"Alice" is a song by American singerLady Gaga recorded for her sixth studio album,Chromatica (2020). It appears as the album's second track, preceded by a string arrangement titled "Chromatica I". It was written by Lady Gaga,BloodPop,Axwell,Justin Tranter, and Johannes Klahr, and produced by BloodPop, Axwell, and Klahr. The song referencesLewis Carroll's 1865 children's novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The track received generally positive critical reception. In the United States, it appeared at theBillboardHot Dance/Electronic Songs listing at number 7, while charting in a dozen other countries, including a peak of number 3 in New Zealand. A remix version byLsdxoxo was released as part of Gaga's remix album,Dawn of Chromatica (2021). Gaga performed "Alice" live onThe Chromatica Ball stadium tour (2022).
The song was written by Lady Gaga,BloodPop,Axwell,Justin Tranter, and Johannes Klahr, and produced by BloodPop, Axwell, and Klahr.[1][2] Talking about the conception of the song, Gaga said: "I had some dark conversations with BloodPop about how I felt about life... So it's this weird experience where I'm going, 'I'm not sure I'm going to make it, but I'm going to try.'"[3] The track referencesAlice and the fictional settingWonderland fromLewis Carroll's 1865 children's novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland,[4] starting with the chorus "My name isn't Alice, but I'll keep looking for Wonderland".[5]The Daily Northwestern's Wilson Chapman said the song "uses theAlice in Wonderland tale as a metaphor for struggling to find personal peace".[6] Gaga further elaborated on the song's background onSpotify:
In order to do hard things, we have to be willing to try. Sometimes trying involves dreaming. Some of us, I to be certain, must be able to imagine the greatness that's revealed within us when we overcome obstacles. Otherwise, what's the point? When we are sad this is more difficult, but I recall that there's always Wonderland...[7]
"Alice" is ahouse anddance-pop track[8] inspired byelectronica, which demonstrates Gaga's upper register against kick drums and shimmering synths.[9][10][11] Lauren Murphy ofEntertainment.ie said "Alice" has a "throbbingelectronicpop beat".[12] Mark Richardson ofThe Wall Street Journal described "Alice" as a "kinetic house track with the trademarks of the genre—hissing offbeathigh-hat, neo-Latinkeyboards playing a cyclical melody".[13]The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber said "Gaga sings of her racing mind needing a 'symphony' to clear it".[14] Craig Jenkins ofVulture said the chorus has "booming, chopped-up" vocals, and compared it to "vocal house standards" like "Follow Me" byAly-Us.[15] Kory Grow ofRolling Stone said the "'ahhs' and an 'oh ma-ma-ma' stutter" in the chorus are reminiscent of the "Ra-ra-roma-ma" of Gaga's "Bad Romance" (2009).[5] Maxine Wally ofW magazine said the "call-and-response verses and a huge backing track give off a whiff" ofHaddaway's "What Is Love" (1993).[16]The Observer's Emily Mackay said the song "takes her down a new rabbit hole, recalling the best of90s chart house" like Ken Doh's "Nakasaki" andUltra Naté's "Free".[17]
"Alice" is preceded by anorchestral interlude called "Chromatica I", which opens the album and transitions directly into the track. As Gaga wanted to highlight that the album has three distinct acts, she recruited musicianMorgan Kibby to produce interludes for the album, with the help of a 26-person orchestra who performed thestring arrangements.[19] Kibby was brought into the studio after submitting the demo that would eventually become "Chromatica I".[20] With the long string runs at the beginning of this composition, Kibby pursued to recall "the majesty and grandeur" ofDonna Summer andGloria Gaynor. She also aimed to reference classic scores from films such asTHX 1138 andOutland.[19] In her interview withZane Lowe onApple Music'sBeats 1, Gaga talked about the background of "Chromatica I":
The beginning of the album symbolizes for me the beginning of my journey to healing. It goes right into this grave string arrangement, where you feel this pending doom that is what happens if I face all the things that scare me. That string arrangement is setting the stage for a more cinematic experience with this world that is how I make sense of things.[3]
Callie Ahlgrim ofInsider appreciated how "Chromatica I" "blends into 'Alice' very smoothly", while Courteney Larocca from the same publication noted that it sounds like "it's opening a fantasy movie."[21]
