Review: Lady Gaga – ‘A-YO’

With Joanne set for release this Friday, its third single trades the dramatic electropop of lead single ‘Perfect Illusion‘ and the slow nature ‘Million Reasons‘ for a noticeable country vibe that consolidates a move away from her previous pop work, blending an authentic feel with a fun-loving character. This, however, lends ‘A-YO’ an overwhelming lack of originality, although its purpose is likely to distract attention from surrounding the ballads and weird country-rock conjunctions features on the record as a whole with constant clapping a nice addition for a sense of movement and a well-deployed backing.

‘A-YO’ does manage to restore a little trust in Gaga’s lyrical capabilities, showing she still knows how to construct a lyric that fits this type of rhythm without overbearingly repeating it à la ‘Perfect Illusion.’ In places, however, lyrics match the beat without having any clear meaning – “Light me up and breathe in/ Mirror on the ceiling / A-YO, A-YO,” a choral line, is particularly perplexing as it’s unclear as to what exactly it all means. That said, her convincing vocal is accompanied nicely by a guitar solo for a vibrant touch, thus giving it at least some differentiation from the crowd.

‘A-YO’ is out now via Interscope