| Venus | ||
|---|---|---|
One of three covers released alongside the track.
| ||
| Promotional single by Lady Gaga | ||
| Album | ARTPOP | |
| Released | October 27, 2013 | |
| Recorded | 2012 | |
| Genre(s) | Pop | |
| Length | 3:54 | |
| Label(s) | Streamline, Interscope | |
| Songwriter(s) | Stefani Germanotta, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Hugo Leclerc, Dino Zisis, Nick Monson, Sun Ra | |
| Producer(s) | Lady Gaga, Madeon, Monson | |
"Venus" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her third studio album, ARTPOP (2013). It appears as the second track on the album. It was written by Gaga, along with Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Hugo Leclercq, Dino Zisis, Nick Monson, and Sun Ra, and produced by Gaga herself. Originally intended as the second single from the album, it was released as the first promotional single from it on October 28, 2013 on iTunes Store, after the positive reception of "Do What U Want", which was planned to be a promotional single only. Lady Gaga first debuted date song In June 2012 at the part of her Australian shows
"Venus" is a synthpop and dance-pop song with four hooks, which lyrically presents Gaga as the goddess of love, from Sandro Botticelli's painting The Birth of Venus. It also name-checks the planets in the solar system. The singer had been promoting "Venus" before its release, by tweeting its lyrics, also as part of a countdown for the release of ARTPOP. Three different artworks were done by Steven Klein, including one with a scorpion attached to her head, a picture of a dead bat and a third seeing her standing naked with an open clam shell superimposed above her shoulder and covering her lower face. The artworks attained an ambivalent reaction from critics, who deemed them as "weird" or "striking".
Upon its release, "Venus" received mixed reviews from music critics, who called the song catchy, but preferred the previously released "Do What U Want", and had mixed feelings towards the lyrics. It attainted moderated success on charts around the world, peaking within the top-forty in Australia, Germany and the United States, while reaching the top three in Finland and Spain. Gaga has performed the song on the tenth series of The X Factor (UK), along with a suggestive performance of "Do What U Want", which prompted complaints to the broadcaster and British media regulator, Ofcom, due to Gaga's costume, performance and suggestive lyrics, which was broadcast before the 9pm watershed.