Jump to content

A-Yo (Lady Gaga song)

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Ayo (Lady Gaga song))

"A-Yo"
Lady Gaga wearing a cowboy hat which partially obscures her face. She has her left hand up in the air and her right hand covers her breasts.
Promotional single by Lady Gaga
from the album Joanne
ReleasedOctober 18, 2016 (2016-10-18)
Recorded2016
Studio
  • Electric Lady (New York City)
  • Shangri-La (Malibu)
  • Pink Duck (Burbank)
  • GenPop Laboratory (Los Angeles)
GenreCountry pop
Length3:27
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Mark Ronson
  • BloodPop
  • Lady Gaga

"A-Yo" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her fifth studio album, Joanne (2016). It was released to Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show on October 18, 2016, as the record's second promotional single by Interscope Records. Gaga co-wrote and co-produced the song with Mark Ronson and BloodPop, with Hillary Lindsey being the additional songwriter. A funky, electro-tinged and rock-inspired upbeat country pop track, "A-Yo" lyrically delves on leaving behind haters.

Critical reception towards "A-Yo" was positive and the song entered the record charts of multiple countries, including reaching a peak of number 66 on United States' Billboard Hot 100. To promote the track's release, Gaga performed it on concert venues of her Dive Bar Tour and on television shows. It was later added to her set list at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2016, the 2017 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Joanne World Tour (2017–2018).

Background and release

[edit]

Following the release of "Perfect Illusion", the lead single from her fifth studio album Joanne, on September 9, 2016, Lady Gaga announced the Dive Bar Tour, a promotional concert series where the singer performed at various dive bars in the United States.[1] The venues for the concert series remained undisclosed to have a more intimate approach.[2] The campaign was sponsored by Bud Light, and premiered on October 5, 2016. Simultaneously, a live broadcast of the event was streamed on Bud Light's official Facebook page.[3] On October 2, 2016, several publications claimed that during the first show of the tour, new songs would be sung.[4][5]

Singer-songwriter Hillary Lindsey, who previously had experiences in writing country songs in Nashville, was identified by Interscope Records as a potential collaborator on Joanne. The label's A&R Aaron Bay-Schuck, who had heard the initial Joanne material, introduced Gaga and Lindsey.[6][7] During the Dive Bar Tour, Gaga recalled that she and Lindsey were seated in couches and having a back-and-forth conversation with guitar and piano.[8] They bonded over drinks and Gaga also played initial demos of some of the tracks she had written.[6] Lindsey remembered that Gaga's personal experiences and stories resulted in many ideas for songs, including "A-Yo".[7] On her Twitter account, Gaga clarified that the track was about different things like cigarettes, one's enemies as well as having sex, expanding with the message: "Leavin ur haters in the dust is a sexy feelin, drag em' like a smoke, leave ur blazin' tracks in the road #AYO".[9]

"A-Yo" was originally planned as the album's second single, but another track, "Million Reasons", was chosen due to the latter's commercial success.[10] "A-Yo" premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show on October 18, 2016, and was made available for digital download and streaming.[11] She posted a link to the song on her Twitter account, while responding to Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers's dismissal of "Perfect Illusion", writing "maybe u guys'll like this 1 better [sic]".[12] The single's cover art features Gaga topless and covering her chest with her hand, wearing a feathered hat that hides her eyes.[13]

Recording and composition

[edit]

"A-Yo" was written and produced by Gaga with Mark Ronson and BloodPop, with Lindsey as an additional co-writer. It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City by Benjamin Rice who was assisted by Barry McCready. Joshua Blair continued the additional recording for the track at Shangri-La Studios, Malibu, California with David "Squirrel" Covell, and also at Pink Duck Studios in Burbank, California, assisted by Justin Smith. The mixing for "A-Yo" was performed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia, with engineering for the mix by Josh Hanes. Other instrumentation for "A-Yo" included guitars and percussion by Gaga, bass and guitars by Mark Ronson, and synthesizer and organ by BloodPop. Tom Coyne and Randy Merrill completed the audio mastering at Sterling Sound Studios in New York City.[14]

