Lady Gaga                                           Chromatica                                           Out now

Rating:

Long ago, in the days of Duran Duran and tử cấm thành bắc kinh Culture Club, Smash Hits magazine used to say that the biggest stars were in their imperial phase. Back then, the term nearly always applied to men. These days it's far more likely to be women.

And Lady Gaga is partly responsible for that. When she came along in 2008, she was already imperious, almost as if she'd been born that way. She was commanding in the studio and even more so on stage, where she got away with addressing her fans as Little Monsters. 

The star she most reminded me of wasn't another woman: it was another puppeteer, Freddie Mercury.






When Lady Gaga (above) came along in 2008, she was already imperious, almost as if she'd been born that way. She was commanding in the studio and even more so on stage


The problem with imperial phases is that, as George III observes in Hamilton, empires fall. After doing no wrong with The Fame and Born This Way, Gaga had a difficult third album, the misguided Artpop. 

And a fairly difficult fourth one, the middling Joanne.

Then, in a neat twist, the empire struck back. Taking the title role in A Star Is Born, Gaga not only earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress but recorded the strongest ballad of her career, Shallow. 

A duet with her co-star Bradley Cooper, it won the themetune grand slam - an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a BAFTA.

Playing a fictional singer, Gaga seemed more herself than ever before. So where does she go from there? Back to the persona - crazy wardrobe, heavy warpaint and all.