By Mick Dillon / The Jambar
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, released her seventh studio album, “Mayhem,” on March 7. The album has a total runtime of 53 minutes and features 14 songs.
Gaga gives fans a flashback to her earlier dance-pop style of music, as she shared in an interview with The New York Times, providing listeners with a sound she hasn’t produced in decades.
“It’s got classic rock in it, disco, electronic music, ‘80s synth,” Gaga said. “It is everything I love about music but all in one place.”
Gaga’s struggles with love and fame were a common theme throughout the record, creating a unique blend of dance music and emotional reflection.
Michael Polansky, Lady Gaga’s fiancé, was an executive producer on the album.
“He oversaw the whole process of making the record, completing it, helping me to shape the sound of the record creatively,” Gaga said in the same interview. “It was an amazing thing to do with your partner, because when I start to doubt myself, there is nobody that’s going to call me on it better than he is.”
The album kicks off with 11 tracks of her classic dance-pop. With all of the aforementioned aspects of synth, disco and pop melodies combined, “Mayhem” makes for a carefully curated, party playlist that gives listeners the impression of a concert or club.
When the intro track “Disease” starts playing, Gaga fans should know what to expect from this album. The nearly four-minute song features a combination of gritty rock vocals and buttery-smooth lyrical melodies, along with grand production from Gaga and renowned producer, Andrew Watt.
This theme carries into the second track, “Abracadabra” — a single in which Gaga released through a music video at this year’s Grammy Awards.
While the majority of the album provides the upbeat, grandiose sound that initially drew fans to Lady Gaga in the 2000’s, there are lyrics within songs like “Perfect Celebrity” that illustrate her struggles with fame and fortune.
Along with her challenges of fame, Gaga’s relationship with love is touched on in songs such as “Don’t Call Tonight” and “Shadow Of A Man.” On these tracks Gaga grapples with being used for her love and finding herself in emotionally vulnerable situations with romantic partners.
The album closes out with three songs that closer align with what Gaga listeners have heard as of late — slower, more introspective melodies as a soothing close to an upbeat record.
“Die With A Smile” is the outro track, previously released as a single featuring Peter Hernandez, known professionally as Bruno Mars. The pop duo delivered a romantic harmonization that would earn them a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award at the 2025 Grammys ahead of the album’s release.
The album is projected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts. If “Mayhem” lands at the top spot, it would be Gaga’s fifth full-length project to reach such heights.
