How Should Lady Gaga Feel About the Early Response to Her ‘Mayhem’ Album?

Lady Gaga is over a decade and a half into her superstar career, and with this March’s Mayhem she’s proving to still be one of the most reliable performers in pop music.

The acclaimed new set debuts atop the Billboard 200 this week (dated Mar. 23) — her seventh time topping the chart, albeit with a smaller first-week number (219,000) than her previous set of originals, 2020’s Chromatica (274,000), according to Luminate. “Die With a Smile,” Gaga’s smash duet with Bruno Mars, also holds at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while pre-release hit “Abracadabra” returns to the chart’s top 20, and eight other songs from the set populate the chart’s lower half.

How should Gaga feel about her latest set’s entrance? And where do we rate it within her catalog? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. ‎Mayhem debuts atop the Billboard 200 with 219,000 equivalent album units. On a scale from 1-10, how happy should Gaga be with that first-week performance?

Katie Atkinson: 9. There are no guarantees in the music industry, even with a track record like Gaga’s, so to secure the No. 1 spot with a hefty first-week number can only be seen as a win. Considering this album rollout ostensibly began with the release of “Die With a Smile” back in August, the way she’s been able to build interest over the last eight-ish months — reaching a pop culture crescendo with the interest around last month’s “Abracadabra” — is honestly a master class in pre-release buzz.

Stephen Daw: I’d say a 9 is appropriate here. A No. 1 debut is a No. 1 debut, and to do it with the biggest numbers from a female artist thus far in 2025 — and the biggest streaming week of Gaga’s career — is a pretty incredible feat for a performer who is nearly 20 years into her career. The only reason I’m not immediately going to 10 is simply because of the number itself — the album did better in its first week than 2016’s Joanne, but is still behind all of her other studio albums in first-week gains. I’m sure it would have been nice for Gaga to break the 300,000 mark for the first time since Born This Way’s release, but Mayhem‘s success is still a huge deal.

Kyle Denis: A solid 7. Coming back with an acclaimed record that opened with 200k+ after a year of flop movies and soundtracks is a win, plain and simple. Now that final number being below the opening week totals for Chromatica is a bit curious – especially considering there seems to be more passion for the music of Mayhem versus its predecessor – but still nothing to scoff at. 

Jason Lipshutz: A 9. Longtime pop purveyors have lived through various reports of Lady Gaga’s commercial demise — from the 99-cent Born This Way price tag to the multimedia mixed bag of Artpop to the slow start of Joanne to the two-thumbs-down response to Joker: Folie a Deux — and they have all been greatly exaggerated. As she approaches the two-decade mark of her breakthrough, Gaga is not only still collecting hits, but can command enough attention around a new full-length that it debuts with a six-figure total, the best bow of 2025 by a woman artist. This strong opening week number should be treated as a marker of continued longevity, and be celebrated.

Andrew Unterberger: Let’s say an 8. The number isn’t overwhelming, but it’s very solid — and we should note that the superior Chromatica number came when ticket and merch bundles were still counted towards the Billboard 200, which certainly helped that debut performance. Mostly, Gaga should be thrilled that fans are as excited about the album as they are, and that in a pop era overrun by stars who bear both her direct and indirect influence, she still makes a big impact every time out.

2. “Die With a Smile” remains the best-performing song on the set, holding at No. 2 on the Hot 100 this week. The song’s placement as the album’s final track has proven controversial among fans — do you think it earns its inclusion on the set?

Katie Atkinson: I think the end of the track list is the exact right spot. In interviews, Gaga has compared Mayhem to “one night out,” so that would make “Die With a Smile” the point in the night when you exit the club, shield your eyes from the early-morning sun, and fantasize about going to the ends of the earth (or the end times, in this case) with someone you only just met. Tacking what could have been a one-off duet onto your track list could look calculated, but I think Gaga putting it in the final spot makes it feel like an artistic choice instead.

