For all her dedication to increasing — and typically to exploding — the boundaries of excellent style in pop music, Girl Gaga by no means goes lengthy with out dropping a killer ballad to remind you what a basically gifted singer she is.
Consider the countrified “Million Reasons.” Consider the flag-waving “Hold My Hand.” Suppose, particularly, of “Shallow,” her and Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-winning duet from their remake of “A Star Is Born.” Every reveals a special side of Gaga’s inventive persona whereas showcasing a voice that may mix tenderness and ferocity.
Her newest is one other duet, “Die With a Smile,” through which she and Bruno Mars play lovers on the finish of the world amid a shimmering but muscular manufacturing that pulls from rock, nation and R&B. (The tune was written by Gaga, Mars, Andrew Watt, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II and James Fauntleroy and produced by the singers, Watt and D’Mile.) Launched in August, simply as Gaga was ramping up promotion for her function in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” “Die With a Smile” has since racked up greater than 1.2 billion streams on Spotify. This week it’s the highest-charting nonholiday tune on Billboard’s Scorching 100 at No. 6.
Now the tune is nominated for 2 prizes on the 67th Grammy Awards in February: pop duo/group efficiency — which Gaga received in 2019 with “Shallow” and once more in 2021 together with her and Ariana Grande’s “Rain on Me” — and tune of the 12 months, for which she’s been nominated three earlier occasions.
Girl Gaga, who’s 38 and engaged to tech entrepreneur Michael Polansky, spoke in regards to the tune — in addition to the upcoming album that her followers consult with as LG7 and her reserving as a headliner at subsequent 12 months’s Coachella competition — between video shoots this week at a Santa Monica recording studio. She was sporting an elaborate white robe with an extended prepare and pointy shoulders, and her braided blond hair was tucked beneath a headscarf for a vaguely “Midsommar”-ish look.
My understanding is that “Die With a Smile” grew out of a late-night cellphone name from Bruno.We had been speaking about working collectively, and we have been making an attempt to determine what we have been gonna do. He referred to as me and he mentioned, “I have this idea.” I actually wished to listen to what he was doing, so I went over there actually late and he performed me the beginning of this concept. He had a pair completely different concepts, however I mentioned, “This one is a love song — I think people would love to hear us do a love song.”
What grabbed you in what he had?It was the lyrics — this concept of a tune that was about what we might do if the world was ending. I simply keep in mind feeling prefer it was a tune that folks wanted to listen to. I write music on a regular basis, and typically you’re feeling such as you’re making one thing that some folks will like. However there’s different occasions that you simply work on one thing and also you simply comprehend it’s gonna deeply communicate to all completely different sorts of individuals. I knew it immediately.
Nice chords on this tune.Lush, lovely chords. Really, that was one of many first issues we did. I sat down on the piano and was like, “OK, Bruno, show me the chords.” I don’t suppose he knew how a lot of a musician I used to be.
It’s type of onerous to put the tune in time, although the ’70s is unquestionably a part of it.That concord within the refrain. I believe the music of that point form of outlined what timeless is — a traditional, ? Typically after I’m within the studio, I’m deliberately not pondering traditional.
You’re making an attempt to ascertain one thing that’s by no means been carried out.Yeah, possibly it’s a bit bit avant-garde, or it’s odd. I really like odd issues, however this was extra about magnificence and sincerity. And it’s easy.
For me the tune evokes a few traditional duets: Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle’s “On My Own” and “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.I used to be fascinated by Carole King and James Taylor. There was one thing so particular after they carried out collectively — it was all about what they have been saying to one another. However I believe “Die With a Smile” is a novel tune in a method in 2024. We’re saying some s— that’s possibly not taking place on each report.
It definitely doesn’t slot in with what else is on the radio proper now.I don’t suppose we have been fearful about that. I prefer to not slot in.
You’ve returned to ballads commonly all through your profession.I’m pondering of 1 report I didn’t placed on my [upcoming] album that’s really… I’d put it out so I don’t wish to share the identify. You virtually acquired me [laughs]. It’s really very fragile and never large — one of many first occasions I’ve ever carried out that. However I like large ballads. You may sing alongside about love in a giant method. I really like emotional, dramatic music, whether or not it’s James Taylor and Carole King or it’s David Lee Roth.
How would you outline the visible model you and Bruno have adopted for “Die With a Smile”?We have been taking a look at selection reveals and imagining that we have been a tv couple. But additionally I mentioned to Bruno, “I’m still gonna be one of the boys.” One of many nice honors of being on a tune with Bruno Mars is the best way he regards me. I didn’t wish to simply be the spouse. So within the video, she type of takes issues into her personal fingers. You additionally get the sensation that it is a couple that’s been doing this for a very long time. This was actually the primary time Bruno and I ever did something, so isn’t it attention-grabbing that it looks like we’ve sung collectively earlier than?
