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Telephone (song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Telephone
| cover = Lady Gaga Telephone cover.png
| alt = Gaga in the upper left corner, holds up her right hand with her index finger extended. She wears headdress made of several blue telephone dials. Beyonc is in the lower right corner, wearing a blue coat with gold tassels on the shoulders.
| type = single
| artist = Lady Gaga featuring Beyonc
| EP = The Fame Monster
| B-side = "Bad Romance" (DJ Paulo's GaGa Oo-La La Remix)
| released =
| written = 20082009
| recorded = 2009
| studio = Darkchild, Los Angeles
| genre = Dance-pop
| length =
| label =
* Streamline
* Kon Live
* Cherrytree
* Interscope
| writer =
* Stefani Germanotta
* Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins
* LaShawn Daniels
* Lazonate Franklin
* Beyonc Knowles
| producer =
* Darkchild
* Lady Gaga
| chronology = Lady Gaga
| prev_title = Video Phone
| prev_year = 2009
| next_title = Alejandro
| next_year = 2010
| misc =
}}
"'Telephone'" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her third EP, 'The Fame Monster' (2009), the reissue of her debut studio album 'The Fame' (2008). The song features American singer Beyonc. The song was written by Gaga, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin and Beyonc. Inspired by her fear of suffocation, Gaga explained that the lyrics preferring relaxing on the dance floor to answering her lover's phone call are a metaphor, the phone calling her representing the fear of not having worked hard enough to succeed. With the track succeeding her fifth single from 'The Fame', "Paparazzi", the duet additionally embodies a fear of being suffocated and trapped by the media. Originally, Gaga wrote the song for Britney Spears, who recorded a demo. Musically, "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge, verse-rap and a sampled voice of an operator announcing that the phone line is unreachable. Beyonc appears in the middle of the song, singing the verses in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats.
The song received positive reviews from critics who frequently noted "Telephone" as a stand-out track from 'The Fame Monster'. It was Grammy-nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2011. "Telephone" charted in a number of countries due to digital sales following the album's release, namely in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Hungary. The song was particularly successful in Europe where it reached the top of the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the single sold 7.4 million digital copies worldwide in 2010 alone, making it one of Gaga's best-selling singles.
The accompanying music video is a continuation of the video for her 2009 song, "Paparazzi", and is also shot as a short film. After Gaga gets bailed out of prison by Beyonc, they go to a diner and poison the guests having breakfast. After the homicide they escape and end up in a high-speed police chase. The video references Quentin Tarantino and his films 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) and 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' (2003). The video received generally positive reviews and was nominated for three awards at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, including one for Video of the Year. In January 2015 'Billboard' named it the best video of the first half of the decade. In memory of Alexander McQueen, Gaga performed an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" mixed with "Dance in the Dark" at the 2010 BRIT Awards. It was also performed during the Super Bowl LI halftime show, and many of the singer's concert tours.
Background
"Telephone" was originally written by Gaga for singer Britney Spears' sixth studio album, 'Circus', but Spears rejected it. Later, Gaga recorded the song as a collaboration with Beyonc for 'The Fame Monster'. Gaga said, "I wrote it for her [Spears] a long time ago and she just didn't use it for her album. It's fine because I love the song and I get to perform it now." Spears' demo for the song leaked in May 2010. Additionally, the guest vocalist was originally going to be Spears, but ultimately Gaga made Beyonc the featured vocalist instead. The main inspiration behind the song was Gaga's fear of "suffocation" as she felt that she seldom found time to just let loose and have fun.
Fear of suffocationsomething 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. ... I don't go to nightclubs, ... You don't see pictures of me falling out of a club drunk. I don't goand that's because I usually go and then, you know, a whiskey and a half into it, I got to get back to work.
In May 2011, Gaga said her "emotional connection" with the song was difficult. When she was asked if it was because the song was originally written for Britney Spears, she answered: "Well that's not exactly what happened, but I don't want to delve into that. I could delve into it if you turn that (motions to recorder) off... But ultimately the mix and the process of getting the production finished was very stressful for me. So when I say it's my worst song it has nothing to do with the song, just my emotional connection to it."
