Alice (Lady Gaga song)

"Alice" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, appearing as the second track on her sixth studio album Chromatica (2020). The song was written by Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Axel Hedfors (Axwell), Justin Tranter, and Johannes Klahr, and produced by BloodPop, Axwell, and Klahr. It references the fictional character and setting Alice and Wonderland, respectively, from Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The song charted in more than a dozen countries and received a generally positive critical reception.

"Alice"
Song by Lady Gaga
from the album Chromatica
ReleasedMay 29, 2020 (2020-05-29)
GenrePost-rave
Length2:57
Label
Composer(s)
Producer(s)
  • BloodPop
  • Axwell
  • Johannes Klahr
Audio video
"Alice" on YouTube

Composition and lyrics
Swedish producer Axwell (pictured) co-produced "Alice".

The song was written by Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Axel Hedfors (Axwell), Justin Tranter,[1] and Johannes Klahr, and produced by BloodPop, Axwell, and Klahr.[2][3] "Alice" serves as the second track on Chromatica (2020), following "Chromatica I", the first of the album's three musical interludes. Rolling Stone's Kory Grow called "Alice" the album's "first real song", which references Alice and the fictional setting Wonderland from Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,[4] starting with the chorus "My name isn't Alice, but I'll keep looking for Wonderland".[5]

The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber said "Gaga sings of her racing mind needing a 'symphony' to clear it" and has a "gasping" chorus.[6] Craig Jenkins of Vulture.com said the chorus has "booming, chopped-up" vocals.[7] Mark Richardson of The Wall Street Journal called "Alice" Chromatica's "first proper song" and wrote, "Over a kinetic house track with the trademarks of the genre—hissing offbeat high-hat, neo-Latin keyboards playing a cyclical melody—Gaga describes a fantasy world out of Lewis Carroll."[8] Kory Grow of Rolling Stone said the "'ahhs' and an 'oh ma-ma-ma' stutter" in the chorus are reminiscent of the "Ra-ra-roma-ma" of "Bad Romance" (2009).[5] Vulture.com's Craig Jenkins compared the chorus to "vocal house standards" like "Follow Me" by Aly-Us.[7] Maxine Wally of W magazine said the "call-and-response verses and a huge backing track give off a whiff" of Haddaway's "What Is Love" (1993).[9] The Observer's Emily Mackay said the song "takes her down a new rabbit hole, recalling the best of 90s chart house" like Ken Doh's "Nakasaki" and Ultra Naté's "Free".[10]

Lauren Murphy of Entertainment.ie said "Alice" has a "throbbing electronic pop beat".[11] The Daily Northwestern's Wilson Chapman said the song "uses the 'Alice in Wonderland' tale as a metaphor for struggling to find personal peace".[12] Kelvin Jimenez Michaca of Montclair State University's student newspaper wrote, "Lady Gaga asks to be taken to wonderland, which can be interpreted to be synonymous to her home. Whatever the case may be, she has yet to find a place she can call home and judging by the lyrics in the song, she intends to keep looking for one."[13]

"Chromatica I"
"Chromatica I"
Composition by Lady Gaga
from the album Chromatica
ReleasedMay 29, 2020 (2020-05-29)
Length1:00
Songwriter(s)
  • Lady Gaga
  • Morgan Kibby
Producer(s)
  • Gaga
  • Kibby
Audio video
"Chromatica I" on YouTube

"Alice" is preceded by an orchestral interlude called "Chromatica I", which opens the album and transitions directly into the track. As Gaga wanted to highlight that the album has three distinct acts, she recruited musician Morgan Kibby to produce interludes for the album, with the help of a 26-person orchestra who performed the string arrangements.[14] Kibby was brought into the studio after submitting the demo that would eventually become "Chromatica I".[15] With the long string runs at the beginning of this composition, Kibby pursued to recall "the majesty and grandeur" of Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor. She also aimed to reference classic scores from films such as THX 1138 and Outland.[14] In her interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1, Gaga talked about the background of "Chromatica I":

The beginning of the album symbolizes for me the beginning of my journey to healing. It goes right into this grave string arrangement, where you feel this pending doom that is what happens if I face all the things that scare me. That string arrangement is setting the stage for a more cinematic experience with this world that is how I make sense of things.[16]