You’re each professionals.Yeah, however typically it doesn’t occur that method. There’s a naturalness — he’s like a brother. We each like to rehearse too. That’s one thing we’ve in frequent.
Within the video you’re smoking a cigarette till the final doable second earlier than your verse.I wished to create the illusion of a personality who had one thing to say. And it’s barely subversive — like, you’re speaking in regards to the world ending and I’m having a cigarette. There’s one thing type of darkish about it.
“We were looking at variety shows and imagining that we were a television couple,” Girl Gaga says of her and Bruno Mars’ search for “Die With a Smile.”
(John Esparza)
The way in which this tune dropped into the world made me surprise a few connection to “Joker” or to “Harlequin,” the album of jazz requirements you made to accompany the film. In your thoughts, does “Die With a Smile” exist in that world?I don’t suppose so. I imply, this was not meant to be for that. However that was taking place in my life on the time we wrote it and made it, so it’s onerous to say no solely as a result of this stuff at all times ricochet off one another. I do suppose that the humor we discovered within the video will need to have been one thing that was bouncing round inside me — this concept of a tragic story that has some comedy. Singing about dying just isn’t one thing you’d affiliate with smiling, however in some way all of it is sensible when you consider the sweetness of what we’re making an attempt to say.
Is the tune linked to no matter’s taking place on LG7?Completely. “Die With a Smile” is on my report — it’s an enormous a part of my album. It was like this lacking piece. The report is stuffed with my love of music — so many various genres, so many various kinds, so many various desires. It leaps round style in a method that’s virtually corrupt. And it ends with love. That’s the reply to all of the chaos in my life is that I discover peace with love. Each tune that I wrote, I simply stored getting type of swept away in these completely different desires I used to be having in regards to the previous — virtually like a recollection of all these dangerous choices that I made in my life. But it surely ends on this very blissful place.
You’re headlining Coachella in April, which will likely be your second time there after performing in 2017. When the announcement got here out, you mentioned, “I’ve had a vision I’ve never been able to fully realize at Coachella” and that you simply’ve “been wanting to go back and to do it right.” Are you able to elaborate?Effectively, for causes completely exterior of my management, there was a cancellation —
Beyoncé pulled out in 2017 as a result of she was pregnant, and also you stepped in.I actually wished to be there for music followers, and on the time there was all this pleasure to have the ability to movie bits of “A Star Is Born” at Coachella. However I solely had two weeks [to prepare for the show]. And so to design a stage, to have it made, all of these issues — I didn’t have the time to completely do what I actually wished to do. I really like music. I really like performing. I really like music followers. And I used to be so excited to movie items of our film there. So I did it, and I liked it. However when you’ve got a imaginative and prescient in your thoughts of the way you wish to do one thing? It’s time to make it occur.
What’s your vibe on music festivals?Music festivals to me are a part of the neighborhood of music. I used to go to Bonnaroo so much, really, after I was youthful. It’s a spot to simply put pause on the whole lot for a minute. You fall into all people round you, and also you fall into the music and the lights. I don’t suppose there’s something that’s affected me as deeply in my life as reside music. There’s one thing for me that’s faith about it.
You performed the ultimate dates of your jazz present in Las Vegas in July. Suppose you’ll do it once more?I’m positively gonna be singing jazz sooner or later, for certain. Jazz is simply this large a part of my coronary heart. I liked it my complete life, and it was so thrilling after I acquired to do it with Tony [Bennett]. And I liked making “Harlequin” — that was actually a particular, particular expertise. Arranging that music is an actual course of. Discovering the correct sound is an actual course of.
There’s one thing barely manic to my ears about “Harlequin.”“Manic” is the correct phrase. There’s surf-punk affect on the album. There’s doom-jazz affect on the album. There’s New Orleans affect on the album. It was by means of the lens of a lady that desires to be whoever she desires each time she feels prefer it — a lady that can gentle the stage on hearth if she feels prefer it. In a method, it was type of defiant: Once I’ve sung jazz for many of my profession, I believe that some folks actually liked it and different folks by no means understood why I deviated to different genres. The fantastic thing about why I make information is I really like studying about music. I liked working with Tony. I liked making “Harlequin.” I liked collaborating with all of the DJs and Gesaffelstein on my new album. I liked studying about industrial music and about all of the completely different crevices of digital music, after which I liked working with Bruno. One of many issues I’ve most likely been judged for in my profession was not sticking to at least one factor. However not sticking to at least one factor is my life drive.
