Every Lady Gaga single, definitively ranked from worst to best

If you want justice for Dance In The Dark then you’ve come to the right place

2 years ago

We have no artists making music today quite like Lady Gaga. From her ballads to her film soundtracks, her bangers to her bizarre – she is a true legend in the industry who consistently remains versatile in her releases whilst maintaining a level of quality and acclaim. Everyone has their own personal fave Gaga era and sound, but at least everyone’s in agreement that she’s one of the greatest of our time. Here’s all Lady Gaga singles ranked meticulously from worst to best.

29. Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)

The calypso tinged early days single from The Fame is one of the most irritating pop songs on earth. In what is thankfully a rarity, Gaga’s vocals sound infuriatingly sugary – the melody insufferable and the lyrics completely tedious. Feels like an album track that had no right to ever be getting a single push.

28. Always Remember Us This Way

A solid ballad from A Star Is Born that leans a little too much into its Elton John showstopper vibe to truly stand as great and memorable in its own right. The vocals are outrageously good, though, but as they bloody should be with her pipes.

27. Joanne

I’m just feeling very bitter that this sits gets the chance to be ranked against Lady Gaga singles over the likes of Diamond Heart or Dancin’ In Circles, to be quite honest. But that’s what happens when you name an album after a dead aunt that you never actually met.

26. Million Reasons

I can’t say or think of the title Million Reasons without laughing at Donatella Versace saying it in her iconic accent during that timeless Vogue 73 Questions. Million Reasons is nice enough. It’s the safest corner of the Joanne era. How can you not like it?Completely pleasant. But is it special?

25. Til It Happens To You

Lady Gaga’s contribution to the soundtrack for The Hunting Ground – a documentary centred on sexual assault on American college campuses. It’s a moving and cinematic ballad that its hard to not be impressed by – it was nominated for both a Grammy and an Academy Award, and the fact it didn’t win the latter but the crap Sam Smith Bond theme did instead is a travesty.

24. Shallow

Ruined by your mum and your dad who went to watch A Star Is Born and decided this was the greatest music on earth. Ruined by annoying couples on karaoke. Ruined by clearly staged singers being stopped to sing acapella in London Tube stations. It’s Shallow. What else can be said?

23. LoveGame

“Let’s have some fun this beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” was absolute scripture to me in my high school years, and still is one of Lady Gaga’s most timeless and memorable openers ever. It’s a slight shame then, that the rest of the trac never quite lives up to that initial height.

22. The Cure

A little 2017 tropical pop number that is absolutely a song intended for Ally in A Star Is Born and you can’t tell me otherwise. It’s an Ally song. It sits right beside Heal Me and Why Did You Do That. END OF.

21. Free Woman

The final single from Chromatica as of right now, Free Woman is far better when it has Rina Sawayama along for the ride on the remix album. In its own right, Free Woman is outrageously danceable like the rest of the album it hails from, but there’s no way it should have been a single over the likes of Alice and Babylon.

20. I’ll Never Love Again

I’ll Never Love Again is the curtain falling finale of A Star Is Born, and it’s every bit as spectacular as it needs to be. The best song from the film that isn’t about Bradley Cooper’s arse looking good in jeans. It’s derivative of classics like I Will Always Love You, but it’s kind of the point. And makes so much narrative sense. Perhaps Lady Gaga’s single finest vocal performance ever.

19. 911

The momentous power of 911 is kickstarted by its intro, Chromatica II, and the transition that went viral made endless memes for a reason. The jarring, robotic nature of 911 make it one of Lady Gaga’s coldest singles ever, sang in staccato and amped up in drama. It’s pretty marvellous – its biggest crime is that it’s all over too soon.

18. Alejandro

One of Gaga’s campiest outputs, Alejandro is one of Gaga’s most 80s moments ever – all whilst maintaining an Abba tinged chorus that is the best part of the whole song. Alejandro doesn’t quite live up to the phenomenal strength of the three other singles it shares a body of work with, but it’s absolutely classic Gaga and although I wouldn’t say it’s anyone’s all time favourite, it’s certainly one of the ranked Lady Gaga singles you wouldn’t be slapping the skip button on.