Composition
"Telephone" was written by Lady Gaga, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin and Beyonc. Musically, the song has been described as dance-pop. Although constructed as a duet, Beyonc's first appearance is in the middle verse. She sings her lyrics through a brief interlude, and later backs the chorus during the rest of the song. The song starts off unassumingly, with Gaga singing in a solemn voice over a harp melody, which changes immediately to a pounding beat. Essentially, Gaga is in a club and her boyfriend keeps calling, but she cannot talk as she was drinking and dancing to her favorite song. The chorus runs as follows: "Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore." "Telephone" consists of an expanded bridge, verse-rap and an epilogue where a voice announces that the telephone line is not reachable at that moment. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 122 beats per minute. Gaga's vocals range from the low-note of F3 to the high-note of E5. It is set in the key of F Dorian mode, and has a basic sequence of FmABFm as its chord progression.
The song's lyrics relate to the singer preferring the dance floor to answering someone's call. She further tells her lover that she left her head and her heart on the dance floor. The verses are sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. According to Gaga, the phone addressed in the lyrics of the song is not just a physical phone, but also a person in her head telling her to keep working harder and harder. Gaga explained, "That's my fearthat 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."
Critical reception
tour (20122013)
The song has garnered positive reviews from music critics. Michael Hubbard from 'MusicOMH' said that the song was "probably the best thing" on 'The Fame Monster' album. He also complimented the "brilliant bridge" and the ending of the song where the caller gets through to her voicemail. Popjustice gave the song a positive review: "It's a little bit like Gwen [Stefani]'s 'What You Waiting For?' meets Timbaland's 'The Way I Are' meets about fifty other things ... The structure's quite exciting ... there is something tumultuously brilliant about Beyonc's contribution that makes everything seem fine and as if it was the plan all along." Evan Sawdey from 'PopMatters' said that "The much talked-about Beyonc collaboration 'Telephone', whichwith its double-time beat and rapid-fire versesproves to be one of the most adrenaline-pumped songs that Gaga has yet crafted, the whole thing feeling like it's about to veer of the tracks at any moment simply due to the giddy excitement shared between the two divas, easily turning it into the unquestioned highlight of 'The Fame Monster'". Mikael Woods from 'Los Angeles Times' felt that "Telephone" is "a carefully considered meditation on how annoying it is when a dude keeps calling you while you're throwing down at the club". 'The New York Times' Jon Caramanica commented that "Video Phone" and "Telephone", "promised a new direction, but all Beyonc did was show up to prove she could out-Gaga Gaga, then return to her comfort zone."
Nicki Escuerdo from 'Phoenix New Times' listed "Telephone" as a stand-out track from the album. Sarah Hajibagheri from 'The Times' and Armond White, music and film critic for the 'New York Press', were not impressed with the song. Hajibagheri said "The appearance of Beyonc's vocal alongside ringtones on 'Telephone' adds to the sense of utter chaos". White elaborated that "[The song] celebrates a heedless refusal to communicate; to mindlessly, heartlessly indulge pop cultureTarantino style." Melanie Bertoldi from 'Billboard' gave the song a positive review, stating "Much like Kesha's 'Blah Blah Blah', 'Telephone' sets out to silence bugaboos, with whom featured artist Beyonc is all too familiar. ... By the time 'Telephone' surges through a wall of cellular bleeps to return to its simple introduction, Gaga and Beyonc have left the listener with just one option: surrender to the dancefloor."
Accolades
In the annual Pazz and Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music, "Telephone" was ranked number 16 in 2010. It was placed at number three by Rob Sheffield of 'Rolling Stone' on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list. Sheffield further stated that "Telephone" was a "communication breakdown on the dance floor" and added, "Beyonce, the most egregiously non-crazy pop star of our time, gets to pretend she's as nuts as Gaga for a few minutes." Amy Phillips from Pitchfork Media placed "Telephone" at number 55 in her list "Top Tracks of 2010", noting that it was "one of the less weird tracks" on 'The Fame Monster'. The same year, the song was also included on year-end lists of best songs compiled by MTV News and PopMatters at numbers ten and 29 respectively. On April 26, 2011, Gary Trust of 'Billboard' listed "Telephone" at the fourth position on his list of the 10 All-Female Hit Collaborations.
