CNN
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With Friday’s release of “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Lady Gaga will introduce audiences to Lee Quinzel, her version of the Joker’s love interest Harley Quinn from the DC comics.

In an interview with CNN, Gaga explained how much she had to change her typical approach to performing for the film, which doubles as a somewhat austere musical and a dark love story between Joker, aka Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). , and Gaga’s character.

“All the showmanship, all the bravado of being on stage, all the things that I do as Gaga that come naturally to me, I’ve tried to do away with those things completely,” said Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta.

The 13-time Grammy-winning singer, who also won an Oscar for her original song “Shallow” from the 2018 film “A Star is Born,” even unlearned singing techniques for her latest role.

“I was trying to breathe wrong,” she said, later adding that she was “trying not to do any vocal placement in my throat like I would if I was on stage.”

The result is a character with a breathy and subdued singing technique that emulates Phoenix’s similar singing style in their duets. They sync in other ways too, as she’s right at home with violence and arson alongside the sometimes murderous Joker, as seen in the film.

“Folie à Deux” is the sequel to 2019’s “Joker,” in which Phoenix took home the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor. The film earned over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, which partially paved the way for this somewhat unlikely sequel.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is in theaters Friday. The film is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, which, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.