Lady Gaga is back—and she’s bringing Mayhem with her.
Released on Friday, Mayhem is a bold, high-energy project that revisits Gaga’s signature dark-pop sound while propelling it forward with fresh intensity. The album is both a return to her roots and a reinvention, blending the theatrical elements of The Fame Monster with the genre-bending risks of Artpop and Chromatica.
With tracks like “Abracadabra”, a euphoric dance anthem, and “Killah”, a hard-hitting collaboration with Gesaffelstein, Gaga proves she hasn’t lost her touch for crafting infectious pop. “Disease” echoes her mid-2010s glory days but carries an undeniable stadium-sized energy, while the Grammy-winning ballad “Die with a Smile”, featuring Bruno Mars, offers a softer contrast.
Beyond the beats and synths, Mayhem is deeply personal. Gaga describes it as an assertion of artistic autonomy: “This was my work. It was just not a character I was playing. It was something that I made.” That authenticity shines through in tracks like “Vanish Into You”, a deceptive ballad with modular Moog elements, and “Garden of Eden”, which winks at her Bad Romance era. Meanwhile, “Perfect Celebrity” continues her long-standing commentary on fame and its contradictions.
Rather than chasing nostalgia or current trends, Mayhem stands as a statement of self. Lady Gaga sounds like she’s having fun again—owning her signature sound while evolving it for 2025. This is Mayhem, and this is Gaga, exactly as she was meant to be.