Stephen Daw: Not really, and that’s okay! “Die With a Smile” was not conceived as a Mayhem track, and it does show. While the album’s final run of songs with “The Beast” and “Blade of Grass” does help transition into the song’s romantic balladry, “Die With a Smile” stands out on this album as more of an epilogue than anything else. But, because the track doesn’t show up until the very end of the album, it ultimately isn’t the biggest deal that it’s a bit misplaced — by the time you arrive at Gaga and Bruno’s megahit, you’ve already gotten the full Mayhem experience. 

Kyle Denis: Sure? It’s really a symptom of the chart world that we live in that an artist can’t just let a monster standalone single remain standalone. Nonetheless, to Gaga’s credit, she does make a valiant effort to sequence the album in a way that connects “Die With a Smile” with the rest of the tracklist, but it’s still a bit jarring hearing Bruno’s voice out of the blue when you listen to the album from front to back.

Jason Lipshutz: Of course! It’s the definition of a victory lap on Mayhem — removed tonally from the uptempo electro-pop, but a current smash that concludes the full-length on a triumphant note, and is too important to Gaga’s career trajectory to simply float on as a single without a host album. This deep into the streaming age, it’s hard to quibble with any artist tacking a big single onto the end of an album to help boost streaming totals… but in this instance, the decision feels artistically sound, and is well-earned.

Andrew Unterberger: Not particularly, but it’s forgivable.

3. Of the set’s other tracks, “Abracadabra” also peeks its head back into the top 20 (at No. 19, after previously reaching a No. 12 peak) while another eight of the album’s tracks can be found in the Hot 100’s bottom half. Do you think “Abracadabra” has cemented itself as the album’s biggest Gaga-only hit, or do you think one of the newer songs will eventually come to challenge it?

Katie Atkinson: On my first listen, “How Bad Do U Want Me” was so undeniably catchy that I would be surprised if it doesn’t eventually find its way to pop radio. A lot of the release-week headlines focused on whether Taylor Swift might have been involved in the song, thanks to fan theories online, and it makes sense that a song that recalls the radio-dominating Swift – but is undeniably Gaga at the same time – would fit right in at top 40.

Stephen Daw: If Gaga chooses not to give any of her other tracks the single treatment, then “Abracadabra” is going to be Mayhem’s big solo hit for Gaga, no question. Fans love the song, her performance of the track on Saturday Night Live is being rightfully praised, and the gothic music video continues to inspire new trends online. 

But I would bet on Gaga having at least one more single up her sleeve for this album’s release — Gaga historically loves to put out a post-album single just a couple weeks after the set’s release (see Joanne’s “Million Reasons,” Chromatica’s “911,” Born This Way’s “Marry the Night,” and so on). If she were to put together a splashy music video ahead of her Coachella performance next month for fan-loved tracks like “Garden of Eden” or “Shadow of Man,” Gaga could easily have another hit on her hands —  one that might even make “Abracadabra” disappear. 

Kyle Denis: For the time being, “Abracadabra” is definitely the album’s biggest Gaga-only hit, but it’s not like “Disease” put up much of a fight. I know “Perfect Celebrity” and “Killah” are getting a lot of love right now – and “Garden of Eden” snagged the key F1 sync – but my money is on “Vanish Into You.” It’s got that kind of wistful-but-still-danceable feel that sent tracks like Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” to No. 1 around this time last year.

Jason Lipshutz: I prefer other vibes on Mayhem to the maximalist pop of “Abracadabra,” from the downhill motion of “Shadow of a Man” to the slinkiness of “Killah” to the icy arena-rock of “Perfect Celebrity,” and we’ll see where this album campaign goes in the coming months. But for now, “Abracadabra” has clearly struck a chord, harkening back to Gaga eras of yore while also unfurling an enormous new hook and brash visuals. At this moment, I’d be surprised if another solo Gaga song from Mayhem overtakes it as a bigger top 20 hit on the Hot 100.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s been a pretty long time since a Gaga album produced a major post-album-release hit — the only one I can think of in the past 10 years is “Bloody Mary,” which of course came from an album released a whole decade earlier. So I’m guessing “Abracadabra” will reign pretty unchallenged, but I’m certainly rooting for “How Bad Do U Want Me” or “Perfect Celebrity.”