Canadian singer and producerGrimes was set to remix the interlude forDawn of Chromatica, as well as "Chromatica II" and "Chromatica III"; however, her contributions did not make the final cut.[22]
Insider's Callie Ahlgrim praised the song for presenting "classic Lady Gaga in all her blood-pumping, bass-thumping glory", and further added that althoughAlice's Adventures in Wonderland "has become an oft-used reference in pop music", she appreciated "the way it complements the themes of the album; it makes sense to imagine Gaga as a wide-eyed, curious Alice type and 'Chromatica' as a surrealist third space in between earth and escapism."[21]Billboard's Stephen Daw ranked "Alice" asChromatica's sixth best track and wrote, "Remember how deliriously entertaining early2000spost-ravedance music was? Lady Gaga certainly does as she exhibits on ['Alice']... Gaga throws listeners down a sonic rabbit hole of kick drums and shimmeringsynths..."[23] The magazine's Jason Lipshutz described the song as a "post-rave triumph".[24] Quinn Moreland ofPitchfork considered the lyrics "Maestro, play me your symphony/I will listen to anything/Take me on a trip, DJ, free my mind" one ofChromatica's "wild lyrical clunkers".[25]USA Today's Patrick Ryan described the song as "hypnotic".[26]
Spencer Kornhaber fromThe Atlantic listed "Alice" as one of the standout moments ofChromatica with its "gasping chorus."[27] Lindsay Zoladz ofThe New York Times said she "can imagine putting the song on repeat during this cruel summer", while the newspaper's Caryn Ganz said "Alice" has "glittery hopefulness".[28]BuzzFeed News' Alessa Dominguez said thatChromatica "starts strongly" with "Alice" and sees Gaga sing with "glam-theatrical fervor". She added, "The song captures the record's house-inspired sound, its escapist themes of feeling untethered from the world, all complemented by Gaga's vocal theatrics, delivered with operatic flair. As she sings 'Take me home,' you want to follow her down the rabbit hole."[29]Slate's Carl Wilson wrote, "this song serves to suck us down the rabbit hole into the album's Wonderland, which Gaga signals is foremost the dance floor... Its brisk house workout, with thematically appropriate downshifted vocal effects. It may not stick in your head. But it sets the mood."[30]
On a more critical note, Patrick Gomez ofThe A.V. Club criticized the song's production, thinking it "becomes sleepy as it relies on a generic'90s dance-floor beat throughout".[31]The Independent's Adam White called "the 'take me… home!' shriek of the post-chorus" a "blast", while adding that the track "feels oddly impersonal overall".[32] Dan Weiss fromSpin thought that theAlice in Wonderland metaphors "are sadly notfar enough from the shallow".[33] Evan Sawdey ofPopMatters called it the record's "least memorable track".[34]
For Gaga's thirdremix albumDawn of Chromatica (2021), "Alice" was reimagined byBerlin-basedPhiladelphian producerLsdxoxo, who described his version as "'Promiscuous Girl' on2CB" [sic].[47][48] The remix includes heavy beat, and "weighty kick drums".[49] In his review ofDawn of Chromatica, Robin Murray fromClash called Lsdxoxo's "Alice" remix, along withCoucou Chloe's take on "Stupid Love", "dancefloor bumpers".[50] Writing forGigwise, Alex Rigotti opined that the remix version's "energy remains disappointingly static, and it betrays the desperate, almost deluded hope that the original 'Alice' contained."[49]
In 2022, Gaga performed "Alice" live atThe Chromatica Ball stadium tour as the first song of Act One of the show.[51] Similarly to the album, the song was preceded by the instrumentals of "Chromatica I" as an intro.[52] Gaga appeared on stage lying on an operating table while singing the song.[53] She was wearing a blood-red gown with peak-shoulders – designed by her sister, Natali Germanotta, along with black leather boots and fingerless gloves.[54][55][56]
In his concert review,NME's Nick Levine noted it was a "slightly shocking staging that underlines the thinly veiled mental anguish in her lyrics. 'Where's my body? I'm stuck in my mind', Gaga sings pleadingly."[53] Laviea Thomas ofGigwise also highlighted the performance, writing that "belting out some completely unhinged, unearthly and simply iconic screams, 'Alice', is a stomping introductory – I've never heard Gaga scream like this before, her vocal range is truly undefeated."[57]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 23. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 23. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
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