Lady Gaga’s first new solo single in three years, Perfect Illusion, has received mixed reviews from critics – but her fans are impressed.
Produced with Mark Ronson, the single comes after her previous album, Artpop, only produced one big hit track, Applause.
But the Poker Face singer’s new single – which she released on Friday while co-hosting Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 show – has been welcomed by her fans, the Little Monsters.
The star said the song was about the illusions created by social media, while the artwork for the video shows a stripped back Gaga, who is famed for her eccentric outfits, standing against a sunset and wearing denim shorts.
Fans welcomed the new song on Twitter.
I'm listening to #PERFECTILLUSION on loop. And i will not stop. #LG5
— Gabriele Melodia (@GabrieleMelodia) September 9, 2016
THE QUEEN IS BACK #PERFECTILLUSION pic.twitter.com/7e04dOQgyK
— Lilith (@SlayGagaBitch) September 9, 2016
I hear GAGA's frustration, passion, happiness, and determination in #PERFECTILLUSION
— antonio (@__ynot) September 9, 2016
I'm already addicted 💕 @ladygaga #PERFECTILLUSION pic.twitter.com/K2wNUFRCIR
— Stilinski-Bower ♡ (@DemsMug) September 9, 2016
Think my favourite thing about #PerfectIllusion is that she's not pandering to the masses like many others these days. Great 80s dance bop 🎉
— Shane Gallagher (@ShaneGallagher_) September 9, 2016
But there were some who were underwhelmed:
She wanna be Madonna so bad #PERFECTILLUSION
— ♕kwєєn♕ (@Flopaconda_) September 9, 2016
I see everyone disappointed with the song.. i mean you gotta wait at least 2 or 3 days to like a song.. chill #PERFECTILLUSION
— giuliasock (@giuliasock) September 9, 2016
The Guardian’s Richard S said the new single was a disappointment.
“Lady Gaga has spent the last three years proving she can sing. But in her quest to overwhelm us with her vocal talent, she’s under-delivered with her songwriting,” he wrote.
“Pop music exists in the present; you’re only as good as your last single. So bring on the next reinvention – the sooner the better.”
He added: “The real Perfect Illusion isn’t love; it’s a blank metaphor her voice tries and fails to imbue with meaning.”
#PERFECTILLUSION is available NOW on @Spotify LISTEN: https://t.co/yeQQPtai3t
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) September 9, 2016
The Telegraph’s Alice Vincent was more impressed.
“It delights me to write that this is a return to Just Dance-era Gaga: a simple, infectiously catchy slice of floor-filling, stadium-cheering pop,” she wrote.
“What’s gradually happened since 2008 is that Gaga has allowed her stage school-trained voice to show off … Her vocals hint at Gaga’s signature brand of weird, but mostly they just show what many people don’t realise: that she’s an excellent singer.”
