Lady Gaga Unveils the Chaos of "Mayhem"

Lady Gaga has spilled the beans on her upcoming album Mayhem, set to burst onto the scene March 7. She promises it’ll be a wild departure from her past works.

Once likening Mayhem to her early bangers like “Bad Romance,” Gaga recently sat down with Zane Lowe, offering a whirlwind tour of her discography—and a peek at her new creative tack:

“Artpop (2013) was all vibe, Joanne (2016) was pure sound, Chromatica (2020) carved out its own sonic lane… The Fame Monster (2009) thrived on chaos, The Fame (2008) was theatrical pop at its core. Born This Way (2011) pulsed with New York’s metal-electro grit. So with Mayhem, I steered clear of all that. I didn’t try to dress the music up in some costume.”

Mayhem ropes in last year’s smash “Die With a Smile,” a duet with Bruno Mars that’s still clinging to the top 3 of the Billboard Hot 100, half a year after its debut. Then there’s February’s “Abracadabra,” a club anthem that’s taken social media by storm. Beside these triumphs, the single “Disease” feels a touch dimmer—still a hit, mind you, cracking the UK Top 10 and Russia’s TopHit chart.

Marking her first full-fledged release in five years, Mayhem boasts a collab with French electro wizard Gesaffelstein on the track “Killah.” Gaga’s teased a sonic tapestry, pulling threads from ‘90s alternative, David Bowie, Prince, electro-grunge, and analog synths. The album took shape at Shangri-La Studios in California, under the watchful eye of legendary producer Rick Rubin.