Lady Gaga ditches her vocal training to embrace a raw performance as Harley Quinn

Lady Gaga is taking a bold leap into uncharted territory with her portrayal of Harley Quinn in the upcoming film Joker: Folie À Deux, and she’s shedding her polished singing skills in the process.

In a recent interview with Empire, the Grammy and Oscar-winning artist shared insights into how she adapted her singing technique to fit her role as Harley Quinn, also known as Lee, in the film. “People know me by my stage name, Lady Gaga, right? That’s me as that performer, but that is not what this movie is,” said Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta.

The film, directed by Todd Phillips, is set to release on October 4 and stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. Gaga described the role as a departure from her usual performances. “I’m playing a character,” she explained. “So I worked a lot on the way that I sang to come from Lee, and to not come from me as a performer.”

Gaga, known for her extensive live performance career and roles in films like House of Gucci and A Star Is Born, had to adapt her approach to singing for this role. “How do you take music and have it just be an extension of the dialogue, as opposed to breaking into song for no conceivable reason?” she asked. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before.”

To fit the character, Gaga had to unlearn her finely-tuned vocal techniques. “I’m a trained singer,” she noted. “So even my breathing was different when I sang as Lee.” Gaga revealed that she had to strip away the technical aspects of her singing, focusing instead on embodying her character’s raw, unpolished persona. “It’s like removing the technicality of the whole thing, removing my perceived art-form from it all and completely being inside of who she is,” she said.

Joker: Folie À Deux is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Joker, which earned Phoenix an Academy Award for Best Actor. The film’s latest trailer, released on July 23, has further fueled anticipation for the sequel.

In a May interview with Access Hollywood, Gaga expressed her excitement about the project, stating, “I loved working with Joaquin, I loved working with Todd. I've never done anything like I've done in this movie before, so it's all going to be completely brand new and really fun.”