Pop singer Lady Gaga returns to music with “Joanne,” an emotional album released Friday.

Gaga strays away from her pop persona after making her acting debut on “American Horror Story” in fall 2015 with this album

The last solo album Gaga released was “ARTPOP” in 2013. Since then, she and Tony Bennett released a collaborative jazz album “Cheek to Cheek” in 2014. “Joanne” is very different than Gaga’s other music. After acting in a TV series and releasing a jazz album, it’s not too surprising that Gaga would do something different than what she is known for.

Most of the songs on “Joanne” sound more country than pop and have lyrics with common country music themes. Some of these songs are “A-Yo,” “John Wayne,” “Sinner’s Payer” and “Come To Mama.”

Gaga’s past work has contained primarily upbeat pop anthems and dance music, and this album contains more ballads than past albums. It is starkly different. The music is much more stripped down to simple lyrics and many of the songs are also very personal and emotional.

One of the most emotional songs on the album is the title track, “Joanne.” In this ballad, Gaga begs a dying woman not to let go. Songs like “Angel Down,” “Million Reason” and “Grigio Girls” are filled with raw, heavy emotion.

One highlight on the album is the song “Hey Girl,” featuring Florence Welch, of the band Florence and the Machine. The song is moving and doesn’t have a country vibe like the rest of the album, but rather a soulful pop sound reminiscent of the ‘70s band Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Despite being so different than past albums, Gaga’s vocals remain as strong as ever, as she belts out the lyrics.

The song that sounds most like past music by Gaga is the album’s lead single “Perfect Illusion,” which sounds like the dance music fans are used to.

However, the songs leave something to be desired. The songs start off well, but don’t build up very big and then end somewhat suddenly. Each song is very stagnant.

Perhaps “Joanne” will expand Gaga’s audience since the album has a different taste. However, it may also alienate her fans who expect dance-pop music.