Maps of Music

Mayhem (2025)

Where the lyrics of Mayhem take you, and where it was really made.

The record was made in Rick Rubin's Shangri-La, the same Malibu studio where Gaga had earlier made Joanne and the A Star Is Born soundtrack.

Key places

Recorded at Rick Rubin's Shangri-La (2025)

Recording site Shangri-La — The album was recorded at Rick Rubin's studio Shangri-La in Malibu, California. Gaga also made Joanne there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording site listed at Glenwood Place (2025)

Recording site Glenwood Place Studios — The source lists Glenwood Place in Burbank as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional sessions at The Village Studios (2025)

Recording site Village Recorders — Additional recording sessions for the album took place at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles, alongside Henson Recording Studios and Shampoo Press & Curl Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Mayhem: sixth solo studio album by Lady Gaga, her eighth overall
• Released March 7, 2025 through Streamline and Interscope Records
• Mainly synth-pop, with industrial dance influences and elements of electro, disco, funk, and rock
• Themes: love, chaos, fame, identity, and desire, told through transformation, duality, and excess
• Visuals: dark, avant-garde aesthetic with gothic and cyberpunk influences
• Standard edition has 14 tracks; the digital reissue added 'The Dead Dance'

Background

• In 2022, Gaga embarked on the Chromatica Ball and began working on new material
• In March 2024, she spoke publicly about the project for the first time
• In May 2024, the concert film Gaga Chromatica Ball ended with a snippet of new music
• Her fiancé Michael Polansky recommended a pop album and encouraged her to lean in to the joy of it
• Lead single 'Disease' released October 25, 2024
• 'Abracadabra' released February 3, 2025, and reached number five on the Billboard Global 200
• The Bruno Mars duet 'Die with a Smile' was announced in December 2024 as part of the album

Recording

• Recorded at Rick Rubin's Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California
• Additional sessions at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles, Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood, and Shampoo Press & Curl Studios
• All tracks mixed at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach and mastered at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey
• Gaga said she wrote and recorded over 50 songs and selected 14 for the standard edition
• Producers include Andrew Watt, Cirkut, and Gesaffelstein

Cover

• Standard edition cover: Gaga with disheveled black hair, face slightly distorted behind shattered glass
• Photoshoot overseen by Frank Lebon
• The title names a character Gaga portrays in the music videos for 'Disease' and 'Abracadabra'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City.
• Signed with Interscope Records in 2007; Streamline Records was an Interscope imprint.
• Debut album The Fame (2008) and reissue The Fame Monster (2009) brought global recognition.

Career

• Born This Way (2011) debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 1.1 million first-week sales in the US.
• Expanded into jazz with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek (2014) and Love for Sale (2021).
• Acting: American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016), A Star Is Born (2018), House of Gucci (2021).
• Chromatica (2020) and Mayhem (2025) returned to pop; the Mayhem Ball concluded in April 2026 as her highest-grossing tour.
• Estimated sales of 124 million records; 16 Grammy Awards; 22 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Philanthropy and activism focus on mental health and LGBTQ rights; founded the Born This Way Foundation in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos rated it four stars and called it the strongest pop release of the year
• Pitchfork's Rich Juzwiak rated it 8/10 and called it a massive attack of good vibes
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis highlighted its blend of electronic, house, and disco
• The Times' Ed Potton described it as a triumphant return to the pop that first made her famous
• Variety's Steven J. Horowitz noted callbacks to her debut album, The Fame (2008)
• Billboard's Jason Lipshutz praised its big, bold hooks and the propulsive energy of the Fame Monster era
• Slant Magazine's Alexa Camp rated it three stars and called it kind of boring
• The Financial Times' Ludovic Hunter-Tilney described it as losing its way

Reappraisal

• Metacritic: universal acclaim, weighted average of 84 out of 100 from 23 critic scores, her highest-rated album
• AnyDecentMusic?: average of 7.5 out of 10 from 25 reviews
• Year-end lists: Rolling Stone ranked it number 2, Billboard number 3, The Guardian number 5

Records

• Debuted at number one in 22 countries
• United States: number one on the Billboard 200 with 219,000 album-equivalent units, her seventh chart-topper there
• United States: RIAA platinum certification on June 30, 2025
• United Kingdom: number one with 55,577 units; BPI gold on April 25, 2025
• Ninth best-selling album of 2025 globally according to IFPI
• 68th Annual Grammy Awards: nominated for Album of the Year, won Best Pop Vocal Album
• Platinum certifications in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, and the United States

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Abracadabra' samples 'Spellbound' by Siouxsie and the Banshees, which earned the band co-writing credits
• The first song Gaga wrote for the album was 'Vanish into You', and the last was 'Die with a Smile'
• Gaga had first considered naming the album Perfect Celebrity while exploring an electro-grunge sound
• 'Die with a Smile' was finished in one night during the recording sessions, after a call from Gaga and a meeting at a nearby studio
• Gaga also made Joanne and the A Star Is Born soundtrack at Shangri-La

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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