In 2010, "Telephone" was nominated in the category for Favorite Song at the Australian Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and the 37th People's Choice Awards. The following year, the song was nominated in the category for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. It was recognized as one of the Most Performed Songs in 2011 at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards. The same year, BMI listed "Telephone" as one of the Award-Winning Songs at their awards ceremony. It also received nominations for Best Single and Best Collaboration at the 2011 Virgin Media Music Awards winning the latter.
Chart performance
In November 2009 due to strong digital sales, the song charted in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom, debuting at numbers twenty-six, twenty-nine, and thirty respectively. The song became the top debut on the U.S. 'Billboard' Hot 100 issue dated , 2009, at number thirty, due to digital sales. After weeks of fluctuating up the charts, "Telephone" reached a peak of three, becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive top ten hit in the United States. The song peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated , 2010. On , 2010, 'Billboard' announced that the song reached number one on the Pop Songs chart, thus becoming Gaga's sixth consecutive number-one on the chart, making her the only artist in history to do this. It also became Beyonc's sixth number-one on Pop Songs. With this, Gaga and Beyonc tied with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the Nielsen BDS-based Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992. As of early February 2019, "Telephone" has sold 3.5 million digital downloads in the United States.
In Australia, the song has reached a peak of three, and was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 210,000 copies of the single. In New Zealand, the song debuted at thirty-one, becoming the highest debut of that week. It ultimately reached a peak of three on the chart. "Telephone" debuted at number fourteen on the Canadian Hot 100 and moved to a peak of three, making it Gaga's sixth consecutive top three single there. The song has been certified triple platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for sales of 240,000 digital downloads.
In the United Kingdom, "Telephone" reached number twelve on the UK Singles Chart on March 14, 2010. It climbed to number one on the chart the following week, becoming Gaga's fourth and Beyonc's fifth number-one single in Britain. It has sold 1.2 million copies and gained 58 million streams in the UK as of July 2022 and was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), making it Gaga's fifth and Beyonc's seventh best selling song in the region, and each artist's second biggest seller of the decade. According to the Official Charts Company, "Telephone" is the third best-selling vinyl single in the UK for the 2010s decade. In Ireland, the song debuted at number twenty-six, and moved up to number two, before reaching the summit of the chart the following week. "Telephone" debuted at thirty-three on the Swedish charts, and in the top-ten at number three on the Hungarian charts. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the song has sold 7.4 million copies across the world in 2010.
Music video
Background and development
appeared in the music videoThe music video was filmed in Lancaster, California on January 28, 2010, and directed by Jonas kerlund. 'New York' magazine reported that the concept of the video involved Beyonc as she bails Gaga out of jail. In published photos from the set, Gaga and Beyonc were seen shooting in a car called the "Pussy Wagon", which Uma Thurman's character drove in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1'. Other concepts of the video involve scenes at a diner, an appearance from singer Tyrese Gibson, and a prison shower scene. Gaga and Beyonc wore "destroyed denim pieces", designed by Frank Fernndez and Oscar Olima. In an interview with E! Online, Gaga explained the deeper meaning behind the video.
There was this really amazing quality in 'Paparazzi', where it kind of had this pure pop music quality but at the same time it was a commentary on fame culture ... I wanted to do the same thing with this video ... There certainly is a Tarantino-inspired quality in the ['Telephone'] video ... His direct involvement in [it] came from him lending me the Pussy Wagon. We were having lunch one day in Los Angeles and I was telling him about my concept for the video and he loved it so much he said, "You gotta use the Pussy Wagon."
On February 5, 2010, Gaga was interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM. She commented on the video, saying, "What I like about it is it's a real true pop event, and when I was younger, I was always excited when there was a big giant event happening in pop music and that's what I wanted this to be." Gaga also said that her intent was to take "the idea that America is full of young people that are inundated with information and technology and turn it into something that was more of a commentary on the kind of country that we are".
