Lady Gaga’s “Applause” Music Video: Watch

Carl Williott | August 19, 2013 5:53 am

Lady Gaga‘s long-awaited “Applause” video debuted this morning (August 19) on Good Morning America and on giant screens in New York’s Times Square, with Mother Monster introducing the clip while wearing a white getup and a mask similar to the one on her first ARTPOP promo photo. The video itself was more art and less pop, in that it felt very much of the theater/stage world, with Gaga wearing black tights and a cap for much of it, dancing and doing tragedy/comedy mugging for the camera.

The clip is largely black-and-white, but the shocks of color are powerful. Things don’t get too weird — the video certainly lacks the narrative structure and “wow” factor of many of Gaga’s prior works — but we do get Gaga’s head on a black swan, and the singer emerging from a giant top hat with a tail. There’s also a variety of wigs and bras, including a clam shell one as she poses like Botticelli’s The Birth Of Venus and a bra made to look like hands cupping her breasts. The visual was directed by Inez & Vinoodh, who also helmed the song’s single artwork and Gaga’s nude V shoot.

Check it out up top.

Gaga will perform the live debut of “Applause” at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. The singer teased the performance with a rehearsal photo over the weekend, but has been coy about what kind of spectacle she’ll give us.

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