Her new album is a work of self-citation, rummaging around in Gaga’s own past for inspiration. It’s also, somehow, the freshest collection of songs she has released in years.

The idea of big fun suggests the existence of little fun, and Lady Gaga is now the kind of pop star who can do both. “Just Dance.” Meat dress. Being carried down the red carpet at the Grammys inside an egg.

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard 200 dated Mar. 22, we look at whether the latest album from one of the century's greatest pop stars will return her to the top of the chart for the first time in five years.

It is as complete a statement about who Lady Gaga is in 2025 as anything could be. MAYHEM repositions Gaga as a dance diva heavily indebted to the icons who came before her to an audience as likely to know her for wearing a meat dress as for performing with Tony Bennett.

Lady Gaga’s Mayhem marks her return to dance-pop, featuring the hit "Die With a Smile." After a tough 2024, the album is poised for a No. 1 debut.

It was November 2023 when Lady Gaga and Will.i.am were spotted mysteriously leaving a restaurant with giant folders in their hands. A PopCrave tweet reported the occasion to be a “four-hour dinner,” and the pair of musicians were photographed leaving separately.