"Donatella" is a song written by Lady Gaga and produced by Zedd in 2012 for ARTPOP. She revealed the song title in a Just Jared interview published on August 23, 2013. The song was registered onto Gaga's BMI on February 14, 2014.
Background
| “ | 'Donatella' is an incredible crazy fun pop song with really raising electronic beats that I did with Zedd. It’s about being a fearless female and not caring what people say about you – being proud of who you are and walking the walk no matter what. Maybe she’s a bitch, maybe she’s too skinny, maybe she’s too rich, maybe she’s too out there. Or, maybe she’s brilliant, maybe she’s intelligent, maybe she’s strong, maybe she’s everything, maybe she’s Donatella. | ” |
—Just Jared (August 23, 2013) | ||
In the same interview, Gaga also revealed that the song is a "love letter" about Donatella Versace but “not so much about Donatella as a brand as it is Donatella the person, about me as a person, that idea of what the public wants from you.” On August 26th, 2013, Donatella shared with Just Jared that she was honoured to be friend with Gaga and that she loved the song.
In an interview for V magazine, issued in September 2013, Lady Gaga said the following:
| “ | There are very few people I’ve met since my debut that have truly become friends. Donatella Versace and her daughter, Allegra, occupy a space in my heart so wide, with their ability to love and give. Donatella was there for me in difficult times, and for that I will never forget her. She took the girl sobbing with tissues into Gianni’s apartment. Tears falling on the floor, champagne pouring, she escorted me to his room, where she left me to play with his books and sketches. I studied the notes and drank and smoked until I could barely see. Running around the house with her and Allegra as she said, “Never cry, Gaga! You are a star, a REAL star!” And this cover [titled "Donatella"] commences the newest transformation in my long love affair with Versace. Donatella opening the Gianni archives for me during the campaign for my album Born This Way was just the beginning of a dream that seems to never end. | ” |
Most likely, lyrics of this song are based on Lady Gaga's memories of her friendship with Donatella and how they spent time together, since drinking champagne and smoking cigarettes are mentioned in the interview as well as in the lyrics of the song.
The instrumental is based on "Karma Bitch", a Zedd production done with Anjulie, a Canadian singer and songwriter in 2011. Due to label issues, the song was shelved and the production was offered to Gaga in 2012. In 2015, Anjulie received writing credit for her contribution to the song.
Lady Gaga also talked about the creation of the song and its meaning in the track-by-track ARTPOP commentary on Sirius XM.
| “ | I wrote this song with DJ Zedd, and I wanna say we were in Singapore when I did this record — or maybe we were in Thailand - we might have been in Thailand — and, when we were working on it, I didn’t know quite what it was about yet, and then as we started writing it, I really wanted this to be about Donatella, who’s my friend - Donatella Versace - and, something that we both have in common, this — I guess this theme also is on “Do What U Want” a little bit — but this feeling of being misunderstood; but instead of hitting back at everybody about it, I’m sort of making fun of what they say about the both of us. (...) So, it’s just kind of ludicrous and over-the-top, and ridiculous, and sort of nothing that you would ever want anyone to write about you as a person, but they write about us this way all the time. So, instead of allowing it to make us feel smaller, I’m shouting it from the rooftops over these really bone-crushing beats; and, it’s just a really fun song, and she’s a really good friend of mine, and she’s really picked me up during times that were very hard in my life. So, I also wanted to really tribute her on my record. | ” |
Performances
| Tour | Dates | Performances |
|---|
| artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball | 2014 (All Dates) | 79 |
| Joanne World Tour | Jan 18, 2018 | 1 |
| Total of performances | 80 |
Lyrics
I am so fab
Check out, I'm blonde
I'm skinny
I'm rich and I'm a little bit of a bitch
I wanna dress you up in silk taffeta
Tailor these clothes to fit your guilt, what's your size?
This purse can hold my black card and tiara
Versace promises I will Dolce Vita
What do you wanna wear this spring?
What do you think is the new thing?
What do you wanna wear this season?
Donatella
(I'm smokin' 'em on full tank of gas)
Mi-mi-bella
(I'm a rich bitch, I'm the upper class)
All of the day
(I'm the pearl to your oyster, I'm a babe)
I'm gonna smoke Marlboro Lights and drink champagne
(I smoke Marlboro Reds and drink champagne)
Donatella cuz she walks so bad like it feels so good
Listen to her radiate her magic
Even though she knows she's misunderstood
Voodoo voodoo, voo-don-na-na
Walk down the runway but don't puke, it's ok
You just had a salad today, boulangerie
Just ask your gay friends their advice before you
Get a spray tan on holiday in Taipei
What do you wanna wear this spring?
What do you think is the new thing?
What do you wanna wear this season?
Donatella
(I'm smokin' 'em on full tank of gas)
Mi-mi-bella
(I'm a rich bitch, I'm the upper class)
All of the day
(I'm the pearl to your oyster, I'm a babe)
I'm gonna smoke Marlboro Lights and drink champagne
(I smoke Marlboro Reds and drink champagne)
Donatella cuz she walks so bad like it feels so good
Listen to her radiate her magic
Even though she knows she's misunderstood
Voodoo voodoo, voo-don-na-na
Check it out
Take it in
Cuz that bitch
She's so thin (voo-don-na-na)
She's so rich
And so blonde
She's so fab
It's beyond
What do you wanna wear this spring?
What do you think is the new thing?
What do you wanna wear this season?
Donatella (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Donatella (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
All of the day (ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
I'm gonna wear designer and forget your name
Donatella
Donatella cuz she walks so bad like it feels so good
Listen to her radiate her magic
Even though she knows she's misunderstood
Voodoo voodoo, voo-don-na-na
Voo-don-na-na
Credits
| Writers and producers | Lady Gaga and Zedd |
| Recording by | Dave Russell at Record Plant, Hollywood, CA 
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| Assistant recording | Benjamin 'Ben' Rice at Record Plant |
| Mixed by | Zedd at Zedd1, Santa Monica, CA
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| Assistant mixers | Ryan Shanahan and Jesse Taub |
| Mastering | Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, CA
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| Published by |
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References
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