"A-Yo" is a funky, "electro-tinged" and "rock-inspired" song.[13][15] Yahoo! described "A-Yo as a country rock track.[16] Rolling Stone described "A-Yo" as an upbeat country pop track.[17] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "A-Yo" is written in the key of A major in common time with a tempo of 150 beats per minute. The chords alternate between A7 and D7, and Gaga's vocals span two octaves from E3 to E5.[18] Michelle Lulic from Bustle felt that the lyrics seem to describe "things getting hot-and-heavy in her car": "I can't wait to rev you up /Faster than you can say "Ferrari" /Tearin' up the gravel, watching you unravel /Now it's a party".[19] During the chorus, Gaga sings "A-Yo, A-Yo, we smokin' 'em all", emphasizing her explanation about "leaving your haters in the dust".[20]

Critical reception

[edit]

Tricia Gilbride from Mashable called "A-Yo" "ridiculously catchy" and "a futuristic country-rock song egging you on to have a good time over guitar solos and digital beats".[21] Bustle's Michelle Lulic noted that "this may just be one of Lady Gaga's most simplistic yet most visual songs yet" and thanks to its repetitive chorus, it was "near impossible not to start singing by the time you get to the end of your first listen of the song".[19] Larry Bartleet of British magazine NME commented that "the transformation might grate on fans of Gaga's past few albums of pop, but from these lyrics it looks like on fifth album 'Joanne' she really doesn't care what people think".[20] Andy Gill from The Independent complimented Josh Homme's "spiky but fluid breaks" on songs like "A-Yo" and "John Wayne", which were "undoubted album highlights".[22] Daniel Welsh from The Huffington Post said that "A-Yo" sounded like a cross between "Manicure" from Artpop and "Americano" from Born This Way, but with touches of country. He went on to compliment Gaga for pulling off "perfecly" her wish of Joanne having a "dive bar feel" with the song.[23]

Stereogum's Chris DeVille wrote, "Despite its funky digital beat, rap-inflected hook, and playfully tweaked guitar twang, it might actually go over pretty well on country radio if enough programmers gave it a chance. That said, this computerized juke-joint party track is far from M.O.R. by Nashville standards".[24] Carey O'Donnell from Paper magazine called it a "foot stomping, hand-clapping rock pop track", but said it sounded better live.[25] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called the song "riotous".[26] The New York Times's Jon Caramanica felt that "A-Yo" sounded like "a Britney Spears parody or a song drawn from one of those live musicals that have been littering network television" since Glee ended.[27] Maeve McDermott of USA Today was negative, saying "songs that sound most like Gaga's earlier hits" like "A-Yo" were Joanne's weakest moments.[28]

Chart performance

[edit]

In the United States, "A-Yo" reached number-one on the Billboard Twitter Real-Time chart following the release of Joanne.[29] On the Billboard Hot 100 it debuted and peaked at number 66.[30] On the Canadian Hot 100, "A-Yo" reached number 55.[31] Similarly, in the United Kingdom the song reached number 66 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 8,332 equivalent units,[32] and debuted with around the same numbers in Ireland and Scotland.[33][34] Other European countries where the song debuted includes France, Portugal and Switzerland, and the digital charts of Czech Republic and Slovakia.[35]

As of February 2020, the song has sold 5,500 digital downloads and acquired 6.47 million streams in the UK.[36]

Live performances

[edit]
Gaga in a pink cowboy hat plays guitar on a purple-lit stage, flanked by two other guitarists.
Gaga performing "A-Yo" during the Joanne World Tour (2017–2018)

