Following weeks of rumors, Lady Gaga has confirmed that her new single is titled “Applause,” and has revealed the official artwork to the highly anticipated “ARTPOP” cut.
The image, which debuted on Women’s Wear Daily on Sunday (July 28), finds Gaga literally becoming the provocative art that she regularly creates. With her face smeared with hues of red, yellow and blue, the pop superstar’s head has morphed into part of her canvas.
The artwork was created by photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, who also, apparently, filmed the “Applause” video in Los Angeles last week. In an accompanying interview with Women’s Wear Daily, Gaga confirmed that “Applause” was written with longtime collaborator DJ White Shadow.
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“I’ll tell you that it is very fun,” Gaga says of the new single. “And that it’s full of happiness, because what I’m saying in the song essentially is that I live for the applause. I live for the way you cheer and scream for me. Give me that thing that I love. Put your hands up, make them touch.”
In a post on Gaga’s Little Monsters fan community site, the singer revealed that “ARTPOP,” the follow-up to her 2011 album “Born This Way” due out on Nov. 11, will now be available for pre-order on Aug. 19, the same day that “Applause” is released. Six days later, Gaga will debut “Applause” live at the MTV Video Music Awards, set to air live from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Aug. 25.