17. Born This Way

Look girlies, I love Born This Way as the next gay man that came out in the year 2010, but there’s a time and a place. I actually blame the likes of Glee for making us not like this song as much as we all should. Bet when the moon is right and the stars align, it’s pop magic.

16. G.U.Y.

The world wasn’t read for Artpop, and it really wasn’t ready for G.U.Y. It’s a single that’s aged like a fine wine – loud, brash and constantly exciting whilst maintaining a camp stupidity that’s hard not to fall in love with. I remember when I first heard the “Love me, love me, please retweet” and thinking it was going to sound rapidly dated a la Britney Spears’ Email My Heart, but the lyric has just got better with age. The screamo outro of “NEIN ZEDD!” is a nice touch.

15. Applause

I see a lot of Applause slander on the internet, and I’m here to tell you that it stops now. Applause is an absolute BANGER, and the perfect Artpop lead single. So many great quotable lyrics; big fan of “Arts in pop culture, in me” and the final spelling of the album title as a closing moment. There’s something about Applause that feels instantly arresting – it’s high camp, high drama and pure euphoria and one of the most underrated of all the Lady Gaga singles ranked.

14. Do What U Want (WITHOUT R Kelly)

R Kelly’s presence on Do What U Want left a horrible shadow over one of the best songs of Lady Gaga’s career. Thank the lord then that Gaga also released a version with Christina Aguilera after the two performed it together on The Voice, because now we can enjoy the spectacular prowess of Do What U Want without supporting he who shall no longer be named. Do What U Want’s synthy snarl is some of the best production of Gaga’s career, there’s something just endlessly cool about this one. Hearing Gaga trade verses with Christina is as impressive vocally as you’d expect. Two titans smashing it.

13. Poker Face

The song that really made me a Lady Gaga fan, and showed the world that she had more quirk and staying power if Just Dance’s success hadn’t been enough to convince the nonbelievers. Poker Face has gone on to become one of the best selling songs of all time – and it’s the kind of song that comes straight to mind when you think of Lady Gaga’s signature style. All “muh muh muh mas” and campy bridges with jibberish lyrics. A bisexual bop classic.

12. Perfect Illusion

Look, the girls that get it, get it. And the girls that don’t? DON’T. Again, Gaga was ahead of her time with this one. It’s a song that sounds as fresh today as it did in 2016 – a jolt of life and wailing guitars that feels like Russian Roulette by Rihanna on fast forward. Every time I listen to Perfect Illusion I find myself wishing that the entirety of Joanne kept its dance rock energy amped to the max.

11. Yoü and I

When you say Gaga’s best ballad, I shout “YOÜ AND I” back at you. I love You and I so much, and as far as I’m concerned it’s one for The Great American Songbook. Timeless classic. With Brian May on the guitar, it has that Queen stadium filling energy to it – it’s the kind of song Jackson Maine in A Star Is Born would have sacrificed a Renaissance child to have in his wheelhouse. The clapping in the production, the Americana vibes, the outstanding vocals – it’s perfect. “There’s only three men that I’ma serve my whole life / That’s my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ!”

10. The Edge of Glory

The Edge of Glory is full theatre. If Gaga was a musical, it’s the end of act one finale. It’s her Defying Gravity moment. Huge, cinematic, retro, dramatic. The pulsing intro, the steady build… it’s what Firework by Katy Perry thinks it is. The saxophone is pure euphoria. It’s one of the Lady Gaga singles ranked here that’s almost untouchable in its grandeur. No other artist today could pull off a song like this.

9. Marry The Night

One of my favourite ever album openers. Period. I’m so glad it finally got its single release as the last of the Born This Way singles. There’s such an untameable ferocity to Marry The Night that sets the tone for the record perfectly – it feels like a wild animal in the best way possible. It’s a love letter to Gaga’s beloved New York City, and it captures the energy of the place perfectly. One of her sweatiest, danciest floorfillers. The bridge and the final two minutes are a career highlight.

