Telephone

Story of Song

“Telephone was originally written for Britney Spears’ sixth album ‘Circus’, but did not make the track list. So, Gaga took the song herself and asked Beyoncé to be a featured vocalist; Beyoncé agreed to return the favor to Lady Gaga for being a guest on ‘Video Phone’. In this song Gaga expressed one of her fears: suffocation. In an interview with MTV News, she said: “Something that I have or fear is never being able to enjoy myself. Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time.”

Gaga further explained that the phone wasn’t necessarily a physical phone, but a metaphor for someone in her head who kept telling her to keep working harder. She added: “That’s my fear, in which the phone’s ringing and my head’s ringing, Whether it’s a telephone or it’s just the thoughts in your head, that’s another fear.”

Release date

Released January 26, 2010

Songwriter/s

Stefani Germanotta – Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins – LaShawn Daniels – Lazonate Franklin – Beyonce Knowles.

Label

Streamline – Kon Live – Cherrytree – Interscope

Chart Rankings

US – 3

UK – 1

GERMANY  – 1

This hit single by Lady Gaga sold over 7.4 million copies worldwide. In the UK, ‘Telephone’ topped the Official Charts Company, and sold over 700.000 copies. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it Platinum. In the US, the song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Songs and the Mainstream Top 40 charts. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Triple Platinum for sales over 3.4 million copies. The song topped the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, and South Korea. It reached the top 10 charts in several countries, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. It was certified Triple Platinum in Australia and Canada, Platinum in Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and Spain. In Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland, the song was certified Gold.

Artist’s age on release date

Stefani Joanne Angeline Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, was 23 years old when the song debuted; Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter, aka Beyoncé, was 29 years old when this song was released.

Cover Versions

Little Mix – Lea Michele & Charice Pempengco (Glee) – HelenaMaria – Caitlin (The Voice Kids) – Ricky Ficarelli (drum cover) – Audrey & Gamaliel – ChunActive – Perpetuum Jazzile – Pentatonix – Sam Tsui – Bangin Production – Marie Digby – Annisokay – Aldy Santos (piano cover) – As An Aquarius – Other amateur artists covered this song on Youtube.

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