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Poker Face

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"Poker Face"
Single by Lady Gaga
from the album The Fame
B-side"Just Dance"
WrittenJanuary 2008
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2008 (2008-09-23)
RecordedJanuary 2008
StudioRecord Plant, Los Angeles
Genre
Length3:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)RedOne
Lady Gaga singles chronology
"Just Dance"
(2008)		 "Poker Face"
(2008)		 "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)"
(2009)
Music video
"Poker Face" on YouTube

"Poker Face" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. It was first released in 2008 in her debut album, The Fame. Later, it was released as the album's second single, after "Just Dance".

The song has been very successful worldwide, reaching #1 in over 20 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany. It finished as the best-performing single of 2009 in the United Kingdom and the second-best performing in the US and Canada. "Poker Face" has sold over 7.5 million copies in the United States as of February 2018.[1]

The song has won Gaga several awards, including Best Dance Recording at the Grammy Awards in 2010. On November 30, 2015, the song was certified Diamond (10× Platinum) in the US for sales and streams equal to 10 million copies in that country alone.

In an interview with Barbara Walters, she said that this song is about dealing with bisexuality. The lyrics "Bluffin' with my muffin" are about her fantasizing about women when having sex with her boyfriend. In a Carpool Karaoke segment of The Late Late Show with James Corden, where Corden and Gaga sang several of her songs as they played on the radio, Gaga revealed that she wrote "Poker Face" in only ten minutes.[2]

The post-chorus contains the lyrics, "P-p-p-poker face/F-f-fuck her face," with some radio stations and the US compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 31 (2009) censoring the second line to repeat the first.[3]

Gaga has performed the song at all of her major concert tours, at her Super Bowl LI Halftime show, and at the Coachella Music Festival in April 2017, and at her Enigma/Jazz + Piano residency in Las Vegas.

Background

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"Poker Face" was written by Gaga and RedOne, while production was handled also by RedOne.[4] Gaga stated in an interview that "Poker Face" was a tribute to her "rock 'n' roll boyfriends". She said the song was about sex and gambling.[5]

During her Fame Ball Tour performance at Palm Springs, California, on April 11, 2009, Gaga explained to the crowd the true meaning behind the song. She said that the song is about bisexuality.[6]

Composition

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"Poker Face" is a synth-pop[7] and dance-pop[8] song, and follows the footsteps of Gaga's song "Just Dance".[7]

Music video

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The song's music video features Gaga at a resort performing choreography with dancers. Two Great Danes are shown at the beginning of the video.[source?]

On June 11, 2022, the music video passed one billion views on YouTube, becoming Gaga's third music video to reach this, after "Bad Romance" and "Shallow".[9]

Commercial performance

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In the United States, the song first appeared at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of January 3, 2009.[10] On the Billboard issue dated April 11, 2009, the song topped the chart.[11] "Poker Face" also topped on both the Hot Dance Airplay and Hot Dance Club Play charts.[12] It became the first song since Madonna's 2006 song "Sorry" to top all the three dance charts in a single week.[13]

In Canada, the song first appeared at number 41 on the Canadian Hot 100. On the chart dated December 13, 2008, "Poker Face" rose to the number one spot.[14]

"Poker Face" entered the Australian charts at number 26, and in its seventh week peaked at number one.[15] In New Zealand, the song first appeared on the official chart at number 21. In its sixth week, it reached the top of the chart spending 10 straight weeks at number one.[16]

In the United Kingdom, "Poker Face" first appeared at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. After three months, it climbed to number one.[17]

Cover versions and adaptations

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Actor Christopher Walken performed a special a cappella version of "Poker Face" on BBC1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross for Halloween 2009.[18] Rock band Faith No More covered the song live in 2009–10.[19][20] Gaga reacted to their cover on Twitter in June 2009, saying she was a "huge fan" of the band.[21]

The song was also in the South Park episode titled "Whale Whores", sung on Rock Band by series character Eric Cartman, with guitar by Kyle Broflovski and drums by Kenny McCormick.[22]

Lea Michele and Idina Menzel, in character as Rachel Berry and Shelby Corcoran, covered an acoustic version of "Poker Face" in the "Theatricality" episode of Glee. Their version appeared at 100 on the Billboard Hot 100, and moved up to 20 on the next week.[23][24]

