S Poddar
Lady Gaga’s new album, Mayhem, represents a triumphant comeback to what was behind the massive success and omnipresent reign in pop that had established Lady Gaga as the woman no one dared to mention, ever since the commercial frenzy subsided for good. Gaga had endured the bad, from post-hat-trick collapse into formula and cliche and misguided excursions into EDM via remixes. This record, instead of being a nostalgic throwback, is a keen and timely observation that reaffirms her position in the constantly changing music world.
Her single Abracadabra has been topping the UK Top 10 for five weeks running, something that certainly must be a welcome relief for Gaga and her staff. Her career over the last few years has swung between pioneering successes and crushing disappointments. On the one hand, she performed Die With a Smile, a chart-topping ballad with Bruno Mars that led the charts in 28 countries and was the world’s top-selling single for ten weeks. On the other, her lead performance in Joker: Folie à Deux was disastrous, with the film losing an estimated $150 million for Warner Brothers. Her featured soundtrack, brimming with Gaga’s presence, and her jazz-inclined companion album, Harlequin, never caught on. Even her 2021 jazz album Love for Sale, a sequel to her hit work with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek, had trouble making headway.
There are those who believe that the artistic diversity Gaga once enjoyed is now also making her fans more confused. Although her talent for gliding effortlessly from electronic dance-pop to rock, jazz, and country has been lauded, the streaming world today tends to favor consistency. In a time when artists are urged to stay within a defined, recognizable brand, her endless reinvention could have been a liability rather than an asset. Yet Mayhem is a rebellious rejection of that idea, offering up a firm return to the signature Gaga style that hooked listeners when she originally exploded onto the scene.
The lead singles from the album, Abracadabra and Disease, bring back the things fans have been missing—pulsating synths, sing-along choruses, and dramatic, style-driven visuals. The latter even includes a vocal hook that echoes the classic beginning of Bad Romance, immediately bringing listeners back to the charged atmosphere of her formative years. This strategy is carried throughout the album, and Mayhem is an exhilarating ride for both die-hard fans and newcomers.
Musically, the album borrows from a diverse array of influences while sustaining a unified sound. It is filled with throbbing electronic beats, powerful piano and guitar hooks, and an energetic range of genres. There are obvious references to Daft Punk, traditional disco, 80s boogie, and house music. Songs such as Garden of Eden rejoice in the transitory but exhilarating relationships of the dance floor, while Perfect Celebrity provides a cutting commentary on the seedy underbelly of celebrity. The latter contains a scathing line that reminds us of her memorable performance at the 2009 MTV Awards, where she created a dramatic “death of celebrity” scene while performing Paparazzi.
Mayhem is more than catchy tunes; it is also a demonstration of Gaga’s experimental and surprise prowess. The electro-funk song Killah cuts unexpectedly into a frantic, high-speed beat that mashes new-wave rock with drum’n’bass rhythms. Zombieboy produces a disco-influenced groove before it is cut off by a shock-rock guitar solo. Whereas some of her earlier work has been fragmented by genre-hopping, this album is skillfully put together to showcase her versatility without sacrificing its cohesion. LoveDrug, for instance, tips into AOR but is grounded in a consistent dance beat, and it sounds like a natural fit on the album. In the meantime, her classic fondness for dramatic power ballads rears its head in Blade of Grass, a song strategically placed near the end of the album alongside Die With a Smile.
The sole noticeable misstep on the album is How Bad Do U Want Me? , which initially teases with its early 80s synth-pop tribute but ultimately goes too far toward current pop trends, with Taylor Swift’s influence feeling too obvious. Though it’s a good track, it is not as innovative as the rest of the album.
Gaga is best at being a trendsetter, not a follower, and Mayhem is proof that she doesn’t have to go chasing after the sound of the times—she is the times.
What makes Mayhem so compelling is how seamlessly it integrates into the pop landscape of today. Instead of sounding like a retro revival, Mayhem sounds refreshingly contemporary. The legacy of Gaga’s early style can be heard in up-and-comers such as Chappell Roan, whose drag-queen-inspired imagery and outsider charm echo Gaga’s own, and Charli XCX, who embodies an avant-garde, trash-glam sensibility that recalls early Gaga. Though Mayhem won’t quite recreate the shock value of her early ascension—let’s be real, the world has had years to acclimate to her brazen ingenuity—it doesn’t have to. Rather, it confirms the visionary quality of her work, demonstrating that pop culture has, in a large sense, come to catch up with the world she established. Lady Gaga has returned, not merely to take back her crown but to remind the world why she made it in the first place.
