"Aura" is a song recorded by American singer
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
for her third
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, ''
Artpop
''Artpop'' (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on November 6, 2013, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Gaga began planning the project in 2011, shortly after the launch of her second ...
'' (2013). She co-wrote and co-produced the track with
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaise ...
and the
psychedelic trance
Psychedelic Trance, Psytrance or Psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...
duo
Infected Mushroom
Infected Mushroom is an Israeli musical duo formed in Haifa in 1996 by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. They produce and perform psytrance, electronica, dream trance and psychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups in Isra ...
. Initially entitled "Burqa", an Infected Mushroom demo is the song's backbone. "Aura", which explores different facets of the singer, is a
mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
and
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
song with Western guitar and Middle Eastern musical influences and a dance production. Lyrically, it equates the life of a celebrity and stardom with religious oppression and subjugation.
Music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
were divided about the song. Reviewers praised its production and innovative composition but criticized its lyrics, which used the word "
burqa
A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...
" in a sexual manner. "Aura" was first performed live during Gaga's headlining
iTunes Festival
The Apple Music Festival (formerly known as the iTunes Festival) was a concert series held by Apple, Inc. and inaugurated in 2007. Free tickets were given to Apple Music, iTunes and DICE users who lived in the United Kingdom, through localized p ...
, and it was used in the trailer for
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
's ''
Machete Kills
''Machete Kills'' (also known as ''Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills'') is a 2013 American action exploitation film directed by Robert Rodriguez, with a screenplay by Kyle Ward, from a story by Robert and Marcel Rodriguez. Based on the eponymo ...
'' (in which the singer co-stars). It was also part of the setlist of
ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour, and Gaga's Las Vegas residency,
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
*Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family o ...
. The song entered the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Dance/Electronic Songs
The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...
chart based on streaming activity.
Background and development
![Infected Mushroom in Russia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Infected_Mushroom_in_Russia.jpg)
Development of Gaga's third studio album, ''
Artpop
''Artpop'' (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on November 6, 2013, by Streamline and Interscope Records. Gaga began planning the project in 2011, shortly after the launch of her second ...
'', began shortly after the release of ''
Born This Way'' (2011); by the following year, its concepts were "beginning to flourish" as Gaga collaborated with producers
Fernando Garibay
Fernando Garibay (;) is an American record producer, songwriter, DJ, academic and entrepreneur.
Artistic career
He was the official musical director of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball and the producer of her '' Born This Way'' album. Fernando ...
and
DJ White Shadow
Paul Edward Blair (born September 20, 1978), known by his stage name DJ White Shadow, sometimes written as DJWS, is an American music producer, musician, songwriter and DJ. Based in Chicago, Illinois, he is best known as the producer for Lady Ga ...
.
As the singer embarked on her
Born This Way Ball
The Born This Way Ball was the third concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga, in support of her second studio album '' Born This Way'' (2011). The tour visited all continents, except Antarctica, and was ranked as the fifth highest-grossing to ...
tour, she began collaborating with disc jockey
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaise ...
. In October 2012, when asked by DJ
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
about her work with Zedd, Gaga sent a cryptic
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
message: "Were all good
edd
Edd, or EDD may refer to:
Fictional characters
* Dolorous Edd, a character from ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' and its adaptation, ''Game of Thrones''
* Edd (Ed, Edd n Eddy), Edd (''Ed, Edd n Eddy''), a character of the ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' cartoon
* Ed ...
miss you buddy been listening to **rq* all day". The abbreviated word was assumed to refer to a song title. About a year later, a
demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
from Gaga's ''Artpop'' sessions leaked with the song, entitled "Burqa"; however, it was presumed to have a two-part title.
The song's real name was revealed as "Aura", originating from a demo by the Israeli
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
musical duo
Infected Mushroom
Infected Mushroom is an Israeli musical duo formed in Haifa in 1996 by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. They produce and perform psytrance, electronica, dream trance and psychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups in Isra ...