"Weird Al" Yankovic added the chorus in his polka medley "Polka Face" from his 2011 album Alpocalypse.[25] During the end credits of the 2012 The Simpsons season-finale episode "Lisa Goes Gaga", Homer Simpson performed a parody version entitled "Homer Face".[26]

Certifications

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Country Certifications
Australia 3× Platinum
Austria 4× Platinum
Belgium Platinum
Brazil Platinum
Canada 4× Platinum
Denmark Platinum
Europe 3× Platinum
Finland Gold
France 2× Platinum
Greece Platinum
Germany 6× Platinum
Hungary 2× Platinum
Ireland Platinum
Italy 2× Platinum
Japan Platinum
Mexico 3× Platinum
New Zealand 2× Platinum
Norway Platinum
Poland 3× Platinum
Portugal Gold
Russia 4× Platinum
Spain Platinum
Sweden Platinum
Switzerland 3× Platinum
United Kingdom 2× Platinum
United States Diamond

References

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  1. ↑ "Ask Billboard: Lady Gaga's Career Sales, The Biggest No. 2 Hits & Ed Sheeran's Latest Chart Record". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  2. ↑ The Late Late Show with James Corden (October 24, 2016), Lady Gaga Carpool Karaoke: Coming Tuesday, retrieved February 24, 2018
  3. ↑ Lady Gaga – Poker Face, retrieved February 22, 2025
  4. ↑ Cite error: The named reference liner was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  5. ↑ McKay, Hollie (May 22, 2009). "Lady Gaga Opens Up About Her Preference for Boys That Look Like Girls". Fox News Channel. News Corp. Archived from the original on May 24, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Lady GaGa Entertains Thousands At Palm Springs White Party". Access Hollywood. NBC. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Hudson, John (February 25, 2010). "Lady Gaga's Ambiguous Feminism". The Wire. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2013. Ever since Lady Gaga stormed the airwaves with her synth-pop super-hit Poker Face, she's been an irresistible enigma to culture critics.
  8. ↑ Joe Lynch (January 12, 2015). "Lady Gaga Earns Her Second Diamond Single". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  9. ↑ ""Poker Face" by @LadyGaga Has Reached 1 BILLION Views on YouTube. It's Her Third ... - Latest Tweet by Pop Crave | 🎥 LatestLY". LatestLY. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ Ben-Yehuda, Ayala (February 26, 2009). "Flo Rida, T.I. Hold Their Billboard Hot 100 Spots". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  11. ↑ Pietroluongo, Silvio (April 1, 2009). "Lady GaGa Draws A Pair Of No. 1s". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  12. ↑ Cite error: The named reference hotdance was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  13. ↑ Bronson, Fred (February 13, 2009). "Chart Beat Chat: Al Green, Lady Gaga, Triple A Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  14. ↑ Cite error: The named reference can was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  15. ↑ Cite error: The named reference aus was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  16. ↑ Cite error: The named reference nz was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  17. ↑ "POKER FACE – LADY GAGA". Official Charts (UK). Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Christopher Walken Performs 'Poker Face' (VIDEO)". HuffPost. Arianna Huffington. November 1, 2009. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  19. ↑ "You Me At Six go GaGa at Download". NME. June 13, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  20. ↑ Brannigan, Paul (June 5, 2015). "The A-Z Of Faith No More". Louder. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  21. ↑ @ladygaga (June 13, 2009). "Faith no more covered poker face. I can now die a happy woman. Such a huge fan" (Tweet). Retrieved October 12, 2024 – via Twitter.
  22. ↑ "'South Park's' Cartman tackles Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  23. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (May 27, 2010). "Chart Moves: Miley Cyrus, Muse, 'Glee,' Christina Aguilera and More". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  24. ↑ Trust, Gary (June 10, 2010). "Chart Beat Thursday: Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, "Glee"". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 28, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Weird Al Unveils His New Polka (face)". Cover Me. July 23, 2010. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  26. ↑ Kaiser, Rowan (May 20, 2012). "Lisa Goes Gaga". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
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