“The category is, dance or die.”
This line opens the music video for Lady Gaga’s newest single “Abracadabra.”
Released on Feb. 2, 2025, during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, “Abracadabra” acts as the third lead single off of Gaga’s seventh studio album, “Mayhem.”
This is a monumental moment for Little Monsters, the official title of Lady Gaga’s fans, everywhere as the pop star herself has not released an official studio album in four years.
For many fans on social media, they have noted this new era as Gaga’s return to the early days of her career, drawing attention to the album’s similarity to her second studio album “The Fame Monster.”
Ironically, this is what most of Gaga’s fan base grew up listening to, including me.
In fact, a core memory of mine is first watching the music video for “Bad Romance” at 5 years old, instantly falling in love with her haunting visuals and vocals.
However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become drawn to her support for LGBTQ+ community.
Gaga demonstrates this in the music video for “Abracadabra,” as she highlights ballroom culture, titling herself a “student of ‘“Paris is Burning’” during an interview with Instyle.
“It felt like a relevant thing to bring up in the video because it’s about resilience. I can’t think of a place where I’ve seen more resilience than in a ballroom,” Gaga said.
In terms of sound, “Mayhem” is a masterclass of Gaga’s versatility.
The album opens with “Disease,” which introduces listeners with its haunting vocals that crash against the song’s flashy instrumentals. “I could play the doctor, I can cure your disease (ah), If you were a sinner, I could make you believe,” Gaga passionately cries in song.
However, the album’s mid-section follows a more disco-centric approach with tracks like “Killah (Ft. Gesaffelstein),” enticing listeners to get up and dance along to the song’s funky bass lines, channeling energy found in legends Prince and Bowie.
The following track, “ZombieBoy” continues this trend with its hypnotic beat reminiscent of “Heart Of Glass” or “Rapture” by Blondie. Through its catchy sound and fun lyrics, this is a song I can easily imagine anyone singing along to.
From there, the album then gradually transitions into slower ballads including “Blade of Grass,” the albums second to last track, where Gaga discusses the relationship with her now fiance, Micheal Polansky. “Come on and wrap that blade of grass, and we’ll make it last,” Gaga sings.
Overall, “Mayhem” takes listeners on the journey of Gaga’s ultimate self-discovery, combining passion, play and perseverance to create a perfectly curated album that is bound to become a classic.