. In an interview with the Israeli weekly newspaper ''
B'Sheva
''B'Sheva'' () is a weekly Hebrew language newspaper published in Israel.
The first issue of ''B'sheva'', published by Arutz Sheva, appeared on July 19, 2002. It is distributed free on Thursdays in religious population centers.
Readership
The p ...
'', the duo detailed the song's conception. Gaga had reportedly visited Zedd's studio while he was working on music with Infected Mushroom. She liked the first demo she heard, which was for "Aura". Zedd later called the duo, saying that Gaga wanted the song for ''Artpop''. They deliberated for some time, torn between maintaining their artistic integrity by not collaborating with mainstream artists and the possibility of a "lifelong pension" from the track's royalties. Infected Mushroom decided to give it to Gaga, but wanted to be credited under an alias. The singer was opposed, and wanted the group's real name in the credits. According to Gaga, she wrote the song as an accompaniment to an
app being developed for ''Artpop'' and it was inspired by her different facets:
So this song is about me basically saying that just because all of those things are there tdoesn't mean that there is not sort of the same person underneath. And then, also that these veils, they are really just protecting me from the thing that I held the most sacred, which is my creativity ... My Aura is the way that I deal with my insanity and I feel quite insane, so this song sounds very insane ... Everyone thinks that everything I do is a statement but some times I'm just moved by something passionate and I want to express it.
To promote the 2013 American action-comedy film ''
Machete Kills
''Machete Kills'' (also known as ''Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills'') is a 2013 American action exploitation film directed by Robert Rodriguez, with a screenplay by Kyle Ward, from a story by Robert and Marcel Rodriguez. Based on the eponymo ...
'' (in which Gaga appeared as La Chameleón), its producers used the song in a commercial and created a
lyric video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
which was uploaded on
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on October 9, 2013. The video contains images and clips from the film.
Recording and composition
![Zedd at the 2012 SXSW cropped 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Zedd_at_the_2012_SXSW_cropped_2.jpg)
After recording began, Zedd was not pleased with the initial songs and suggested that Gaga redo the whole process. Gaga, not content with creating a staple radio hit, wanted to record creatively. Zedd explained to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' that they did not "try to make an
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
album—but, at the same time, we didn't try not to make an EDM album. I've done a lot of stuff that's really outside of what I usually do". "Aura" distributes songwriting and production credit among Gaga, Zedd and Infected Mushroom. The song was recorded at
Record Plant Studios
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
in Hollywood by Dave Russell, with assistance from Benjamin Rice. Zedd
mixed the track at Zeddl, and Ryan Shanahan and Jesse Taub assisted the process. Rick Pearl did
additional programming and Gene Grimaldi the
audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...
at Oasis Mastering Studios in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
.
According to Zedd, "Aura" was the most interesting track on ''Artpop'' because its combination of oriental music, guitars and an electronic beat enabled it to "cross over" musical genres.
A
mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
and EDM song,
[ "Aura" begins with Gaga's filtered vocal against a Western-style guitar: "I killed my former and left her in the trunk on highway ten", followed by dissonant laughter.][ Sam Lansky of ]Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
called it a "terrible Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.
Nancy Sinatra ...
affectation". A big-sounding EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
production follows the laughter, its beat reminiscent of Gaga's 2011 "Government Hooker
"Government Hooker" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her second studio album, '' Born This Way'' (2011). Gaga co-wrote and co-produced the song with Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow, with additional production of DJ Snake. "Governme ...
" and its vocal "garbled".[ As the track reaches a crescendo, Gaga sings its hook: "Do you wanna see me naked, lover? Do you wanna peek underneath the cover? Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura, behind the aura?" against a spare accompaniment.] The song, written in common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
in the key of F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...
, has a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Gaga's vocal ranges from F3 to E5, and the track has a basic F–G–F–G–Em7–F chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
. Described by Michael Cragg of ''the Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as a "slightly muddled insight into gender politics", "Aura" ends abruptly with Gaga uttering the words "Dance. Sex. Art. Pop. Tech".
