"Electric Chapel" 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 second studio album, '' Born This Way'' (2011). Written and produced by Gaga 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 ...

, the recording premiered on Facebook gaming app ''

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'', as did the album's fifth single, "

Marry the Night "Marry the Night" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga for her second studio album, '' Born This Way'' (2011). The track was initially released for promotion on '' FarmVille'', six days before the release of ''Born This ...

". Gaga revealed on Twitter that "Electric Chapel" was written in Australia and finished on her tour bus in Europe. She recorded it channeling the vocals of bands like Duran Duran, and singers Cher and

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

. "Electric Chapel" is an

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

and

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

song that incorporates elements of 80s pop music and heavy metal in its composition.

Critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

praised the track, with Dan Martin from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' comparing it to the work of Madonna; other reviewers noted the rock and

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

musical elements associated in it. "Electric Chapel" reached number 23 on '' Billboard''s

Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, previously Dance/Electronic Digital Songs is a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling digital dance and electronic singles in the United States, according to ''Billboard''. Although it originally started trac ...

chart and number 144 on the South Korean International Download Chart. It was performed on Gaga's

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 (2012–2013), where she sang it while standing inside a set piece that had the song's name written on top.

Background and composition

"Electric Chapel" was first previewed when a one-minute portion of its instrumental was used for Gaga's Transmission Gagavision 44 video. With the title's track being displayed on a paper during the end of the clip, it additionally made an appearance in the music video for "

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 betr ...

" (2011). Subsequently, Gaga revealed on Twitter that the song was written in Australia and finished on her tour bus in Europe. Describing the recording's lyrical themes as delving on "needing to feel safe to find love", it was theorized by a writer from

Take 40 Australia ''Take 40 Australia'' was Australia's first and longest-running music countdown. It counted down the official top 40 singles on the ARIA chart on a weekly basis. It was broadcast nationally each week to over 1.2 million listeners. Starting i ...

to be inspired by the singer's 2009 live performance on Australia's The Chapel arena. Like the opening track of ''Born This Way''—"

"—the song made its debut on a special edition of social network game ''

'', called GagaVille and released on May 18, 2011. EXIT 2012 Duran Duran (1)

"Electric Chapel" has been compared to the work of Madonna, with ''

''s Dan Martin saying that "if you'd ever wondered what that Madonna doing the soundtrack to Blade Runner might have sounded like... then wonder no more."

Genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

-wise, Brian Hiatt of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' referred "Electric Chapel" to as an

electro rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

recording, while Robbie Daw of

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dubbed the song as being of the

pop metal Pop metal (sometimes conflated with or used interchangeably with glam metal) is an umbrella term for commercial heavy metal and hard rock styles which feature prominent pop music elements such as catchy hooks and anthemic choruses. It became ...

genre, attesting that unlike fellow song from ''Born This Way'', "Heavy Metal Lover", "Electric Chapel" possesses an actual

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

-edge. Gaga recorded the chorus a number of times, channeling the vocals of bands like Duran Duran, and singers Cher and

. Inspired by 1980s music, the track incorporates a spoken word section, which Gaga wanted to sound like

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...

song "

Rock Lobster "Rock Lobster" is a song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of the B-52's. It was twice recorded and released as a single, first by DB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the following year for the b ...

" (1978). She explained to Brian Hiatt of ''Rolling Stone'' that when she "say 'electric chapel,' something needs to occur... It needs to be more fantasy. You should see the empress of the Vatican unicorn planet appear and soar across the nightclub." Writing for music website

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

, Brent Koepp described the song as "

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

meets 80s pop". According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, "Electric Chapel" has a

time signature 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 va ...

of common time, and a pop-rock tempo of 128

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. The song is composed in the key of A minor with Gaga's vocals ranging from E₃ to C₅. It also has a basic sequence of Am–Dm–Am–Dm–F serving as its

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 ...

. "Electric Chapel" was later remixed by Irish

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Two Door Cinema Club Two Door Cinema Club are a band from Bangor, Northern Ireland. The band formed in 2007 and is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Kevin Baird (bass, syn ...