Rock band Semi Precious Weapons confirmed to MTV News that they would have a cameo role in the music video. On February 15, 2010, three film stills from the music video were posted on Gaga's website. The stills depicted Gaga in three separate scenes: a kitchen scene where she wears a plastic chef's hat and a telephone made entirely of hair on her head, a scene in a diner with her dancers, where she is seen wearing an American flag patterned bikini and bandana, and a black-and-white photo of Gaga wearing a hat made from multiple triangles and corded telephones. The video was originally slated to premiere in but was pushed back to instead. On , 2010, more stills of the video were posted online. The video premiered on E! News and Vevo on , 2010.
Synopsis
The music video is over nine minutes long and begins where "Paparazzi" left off after Gaga was arrested for killing her boyfriend by poisoning his drink. Gaga is later taken to a women's prison, where she is led to her cell by two prison guards, who strip her of shoulder-padded dress and left lying naked, while she is mocked by the other women prison inmates. One of the guards comments: "I told you she didn't have a dick", referring to the rumors that Gaga is intersex. For the video's first three minutes, it shows Gaga's activities in the prisonincluding kissing a lesbian prisoner in the exercise yard while secretly stealing the prisoner's cell phone, wearing sunglasses made out of half-smoked cigarettes, and watching catfights in the commissary. Gaga's younger sister, Natali Germanotta, makes a cameo in the commissary scene. After that, Gaga answers a call from Beyonc, and begins to sing the song. She performs the first verse and chorus with other scantily clad inmates and texts Beyonc on the cell phone thanking her for bailing her out, followed by a bridge featuring Gaga wearing a yellow caution tape outfit designed by Brian Lichtenberg.
Gaga is bailed out from prison and exits to find Beyonc waiting for her in the "Pussy Wagon". Beyonc is nicknamed Honey Bee, a reference to the character Honey Bunny in Tarantino's classic film 'Pulp Fiction'. After an exchange of dialogues, Gaga and Beyonc travel through the desert and pull over at a diner. Beyonc sits opposite to her boyfriend, Bobo (Gibson), and after a quip of silent dialogue, she puts poison in his drink, but it does not kill him like she had hoped. The video later shifts to an intermediate sequence called "Let's Make a Sandwich", where Gaga stands in a kitchen, wearing a folded-up telephone on her head, while dancers cavort behind her, holding salad tongs and assorted cutlery. Ultimately, Gaga prepares a sandwich and eats it, after a dance sequence. In the meantime, Gaga mixes poison into all of the dishes she is preparing for the unsuspecting customers causing Bobo and everybody else, including characters played by Semi Precious Weapons and her Great Dane, Lava, to die. Gaga and Beyonc perform another dance sequence, wearing American flag inspired garments and shredded denims, while strutting around the dead bodies. Gaga and Beyonc leave the diner in the "Pussy Wagon" and travel on a highway as a news reporter reports the horrifying murders at the diner. The final shots shows Gaga and Beyonc travelling through the desert with police sirens wailing in the background. The video ends with the line "To Be Continued ..." followed by end credits.
Reception
James Montgomery from MTV commented: "With 'Telephone', Gaga has entered the rarest of pop stratospheres, up there with the Madonnas and the Michael Jacksons". Matt Donnelly from the 'Los Angeles Times' wrote that the "Telephone" music video is a "visual feast, packed with fantastic fashion, girl fights, poisoned diner food, an army of headpieces and lots of Gaga goodness". Amy Odell from 'New York' magazine felt that "This is Gaga's video, but Beyonc is the best part: she actually shows the angry, crazy side that we just knew lurked beneath her too-perfect facade." Monica Herrera from 'Billboard' wrote: "[The video] more than measures up to the hype. ... 'Telephone' clip is chock full of intrigue, prison fights, makeout scenes, mass poisoning and plenty of skin-baring versions of what you might call 'outfits'." Tanner Stransky from 'Entertainment Weekly' commented: "Is it as good as her epic 'Bad Romance' video? Sadly, I don't think so. But it's better than anything else out there." Jennifer Cady of the website E! Online praised Beyonc's "always fierce" look during the video. A writer of 'The Huffington Post' wrote, "As usual there is murder, masturbation, product placement, Tarantino referencing and lots of impractical headwear." In January 2015, 'Billboard' named the video as the best music video of the first half of the 2010s.
