"Mayhem" is the new album of Lady Gaga, which sounds like one of her best old

"Mother of Monsters" returns to his golden era in order to say goodbye to her

On March 7, “Mayhem” was released - the seventh studio album of Lady Gaga, which fans consider the singer’s last work before a big break in his career and decree. The February single “Abracadabra” , which instantly filled the realties and tiktoki, warmed up interest in the record. The musical observer Alexander Shakirov tells why Lady Gaga right now she decided to return to the pop beers, having entered into absentee competition with new stars of the genre.

For no matter what complex projects, Lady Gaga was taken in the previous ten years, the shadow of her debut work invariably fell on them. In 2018, she starred in the film Bradley Cooper “The Star Born” (2018), where she sang “Shallow” -a song that received Grammy, Oscar and four billion auditions. I starred a lot in the cinema, albeit not in the most successful, but Kassoov: with her participation “House Gucci” and “Joker: Madness for Two” came out. Another Grammy brought her a duet with the great Tony Bennett - the album of jazz standards “Cheek to Cheek” (2014). But the public continued to compare all these achievements with the zero era when “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance” came out. Compare and repeat that Gaga's early work was much better.

The reason for this is not only nostalgia. In 2008, Lady Gaga really made a revolution, violating the main rule of the pop industry of those years: sex-separately, confessional ballads-separately, humor-separately. The Gaga boldly united attractiveness with frikism, using choreography, turning the banal erotica into an ominous masquerade ball in the clips. She converted eccentricity into style: even if you never listened to her, you still probably remember a dress of raw meat or shoes on huge platforms . But while the audience was waiting for the return of Queen Tresh, Gaga was revealed as a promising actress and an impressive vocalist. That is, the "normal" star.

Although all this time Gaga continued experiments and musical searches. Her album "Born This Way" of 2011, full of religious images, became the key to the Quirry community. The conceptual “Artpop” (2013) seemed controversial in innovation, but in 2016, the singer again anticipated the trend in the Joanna album-and turned to country, which became mainstream only a few years later. “Chromatica” (2020) rethought the electronics of the 1980s, the 1990s House and the pop traits of the early zero-but unsuccessfully came out in the midst of the pandemic when the dance floor was closed.

At the same time, Gaga openly spoke with the audience: in the song “Swine” (2013), and then in an interview said that she experienced sexualized violence . In 2021, in the 911 track, she spoke about her problems with mental health and dependence on psychotropic drugs. And in a recent interview , she said that everything has changed: now she is following her health, because in the future she would like to give birth to a child. Fans suggest that it is with this that its last shock chord is the release of the Mayhem album. And this is logical: if the “mother of the monsters”, as her fans call her, and was about to pause in her career, now is the best time to release all her remaining demons.

The first single from the album-a duet with Bruno Mars in the retrostil “Die with a smile” -was released in August 2024 and immediately received Grammy. The Visease video published by the following made it clear that the struggle of the two principles was based on the record: the ominous Lady Gaga (in black, with a cane) and the present trying to hide from the “old” herself and, as the song is sung, “play the doctor and cure the disease”.

The same duality is the main trail of the hit "Abracadabra". There are two Gaga in the video again: the former - a lady in red and again with a cane - arranges the contest “Dance or die”. The current-all in white-is trying to survive on the dance floor, recalling his branded choreography and lines of the Gaga, Ooh-la-La time of the Bad Romance times. Under the guise of this Tarabarshchina, the Italian “amore” (“love) and“ Morta ”(dead”) are actually hidden - another emphasized contrast.

It is curious that recently another superstar, Eminem, has already used the same spell to combat the past, borrowing the motive from the hit of the 1980s “Abracadabra” for the single “houseini” ; In the video, he also tried to destroy his former himself. Only the rapper’s album eventually failed - unlike Abracadabra, Lady Gaga. Witchcraft affected millions: the song instantly enclosed in social networks, and Gagamania of the late 2000s finally returned.

The causes of chaos, in whose honor the album is named, is looking for Gaga in the past. In the “Garden of Eden” track, resembling the singer’s early electric foam, she recalls her famous nine -inch heels and promises a walk to the Garden of Paradise - of course, with poisoned apples. In the next, already pop-rock, the “Perfect Celebrity” Gaga is taken to deconstruct not only his own creativity, but also the entire musical industry: he calls himself a plastic doll, ready to laugh, fall in love, gain, and even if necessary, die, just pay.

The fan “Vanish into you” , although the motive from the song about the unsuccessful novel ( “Bad Romance” ) is borrined, is apparently dedicated to Lady Gaga’s groom, businessman Michael Polanski, who is indicated as the co -author of several tracks of the album. Among other co -authors of “MayHem” are the French electrician Gesaffelstein, producer Andrew Watt (he worked on the tracks “Havana” and “Señorita” for Camila Cabel) and Henry Walter , known as Cirkut.

This teamwork returns Lady Gaga to life-now it is not a monument to herself and not just the idol of the past, but again one of the main pop artists of the moment. While the mainstream hyperpop, led by Charli XCX, is trying to make out parts of the pop music of the 2000s and put together a new dance monster for the Zumers from them, Lady Gaga sorting out the details of her own album “The Fame Monster” (2009).

Adding the style of the 1980-1990s, she creates a completely new something that is not afraid of her revelations. It turns out curtains in the direction of Shinti Funk ( “Zombieboy” ), and magnificent, timeless pop trees about love ( “Lovedrug” and “Blade of Grass” ). And the sweeping “The Beast” , explaining what monsters Gaga sang all these years - of course, about those that live inside her herself. This beast comes to life again, but now Gaga will definitely cope with him.

Alexander Shakirov