"Abracadabra," she rules

Interscope’s Lady Gaga has opened an extraordinary new chapter in her dazzling career.

The protean superstar and her team achieved maximum visibility during Grammy week, capped by multiple huge looks on the Grammy telecast, as they expertly paved the way for the arrival of her new album.

“Die With a Smile,” Gaga’s majestic duet with Bruno Mars, has been the biggest song in the world for a while now (yes, it’s still the global #1 at Spotify, but go ahead and check). That mega-smash, unsurprisingly, earned a trophy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance on Grammy night. But rather than perform that song, the pair pivoted to a soulful rendition of The Mamas & the Papas classic “California Dreaming” in recognition of the wildfires and the resilience of our state.

It was a move that bespoke Gaga’s typical compassion and forethought, certainly. But it was also illustrative of her preference for creating new moments rather than attempting to recapture old ones.

Speaking of which: The Grammy show was also where her new video, for single “Abracadabra,” played in its entirety in the guise of a Mastercard spot.

The financial giant may have footed the bill for the ingenious debut—the opening foray from new Gaga set MAYHEM, due 3/7—but its placement on the show, dropped in without preamble like a bolt from the blue, was trademark Janick and Berman. The aesthetics, meanwhile, were pure Gaga: A brilliantly choreographed, Gothically stylish mini-film that let her do her electrifying, freaky, shape-shifting thing on a whole new level.

Oh, and “Abracadabra” debuted in the Top 10 on Spotify’s global chart, earning Gaga the biggest (solo) DSP debut of her career, with 5m+ streams.

We should add that Gaga also made the most of her emotional acceptance speech for “Smile,” during which she stood up for the LGBTQ+ community that has been an important component of her fan base from the beginning. Her comments were part of every news story about the show.

Just before Music’s Biggest Night, the multihyphenate provided the memorable finale to the star-studded FireAid benefit—viewed on virtually every earthly streaming service. This came mere days after she announced the release date and title of the album.

In other words: a perfect setup for a great artist with a powerful point of view, designed and carried out by industry champions. What comes next? We daren’t guess, but it’s fair to assume that the MAYHEM is just beginning.