Lady Gaga Faces Her Inner Fears on New Single “Disease”

Lady Gaga recently debuted her new single, “Disease.” It’s the first release from her upcoming (as yet unnamed) seventh studio album, due in 2025.

She released Chromatica in 2020, which became her sixth album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “Disease” was written by Gaga, Michael Polansky, Andrew Watt, and Cirkut. It’s a return to the singer’s familiar electro-pop sound after a recent collection of mostly American standards.

Somebody, Call the Doctor

On first listen, “Disease” can be read as a lifeline for someone else, a partner who’s given up on romantic entanglements.

There are no more tears to cry
I heard you begging for life
Running out of medicine
You’re worse than you’ve ever been

However, Gaga appears to be singing to herself, or the anxiety that grips her—makes her feel out of control, having submitted to a downward spiral.

Screaming for me, baby
Like you’re gonna die
Poison on the inside
I could be your antidote tonight

Chaos and Turmoil

Posting on social media, Gaga said, “I think a lot about the relationship I have with my own inner demons. It’s never been easy for me to face how I get seduced by chaos and turmoil. It makes me feel claustrophobic.”

I could play the doctor, I can cure your disease
If you were a sinner, I could make you believe
Lay you down like one, two, three
Eyes roll back in ecstasy
I can smell your sickness, I can cure you
Cure your disease

“‘Disease’ is about facing that fear, facing myself and my inner darkness, and realizing that sometimes I can’t win or escape the parts of myself that scare me. That I can try and run from them but they are still part of me and I can run and run but eventually I’ll meet that part of myself again, even if only for a moment,” she said.

Suburban Nightmare

Tanu Muino directed the gothic music video for “Disease,” which features Gaga facing down various versions of herself. Parris Goebel choreographed Gaga moving through a seemingly peaceful suburban neighborhood, and the Edward Scissorhands vibe is perfectly timed for Halloween.

Her video brings to mind the Nine Inch Nails video for “Closer.” In one scene, the visuals hint at fetishism and S&M. Perhaps the point where one enjoys wallowing in their misery. Gaga repeatedly fights the urge to submit and battles her dark demons until she’s bloodied, bruised, and crushed by closing walls.

Pop music may currently exist in the age of Chappell Roan and Charli XCX, but “Disease” shows Gaga at her most daring. Also, she still possesses one of the most extraordinary voices in pop music.

Here’s Gaga!

In the same social media post, Gaga added, “I am the conductor of my own symphony.  I am every actor in the plays that are my art and my life. No matter how scary the question, the answers are inside of me.”

“Disease” is a fitting song to premiere following her portrayal of Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux. It brings to mind her rendition of “The Joker” on her Joker companion album Harlequin. The lonely clown, a fool for the people.

Ultimately, what it gets at is a loss of control. In “Disease,” Gaga faces her fear, locates a cure, and wrestles back control to not only conduct her symphony but also compose the score.

Like any good horror film, the conclusion remains open-ended. Gaga sings she can cure the disease. But did she or will she? Maybe the answer will be revealed in LG7 when Gaga returns.

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Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation