After a five-year hiatus from creating original, personal music, Lady Gaga is returning with her newest album “Mayhem” on March 7. The artist’s latest work marks her return to dance pop.
Lady Gaga’s 2020 release “Chromatica” was her last personal project — until now. Despite the success of its singles “Rain on Me” and “Stupid Love,” the album itself lacked the cohesive dance-floor catchiness that has kept her previous works from “The Fame” to “Born This Way” as iconic as they remain. Full of pulsing synth and destined to overplay on the radio, the album itself may have showcased the singer’s vocal talents, but as a whole, it missed the mark.
Since “Chromatica,” Lady Gaga embraced her role as Harley Quinn in Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” through the release of the 2024 album “Harlequin.” Recording the songs her character sings in the film, this project was a soundtrack album, not a studio one.
Grasping for the genuineness of her slower, more sincere 2016 album “Joanne,” the cover art for “Mayhem” comes close. A more personal, up-close depiction, Lady Gaga’s latest album cover is a massive change from the space-centered concept of “Chromatica.” The first cover to truly capture the singer’s full face since “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga is keeping her eccentricity while showing her authenticity.
Released on Oct. 25, 2024, “Disease” was technically the second single of the album, with “Die With a Smile” featuring Bruno Mars being announced this previous August. The two singles have very different sounds, placing them at complete opposite ends of the sonic spectrum — and opposite ends on the album. With “Abracadabra” recently joining the album’s singles, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what kind of era Lady Gaga is entering with her music.
As shown by the official album trailer posted on Lady Gaga’s YouTube, “Mayhem” possesses a dark, cryptic energy that has been missing from her recent work.
“The category is dance or die” is the artist’s opening line in her “Abracadabra” music video — a choreographed breath of fresh air for dance pop. Reminiscent of her 2013 moves, the latest music videos are full of the beloved costumes and eccentric performances Lady Gaga used to be known for.
Describing how this album will be “utter chaos,” the singer explores the intensity of the manic pop genre as deeply as possible. Before the announcement, her website had a countdown with her first album, “The Fame,” as the background — alluding to the return of her powerful presence on the dance floor. The full track list was also recently released in anticipation of the album drop, andthe reveal of two bonus tracks at the end of the video Lady Gaga posted on X.
With such anticipation being created for her new release, fans are excited to see the new, or old, direction the artist is taking in her musical career.
