''The Cherrytree Sessions'' is the first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

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 ...

. It consists of three acoustic versions of " Poker Face", " Just Dance", and "

Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, from her debut album, ''The Fame'' (2008). It was released as the third single from the album in Australia, New Zealand and selected European countries, and the fourth sing ...

". The EP was released on February 3, 2009, initially released only through

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

stores and via digital download, and was later

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d on CD in August 2010. ''The Cherrytree Sessions'' received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Gaga's vocal abilities and the instrumentation of the three tracks, including their unusual incorporation of styles such as

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

and

beatboxing Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

. It reached number 32 on the

Mexican Albums Chart Top 100 México is a record chart which accounts for sixty percent of the albums sold in Mexico. The chart has the support of major record distributors in Mexico and is issued by the Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A. ...

Background and composition

''The Cherrytree Sessions'' is a series of EPs first envisaged by

Cherrytree Records Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fe ...

label head and producer

Martin Kierszenbaum Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...

in order to promote his artists. With the assistance of Tony Ugval, Kierszenbaum was able to secure footage and music recordings of several performances from artists on the label's roster. Following requests from fans of the label's music, Kierszenbaum decided to release them commercially, and stated that "before long, we found ourselves with an extraordinary collection of recordings: intimate at times, unexpected at others." Gaga's performances for ''The Cherrytree Sessions'' was first released as a video posted to the label's website. It begins with Gaga and producer Space Cowboy surprising Kierszenbaum in his office, known as The Cherrytree House. After discussing her international travels, Gaga performed an acoustic version of "Brown Eyes" at the piano where she had sung for Kierszenbaum the first time they met. She and Space Cowboy then performed a stripped-down version of " Just Dance" on their keyboards, before Gaga returned to the piano for an acoustic version of " Poker Face". The performance coincided with Gaga reaching number one on the ''

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 ...

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally start ...

chart with "Just Dance" in 2008, and was available for streaming as a

webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or c ...

on the Cherrytree Records website. The EP itself consists of three tracks recorded live from the event, all of which had previously been successful

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

released from Gaga's first

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 ...

, ''

The Fame ''The Fame'' is the debut studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008, by Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different p ...

'' (2008).

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

compared the "solo piano rendition" of "Poker Face" to the style of

, while "Just Dance" had only

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

as its instrumentation. The final song, "

" makes use of

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s (played by Martin Kierszenbaum) and

beatboxing Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

, which is performed by Space Cowboy.

Critical reception

''The Cherrytree Sessions'' was released on February 3, 2009, in the United States and was an import in European nations, including France. Mark Beech of

Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan (Bloomberg), Duncan MacMi ...

gave ''The Cherrytree Sessions'' a positive review, awarding it three out of four stars. He praised Gaga's singing abilities and noting that the EP "shows Lady Gaga isn't all combustible miniskirts and flame-throwing bras." Simon Gage of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' gave the album three out of five stars, expressing surprise at Gaga's singing abilities. "Often hidden under those dastardly catchy Eurobeats," he noted, "on these earlier, simpler versions of tracks such as Poker Face and Just Dance, her voice gets a bit more of a chance to shine, as do the songs." This sentiment was echoed by

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

, awarding three stars out of five, who felt that the performances were "effective showcases for Gaga's charisma and songwriting." Erlewine praised the music of "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" in particular, noting that its "bare-bones mix" was complementary to the release's aesthetic. ''The Cherrytree Sessions'' debuted at 45 on the

on August 20, 2010, and moved to 32 the next week. Although it failed to enter any of the ''

'' album charts, according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, the EP had sold 9,000 copies in the United States by September 2010.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''The Cherrytree Sessions'' per

and liner notes. * Mary Fagot –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

* Vincent Herbert –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, A&R * Martin Kierszenbaum –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, A&R * Lady Gaga – vocals, piano * Meeno – photography * RedOne – production * Space Cowboy – human beat box * Tony Ugval –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherrytree Sessions, The 2009 debut EPs 2009 live albums Albums produced by RedOne Cherrytree Records albums Interscope Records EPs Interscope Records live albums Lady Gaga EPs Lady Gaga live albums Live EPs