The video later generated controversy, Sandy Rios, president of the Culture Campaign criticized the video on Fox News in an interview with Megyn Kelly, calling it "disgusting ... poison for the minds of our kids". Critic Armond White, of the 'New York Press', described the video as "cruel and ugly" also stating that it "epitomizes the insanity of the contemporary pop mainstream" and pays "homage to Tarantino's influence" in distorting "pop culture pleasure into nonsense". William Goodman of 'Spin' called the video a "Whitman's sampler of pop nuggets" and found a "boom-pow effect of colored Japanese television". He finished his review by concluding that the "video must have cost a fortune" and described it as a "big-budget, pop masterwork". Caryn Ganz of 'Rolling Stone' called the video a "mash-up of lesbian prison porn, campy sexploitation flicks and insidery winks at the two divas' public personas". He noted that "If Quentin Tarantino and Russ Meyer remade 'Thelma & Louise' as an orgy of product placement with fiercely choreographed interludes, this would be the result". Ganz finished his review by saying that "The clip is certainly cinematic and oddly feminist, and gasps at a larger statement about consumer culture."
In May 2011, Gaga expressed dissatisfaction with the video in an interview with 'Time Out', saying: "I can't even watch the Telephone video, I hate it so much. Beyonc and I are great together. But there are so many ideas in that video and all I see in that video is my brain throbbing with ideas and I wish I had edited myself a little bit more."
Recognition and accolades
The video was placed at number three on 'NME's list of "50 Best Music Videos of 2010" and Louise storyline, bizarre outfits and some uniquely Gaga-esque dance moves." It was also placed at number 17 on 'NME's list of "100 Greatest Music Videos" and the writer concluded, "'Telephone' eschews all the overreaching cosmic weirdness of her recent clips and settles for a nine-minute lesbo action-filled Tarantino rip-off". On 'Spin's list of "The 20 Best Music Videos of 2010", the video was put at number seven along with the comment that "the decision to enlist the normally buttoned-up Beyonc in Gaga's lezzie jailbird fantasia was genius". The writers of Pitchfork Media also put the video on their list of "The Top Music Videos of 2010". On , 2010, the video received three nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, in the categories of Best Choreography, Video of the Year and Best Collaboration, winning the latter and losing the former to Gaga's own "Bad Romance" video.Live performances
Gaga and Beyonc have never sung "Telephone" together on any live show, but both of them performed it individually. Gaga first performed "Telephone" at the BRIT Awards on , 2010, at Earls Court Exhibition Centre. The act was inspired by the recent death of her friend, fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Initially she had planned a different version of the performance, but changed the concept at the last minute, since she wanted to pay tribute to McQueen. Hence she chose an acoustic version of "Telephone" and a remix of "Dance in the Dark". Before the show, she posted a message on her Twitter account: "Tonight's performance is inspired by our friend. Mask by Phillip Treacy, Sculpture by Nick Knight, Music by Lady Gaga. We miss you." She started the performance by announcing "This is for Alexander McQueen." Gaga was dressed in a complete white outfit with a huge Marie Antoinette-style wig. The whole performance was low-key in comparison to her previous ones.
|alt=A blond woman wearing a black bustier embellished with crystals performs next to two male backup dancers both wearing black leather jackets embellished with crystals and ripped jean shorts
Gaga added the song to The Monster Ball Tour's setlist, for the 201011 leg. She was dressed in black underwear and imitated a phone call with Beyonc at the beginning of the performance, yelling "Beyonc? You shady bitch!" to her cell phone. She then started singing the track while doing its choreography on an extended catwalk from the main stage. "Telephone", as well as "Brown Eyes" (from 'The Fame'), was also performed on the British comedy chat show 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross', on March 3, 2010, for an episode that aired two days later. Gaga performed "Telephone" on the Japanese television show 'Music Station' on April 16, 2010. In May 2011, Gaga performed the song during Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, Cumbria. On June 26, 2011, Beyonc performed the song during the Glastonbury Festival in front of an audience of more than 175,000 people. The song was then performed on Gaga's concert tours the Born This Way Ball (20122013) and the ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour (2014); during the latter it was part of a medley with "Poker Face".
