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Lady Gaga mesmerized Coachella 2025 on Friday night (April 11), with a breathtakingly beautiful, high-octane performance that took massive cues from her new album Mayhem alongside iconic hits like Poker Face, Bad Romance, and Born This Way —but something didn't feel right. Although she released Harlequin on 27th September 2024, none of the songs from her jazz-inspired album were performed on stage.
Fans were puzzled—where was the music based on her acting role as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux? Well, the thing is this: even though Gaga hasn't really said why, the best guess is style over sentiment. Lady Gaga left out tracks from her 2024 jazz album Harlequin when she performed at Coachella 2025 to ensure the fest retained its energetic vibe.
An X post by Pop Crave displayed Lady Gaga commenting on a video joking about the albums not included in her Coachella set, saying,
"Harlequin is one of my proudest pieces of production"
She characterized Harlequin as "manic," surf-punk and doom-jazz-inspired, and revolving around a woman who is embracing all that she is. This stylistic shift from the usual vibe of Coachella probably affected her setlist decisions. Gaga, instead, concentrated on providing a well-rounded, theatrical show to match the energetic environment of the fest.
A clear shift toward Mayhem
Gaga's Coachella setlist was movement, spectacle, and power all the way. The performance was dominated by her chart-toppers Poker Face, Bad Romance, Born This Way and Mayhem's high-octane songs like Abracadabra and Zombieboy.
Mayhem's dualism and chaos themes fit the visual axis of the performance to a T, and this gave the entire performance a cohesive narrative structure that would not have been possible if she were in the softer, jazzy world of Harlequin.
The Harlequin tone didn't fit the mood
Dropped in 2024, Harlequin isn't so much a typical pop album. It's a musing set of jazz standards and original songs delving into the psyche of Harley Quinn. Gaga employed the work to show vulnerability and depth—perfectly appropriate for the soundtrack of a movie, but not necessarily the most ideal selection for a raucous desert stage.
That stylistic disparity is quite possibly the reason that Harlequin was excluded: it would've altered the mood drastically and most likely distorted the rhythm of the performance.
No word from officials—but the indications are obvious
It's interesting to mention that Gaga herself never publicly spoke about why Harlequin was excluded. No comment from her staff (or people who worked with her) about the exclusion either. But given how meticulously planned main festival performances are, the exclusion was probably intentional.
Coachella survives on energetic, fan-oriented performances, and Gaga's performance was exactly that. Incorporating slower, jazzy tracks might have diluted the experience instead of enhancing it.
Theatrical unity was the key
Another reason Harlequin likely got cut? Cohesion. Gaga's Coachella performance wasn't a greatest hits performance—it was a story. From the aesthetic to the flow from one song to the next, everything was built around Mayhem's aesthetic and sonic landscape.
Including a song by Harlequin on the playlist would've been disorienting, like switching movie genres midway through the film. Remaining in the same vein kept the concert tight and engaging from start to finish.
Lady Gaga didn't pull Harlequin off the Coachella 2025 roster out of thin air—it was a calculated decision, so the show could remain electric and narrative-driven. While the jazz album's fans were left in the dust, the concert aligned with the Coachella brand: party-like, in-your-face extravaganzas.
While Gaga has never been completely candid about not featuring Harlequin, what separates Harlequin's sound from Mayhem speaks volumes. Sometimes, however, it's more about what works with timing than it is about what works in your catalog.
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Also read: 5 best Lady Gaga performances explored as she performs at Coachella 2025
"MY JAW LITERALLY DROPPED": Fans react to Lady Gaga's 'Abracadabra' performance on 'SNL'
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