According to James Montgomery of MTV News
MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
, "Auras lyrics equate celebrity and stardom with religious oppression and subjugation. The beginning of the song, implying that the singer destroyed her old self to become Gaga the artist, examines the loss of a private life and constant media scrutiny (noting that they are by choice). The track's central metaphor is a burqa
A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...
as a "veil of fame", sexualizing it with the line "Do you wanna see me naked, lover?" Montgomery said that criticism of Gaga's use of the word "burqa" is countered in the lyrics, when she sings "Enigma popstar is fun, she wears burqa for fashion". "Aura" expresses Gaga's solidarity with what she considers her sisterhood.
Critical reception
Music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
were divided in their reviews of "Aura". Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' gave the song a positive review, preferring it to the album's lead single ("Applause
Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performance ...
"); "Aura" is "everything we've come to expect from Gaga: messy, self-absorbed, overly ambitious, and downright weird—while still being undeniably infectious". According to Jason Lipshutz of ''Billboard'', the track positioned the album as a whole "with ambitious ideas and breakneck electronic passages". Three years later, in another ''Billboard'' article ("Lady Gaga's Top 10 Most Daring Songs"), Dan Weiss called "Aura" the singer's "boldest moment particularly as an album opener ... t'sa dizzying roller coaster ride of a tune and its presumed intent—to get inside the head of a woman from a completely different walk of life and find a kindred spirit in sexual repression—is not without merit". Helen Brown of ''the Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' called "Aura" the most interesting track on ''Artpop'', commending its Middle-Eastern production, Gaga's characteristically repeated syllables and the song's "clever sonic shapeshifting". In his detailed review of the song, Mike Diver of '' Clash'' magazine wrote:
"Aura", this set's opener, manages to be a multitude of songs at once, jumping from nosebleed bass to (Middle) Eastern-coloured tones, a Spaghetti Western
The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
monologue to a stars-bound middle-eight, from quite-deliberately provocative talk of slavery and the meaning of the burqa
A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...
to mindless cosmic love waffle. "Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura?" Lady Gaga asks us. Sure. A little of the real would go a long way after the smoke and mirrors defining her career to date.
Lansky was disappointed with the track, and wrote in his Idolator article that "Aura" consisted of all "the best and worst things about Lady Gaga amplified"; it was "weird and frustrating and great and terrible and brilliant and a failure all at once".[ Umema Aimem of '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' criticized the song's lyrics: "The song actually started out well ... but then you lost me when you proceeded to turn such a sacred symbol of slam
Slam, SLAM or SLAMS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional elements
* S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine), a fictional weapon in the ''G.I. Joe'' universe
* SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield), a fictional anti-ball ...
into an exotic costume". Mark Hogan of ''Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' called it "a grasping EDM mess" and "all over the place"; he disliked the burqa lyrics, "along with plenty of moments that bring to mind all the 'blog house' producers following in the path of Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, formed by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were known ...
or Simian Mobile Disco
Simian Mobile Disco are an English electronic music duo and production team, formed in 2003 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production. Ford is also known for his production work.
...
circa 2007". Max Kessler of ''Paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
'' gave "Aura" a lukewarm review; the song had "all the classic Gaga attributes", including "controversial and mildly clever lyrics set to a throbbing, almost-grating dance beat that's at times great and at times horrible". Its lyrics were controversial, with some Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s accusing Gaga of degrading the burqa by sexualizing it. According to Aimem, "Auras lyrics imply that women want to flirt
Flirting or coquetry is a social and sexual behavior involving spoken or written communication, as well as body language. It is either to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with the other person or, if done playfully, for amusement.
It ...
with men; this contradicts Gaga's previous song, "Monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
", in which she condemns date rape
Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...
.
