And Gaga clearly has a lot still to say. Thanks to a mixed bag of projects, the endorsement of a jazz legend, and an approach to touring that didn’t leave her feeling “beaten to a pulp,” it’s been a year of revitalization and rebirth. In fact, she’s so inspired that she’s already been working on new songs for her next project, though she won’t reveal much about it—except with a metaphor. “I want the fans to be surprised,” she says. “But I will just tell you that it’s a wonderful, soul-searching experience. And it’s very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road. ARTPOP was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like—my old self as a cadaver. And I’m just, I’m operating on my old self.”
“I want the fans to be surprised,” Gaga said. “But I will just tell you that it’s a wonderful, soul-searching experience. And it’s very unlike the last album in that way. I made that album on the road. ARTPOP was, you know, the acid-making record. And this record is like—my old self as a cadaver. And I’m just, I’m operating on my old self.”