8. Just Dance

When I was younger, I found Just Dance underwhelming. If there were two camps, I was sitting in the House of Poker Face. As I’ve got older, it’s Just Dance that goes off that little bit harder and feels that bit more special. I love the way the production feels like it’s filling your entire head up with its noise, the bassline pumps along so satisfyingly too. What an introduction it is for Lady Gaga to enter the music industry – and still stands up so well when getting her singles ranked.

7. Stupid Love

Picture the scene: It’s the start of 2020. Covid is a distant news story happening in China. It’s the start of a new decade. Gaga is COMING. Stupid Love leaks online and for a few weeks you obsess over listening to it on the dodgiest link possible before it finally gets released in February. Stupid Love is fucking excellent, and any detractors from it are blinded by Rain On Me. It’s so spectacular in its own right – wonderfully produced by Bloodpop’s magical ways and featuring some of the most soaring and euphoric dancepop Gaga has ever done. Grow up and get into it!

6. Rain On Me

I think its hard to decide which I prefer more out of Stupid Love and Rain On Me. Differs from day to day really, because they’re both so excellent. Today I feel like Rain On Me just sneaks ahead, if only for its cultural impact and the presence of Ariana Grande. It’s one of the most floor-filling Gaga songs ever, adored by the gays and maintaining its commercial success also. I love how healing and hopeful it feels, and I guess due to its pandemic release context it will always remind the world now of a time when all we wanted to do was dance to it and couldn’t.

5. Telephone

A song that honestly never has lost its sheer power to impress as we hear two of the biggest female artists ever come together to make absolute pop magic. Telephone is just a smash – not a second of it is wasted. The way Beyoncé barges in and slaps everyone in the tits with her verse is one of the most goosebumps inducing moments of music in the 21st century. And that’s not an exaggeration. Couple that with a Kill Bill aesthetic (my personal fave film of all time) and you’re absolutely laughing your way to classic status.

4. Bad Romance

The Gaga song to end all Gaga songs, and one that I’m sure many expected to be sat astride the top spot when it comes to getting Lady Gaga songs ranked. Bad Romance is so parodied and known it could have endless think pieces written about every bit of it. It’s got so many Gagaisms scattered through its lyrics, production and her vocal delivery that it’s like a pop culture meteor with all you need to know about Stefani Germanotta’s style. It’s Bad Romance. It’s that bitch.

3. Dance in the Dark

Honestly? Dance in the Dark deserves what Bad Romance has. It’s the chic, cooler little sister. It’s the Solange. There’s something so special and interesting about Dance in the Dark that I literally can never get enough. It’s got drama, it’s got horror, it’s got Princess Diana. What more could you need?! Dance in the Dark should have been number one for 300 years across the globe. It’s pop history.

2. Judas

Nothing hits quite like Judas. I love the dreamy intro that builds into the ICONIC “Judas, Judah-ah-ah, Judas Ga-ga” and then breaks into that absolute SMACK of a bassline in the production. It’s so manic and maximalist in a way that only Lady Gaga could ever pull off this successfully – it feels like Like A Prayer by Madonna’s deranged doppelgänger from a parallel universe that’s come over to cause destruction. It’s the kind of anthem that makes you think, GOD, Lady Gaga is so special.

1. Paparazzi

Sitting proudly at the top spot of Lady Gaga singles ranked is Paparazzi, and no song deserves it more. It’s best thought of at the VMAs, where Gaga sang it with blood oozing from her rib cage before being suspended like a lifeless corpse from the rafters. It was a superstar making performance, one that still gives me tingles to think about. Paparazzi has it all – the drama, the lyricism, the chorus and a vocal performance such a great blend of yearning and insanity. Gaga always wanted to be famous and successful, but Paparazzi details the difficulties of the reality of it all. So magical.

The best ranked of all Lady Gaga singles and with good reason. Relisten to it right now. Watch the VMAs performance. Remind yourself of how good Lady Gaga really is.