction, Gaga and Beyoncé have left the listener with just one option: surrender to the dancefloor." "Telephone" was ranked at number three by Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list. The single received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. On April 26, 2011, Gary Trust of Billboard listed "Telephone" at the fourth position on his list of the 10 All-Female Hit Collaborations."
Chart performanceIn November 2009 due to strong digital sales, the song charted in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom, debuting at numbers twenty-six, twenty-nine, and thirty respectively. The song became the top debut on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 issue dated , 2009, at number thirty-five, due to digital sales. After a few weeks fluctuating up the charts, "Telephone" reached a peak of three, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive top ten hit in the United States. The song peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated , 2010. On , 2010, Billboard announced that the song reached number one on the Pop Songs chart, thus becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, making her the only artist in history to do this. It also became Beyoncé's sixth number-one on Pop Songs. With this, Gaga and Beyoncé tied with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the Nielsen BDS-based Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992. The song has sold over 2.810 million paid digital downloads in the United States to date according to Nielsen Soundscan.In Australia, the song has reached a peak of three. "Telephone" was certified three-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 210,000 copies of the single. On , 2010, the song reached a peak of three on the chart. "Telephone" debuted at number fourteen on the Canadian Hot 100 In Ireland, the song debuted at number twenty-six, and moved up to number two
Music videoDevelopmentThe music video was filmed on , 2010, by director Jonas Åkerlund. 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. 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. 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." 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." Rock band Semi Precious Weapons confirmed to MTV news that they have a cameo role in the music video.
SynopsisThe music video is over nine minutes long 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. 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. After an exchange of dialogues, they travel through a desert and pull over at a diner. The video was originally slated to premiere in but was pushed back to instead. On , 2010, more stills of the video were posted online. The video premiered on E! News and Vevo.com on , 2010.James Montogomery from MTV commented: "With 'Telephone', Gaga has entered the rarest of pop stratospheres, up there with the Madonnas and the Michael Jacksons." Amy Odell from New York magazine felt that "This is Gaga's video, but Beyoncé is the best part: she actually shows the angry, crazy side that we just knew lurked beneath her too-perfect facade." Monica Herrera from Billboard wrote: "[The video] more than measures up to the hype. ... 'Telephone' clip is chock full of intrigue, prison fights, makeout scenes, mass poisoning and plenty of skin-baring versions of what you might call 'outfits'." Tanner Stransky from Entertainment Weekly commented: "Is it as good as her epic 'Bad Romance' video? Sadly, I don't think so. But it's better than anything else out there." Bill Lamb from About.com felt that "It would be nearly impossible for it to live up to the advanced hype, but the Lady Gaga video for 'Telephone' has arrived, and, to these eyes, it is worth watching." Sandy Rios, president of the Culture Campaign criticized the video on Fox News in an interview with Megyn Kelly, calling it "disgusting ... poison for the minds of our kids". Critic Armond White, of the New York Press, described the video as "cruel and ugly" also stating that it "epitomizes the insanity of the contemporary pop mainstream" and pays "homage to Tarantino's influence" in distorting "pop culture pleasure into nonsense". In May 2011, Gaga expressed some dissatisfaction with the video in an interview with Time Out, saying: "I can't even watch the Telephone video, I hate it so much. Beyonce and I are great together. But there are so many ideas in that video and all I see in that video is my brain throbbing with ideas and I wish I had edited myself a little bit more."
Live performances|alt=A blond woman wearing a black bustier embellished with shiny crystals performs next to two male back up dancers both wearing black leather jackets embellished with crystals and ripped jean shorts]] Gaga performed "Telephone" at the BRIT Awards on , 2010, at Earls Court Exhibition Centre. The performance was inspired by the recent death of her friend, fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Initially she had planned a different version of the performance, but changed the concept at the last minute, since she wanted to pay tribute to McQueen. She started the performance by announcing "This is for Alexander McQueen." Gaga was dressed in a complete white outfit with a huge Marie-Antoinette style wig. The whole performance was low-key in comparison to her previous ones.Gaga added the song to The Monster Ball Tour's setlist, for the European leg. It was performed in the second act, titled "Subway". She was dressed in black and played a keytar, which she had previously debuted on the BRIT awards. The keytar, composed of a number of instruments was dubbed by her as "Emma". "Telephone", as well as "Brown Eyes" (from The Fame), was also performed on the British comedy chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, on , 2010, for an episode that aired two days later. Gaga performed "Telephone" on the Japanese television show Music Station on , 2010. She wore a lace cat suit and a pair of plastic batwing shoulders, designed by Somarta and Yuima Nakazato respectively. In May 2011, Gaga performed the song during Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, Cumbria.
