Lady Gaga has triumphantly returned to the top of the music charts with her seventh studio album “Mayhem,” which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in March 2025. The album launched with 219,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States during its opening week, marking the biggest weekly total for an album by a woman in 2025 .
“Mayhem” was officially announced on January 27, 2025, following a countdown on Gaga’s website, with promotional posters appearing in New York City featuring a black-and-white photograph of the artist accompanied by the album’s title and March 7 release date . The announcement followed months of anticipation after Gaga initially indicated the album would arrive in February during promotional activities for “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
Chart Performance and Industry Impact
Of the album’s 219,000 first-week equivalent album units, album sales comprised 136,000, making it the top-selling album of the week, while streaming equivalent album units totaled 80,500, equaling 108.05 million on-demand official streams . This achievement represents Gaga’s biggest streaming week ever and her seventh number one album on the Billboard 200.
The success extends beyond the album chart, with ten songs from “Mayhem” charting on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “Die With a Smile” featuring Bruno Mars at number two . This collaboration had previously spent five weeks at number one and broke Spotify records as the fastest song to surpass both 1 billion streams in 96 days and 2 billion streams in 200 days .
The achievement ties Gaga with Janet Jackson for the fifth-most number one albums among women in the Billboard 200’s history, behind Taylor Swift with 14, Barbra Streisand with 11, Madonna with nine, and Beyoncé with eight .
Album Details and Creative Process
The 14-track album includes singles “Disease,” “Abracadabra,” and “Die With A Smile” with Bruno Mars, alongside titles such as “Perfect Celebrity,” “LoveDrug,” and “Killah” featuring Gesaffelstein . Gaga described the creative process in her initial album announcement, stating the album “started as me facing my fear of returning to the pop music my earliest fans loved” and compared the process to “reassembling a shattered mirror: even if you can’t put the pieces back together perfectly, you can create something beautiful and whole in its own new way” .
The album was recorded at Rick Rubin’s studio Shangri-La in Malibu, California, and features collaboration with producers Andrew Watt, Cirkut, and Gesaffelstein, resulting in what has been described as a “chaotic blur of genres,” mainly synth-pop, with industrial dance influences and elements of electro, disco, funk, industrial pop, rock and pop rock .
In a December interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gaga described the album as “full of her love of music” and composed of “so many different genres, so many different styles, so many different dreams,” noting that “it leaps around genre in a way that’s almost corrupt” and “ends with love” .
Commercial Strategy and Physical Sales
The album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across multiple editions: 14 vinyl variants, four CD editions, a cassette tape, a deluxe CD box set with branded merchandise, and two widely available download albums . Vinyl purchases comprised 74,000 of the total sales, representing Gaga’s career-best total in vinyl sales .
The album topped charts in 23 countries and reached number two in France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, achieving the largest first-week sales of 2025 for a female album and earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America .
The Mayhem Ball Tour
Supporting the album’s success, Gaga announced The Mayhem Ball, her eighth concert tour spanning 87 shows across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania, which began on July 16, 2025, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, United States, and is scheduled to conclude on April 13, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York City .
The tour has drawn rave reviews from critics, with The New York Times calling it a “deliciously campy extravaganza” and describing Gaga as “operating at the peak of her powers,” while Rolling Stone highlighted that she “didn’t just revisit Coachella—she expanded it, sharpened it, sprinkled in some nostalgia, and fully realized the gothic dream” .
The first North American leg grossed over $103 million from 27 reported shows, becoming her highest-grossing run in any territory, with the tour projected to surpass $300 million overall .
Awards Recognition and Critical Reception
Mayhem has received critical acclaim with reviewers deeming it a strong return to form to Gaga’s pop roots, specifically “The Fame” era, and became her highest-rated release on Metacritic . The album has achieved nine total Grammy nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, making it the most nominated album of Lady Gaga’s career, including nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album .
Gaga has made Grammy history by becoming the first artist to have her work nominated across the entire Pop & Dance/Electronic fields, and the first artist ever to be nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in the same year . With five career Album of the Year nominations, she now ranks fourth among women in Grammy history for most nominations in the category.
Throughout 2025, the album received multiple award recognitions, including a nomination for Best Album at the MTV Video Music Awards, a win for Album of the Year at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards, and a nomination for Best International Album at the Los 40 Music Awards .
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Lady Gaga’s new album Mayhem released?
Lady Gaga’s seventh studio album “Mayhem” was released on March 7, 2025, through Streamline and Interscope Records, following an official announcement on January 27, 2025.
How did Mayhem perform on the charts?
Mayhem debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 219,000 equivalent album units in its first week, marking Gaga’s seventh chart-topping album and the biggest debut for a female artist in 2025. The album also topped charts in 23 countries worldwide.
What are the hit singles from Mayhem?
The album’s major singles include “Disease” (the lead single released in October 2024), “Die With a Smile” featuring Bruno Mars (which spent five weeks at number one), and “Abracadabra” (debuted at the 2025 Grammy Awards). Ten songs from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
Is Lady Gaga touring for the Mayhem album?
Yes, Gaga is currently on The Mayhem Ball tour, which began in July 2025 and is scheduled to conclude in April 2026. The tour spans 87 shows across multiple continents and has been praised for its theatrical production and staging.
How many Grammy nominations did Mayhem receive?
Mayhem received nine Grammy nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, making it the most nominated album of Gaga’s career. This includes nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, marking Gaga’s fifth nomination in the Album of the Year category.
What genre is the Mayhem album?
Mayhem has been described as a “chaotic blur of genres,” primarily synth-pop with industrial dance influences, incorporating elements of electro, disco, funk, industrial pop, rock, and pop rock. Gaga described it as genre-bending music that draws from her knowledge of music history.