; this version was included on the singer's second

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

titled '' Born This Way: The Remix'' (2011). Gaga unveiled the remix during a cover shoot for ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' magazine. A reviewer from

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complimented the remix, saying that "Two Door Cinema Club almost make 'Electric Chapel' sound like a collaboration between Gaga and Hot Chip".

Reception

Overall, "Electric Chapel" received positive reviews from

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 ...

. Robbie Daw from Idolator felt that "Electric Chapel" surpassed the released

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'' ...

from ''Born This Way'' in craftsmanship and praised the "hard rock ominous guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

s", calling them a tease. Vocally, he found Gaga was channeling

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal sol ...

and dubbed the track as one of the album's strongest compositions. Caryn Ganz of '' Spin'' wrote that "Electric Chapel" "pairs divine diva thump with a

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

guitar solo." ''

'' writer Dan Martin published a review on the song, confessing that "perhaps Electric Chapel'nails the record's blood-and-chrome aesthetics most effectively of all." In another review, Martin compared its opening riffs to Opus III's 1983 song "

It's a Fine Day "It's a Fine Day" is a song written by English poet and musician Edward Barton. It was originally recorded in a cappella in 1983 by Jane, and later by Opus III for whom it was a major international hit in 1992. Original recording by Jane Bar ...

", with him further likening the recording to science fiction music. Kerri Mason from '' Billboard'' described the track as a "technicolor wedding" with a "fat guitar riff". Bradley Stern from ''MuuMuse'' praised the cut, feeling that "Gaga takes ''Born This Way'' to new levels of pop-dom on cuts like the jagged 'Electric Chapel' and 'Heavy Metal Lover'". Ann Powers from

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

noticed the influence of Duran Duran in the track, while believing Gaga to imagine "Electric Chapel" as an output from "an electric guitar-wielding girl group". Jody Rosen from ''Rolling Stone'' did reviewed ''Born This Way'' track-wise, observing that in "Electric Chapel" Gaga wrote about hoping for a monogamous relationship, with heavy guitar riffs and metal solo being characteristics of the record. In an article in '' GQ'' about 10 detrimental things on ''Born This Way'', a writer from the magazine listed the track's lyrics as "reek ngof a lack of ideas, not a distortion of form. Sing words. It's easy". "Electric Chapel" debuted and peaked at number 23 on '' Billboard''s

chart on the issue dated June 11, 2011, spending one week on the chart. It also made an appearance at number 144 on the South Korean International Download Chart.

Live performances

Gaga performed "Electric Chapel" on her

tour (2012–2013). The track was included during the tour's third segment, where Gaga performed "The Queen" and " You and I", before transcending into "Electric Chapel" and " Americano" from ''Born This Way''. The singer was present inside a glass set piece onstage, referred by her as an electric chapel. Sean Sennett from ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' complimented the performance of the song, saying that "by the time 'Electric Chapel' has rolled around the band are shredding like a glorious 80s LA metal act". Kwaak Je-yup from ''

The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacture ...

'' gave positive feedback to Gaga for singing live during the tour, but found her voice cracked during "Electric Chapel".

Credits and personnel

Recording and management

* Recorded at

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in Milan, Italy * Mixed at Setai Recording Studio ( Miami Beach) * Mastered at Oasis Mastering (Burbank, California) * Published by Stefani Germanotta P/K/A Lady Gaga (BMI) Sony/ATV Songs, LLC/ House of Gaga Publishing, LLC / GloJoe Music Inc. (BMI) * Maxwell and Carter Publishing, LLC (ASCAP), administered by Universal Music Publishing Group and Maxwell and Carter Publishing, LLC (BMI) administered by Universal Music Publishing Group.

Personnel

– vocals, songwriter, producer *

–

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

, keyboards *Brian Gaynor – keyboards, bass *Kareem "Jesus" Devlin Byrne – guitars *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, r ...

, mixing *Gene Grimaldi –

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 me ...

*Philip Knight – assistant

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2011 songs American heavy metal songs Electronic rock songs Glam metal songs Lady Gaga songs Song recordings produced by Lady Gaga Songs written by DJ White Shadow Songs written by Lady Gaga