4. Gaga’s media approach to this album was very old-school in its zone-flooding, with the pop star embracing both newer and traditional forms of media and promotion and generally making herself unmissable in the leadup to the set. From the early response to the album, do you think that approach has proven to be a successful one — and why did or didn’t it work?

Katie Atkinson: Oh, it worked. And it maybe its my own personal fondness for Gaga, but it never felt oversaturated. I think it was the variety of appearances – from a lie-detector test, to hosting SNL, to eating hot wings – that kept the audience from getting bored of her. In short, I think she nailed it.

Stephen Daw: As someone who had the honor of interviewing Gaga for this project, I am unbiased and 100% objective in saying that this strategy worked and she should definitely keep doing it. 

Big press tours like this can be risky today because fans can smell desperation — if you come across looking too much like you’re selling a product, they will push back against the appearances as advertisements. But Gaga never appeared even slightly insincere in her various interviews ahead of Mayhem; she seemed genuinely stoked for her fans to get to hear her new songs. Had another, less engaged artist attempted a similar run with their media appearances ahead of an album drop, it probably wouldn’t have worked. But because it was Gaga, making herself as available as possible to a fanbase that really wanted to hear from her, this full court press worked wonders. 

Kyle Denis: I think it’s definitely proven successful. Her SNL performances really sold the full scope of Mayhem, and she leaned into fan service by teasing a “Telephone” continuation multiple times. With her biggest streaming debut ever, another Billboard 200 No. 1 and yet another 200k+ opening week, it’s hard to argue against the strategy. Retrospectively, however, I do wish Team Gaga rallied around one song to pull off a release week top 10 debut on the Hot 100; “Smile” being the only current top 10 hit from the album isn’t the best look. 

Jason Lipshutz: Everyone is aware of Lady Gaga — who she is, what she stands for, where to listen to her ubiquitous smash with Bruno Mars. But what the media blitz leading up to Mayhem accomplished was making even the most casual fan aware that Gaga was back with a new album on March 7, via performances, interviews, promotional opportunities and viral sound bites. Flooding the zone gave the entire mainstream a heads-up to check out her new album when it arrived on streaming services earlier this month, and based on the No. 1 debut and equivalent albums unit total, that strategy worked very well.

Andrew Unterberger: We’ve covered this pretty extensively elsewhere, but yeah — the entire campaign was an unquestioned W for Gaga and her team.

5. After getting to live with it for about a week and a half, where are you currently rating Mayhem within the Gaga catalog?

Katie Atkinson: Whew, this is tough. I think I have it in an arm-wrestling match with Chromatica for the No. 4 spot, after The Fame Monster, The Fame and Born This Way. Right now, Mayhem has the edge, because I’m really feeling its more throwback vibes, but catch me on another day and Chromatica could jump back up.

Stephen Daw: Mayhem is Gaga’s best album in over a decade, period. I would still put it just below her earliest studio projects — The Fame, The Fame Monster and Born This Way are considered modern pop masterpieces for a reason — but above the rest of her discography.

Kyle Denis: In terms of her solo studio albums, this is comfortably in a distant third behind The Fame Monster and Born This Way for me. If we’re adding in the Tony Bennett collab albums, Cheek to Cheek might have something to say. But don’t let me get to talking about the soft spot I have for Harlequin! 

Jason Lipshutz: Pretty high! I loved Chromatica as a return to the bold pop of her early days, and while I think her 2020 album had higher peaks, the more time I spend with Mayhem, the more consistent it sounds. For now, I’d probably slot behind The Fame/Fame Monster and Chromatica, and on the same plane as Gaga’s most underrated album, Artpop.

Andrew Unterberger: Just a half-notch below Chromatica for me as far as her best album since her opening trio goes — but together with its predecessor, a really great reclamation of her pop legacy and confirmation that she’s still one of the all-time greats.