Mother Monster Returns with Mayhem
BY SHAYLA NOVAKOWSKI
Lady Gaga’s new studio album, Mayhem released on March 7, 2025. Lady Gaga is a pop artist, who is known by her fans as Mother Monster, a tribute to her dark and unique music style and her fans are commonly referred to as little monsters. Mayhem features 14 pop songs that vary in style from dark “Gaga” sound to more traditional-sounding pop tracks. In my opinion, it feels like a mashup of styles from her different albums over the years and a few new styles.
The most surprising song is “How bad do you want me”. Unpopular opinion- I must admit that this is one of my least favorite songs on the album, despite its popularity. This song is very upbeat and pop-sounding, with many comparing it with and even mistaking for Taylor Swift. I understand the comparison, but I hear more of a tribute to her debut album “The Fame”.
There are songs on the album like “Garden of Eden” and “Zombie Boy” that are more closely aligned with the style you expect from Lady Gaga and they remind me of some of her older songs like “Bloody Mary” and “Born This Way”. They are still pop songs but have that darker, stranger style that I love about Gaga.
Her new “Perfect Celebrity” definitely puts me in the feels of her classic “Paparazzi”. The beat, the lyrics- they just put you in the feels of all the negativity that comes with fame. But if you dig deeper, it also relates to obsessive and unhealthy relationships of any person.
There are two songs on this album that remind me of her “A Star is Born” soundtrack: “Blade of Grass” and her popular collaboration with fellow pop icon, Bruno Mars, “Die with a Smile”. These are both love songs and have a slower speed. I love both of these songs; I feel they truly showcase Gaga’s vocal range. Lady Gaga is a vocal powerhouse and you can feel it every
chorus of “Die with a Smile”. Bruno and Lady Gaga both have the ability to sing pretty high and low and their voices flow together beautifully.
Songs that don’t fit a particular “era” of Lady Gaga are “Don’t Call Tonight” and “Shadow of a Man”. They have Lady Gaga style, but I wouldn’t say they remind me of any past songs or albums. “The Beast” also belongs in a category of its own. It has Lady Gaga style but it is also so different from the other tracks. She sings much more softly in “The Beast” but the lyrics are dark, mysterious, and amazing. Every time her voice says, “I wanna feel the beast inside”, it sounds like I’m hearing it for the first time. It is perfection.
In my opinion, the best songs on “Mayhem” are hands down “Disease” and “Abracadabra”. These songs just scream classic Mother Monster. They’ve got the dark, twisted, spell-like Lady Gaga style and take me back to her “Born This Way” album. I could listen to them on repeat. “Abracadabra” includes Latin lines throughout the chorus which is also part of Lady Gaga’s iconic style. Some of her older songs incorporate foreign language as well like “Bad Romance” and “Born This Way” which have some French and Italian phrases.
I love the combination of different pop styles throughout “Mayhem”. It feels like a tribute to the timeline of Lady Gaga’s pop career. I think it is her best album yet. I have my favorites, but there aren’t any songs on this album, that I hate and I have listened to them all many times. Some “Mayhem” concerts have been announced in April and there are swirling rumors of a 2025 Lady Gaga Mayhem tour. I am anxiously waiting for those to be confirmed. In the meantime, this little monster is so excited that Mother is back!