Live performances
On September 1, 2013, Gaga opened the 2013 iTunes Festival at Roundhouse in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, performing several songs from ''Artpop''. She opened the show with "Aura", wearing a black suit with a black scarf and a knife that read "HOLLYWOOD" (referring to the song's lyrics). During her performance, the singer was hoisted above the crowd in a metal cage described by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
as a "medieval torture device". Ashley Percival of ''the Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' wrote about the show, "Arriving onstage a fashionable 26 minutes late, Gaga opened with previously leaked track 'Aura', which sounded more pulsating and crazed than the unfinished demo ... She belted out from a cage suspended above the audience, her lyrics setting the tone for the rest of her set." Gaga performed "Aura" next at (Le) Poisson Rouge
(Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space was ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where she held a fête
In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.
Village fêtes
Village f ...
for '' V'' magazine editor Stephen Gan. She played a 45-minute set, wearing a seashell bra and thong. According to David Lipke of ''Women's Wear Daily
''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion".Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides infor ...
'', Gaga lip-synced the song.
On November 8, 2013, Gaga appeared in ArtRave
ArtRave (stylized as artRAVE) was a two-day event hosted by Lady Gaga from November 10–11, 2013, as part of the promotional campaign for her third studio album, ''Artpop'' (2013). The event, held in a large warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yar ...
at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...
to promote ''Artpop''. She performed a number of songs from the album, opening with "Aura" in a clown-like white mask and white-and-black buoy-like attachments which were described by Andrew Hampp of ''Billboard'' as reminiscent of a Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast ...
mascot. The singer's dress was compared to the Michelin Man
Bibendum (), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tire, tyres, it was introduced at the Lyon Exposition inter ...
by Marissa G. Muller of ''Rolling Stone'', "complete with white water wings, a mask, and a pointed cap".[ Gaga began the performance across the room, weaving through the crowd towards a ]Jeff Koons
Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish su ...
sculpture of herself as she sang.
The singer sang "Aura" and other songs from her discography at the 2013 Jingle Bell Ball
The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held annually in December since 2008 (except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), by the radio station Capital FM at The O2. Artists that have headlined the concert include Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Li ...
on December 8, 2013. At the 2014 South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
(SXSW), Gaga wore knee-length blonde dreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair.
Origins
Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...
and opened her set with "Aura". She was rotating on a barbecue spit for the performance. The song was regularly performed as part of Gaga's 2014 ArtRave: The Artpop Ball concert tour (after "Judas
Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...
"), with the singer in a green bob cut
A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, but no longer than shoulder-length, often with fringe or bangs at the front. The standar ...
wig and leather hot pants.
"Aura" is performed on Gaga's 2018–2020 Las Vegas residency show, Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
*Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family o ...
. Brittany Spanos from ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that the track "begins a darker, more dangerous chapter of journey" in the narrative of the show, although she thought that the song was "oddly included" on the setlist.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes.
Origin
Liner notes are desce ...
of ''Artpop''.
Management
*Recorded at Record Plant Studios
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
, Hollywood, California
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
*Mastered at Oasis Mastering Studios, Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
*Stefani Germanotta P/K/A Lady Gaga (BMI) Sony ATV Songs LLC/House of Gaga Publishing, LLC/GloJoe Music Inc. (BMI)
*Zedd Music Empire (ASCAP), All rights administered by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing.
*Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. as agent for Infected Mushroom Publishing (ASCAP)
Personnel
*Lady Gaga – songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
, lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
, producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*Zedd – songwriter, producer, mixing
*Infected Mushroom – songwriter, producer
*Dave Russell – recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
*Benjamin Rice – recording assistant
*Rick Pearl – additional programming
*Ryan Shanahan – assistant
*Jesse Taub – assistant
*Ivy Skoff – union contract administrator
*Gene Grimaldi – mastering
Charts
Due to "Auras streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
activity, the song debuted at number 28 on the US ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Dance/Electronic Songs
The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...
for the week ending October 26, 2013. After the release of ''Artpop'', "Aura" re-entered the chart at number 14 and remained on it for a total of six weeks.[
]
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2013 songs
Electronic dance music songs
Lady Gaga songs
Song recordings produced by Lady Gaga
Songs written by Lady Gaga
Songs written by Zedd