Maps of Music

Artpop (2013)

Where the lyrics of Artpop take you, and where it was really made.

Artpop debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, yet critics were divided, and one of its songs was pulled from streaming in 2019.

Key places

Too Short's verse recorded in Los Angeles (2013)

Recording site Los Angeles — Too Short recorded his verse for the track in Los Angeles after producer DJ White Shadow suggested him. The point is shown at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio in Los Angeles (2013)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The Record Plant is listed as a recording location for this album. The marker is approximate. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio in Chicago (2013)

Recording site Chicago Recording Company — Chicago Recording Company is listed as a recording location for this album. The marker is approximate. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio in the United Kingdom (2013)

Recording site 80 Hertz Studios — 80 Hertz Studios is listed as a recording location for this album. The marker is approximate. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studio listed for the album (2013)

Recording site Platinum Sound Recording Studios — Platinum Sound Recording Studios is listed as a recording location for this album. The marker is approximate. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Artpop: third studio album by American singer Lady Gaga
• Released November 6, 2013 by Streamline and Interscope Records
• EDM and synth-pop album with influences from R&B, techno, industrial, and dubstep
• Themes: fame, sex, and self-empowerment, with references to Greek and Roman mythology
• Guest vocals from T.I., Too Short, Twista, and R. Kelly
• Preceded by ArtRave, a two-day album release party

Background

• Planning began in 2011, shortly after the launch of Born This Way
• Work continued through 2013 while Gaga toured for the Born This Way Ball and recovered from surgery
• Gaga described the album as a celebration and a poetic musical journey
• She contrasted it with Born This Way, which reflected maturity; Artpop was meant to be more playful and uninhibited
• By December 2012 she had written around 50 songs for the album
• She conceived the album to evoke a night at the club

Recording

• Producers included DJ White Shadow, Zedd, and Madeon
• Madeon's first experience collaborating face-to-face with a vocalist
• Artpop was also the first time Gaga worked with will.i.am, on the track Fashion!
• Too Short recorded his verse for Jewels n' Drugs in Los Angeles

Cover

• Created by Jeff Koons: a nude sculpture of Gaga with a blue gazing ball placed in front of her
• Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus was incorporated into the cover artwork

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City.
• Signed with Interscope Records in 2007; Streamline Records was an Interscope imprint.
• Debut album The Fame (2008) and reissue The Fame Monster (2009) brought global recognition.

Career

• Born This Way (2011) debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 1.1 million first-week sales in the US.
• Expanded into jazz with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek (2014) and Love for Sale (2021).
• Acting: American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016), A Star Is Born (2018), House of Gucci (2021).
• Chromatica (2020) and Mayhem (2025) returned to pop; the Mayhem Ball concluded in April 2026 as her highest-grossing tour.
• Estimated sales of 124 million records; 16 Grammy Awards; 22 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Philanthropy and activism focus on mental health and LGBTQ rights; founded the Born This Way Foundation in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Artpop received mixed responses from music critics
• Metacritic average of 61 out of 100, based on 30 critic reviews
• Rolling Stone's Caryn Ganz called it a bizarre album of squelchy disco that is sexual but not sexy
• Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph criticized Gaga's choice to make another album themed around her own stardom
• The album was included in various year-end lists by music critics and publications

Reappraisal

• In a positive retrospective review, Claire Lobenfeld of Pitchfork called it Gaga's most divisive and conceptually ambitious album
• Later retrospective reviews from critics and publications have been positive

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 258,000 copies in its first week
• Entered the UK Albums Chart at number one with 65,608 copies in its first week
• Certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for 256,000 registered units
• Certified Platinum by the RIAA for surpassing one million album-equivalent units
• IFPI: ninth-best-selling album of 2013 worldwide, with 2.3 million units

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Do What U Want track was removed from all streaming and online versions on January 10, 2019, after the documentary Surviving R. Kelly.
• The Artpop app was removed from the App Store in 2015.
• The night before the album came out, Gaga hosted the ArtRave party at a large warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
• For the Chinese edition, the cover art was modified: Gaga's legs were covered with black stockings and the gazing ball was enlarged.
• Gaga's second Thanksgiving Day special, featuring Elton John, RuPaul, and Kermit the Frog, promoted the album later in 2013.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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