Grab your calendars! The expected releasing date for MAYHEM – Lady Gaga’s new album – is March 7th, 2025. It’s her seventh studio album, being released after Harlequin, soundtrack to the movie Joker: Folie Ă Deux (2024), in which she also acted giving life to Harley Quinn.Â
The new album contains the featuring song with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile“, a nominee for the Grammys Song Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which it won. It was also the fastest song to reach one billion streams on Spotify, in the span of 96 days since its release date.
We don’t have a confirmed tracklist yet, but some fans have already found clues about the other tracks in the album trailer posted on Gaga’s own Instagram account.
Recently, the diva was interviewed by the magazine Elle. When asked about words that could describe this new era, Gaga defined it as “really dark hard poetry“, saying that the strong beats in the songs make it a hard-hitting album.
In the same interview, she was asked about what piece of advice she would give herself in her first era. Gaga says that she would tell her not to be so hard on herself all the time. This speech also shows a lot about what this new album is about.
“It’s about following your own chaos into whatever cranny of your life it takes you to.”
The Mother Monster also says that the album was born out of a chaos in her mind from long ago, one which she thought she had recovered from, but it is still there. She also talks about how this album represents the act of embracing your own demons instead of running away from them.
Besides, this demon embracing concept is referred to in a positive and somewhat uplifting way, which is reflected in the album. Despite its dark, deep sound and somewhat gothic visual identity (colors that, by the way, can be associated with the The Fame Monster era), it is presented as something fun, making everyone want to hit the dancefloor.
In summary, we can anticipate a rich selection of dance tracks, a diverse array of styles and themes for each song, a distinctive use of black and white, iconic fashion, and visually impactful music videos. Moreover, the album evokes a sense of nostalgia, with references to beloved tracks such as “Alejandro” and “Bad Romance” featured throughout.
Track By Track: The Singles Released Until Now
Lady Gaga told Elle magazine that MAYHEM consists of 15 tracks. Although the full tracklist has not been confirmed yet, three singles have already been released. With that in mind, here is an analysis of how these tracks align with our expectations for the upcoming album, focusing on the themes the lyrics may explore and the potential surprises in the overall combination of lyrics, musical traits, and visual identity.
Disease
This danceable electropop track was released on November 20th in 2024 and, as promised by Gaga, it features a dark sonic atmosphere, reflected in both the production and the lyrics. In addition to the haunting intro, the chorus showcases stunning high-pitched vocals, which comes as a pleasant surprise.
The pop diva, known for her powerful yet typically lower-pitched vocals, as heard in the resonant verses of “Bad Romance” takes an unexpected turn here. This departure from her usual style signals that even more exciting surprises are in store for this new era.
The music video got 1.5 million views in the first 24 hours since its release. Following the color pattern and the visual identity of this new phase, the atmosphere is dark and uses light and shadows to reference the duality message the song contains, especially between sickness and cure (here’s why the song goes for “Disease“).Â
DIE With a Smile
The inclusion of the powerful and emotional Grammy-winning ballad “Die With a Smile” in the tracklist presents a striking contrast to the album’s overall premise. However, this doesn’t mean there isn’t a connection between these two elements. The song is deeply melancholic, full of climaxes and emotional highs and lows, addressing themes such as loss, the passage of time, and the impact it has on people’s lives—particularly those who share deep love. These universal experiences are what make the song so poignant and compelling.
Additionally, amidst the themes explored by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars in their seamless vocal collaboration, we can also discern a search for peace. This ties back to the overarching narrative of inner struggle and embracing our demons, which is central to the album, and illustrates how the ballad fits into the broader context of the work.
Abracadabra
This is a quintessential dance floor anthem. It’s impossible to listen to it without at least tapping your toes or nodding your head. While we can still appreciate her powerful vocals, this time they’re delivered in a more dramatic fashion, which adds a unique touch and further cements Gaga’s distinct identity within the track.
With the music video released on the same day as the Grammys (February 3rd), the song quickly became one of the most talked-about topics among fans during the awards night. In the first 24 hours since its release, the video garnered 6.8 million views, with projections to reach 100,000,000 views by March 3rd.
As mentioned earlier, we can hear her late 2000s influences making a return, particularly in the blend of catchy pop melodies and electro-pop elements.
THE COPACABANA CONCERT
The diva’s visit to Brazil for a free concert has been confirmed by Rio de Janeiro’s mayor, Eduardo Paes. During his appearance on the podcast PodK Liberados, he announced that the event at Copacabana Beach will take place by May 3rd, 2025.
His decision has sparked criticism from many citizens due to the high cost of organizing such a large-scale show. In response to the critics, Paes stated, “Will you spend taxpayer money on Lady Gaga? I will. I did it with Madonna as well. Do you know why? Because it fills up all the hotels, it fills up all the restaurants“, the mayor declared.
Madonna performed in Brazil for the same reason in 2024. According to Rio de Janeiro’s State Secretary of Tourism (Setur-RJ), 150,000 of the 1.6 million fans attending her concert were tourists. This influx led to a 96% increase in hotel occupancy, generating 300,000 reais for the state economy.
Gagacabana, as fans dubbed the event during the speculation period, will be officially announced by the city hall on February 20th, and is expected to be the greatest show of her entire career. At least one million fans are projected to attend the event, with an area of 28,000 square meters along Copacabana Beach reserved for the concert.
We can hardly wait to see what our diva has in store for us this time!
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The article above was edited by Mariana do PatrocĂnio.
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