"ARTPOP" by Lady Gaga “could mean anything,” as sung in the title track on the album. With the release of Lady Gaga’s third studio album “ARTPOP,” Gaga and her TechHaus team have built an intriguing companion app. The main question is whether the ARTPOP app is more than a gimmicky way to boost album sales.
The "ARTPOP" app is centralized around the idea of “the auras,” which is the community of users within the app. Named after “Aura,” the first track on the album, each user has a personal profile that they develop while using the app. Think of it as an overall presence of your activity, accessed by tapping on the glowing orb at the bottom of the main menu, which will reveal your activity scattered across the screen.
Unfortunately, only the “ARTPOP” and “ArtHaus” sections of the app are available right now, with two unknown features set to unlock in April 2014. It is possible that Gaga will release additional songs through the app at that time, which would definitely give it more of a purpose.
The "ARTPOP" section is, of course, the album itself. Simply, it is a music player automatically imports the songs from the album that you have purchased from iTunes. Your play history will then become part of your aura.
The next area of the app that is unlocked as of its release is the ArtHaus studio. This is where you will be able to make unique GIF images, which are based on a moving objects with a background of your choice. There is also an area where users can view which images have been seen by Gaga, which is pretty cool.
From anywhere within the app, an edge gesture from the left side of the display will reveal a panel. In here, you can quickly control the playback of music, as well as participate in chat rooms through LittleMonsters.com.
While using the app is not necessary to enjoy the album, "ARTPOP" — in both the album and the app — is an interesting project. I am curious to know what it will turn into in the future, but as of right now, I would still recommend the app to anyone who owns the album. After all, there is no bad time to begin developing a young aura.
The app is free in the Apple App Store, and the album is available for $14.99.
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Image: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Benjamin Rollins Caldwell
This article originally published at AppAdvice here
AppAdvice is a Mashable publishing partner that offers news and reviews of iOS apps. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.