In 2017, Gaga performed "Telephone" as part of her biggest hits during the Super Bowl LI halftime show. Later that year, it was added to the setlist of both her shows at Coachella, where she was pushed around the stage by her dancers in a glass phone booth. During the Joanne World Tour (20172018), Gaga wore a pearl-encrusted pale blue bodysuit with dramatic shoulder pads for performing the track. The song was later added to the setlist to the singer's 20182020 Las Vegas residency show, Enigma, and her 2022 stadium tour, The Chromatica Ball. The song's latter appearance was singled out by 'Gigwise' Laviea Thomas, writing that it "stood out as one of the best performances of the evening. With fire catapulting into the sky, frantic stage lights, and a shed load of energy radiating off Gaga and her dancers."
Other versions
On May 2, 2010, a demo of "Telephone" featuring vocals by Britney Spears leaked onto the web. After suggestions that the demo may be fake, the producer of the song, Rodney Jerkins, confirmed the authenticity of the song, via Twitter. He added that the leaked version was an early, unmixed demo recording and, moreover, denied leaking the song, arguing that, despite the fact that he has been asked to leak the full song, he did not do it. The musical style of the demo was compared with Spears' 2007 single "Piece of Me", and the song itself generated comparisons with Spears' sound in her fifth studio album 'Blackout'. Rob Sheffield of 'Rolling Stone' praised Spears' version including it at number twenty-five on his Top 25 Singles of the 2010 list. Britney's original version went on to become the most illegally downloaded song of 2010.
Little Mix blended "Telephone" with Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" (1984) during the eighth series of the British 'The X Factor' and later released this version as a single. "Telephone" was covered by Lea Michele as Rachel Berry and Charice Pempengco as Sunshine Corazon for the American TV show 'Glee' episode "Audition", which aired on , 2010. This version was released as a single, and reached number seventeen in Canada, eighteen in Ireland, twenty-three in the US, and thirty in Australia.
Track listing and formats
* 'UK CD Single'
# "Telephone" (feat. Beyonc) 3:40
# "Telephone" (Alphabeat Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 4:51
* 'UK iTunes digital single'
# "Telephone" (feat. Beyonc) 3:40
# "Telephone" (feat. Beyonc) [Music Video] 9:27
* 'European/Brazilian/New Zealand digital downloads'
** "Telephone" (Crookers Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 4:49
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
** "Telephone" (Electrolightz Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 4:26
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
** "Telephone" (Kaskade Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:24
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
** "Telephone" (Ming Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 4:31
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
** "Telephone" (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 4:17
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 'UK Alphabeat Extended Remix digital download'
# "Telephone" (Alphabeat Extended Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 6:41
* 'UK DJ Dan Extended Vocal Remix digital download'
# "Telephone" (DJ Dan Extended Vocal Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:59
* 'French Passion Pit Remix digital download'
# "Telephone" (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:12
* 'UK 7" inch vinyl'
# "Telephone" (feat. Beyonc) 3:40
# "Telephone" (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:13
* 'International remix EP'
# "Telephone" (Alphabeat Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 6:41
# "Telephone" (Crookers Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 4:50
# "Telephone" (DJ Dan Vocal Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:59
# "Telephone" (DJ Dan Vocal Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 3:28
#* 'Only included on the digital release'
# "Telephone" (Doctor Rosen Rosen Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 6:25
# "Telephone" (Electrolightz Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 4:26
# "Telephone" (Kaskade Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:24
# "Telephone" (Ming Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 4:31
# "Telephone" (Passion Pit Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 5:13
# "Telephone" (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Club Remix) [feat. Beyonc] 7:14
* '"The DJ Remixes" digital EP'
# "Telephone" (Alphabeat Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 4:49
# "Telephone" (Crookers Dub) [feat. Beyonc] 5:08
# "Telephone" (DJ Dan Dub) [feat. Beyonc] 6:22
# "Telephone" (Kaskade Dub) [feat. Beyonc] 4:40
# "Telephone" (Kaskade Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 3:43
# "Telephone" (Ming Dub) [feat. Beyonc] 4:03
# "Telephone" (Ming Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 3:12
# "Telephone" (Tom Neville's Ear Ringer Radio Edit) [feat. Beyonc] 4:18
# "Bad Romance" (DJ Paulo's GaGa Oo-La La Remix) 9:41
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of 'The Fame Monster'.
