By: Justin Dedrick
Lady Gaga released her 8th studio album titled “Mayhem” on March 7th, 2025. It contains 14 total songs with a 53 minute runtime. It also has 3 songs that were released beforehand as singles or collaborations to garner excitement for the project. In this article, we’ll do a song by song review of Gaga’s newest project, and give a final ranking at the end!
Disease- 9/10
Disease was released back on October 25th, 2024, to be the first teaser of Mayhem. It peaked at 14th on the Billboard 200, and gained positive reviews by critics, sparking even more interest for the project. Gaga combines her incredible vocals with an Electro-Pop style beat to make a unique lead track. It heavily reminds me of her debut album, The Fame, where she leans more into the Electro-Pop beat combined with reverb vocals for effect. The hook is super catchy and is the best part of the song by far along with a masterful vocal performance showcasing her range of notes. An incredible way to open this album.
Abracadabra- 7.7/10
Lady Gaga released this song’s music video during the Grammys on February 3rd, 2025. Abracadabra has more of a Dance-Pop style, reminiscent of Chromatica and The Fame Monster albums. I think the hook is the worst part of this song, but even then it is not bad. I love Gaga’s first verse and it shines as the MVP of this track. I could definitely see this song being used on the radio and in clubs for its heavy beat and house elements.
Garden Of Eden- 8.2/10
This track just makes me want to dance and bop my head. It keeps up with the Dance-Pop style with a much more catchy hook than Abracadabra. The first verse is such a nice listen and opens the song really well, paving the way for a more abstract second verse. Of course with the song title, it’s a biblical reference even bringing up the poisoned apple that Adam and Eve ate in the Bible during the hook. A strong song from Gaga, and a very strong first three tracks for Mayhem.
Perfect Celebrity- 9.5/10
The beat on this one is so catchy and almost surrounds you. Her first verse is a lyrical masterpiece, opening up with the powerful lines, “I’m made of plastic like a human doll. You push and pull me, I don’t hurt at all.” It leads into the hook, which is by far the best hook on the album so far. She continues her deep lyrics into the second and third verses, making it a strong performance for the entire song. This is one of her best pop songs in a long time in my opinion.
Vanish Into You- 9.6/10
Another Dance-Pop beat featuring some string instruments, wind instruments, and synth as well for a unique combination. It opens slower but then transitions into the faster verse, then back to a slower and more vocal focused hook. This hook has me floating with captivating sound all around. The back to back of Perfect Celebrity and Vanish Into You is an exquisite 2 song run and one of the best in her career. A future summer time classic!
Killah (feat. Gesaffelstein)- 8.2/10
A drastic transition from the slower Vanish Into You, as it goes straight into an Electro-Funk beat with harder sung lyrics. This song has serious musical theater or 90s movie opening scene vibes with the flow of her lyrics in the hook, and the bass centered beat. Michael Jackson would absolutely smash this kind of beat! I think this is the weakest song of the album lyrically so far, but it is still very catchy and makes up for it with the beat and voice.
Zombieboy- 8.5/10
This song uses a faster paced beat with an interesting mix of sounds. It goes straight into the action with Gaga spitting lyrics quickly. She uses multiple different voice tones to keep the vocals fresh and change the tone of the song at each part. Lyrically it is quite basic but it fits with the type of song this is. I get late night parties on the beach vibes.
LoveDrug- 9.5/10
This song has heavy house inspired elements. Gaga puts on a lyrical masterpiece, and uses a less overpowering beat to showcase those words and meaning. Gaga definitely meant for this song to be a dancefloor classic, with everyone singing with her. A mix of feelings rushed over me during this song, making it one of my personal favorites on the entire project.
How Bad Do U Want Me- 9.8/10
Perhaps the most compelling song on the album, featuring an echoing beat and slower vocals focused on effect. The lyrics detail Gaga’s desire for someone who is seemingly in a love triangle with “the girl in your dreams.” The lyrical meaning goes deeper on this track than any song on the album, and I can tell Gaga put a lot of passion into the writing. This song also features the first F bond on the album!!! This has future classic late night love song written all over it.
Don’t Call Tonight- 9.6/10
I wanted so badly to sing along with this song and to dance with it but unfortunately I could not as I had my headphones on in the library. She utilizes more basic lyrics that still show deep meaning with love song vibes again. The beat features that electric bass/guitar sound making it catchy. It sounds as if Lady Gaga hopped on a Sabrina Carpenter beat. Another banger song from an all time Gaga album so far.
Shadow Of A Man- 8.8/10
This was Gaga’s experimental song for the album. She changes her flow and tone quite often to showcase different meanings in the lyrics. The hook and beat reminds me of Michael Jackson mixed with ABBA in a good way. Lyrically it is solid, with a lot of metaphors for love and loss.
The Beast- 7.5/10
It starts with a very subtle beat, mainly featuring Gaga’s lower voice and lyrics. As a whole this is a slower song which is a good tempo shift from some of the other songs. This song seems to be about Gaga’s battle with herself and “The Beast” inside her, referring to that beast in the third person. A very strong lyrical performance, but probably the least catchy song on the album so far.
Blade Of Grass- 9.7/10
If you thought the last song started slower, then I have some news for you. Blade Of Grass starts as just Gaga with an accompanying piano, showcasing captivating vocals and writing. One of the deepest songs on the albums and one of those songs that you just close your eyes and listen to. It was hard to find words to describe this masterpiece.
Die With A Smile (with Bruno Mars)- 9.9/10
This is the earliest track from this album released as it came out on August 16, 2024. It became the longest reigning daily number one song in Spotify history, as well as topping the Billboard 200 chart for 10 total weeks. Not only that, but it became the fastest song in Spotify history to reach 1 and 2 billion streams. It even won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo Performance. It combines Pop-Soul and Soft Rock styles with incredible vocal performances by Gaga and Bruno Mars for a near perfect song. The lyrics express both Gaga’s and Bruno’s desire to be with a loved one in a crucial moment. The deep meaning, and chilling vocals by both artists is what led to this song being a historical one, and a future classic.
Lady Gaga absolutely did not disappoint with Mayhem. It is now my personal favorite album from Gaga’s entire catalog. It did not have one bad song, and features multiple future classics in Vanish Into You, How Bad Do U Want Me, Blade Of Grass, and Die With A Smile. The lyrical and vocal performance by Lady Gaga was consistent the whole way through and carried the album alongside unique and catchy beats and instrumentals. The best album of 2025 so far.
Overall Rating- 9.5/10
Listen to “Mayhem” here: