David Marchese

From The New York Times, this is The Interview. I'm David Marchese. Lady Gaga is undoubtedly one of pop culture's great shapeshifters. She's tried on, with great success, a whole range of different musical styles, from the dance pop of her earliest albums, like The Fame. To the country rock of Joanne.

To her albums of jazzy duets with the great crooner Tony Bennett.

To her albums of jazzy duets with the great crooner Tony Bennett.

So when I heard that Gaga's new album, Mayhem, was a return to the pop sounds of her early work, I wondered why a master of reinvention would be making that move. Was it a back-to-the-basics turn? A nostalgia play? Was Lady Gaga revisiting her own earlier style, meant to be some sort of meta comment on what it means to be Lady Gaga?

So when I heard that Gaga's new album, Mayhem, was a return to the pop sounds of her early work, I wondered why a master of reinvention would be making that move. Was it a back-to-the-basics turn? A nostalgia play? Was Lady Gaga revisiting her own earlier style, meant to be some sort of meta comment on what it means to be Lady Gaga?

But as she explained it, the answer, in a way, is all of the above. She and I talked about that new album, as well as how her relationship with her fiancé helped shape its music. And we talked, too, about the loneliness of fame and how it's taken her 20 years to learn how to be a boss. Here's my conversation with Lady Gaga.

But as she explained it, the answer, in a way, is all of the above. She and I talked about that new album, as well as how her relationship with her fiancé helped shape its music. And we talked, too, about the loneliness of fame and how it's taken her 20 years to learn how to be a boss. Here's my conversation with Lady Gaga.

Hi, how are you?

Hi, how are you?

Good. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Good. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

So in an announcement that I saw for Mayhem, it must have been on social media somewhere, you referred to your fear of going back to the pop music that your earliest fans love. Why is that something you were scared of?

So in an announcement that I saw for Mayhem, it must have been on social media somewhere, you referred to your fear of going back to the pop music that your earliest fans love. Why is that something you were scared of?

How do you characterize that sound for people?

How do you characterize that sound for people?

Like Joanne.

Like Joanne.

And when you said there were ways in which you sort of felt bridled together, in the way that people thought about women in pop music? What did you mean by that?

And when you said there were ways in which you sort of felt bridled together, in the way that people thought about women in pop music? What did you mean by that?

Were there ways in which you felt like You were in an exploitative relationship?