Recording and management
* Gaga's vocals recorded at Darkchild Studios (Los Angeles, California)* Knowles' vocals recorded at Studio Groove (Osaka, Japan)
* Mixed at Chalice Studios (Los Angeles, California)
* Mastered at Oasis Mastering (Burbank, California), AfterMaster Recording and Mastering Studios (Hollywood, California)
* Knowles appears courtesy of Music World Entertainment and Columbia Records
* Published by Stefani Germanotta P/K/A Lady Gaga (BMI), Sony/ATV Songs LLC, House Of Gaga Publishing Inc., Glojoe Music Inc. (BMI) Rodney Jerkins/EMI Blackwood Music Publishing (BMI), EMI April Music (ASCAP), EMI Blackwood/RJ Productions LLC, B-Day Publishing and EMI April Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
Personnel
* Lady Gaga lead vocals, songwriter, producer
* Beyonc featured vocals, songwriter
* Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins songwriter, producer, mixing
* LaShawn Daniels songwriter
* Lazonate Franklin songwriter
* Paul Foley recording
* Mike "Handz" Donaldson recording (Gaga's vocals), special effects, additional vocal production
* Hisashi Mizoguchi recording (Beyonc's vocals)
* Mark "Spike" Stent mixing
* Gene Grimaldi mastering
* Larry Ryckman and Ari Blitz mastering
* Takayuki Matsushima Beyonc's vocals recording assistant
* Matty Green mixing assistant
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release dates and formats for "Telephone"
|-
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date
! scope="col"| Format
! scope="col"| Version
! scope="col"| Label(s)
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4"| United States
| rowspan="4"| January 26, 2010
| Contemporary hit radio
| rowspan="6"| Original
| rowspan="4" |
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Hot adult contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Rhythmic radio
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Urban contemporary radio
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| Italy
| February 12, 2010
| Radio airplay
| Universal
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| France
| February 15, 2010
| Digital download
| rowspan="5" | Interscope
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| Various
| February 21, 2010
| CD single
| rowspan="2"| Remixes
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| March 2, 2010
| rowspan="5" | Digital download
| style="text-align:center;"|
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
|-
! scope="row"| Various
| rowspan="2"| March 11, 2010
| Various
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| France
| Passion Pit remix
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4"| United Kingdom
| rowspan="2"| March 14, 2010
| Alphabeat extended remix
| rowspan="4"| Polydor
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| DJ Dan vocal club remix
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2"| March 15, 2010
| 7-inch picture disc
| rowspan="6"| Original
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2"| CD single
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| Germany
| rowspan="2"| April 2, 2010
| rowspan="3"| Interscope
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| United Kingdom
| rowspan="2"| Digital download
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| France
| April 5, 2010
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| April 6, 2010
| CD single
| Polydor
| style="text-align:center;"|
|}
See also
* List of European number-one hits of 2010
* List of 'Billboard' Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2010
* List of number-one dance singles of 2010 (U.S.)
* List of number-one hits of 2010 (Denmark)
* List of number-one songs in Norway
* List of number-one singles from the 2010s (UK)
* Number-one singles of 2010 (Ireland)
* List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2010 (U.S.)
* Ultratop 40 number-one hits of 2010
* Ultratop 50 number-one hits of 2010
Footnotes
References
Category:2009 songs
Category:2010 singles
Category:Beyonc songs
Category:Dance-pop songs
Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Category:Femalefemale vocal duets
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Lady Gaga songs
Category:Music video controversies
Category:Music videos directed by Jonas kerlund
Category:Number-one singles in Denmark
Category:Number-one singles in Greece
Category:Number-one singles in Hungary
Category:Number-one singles in Israel
Category:Number-one singles in Norway
Category:Number-one singles in Scotland
Category:Song recordings produced by Lady Gaga
Category:Song recordings produced by Rodney Jerkins
Category:Songs about telephone calls
Category:Songs about telephones
Category:Songs about nightclubs
Category:Songs written by Beyonc
Category:Songs written by Lady Gaga
Category:Songs written by LaShawn Daniels
Category:Songs written by Rodney Jerkins
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
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