After the comparative failure of Artpop to 2011’s smash hit Born This Way, Lady Gaga is officially coming back in a big — and very different — way with Joanne. Gaga’s new genre-crossing album has the dance-pop singer experimenting with country while focusing on stripped-down emotion in her lyrics. 
The album title and cover art, a simple profile portrait of Gaga in a pink hat with a baby blue background, indicate an immediate genre shift.
Gaga is best known for her attention-demanding early days as a synth-pop artist who wore wild clothes and became an international “Fame Monster.” She was frequently dubbed the next Madonna. She recently showed her diversity in a jazz collaboration album with Tony Bennett titled Cheek to Cheek. 
Gaga’s 2013 album, Artpop, was an unexpected flop. The hype was too great, and it was a severe disappointment following the incredible Born This Way. This might explain why Gaga decided to veer away from her typical dance-pop music with Joanne. 
This new album is pop with a strong country twang, very similar in genre to Taylor Swift’s pre-1989 albums. But make no mistake, this album is all Lady Gaga’s own experiment. She’s successfully ventured into the country genre before with hits like “You and I” off Born This Way, but nothing like this. “Diamond Heart” and “AY-O” especially signal the genre shift, with scratchy guitar strums, rhythmic background clapping and drawling vocals from Gaga. 
The isolated vocals and stripped down instrumentals of the title track, “Joanne” cue a more raw Gaga in terms of emotion and production. The disco and glamor have vanished from this album, and a hint of Lana del Rey’s signature Americana sound shines through, especially on tracks like “Grigio Girls.”
Just as much as the music itself, the lyrics show a new Gaga (or at least, a new genre for Gaga). “John Wayne” demonstrates a craving for a “cowboy,” a country man, a “real John Wayne.” A strange twist for her generally young, liberal, and very large LGBTQ+ fanbase, Gaga sings with a twang about a man who is “blue collar and a red state treasure.” Now the country girl, Gaga croons to her mystery cowboy man, “Can I just like / hang off the back of your horse / And can you go a little faster?!”
Her devotees, known as Little Monsters, may have to shift their expectations for this album. Unlike Artpop, there was no rave to commence the album drop. One thing is true: This album will be perfect for Gaga’s Super Bowl Halftime Show in February. 
Maybe Gaga is not necessarily trying to change her fan base with Joanne, but rather expand it to new audiences outside the dance-pop genre.