Other versionsOn May 2, a supposed Britney Spears' demo of "Telephone" leaked onto the web. After suggestions that the demo may be a fake, the producer of the song, Rodney Jerkins, confirmed via Twitter the authenticity of the song. He added that the leaked version "was an early demo stage of the version [and that] it wasn't even a mixed version", moreover, denied leaking the song, arguing that, despite the fact that he has been asked to leak the full song, he did not do it. The musical style of the demo was compared with Spears' 2007 single "Piece of Me", and the song itself generated comparisons with Spears' sound in her fifth studio album Blackout. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised Spears' version. Aston, Bangin Productions, and Pomplamoose. X Factor winner Joe McElderry covered the song in the Live Lounge tent at Radio 1's Big Weekend, and in 2010 the final fourteen of series seven covered the song during the result show. "Telephone" was covered by Lea Michele and Charice Pempengco for the American TV show Glee episode "Audition", which aired on , 2010. This version was released as a single, and reached number seventeen in Canada, eighteen in Ireland, twenty-three in the US, and thirty in Australia.
Track listing and formatsUK/European CD Single #"Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)" – 3:40 #"Telephone (Alphabeat Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:51UK iTunes digital single #"Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)" – 3:40 #"Telephone (feat. Beyoncé) [Music Video]" – 9:27
7 inch Vinyl #"Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)" – 3:40 #"Telephone (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:13
AUS/US remix EP #"Telephone (Alphabeat Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:41 #"Telephone (Crookers Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:50 #"Telephone (DJ Dan Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:59 #"Telephone (DJ Dan Vocal Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 3:28 #*Only included on the digital release #"Telephone (Doctor Rosen Rosen Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:25 #"Telephone (Electrolightz Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:26 #"Telephone (Kaskade Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:24 #"Telephone (Ming Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:31 #"Telephone (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:13 #"Telephone (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Club Remix) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 7:14 "The DJ Remixes" digital EP #"Telephone (Alphabeat Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:49 #"Telephone (Crookers Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 5:08 #"Telephone (DJ Dan Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 6:22 #"Telephone (Kaskade Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:40 #"Telephone (Kaskade Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 3:43 #"Telephone (Ming Dub) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:03 #"Telephone (Ming Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 3:12 #"Telephone (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Radio Edit) [feat. Beyoncé]" – 4:18 #"Bad Romance (DJ Paulo's GaGa Oo-La La Remix)" – 9:41
Credits and personnelCredits adapted from The Fame Monster liner notes. | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) |align="center"|3 |- | Bulgarian Airplay Charts |align="center"|2 |- |Canadian Hot 100 | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |Czech Airplay Chart |align="center"|9 |- |Danish Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|6 |- |European Hot 100 Singles | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |Finnish Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |German Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |Hungarian Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |Irish Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |Italian Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|21 |- |New Zealand Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|2 |- |Slovak Airplay Chart | style="text-align:center;"|6 |- |Spanish Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |US Billboard Hot 100 |align="center"|25 |- |US Hot Latin Songs |- | Belgium | Gold |- |Canada |3× Platinum |- |Denmark |Gold |- | France | Gold |- |Germany |Gold |- |Italy |Platinum |- | Japan |Gold |- |New Zealand |Platinum |- |Spain |Gold |- |Switzerland |Gold |}
Year-end charts{|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |- !scope="col"| Chart (2010) !scope="col"| Position |- |Australian Singles Chart |align="center"|20 |- |Austrian Singles Chart |align="center"|36 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) |align="center"|11 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) |align="center"|9 |- |Canadian Hot 100 |align="center"|15 |- |Danish Singles Chart |style="text-align:center;"|23 |- |Dutch Top 40 |align="center"|45 |- |European Hot 100 |align="center"|12 |- |German Singles Chart |align="center"|50 |- |Hungarian Airplay Chart |align="center"|33 |- |Irish Singles Chart |align="center"|8 |- |Italian Singles Chart |align="center"|18 |- |Japan Hot 100 |align="center"|87 |- |Romanian Top 100 |align="center"|61 |- |Spanish Singles Chart |align="center"|20 |- |Swiss Singles Chart |align="center"|44 |- |UK Singles Chart |align="center"|15 |- |US Billboard Hot 100 |align="center"|16 |- |US Hot Dance Club Songs |align="center"|38 |- |US Mainstream Top 40 |align="center"|11 |- |}
Chart procession and succession}}
Release history and radio add dates
References
External links
Category:2010 singles Category:Lady Gaga songs Category:Beyoncé Knowles songs Category:Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Denmark Category:Number-one singles in Norway Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Ultratop 40 Singles number-one singles Category:Ultratop 50 Singles number-one singles Category:Singles certified gold by the Belgian Entertainment Association Category:Singles certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie Category:Singles certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Denmark Category:Singles certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Switzerland Category:Singles certified gold by the Productores de Música de España Category:Singles certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan Category:Singles certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique Category:Singles certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry Category:Singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Category:Singles certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association Category:Singles certified triple platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association Category:Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund Category:Songs produced by Rodney Jerkins Category:Songs written by Beyoncé Knowles Category:Songs written by Lady Gaga Category:Songs written by Rodney Jerkins Category:Songs about telephones Category:Dance-pop songs This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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