Lady Gaga released Stupid Love on Friday, February 28, 2020 and I loved the song repeat all the time for several weeks. With this song, Lady Gaga made her return to dance pop with mastery: the arrangements that grow in your head, the impeccable voice, the extremely detailed costumes and choreography and the nostalgic aesthetics of the music video, which embraced the Power Rangers and took a dive into the early 90s.
While I didn't stop watching the video, I thought about record a cover of Stupid Love, even with the challenge of transform a mega and extremely dynamic production into something that could be done in a short time, once I produced the arrangements, I recorded and edited the song and video in just 1 day (my production record, by the way). And this was the result:
About the Stupid Love cover
I decided to play a little with more organic instruments, such as the guitar, violin, piano and a string orchestra, in an experiment Pop in which I incorporated different genres, such as Country and the Baroque Pop. This was a game that I loved doing because I saw new opportunities and different paths in deconstruction/reconstruction. This all makes the process more fun!
Regarding the voice, although the equalization enhanced the high frequencies beyond what I intended (I'm still adapting to my new headphones), she collaborates to bring a different feeling from the original song – I see it as more inspiring due to its melodic choices, and at times, even more melancholic. This is the most incredible thing about independent music production: we can work on a huge variety of emotions through the same code, changing just a few aspects of the song.
Building the video
I recorded the shots using just a tripod and a camera, in my living room, in natural light – the sun helped a lot that day! I also captured a shot in my office. The proposal was to do something quick for the video, but that would bring back the clarity, tranquility and naturalness that I wanted to convey with the version I was working on.
I am passionate about colors and Rule of Thirds (a photography technique to make the composition a little more harmonious), but I also like to throw all of that away when I feel like it's what I need to do – as you can see in the raccord between shots – here there was no idea of maintaining 30º camera positioning between shots to maintain some harmony. In the end, I think I just want to enjoy doing what I do and provide good times for those who like this type of work. Lightness is everything!
The editing was basically done in dry cuts and in an image treatment that valued each color present in the scenery and costumes. Nothing too notable or that would take a long time to do, as I wanted to meet the idea of doing everything in one day.
And of course, this idea of keeping everything colorful comes from the Stupid Love music video itself. If you haven't taken a look yet, now is the time:
Stupid Love presents itself filled with Easter Eggs and with a sound and visual concept from the turn of the 80s to the 90s – drawing from the source of several references, as dictated by the current trend for the Pop Music market. For those who love the sound and aesthetics of that time, this is a dish full!
Want to see more Chromatica covers? I prepared this article with all my versions of songs from the album! Just put it in your playlist and enjoy!