Gaga first performed "A-Yo" on the Dive Bar Tour, a brief three-date promotional tour of U.S. dive bars, with Mark Ronson accompanying her by playing guitar during her performance in The Bitter End (New York City) and The Satellite (Los Angeles).[37][38][39] She performed "A-Yo" live on network television along with "Million Reasons", as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live dated October 22, 2016.[40] For "A-Yo", Ronson again assisted Gaga by playing guitar, and the singer did a honky-tonk and go-go dancing inspired performance. Rolling Stone's Daniel Kreps described it as intense singing, with Gaga "feverishly dancing and wildly shredding on her guitar".[41] Paste's Chris White called Gaga an "incredible performer and vocalist" based on the performances, adding that she "understands the stagecraft of playing live music on [the SNL stage]".[42] Three days later, she appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS Television City studios, and delivered the opening monologue, while also performing "A-Yo".[43] The same month she performed "A-Yo" during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, while wearing a glittering, black catsuit.[44]

Gaga next performed "A-Yo" during her set at the 2017 Coachella Festival. While singing she played a special guitar, which was in wireless connection with her phone, allowing her to change its colour during the performance.[45] "A-Yo" was performed as the second song on the Joanne World Tour (2017–2018) shows, where she again played the guitar.[46] She wore a black bejeweled fringe leotard and a crystallized hat for the performance.[47]

Credits and personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Joanne.[14]

Management

[edit]

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
Weekly chart performance for "A-Yo"
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[31] 55
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[48] 93
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[49] 56
France (SNEP)[35] 167
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 67
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[50] 3
Portugal (AFP)[51] 92
Scotland (OCC)[34] 55
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[52] 58
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[53] 62
UK Singles (OCC)[54] 66
US Billboard Hot 100[55] 66
Venezuela English (Record Report)[56] 42

