Lady Gaga - That-s Life — Essential

Lady Gaga didn't cover “That’s Life” because she wanted to be a retro crooner. She recorded it because she needed to remind us that the only difference between a tragedy and a comedy is your willingness to stand up after the fall.

When Gaga sings, “That’s life, that’s what all the people say / You’re riding high in April, shot down in May” —she isn't talking about a fictional mobster. She is talking about 2013. She is talking about Artpop . She is talking about the moment the world decided she was overexposed, too weird, or too fat. She knows what it feels like to be the clown. Lady Gaga - That-s Life

Unlike Sinatra’s brassy, whiskey-baritone confidence, Gaga brings a fractured vulnerability. Listen closely to the Harlequin version. Her lower register is husky, almost spoken. There is a hesitation before the chorus. Then, as the horns swell, she unleashes that belting rage we know from “The Edge of Glory.” But she pulls back again immediately. Lady Gaga didn't cover “That’s Life” because she

Released as part of Harlequin (the companion album to the film Joker: Folie à Deux ), “That’s Life” isn't just a cover. It is the thesis statement of Gaga’s entire artistic journey. She is talking about 2013