Lady Gaga performed a rendition of ‘Happy Mistake’ inspired by her character of Harley Quinn from Joker: Folie à Deux while on Jimmy Kimmel.
The pop icon appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday night (October 1) where she promoted her new film Joker: Folie à Deux as well as the film’s companion album ‘Harlequin‘.
Gaga’s stripped-back rendition highlighted her vocal ability alongside the same raw emotion and intensity that created her character in the Sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker. Speaking to Kimmel about the track following her performance, Gaga said: “It was inspired by the movie, it was inspired by my character Harley, and just also kind of this reflection on my life as a performer.
“It’s meant to be a really personal song about how sometimes we can go through dark times and feel like happiness is an accident when it happens.”
Gaga also opened up about ‘Harlequin’ and explained that the album is not the film’s soundtrack but rather “a concept record and it’s a companion piece to the film. So, whether you listen to it before you watch the movie or after, it’s like an extension of the world.”
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Joker: Folie à Deux has been referred to as a jukebox musical, with covers of a number of jazz standards including ‘Oh, When The Saints’, ‘Get Happy’ and ‘That’s Life’, along with a few original tracks which are featured on the album.
Previously speaking to Sky News about the creation of the LP, Gaga said: “I think the whole experience inspired me through and through. It was so amazing to get to know this character through music, through the script, through dance, through all this tremendous collaboration.”
She also discussed why she was having a hard time giving up her character following the completion of the film and said: “I don’t really know if I did because I’ve made a whole record about her.”
In an interview with Vogue, Gaga said that she drew on her own experiences when playing the character: “Harley Quinn is a character people know from the ether of pop culture. I had a different experience creating her, namely my experience with mania and chaos inside – for me, it creates a quietness. Sometimes women are labelled as these overly emotional creatures and when we are overwhelmed we are erratic or unhinged. But I wonder if when things become so broken from reality, when we get pushed too far in life, what if it makes you…quiet?”
NME gave Joker: Folie à Deux a four-star review, saying that Gaga “shines in a provocative prison musical” and: “[director Todd] Phillips and [co-writer Scott] Silver have delivered the last thing anyone expected: a socially responsible Joker movie that finds an intriguing way to explore the consequences (both on and offscreen) of the first film. Joker fans shouldn’t cry too hard though – Warner Bros. have cleverly found a way to leave the door open a little for the franchise to continue, should the need arise.“
‘Harlequin’ marked Gaga’s first LP since 2021’s ‘Love For Sale’, a collaborative album with the late Tony Bennett. Prior to that, her last solo studio album was 2020’s ‘Chromatica’. She’s previously revealed plans to release a new album of original material in 2025, describing it as LG7 – her seventh album – as opposed to ‘Harlequin’, which she’s calling LG6.5.
Following the UK premiere of the film, Gaga hosted a secret intimate ‘Harlequin‘ listening party in London, where she played the album in full, whilst singing and dancing with the crowd of die-hard fans.
Last month, Joker director Todd Phillips suggested that Folie à Deux is likely to be the final film in the Joker franchise: “It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies, but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.”
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