Sexxx Dreams
Inspired by Gaga's erotic fantasies and dreams, the song went through a number of changes to make it understandable for the singer's team, while keeping a constant chorus.
A synth-pop song, Gaga promoted the title by using a number of hashtags involving the name in her social media accounts, and at one point was considered for a single release from Artpop.
Critics received the song favorably, complimenting the composition, the futuristic sound, the lyrical insights into Gaga's life, and compared it to the music of singers Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul and Prince.
[1][2][3] However, while on tour for the Born This Way Ball, Gaga had to undergo a hip surgery in February 2013 which forced the singer into a six month hiatus, and this rehabilitation became one of the inspirations behind the album.
[6]In November 2013, during a special iHeartRadio Album Release Party broadcast on more than 150 Clear Channel stations to promote Artpop, Gaga revealed to Ryan Seacrest that "sexy sculptures" appear in her "crazy" and "really bizarre" dreams.
[8] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said the song is one in which Gaga "balances a disintegrating relationship and a lustful fantasy" and "juggles a pastel-colored 80's aesthetic and R-rated breakdown of unspoken desire".
[16] "Sexxx Dreams" received generally positive reviews and drew comparisons to the work of Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson and Prince.
[17] In his review of Artpop for Billboard, Lipshutz called the song "seductive" and said it marks where the "sexuality and synth-pop pleasures of [the album] fully bloom.
"[18] The Guardian's Michael Cragg described "Sexxx Dreams" as a "Vanity 6-esque strut", and dubbed it and "Do What U Want", as "futuristic, electro-tooled R&B slow jams with delicious choruses".
[21] Bradley Stern of MuuMuse said the song is "all sorts of throwback '80's-R&B ferociousness, blending dirty-minded temptation with a seriously fierce strut a la Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul — and a bit of Divinyls' 'I Touch Myself'.
Ashley Percival of The Huffington Post wrote of her performance: "'Sex Dreams' made 2009's 'LoveGame' with its disco stick look like a nursery rhyme, as she delivered its racy and oh-so-Gaga lyrics.
"[26] In November 2013, Gaga performed "Sexxx Dreams" at ArtRave, a two-day promotional event for Artpop, held at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York.
[27] In their review of the event, Billboard contributors Andrew Hampp and Jason Lipshutz wrote that her performance of the song was "presented with colorful choreography but paled in comparison" to the studio version.
[28][29] In his review of her opening night performance, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described "Sexxx Dreams" as a song about fantasy and noted how Gaga "pinballed back and forth" between a male and female dancer.
