For the longest time, Lady Gaga was, indeed, the “Enigma” she proclaimed herself to be on her 2020 album Chromatica. A visionary force of the pop genre, she was somehow untouchable in her artistic vision but down–to–earth in interviews, interactions with fans, and her exuberant theater kid energy.
It’s funny that a large part of the conversation surrounding her latest offering, MAYHEM, involves the phrase “reheating nachos.” Her last pop record, the aforementioned Chromatica, was heralded as a return to her dance–pop, all–four–on–the–floor roots and celebrated for its exaltation of the genre of music that made her who she is. Listeners were transported to an alien world of Gaga’s own creation, an abstract planet–turned–reality where we could dance during the most inopportune time to do so (the pandemic).
Yet something about MAYHEM felt different, as evident in both of the album’s pre–released singles, “Disease” and “Abracadabra.” With the Gaga–isms of the past reappearing—hooky, gibberish–sounding lyrics a là “Bad Romance” and “Judas”, vague religious imagery used as a metaphor for the battle between light and dark, an elaborate and recognizable dance number—the audience was wondering: Do we really have the Gaga circa The Fame Monster and Born This Way back? Is Gaga “reheating the nachos” that made her the icon she is today?
The answer, as it turns out, is both yes and no. While Gaga offers allusions of her imperial pop phase to the listeners, MAYHEM is the first time we’re able to see the pop star merge her two dueling identities into one—Lady Gaga, the world–renowned songstress, and Stefani Germonatta, the young budding musician from the Lower East Side of New York that loved making music. As a result of this merger, Gaga regains the confidence she once had—perhaps for the first time since 2013’s misunderstood ARTPOP—while also creating an album that showcases musical maturity and genuine appreciation for her inspirations.
The album’s first four songs retread familiar ground. “Disease” is a thumping electronic opener that grows cinematically as the song progresses, with Gaga saying she “could play the doctor” and “cure [the listener’s] disease.” This metaphor of light and dark is accentuated by guttural screams of “Screaming for me baby!” as if she’s demanding us to spill it all (if you know the ARTPOP lore, Azealia Banks’ obsession with the lyric is a hoot). “Abracadabra” is “Bad Romance” revamped and updated for modern times, where Gaga makes the listener choose between “death or love tonight,” knowing there’s only one possible option. It’s fitting how she starts the music video by saying, “The category is, dance or die,” borrowing elements of ballroom culture from her New York origins.
“Garden of Eden” and “Perfect Celebrity” revisit 2008’s The Fame sonically and thematically, respectively. The former borrows the album’s electronic sound paired with the literal metaphor of temptation, while the latter channels Nine Inch Nails and subverts the album’s obsession with fame by revealing its darker contents. “So rip off my face in this photograph / You make me money, I'll make you laugh,” Gaga screams in “Perfect Celebrity,” as if demanding to know why she’s subjected to the audience’s desires and wishes.
But as Gaga said herself in an interview with Rolling Stone, “After the first few songs, you think you know what you're getting into, but then, you don't." We first hear a sonic shift with the lovelorn “Vanish Into You,” complete with its '80s glam–rock sound and soaring vocals. “Saw your face and mine / In a picture by our bedside,” goes the soulful chorus. Her performance is one fueled by the juxtaposition of heartache and contentment, as if she’s yearning for a lost lover (fans speculate that the song is about the late Tony Bennett, one of her core inspirations and collaborators). “Vanish” is followed by the David Bowie’s “Fame”/Prince lovechild “Killah,” which curiously features famed techno DJ and producer Gesaffelstein. Instead of the dark sound the song and feature promise at face value, you get a deliciously funky and guitar–filled track. Her SNL performance further sells this funk fantasy, even if Gaga singing “Gonna make the curtains cream, believe it,” makes me want to laugh at how nonsensical the lyrics are.
As the album continues, the listener can finally understand what Gaga meant by MAYHEM. It’s not really about chaos in the literal sense, nor is it meant to be a full return to dark–pop. Instead, as she describes on the Las Culturistas podcast, “I am all of the different genres, all of the different approaches, all the different processes. That's why it ultimately is ‘mayhem.’” The album is a radical spectacle of range, truly showcasing not only what Gaga is capable of—as she has done throughout her storied career—but also what she enjoys making.
It’s evident that 2025 Gaga is much more happy and creatively liberated than in previous years. On songs like the disco–synth “Zombieboy”—where she pays homage to Rick Genest, who appeared in her “Born This Way” music video before tragically dying in an accident in 2018—and the hypnotic “LoveDrug,” Gaga plays around with her vocal delivery to deliver euphoria in sonic form. Even the Taylor Swift–sounding “How Bad Do U Want Me” sounds happy and joyful, despite Swiftonian lyricism like “'Cause you like my hair, my ripped–up jeans / You like the bad girl I got in me."
All of this positive energy is in part thanks to her fiancé, Michael Polansky, who Gaga cites as a creative motivator for this project. Polansky is credited as a co–songwriter for seven of the 14 tracks on the standard edition of the album and is listed as an executive producer. In an interview, Gaga even revealed that Polansky built a home studio for her as a Valentine’s Day present. The radical core of it all is that it fights against the narrative that an artist must be tortured to make great art. Good music doesn’t have to stem from break–ups or struggles with mental health; happy Gaga makes great music too.
The only flaw of the album is that it doesn’t quite stick the landing in the back half. With the exception of the Michael Jackson–sounding “Shadow Of A Man,” the second half of the album slows the BPM down significantly. While the tracklist follows a loose thematic storyline, starting from conflict and tension and ending with the radical love of “Die With A Smile” (which, against all odds, does fit as an “end of the mayhem”), the last three tracks feel out of place on the tracklist following a string of upbeat songs. “Blade of Grass” is perhaps the biggest offender of the ending trio, a full–blown piano ballad that also, unfortunately, uses a very common melody found in other pop songs (“APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars, “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, “Night Changes” by One Direction, and many more). By itself, it’s a tender song about how Polansky proposed to Gaga and her recollection of their love for each other, but in the context of MAYHEM, it’s probably the least chaotic choice Gaga could make.
Some fans may feel disappointed by the inherent disconnect between the dark undertones of the album's promotional material and the project's many bright–sounding pop songs. That criticism is understandable and isn’t completely unfounded, with the promotional imagery and two opening singles invoking glimpses of horror. One may even argue that the inclusion of “Die With A Smile” was simply a ploy to boost streaming numbers. But Gaga has been transparent about the organic growth of the album, about how it stemmed from her “gothic dreams.” Songs like “Vanish Into You,” “Zombieboy,” and “Shadow Of A Man,” all upbeat songs, still sound like products of said “gothic dreams.” A horror film would be boring if the entire film offered nothing other than fear, would it not?
Two decades into her career in the music industry, Lady Gaga does not need to prove her artistry and talent to others. Rather, MAYHEM was a declaration of self–acceptance, proving that Gaga can find a balance between her dueling personas and be embraced for staying true to herself and her personal chaos. She still has the sauce, as the kids would say, but this time, Gaga herself knows it too.