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Certifications and sales for "A-Yo"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[57] Gold 30,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Watch Lady Gaga Tease Upcoming Dive Bar Tour as Part of Bud Light Campaign". Billboard. October 2, 2016. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Nolfi, Joey (October 2, 2016). "Lady Gaga to debut new song 'Million Reasons' on 3-date Dive Bar Tour". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Lady Gaga to Debut 'Joanne' Songs on Dive Bar Mini-Tour". Rolling Stone. October 2, 2016. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  4. ^ Gaca. Anna (October 2, 2016). "Lady Gaga Will Debut 'Million Reasons' at a Dive Bar on Wednesday". Spin. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  5. ^ Lozano, Kevin (October 2, 2016). "Lady Gaga Will Debut New Song 'Million Reasons' at a Dive Bar". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Feeney, Nolan (September 30, 2016). "Inside the making of Lady Gaga's Joanne". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Freeman, Jon (October 21, 2016). "Hillary Lindsey on Lady Gaga Collaboration: 'She Is a Badass Songwriter'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  8. ^ Stefano, Angela (October 6, 2016). "Watch Songwriter Hillary Lindsey Share the Stage With Lady Gaga in Nashville". The Boot. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  9. ^ @ladygaga (October 19, 2016). "All of the above. Leavin ur haters in the dust is a sexy feelin, drag em' like a smoke, leave ur blazin' tracks in the road #AYO" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2018 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Noefi, Joel (October 31, 2016). "Lady Gaga earns fourth No. 1 album with Joanne". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  11. ^ Havens, Lyndsey (October 18, 2016). "Listen to Lady Gaga's Hooky New Single, 'A-YO'". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  12. ^ Redfearn, Dominique (October 18, 2016). "Lady Gaga Fires Back at The Chainsmokers' 'Perfect Illusion' Diss in One Perfect Tweet". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Lady Gaga Releases Funky New Single 'A-YO'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Gaga, Lady (2016). 'Joanne' digital booklet (Liner notes). Lady Gaga. Santa Monica, California: Interscope Records. p. 16. 2580102. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016.
  15. ^ "Lady Gaga releases new single "A-YO" – listen". Consequence of Sound. October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  16. ^ "Lady Gaga debuts new single, 'The Cure,' at Coachella". April 16, 2017. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  17. ^ Spanos, Brittany. "Hear Lady Gaga's Catchy New Country-Pop Song 'A-Yo'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  18. ^ "Lady Gaga "A-Yo" Sheet Music in A Major". Musicnotes.com. October 25, 2016. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Lulic, Michelle (October 18, 2016). "Lady Gaga's "A-YO" Lyrics Give Fans A New Kind Of Party Song – LISTEN". Bustle. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "Lady Gaga's 'Ayo' Sees Her Giving the Finger to Her Naysayers – Review". NME. October 19, 2016. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  21. ^ Gilbride, Tricia (October 18, 2016). "Listen to Lady Gaga's ridiculously catchy new song, 'A-YO'". Mashable. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  22. ^ Gill, Andy (October 19, 2016). "Album reviews: Lady Gaga - Joanne, Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker, Pretenders - Alone, and more". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  23. ^ Welsh, Daniel (October 21, 2016). "Lady Gaga 'Joanne' Review: Our Track-By-Track Guide To Her New Album". HuffPost. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  24. ^ "Lady Gaga – "A-YO"". Stereogum. October 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  25. ^ O'Donnell, Carey (October 18, 2016). "[Update] Lady Gaga Releases New 'Joanne' Single "A-Yo"". Paper. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  26. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 21, 2016). "Joanne: Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  27. ^ Caramanica, Jon (October 20, 2016). "Lady Gaga's Stripped-Down New Album Fishes for Inspiration". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  28. ^ McDermott, Maeve (October 18, 2016). "Review: Lady Gaga's 'Joanne' is a revealing triumph". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  29. ^ Anderson, Trevor (October 27, 2016). "Lady Gaga's 'A-YO' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  30. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (January 23, 2017). "Don't Worry About What 'Joanne' Songs Lady Gaga Is Gonna Perform at the Super Bowl". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  31. ^ a b "Lady Gaga Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  32. ^ Jones, Alan (October 28, 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Elvis tops the albums chart again". Music Week. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  33. ^ a b "Chart Track: Week 43, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  34. ^ a b "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  35. ^ a b "Lady Gaga – A-Yo" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  36. ^ White, Jack (February 28, 2020). "Lady Gaga's most popular non-singles from each of her albums revealed". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  37. ^ Hight, Jewly (October 6, 2016). "Lady Gaga Goes for Emotional Directness at Dive Bar Tour Kickoff in Nashville". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  38. ^ Lars Brandle (October 21, 2016). "Lady Gaga Teams with Mark Ronson as 'Dive Bar Tour' Hits New York". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  39. ^ Nolfi, Joey. "Lady Gaga Dive Bar Tour: Singer changes Angel Down lyrics to Trayvon Angel". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  40. ^ "Lady Gaga Brings 'A-YO' to 'Saturday Night Live': Watch". Billboard. October 23, 2016. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  41. ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 23, 2016). "Watch Lady Gaga Bring 'A-Yo,' 'Million Reasons,' Mark Ronson to 'SNL'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  42. ^ White, Chris (October 23, 2016). "Saturday Night Live Review: 'Tom Hanks/Lady Gaga'". Paste. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  43. ^ Spanos, Brittany (October 26, 2016). "Watch Lady Gaga Deliver Monologue, Join House Band on 'Corden'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  44. ^ Deen, Sarah (October 26, 2016). "Lady Gaga rocked some eye-watering shoes in her Victoria's Secret performance". Metro. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  45. ^ Mccreseh, Louise (April 16, 2016). "Lady Gaga premieres brand new song 'The Cure' during Coachella headlining set". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  46. ^ Ferguson, Brianna (August 1, 2017). "Lady Gaga brings it all home, and then some..." Vancouver Weekly. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  47. ^ Fisher, Lauren Alexis (August 10, 2017). "Lady Gaga's Joanne Tour Costumes Include Swarovski Crystals, Leather Fringe, And Cowboy Hats". Harper's Bazaar. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  48. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  49. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  50. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 31, 2016. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  51. ^ "Lady Gaga – A-Yo". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  52. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 43. týden 2016 in the date selector. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  53. ^ "Lady Gaga – A-Yo". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  54. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  55. ^ "Lady Gaga Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  56. ^ "Top Anglo – Record Report" (in Spanish). Record Report. June 6, 2017. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  57. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Lady Gaga – A-YO" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A-Yo_(Lady_Gaga_song)&oldid=1251960406"