Callie Ahlgrim of Insider appreciated how "Chromatica I" "blends into 'Alice' very smoothly", while Courteney Larocca from the same medium noted that it sounds like "it's opening a fantasy movie."[17]

Critical reception

BuzzFeed News' Alessa Dominguez said that Chromatica "starts strongly" with "Alice" and sees Gaga sing with "glam-theatrical fervor". She wrote, "The song captures the record's house-inspired sound, its escapist themes of feeling untethered from the world, all complemented by Gaga's vocal theatrics, delivered with operatic flair. As she sings 'Take me home,' you want to follow her down the rabbit hole."[18] Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times described the song as "pulsating" and said she "can imagine putting on repeat during this cruel summer, while the newspaper's Caryn Ganz said "Alice" has "glittery hopefulness".[19]

Callie Ahlgrim of Insider.com said that "Alice" "does a nice job highlighting the overarching themes of Chromatica". Furthermore, she wrote, "This is classic Lady Gaga in all her blood-pumping, bass-thumping glory. 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' has become an oft-used reference in pop music, and I was worried that it would feel forced or overdrawn, but I actually really appreciate the way it compliments the themes of the album; it makes sense to imagine Gaga as a wide-eyed, curious Alice type and 'Chromatica' as a surrealist third space in between earth and escapism."[17] Vulture.com's Justin Curto included the opening lyrics, which he said were "just impossible to hate", in his list of "8 Chromatica Lyrics We Can't Wait to Scream in the Club After Five Vodka-Sodas".[20] Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork considered the lyrics "Maestro, play me your symphony/I will listen to anything/Take me on a trip, DJ, free my mind" one of Chromatica's "wild lyrical clunkers".[21]

Billboard's Stephen Daw ranked "Alice" as Chromatica's sixth best track and wrote, "Remember how deliriously entertaining early 2000s post-rave dance music was? Lady Gaga certainly does as she exhibits on ... 'Alice.' Referring back to her favorite Lewis Carroll character, Gaga throws listeners down a sonic rabbit hole of kick drums and shimmering synths as she declares over and over again that, while her name may not be 'Alice,' she going to 'keep looking for Wonderland.'"[22] The magazine's Jason Lipshutz described the song as a "post-rave triumph".[23] Lauren Murphy of Entertainment.ie called the song "upbeat and fun".[11] USA Today's Patrick Ryan described the song as "hypnotic".[24] Patrick Gomez of The A.V. Club said the song "becomes sleepy as it relies on a generic ’90s dance-floor beat throughout".[25] Slate's Carl Wilson wrote, "this song serves to suck us down the rabbit hole into the album’s Wonderland, which Gaga signals is foremost the dance floor... Its brisk house workout, with thematically appropriate downshifted vocal effects. It may not stick in your head. But it sets the mood."[26]

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Alice" was the "only non-advance track" from the album to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, according to Billboard's Gab Ginsberg.[27] The song debuted at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.[28][29]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Chromatica.[30]

  • Lady Gaga – vocals, songwriter
  • BloodPop – producer, songwriter, keyboards, bass, drums
  • Johannes Klahr – producer, songwriter, keyboards, bass, drums
  • Axwell – producer, keyboards, bass, drums
  • Justin Tranter – songwriter
  • Benjamin Rice – mixer, studio personnel, vocal producer
  • Tom Norris – mixer, studio personnel
  • E. Scott Kelly – mixer engineer, studio personnel
  • Randy Merrill – mastering engineer, studio personnel

Charts
Chart performance for "Alice"
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[31] 59
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] 78
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[33] 97
France (SNEP)[34] 112
Greece (IFPI)[35] 60
Italy (FIMI)[36] 84
Lithuania (AGATA)[37] 67
New Zealand Hot Singles (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 3
Portugal (AFP)[39] 67
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[40] 63
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[41] 92
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[42] 29
US Billboard Hot 100[43] 84
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[44] 7
US Rolling Stone Top 100[45] 69
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References
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  3. Spanos, Brittany (May 30, 2020). "Welcome to 'Chromatica': Inside Lady Gaga's Triumphant Dance Floor Return". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
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