The album was recorded at Rick Rubin's studio Shangri-La, in Malibu, California. The album was preceded by the release of three singles. Its lead single, "Disease", premiered on October 25, 2024. "Abracadabra" followed as the second single on February 3, 2025. Mayhem also includes the Grammy Award-winning song "Die with a Smile", a duet with Bruno Mars, which was released on August 16, 2024.
Background
In 2022, Lady Gaga toured several countries as part of the Chromatica Ball and began working on new material.[5][6] For several months prior to the album's announcement, Gaga shared photographs on social media of herself in a recording studio.[7] In March 2024, Gaga spoke publicly about the project for the first time, stating in an interview that she was "writing some of the best songs I can remember."[8]
The following May, she released the concert film Gaga Chromatica Ball, which contained a snippet of new music at the end.[9] Gaga has said that the upcoming pop album was made "from a place of happiness".[4][10] Her fiancé Michael Polansky recommended that she create a pop album and "lean in to the joy of it".[11] In mid-2024, Gaga began offering additional teasers for her new project. In July, she surprised fans by playing snippets of two unreleased songs after her performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.[12] During a December 2024 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gaga announced her duet with Bruno Mars, "Die with a Smile", would be part of the album.[2]
Development
According to Gaga, the inspiration for the album stemmed from a period of deep introspection and personal challenges.[13] Gaga, Andrew Watt and Michael Polansky are listed as the executive producers of Mayhem.[14] She described the album as "a transgressive journey through genres" that reflects her diverse musical influences and life experiences.[15] In an interview with Rolling Stone on December 10, 2024, Gaga characterized the project as an eclectic work that amalgamates various genres, styles, and emotions, all guided by her profound love of music. She elaborated:
The album is imbued with my love for music: a diversity of genres, styles, and dreams. It leaps from one genre to another in a manner that feels almost corrupt, and it culminates in love. That's my answer to all the chaos in my life: I find peace in love. Every song I wrote emerged from surrendering to different dreams tied to my past, almost like a recollection of all the bad decisions I've made throughout my life. There are moments where we sonically push the sound to extremes, and others where everything revolves around love. That, to me, represents true chaos. It's sometimes difficult to see the light, but I think what makes inner chaos more challenging is when you occasionally catch a glimpse of the sun. For this reason, the album offers a bit of everything. It's a complete experience.[16]
Regarding her inspiration, the artist stated, "The album started as me facing my fear of returning to the pop music my earliest fans loved," further comparing the creative process to "reassembling a shattered mirror: even if you can't put the pieces back together perfectly, you can create something beautiful and whole in its own new way."[17]
In May 2024, during a Q&A session following the premiere of her special Gaga Chromatica Ball, Gaga revealed that she was deeply immersed in writing and recording the album. She described the material as "completely different from anything I've done before" and emphasized her exploration of breaking musical genres and incorporating new creative influences. Gaga explained that each song is a reflection of her own internal chaos, presented with a celebratory tone aimed at connecting with audiences in various settings, from a party to an intimate moment at home.[15]
Composition
According to the artist, Mayhem is a tribute to her "love for music, bringing together a wide variety of genres, styles, and different dreams." In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Gaga stated that the album is heavily influenced by industrial music, stemming from her interest in exploring various facets of electronic music. She explained, "I loved learning about industrial music and the different areas of electronic music," and emphasized her ongoing pursuit of blending genres, saying, "I've probably been judged for not sticking to just one thing, but not doing so is my life force."[2]
Regarding its musical approach, she described it as "utter chaos" that "breaks a lot of rules and is a lot of fun." The artist cited influences including "'90salternative, electro-grunge, Prince and Bowie melodies, guitar and attitude, funkybass lines, French electronic music, and analog synthesizers." From a genre perspective, she added, "It just feels good. It sounds good. It's about following your own chaos to wherever in life it may take you."[13][22]
Title and artwork
The cover art for Mayhem was unveiled on January 27, 2025, through Gaga's official website and platforms.[23] Prior to the official announcement, promotional posters appeared in New York City, featuring a black-and-white photograph of Gaga accompanied by the album's title and release date written in red at the bottom.[3] The standard edition cover features Gaga with disheveled black hair and her face slightly distorted behind a shattered glass.[23] The back cover maintains the black-and-white scheme, with Mayhem written in a distorted and aggressive font, while Lady Gaga appears below in a more classic typeface, with the first "A" inverted.[24] The photoshoot was overseen by Frank Lebon.[3]
In an interview with Elle, Gaga revealed that the album's title corresponds to a character whose presence is felt throughout the fourteen tracks: Mayhem. In the music video for "Disease", Mayhem—portrayed by Gaga, dressed in black with long nails—appears as a blood-eyed figure driving a car.[13][3] Regarding the choice of title, Gaga stated that "the album was called Mayhem to memorialize a piece of me and a piece of life that is not always easy to accept."[25] She further elaborated:
It was hard at first to name the album Mayhem because I so much don't want that feeling to be real. I am also a hopeful person. I'm also somebody that is a dreamer, but what I think I ultimately arrived at is; it's all of the fractures of who we are and the fractures in the world and the mayhem of that brokenness that ultimately teaches us the power of joy, and dancing and crying and laughing and listening to music and holding your friends and your family and repeat! This album is fun and I enjoyed the contrast of a fun album that's also called Mayhem.[25]
Release and promotion
During promotion for Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), Gaga confirmed that the album's lead single would be released in October 2024, with the album originally set to follow in February the following year.[11] She spoke about the upcoming project further during the film's press tour. On October 21, Gaga officially announced the October 25 release of the lead single, "Disease", via social media, and revealed a teaser of its music video the following day.[26] The following month, "Disease" was accompanied by the release of two acoustic versions: "The Antidote", performed on piano, on November 13, and "The Poison", performed on electric guitar, on November 20.[27] On December 15, Gaga performed "Disease" and "Die with a Smile" during a Christmas special of Carpool Karaoke released on Apple TV+.[28]
On January 21, 2025, Gaga launched a countdown on her website set to end on January 27.[29] Each day, the website showcased artwork inspired by her previous material, beginning with The Fame (2008) and continuing with The Fame Monster (2009), Born This Way (2011), Artpop (2013), Joanne (2016), Chromatica (2020) and Harlequin (2024).[30] When the countdown ended, the album's official album cover and March 7 release date were revealed.[31] On February 2, Gaga attended the 67th Annual Grammy Awards and debuted the music video for "Abracadabra" during a commercial break as part of a partnership with Mastercard.[32][33]Hot Ones, a YouTube series, released an episode featuring an interview with Gaga on February 13.[34] An appearance on the Vanity Fair "Lie Detector Test" web series followed on February 19.[35]Spotify will host a "Little Monster Press Conference" on March 6, during which Gaga will answer questions submitted by the singer's top fans on the platform.[36] On Saturday Night Live's March 8 episode, Gaga will take on "double duty" for the second time in her career, appearing as both the host and musical guest for the night.[37] She is slated to headline Coachella in April 2025.[18] Gaga confirmed through her social media that she will perform a free-entry concert on May 3 on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, which she called Mayhem on the Beach.[38][39]
Singles
On October 25, 2024, the lead single "Disease" was released.[40][41] An electropop and dark-pop song, it received mainly positive reviews and reached the top thirty in multiple countries, including the United States and United Kingdom.[42] "Abracadabra" was released as the second single on February 3, 2025.[43] The song's dance-pop energy and theatrical visuals drew comparisons to her earlier works, and it became the second top ten—and top five entry from Mayhem and of Gaga's career on the Billboard Global 200 chart following "Die with a Smile".[44]
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