Lady Gaga's "Applause" video is out!

This morning Lady Gaga premiered the video for “Applause”, the first single from her upcoming album ARTPOP. Soon after that, the video was uploaded to her official YouTube page, getting thousands of views in its first minute online.
The video is heavily inspired by performance arts, fitting to the tile. Such inspiration is shown in the now iconic smudged clown makeup, as well as in Gaga coming out of a magician’s hat with occasional colored smoke effects, and in Gaga holding a leg-shaped bouquet as she walks a sort of runaway amidst a cloud of sparkly confetti to the sound of loud cheers, looking like a Tim Burton version of Miss America. There’s also an overpowering reference to theatre, in special her Kuroko-style outfit, which she wears throughout the video. The part that intrigued me is the scene where she is in a cage, wearing a yellow wig reminiscent of the Fame Monster era, with a crazy expression on her face, possibly showing a downside to fame. Not to mention her head on a black swan… is this her reference to ballet and dance?
As a longtime fan, I can say that I am pleased with this video. To tell the truth, I was a little nervous after the Born This Way phase, which brought the not-so-pleasant video to “Mary The Night”, and don’t get me started on the disappointing “Edge Of Glory”, but Lady Gaga never ceases to surprise me – or the world. I won’t go as far as saying she outdid herself, because she didn’t; she did not go over the top and clearly did not try to shock the world, as she usually does. Her outfit, makeup and hair styles lately have been simple and elegant, nothing too extravagant, very unlikely of her. I’m sure the world expected her to come back to the music scene riding a dragon, wearing Oprah as a hat and an outfit made of 50 live pandas, but she seems to be going in a different direction this time. Still, it’s too early to tell.
ARTPOP looks good so far, and I’m hopeful this time around. I don’t know what to expect, and over the last couple of years I learned not to have any expectations when it comes to Lady Gaga. I’ll just enjoy her new material and hope she does her best. I’m happy she’s back with new music, regardless of what the sales or charts will say, and can’t wait to hear her new album!

Watch the “Applause” video