Lady Gaga has candidly shared her struggles with isolation and the complexities of fame, particularly during her meteoric rise as a pop star. Since breaking onto the music scene in 2009, she has experienced an unparalleled level of public scrutiny and adulation.
The loneliness behind the spotlight
Despite being surrounded by fans and constant media attention, Gaga revealed that the intense scrutiny made her feel profoundly alone. In a revealing moment from the 2017 documentary Five Foot Two, she told her stylist, “I’m alone, Brandon. Every night. I go from everyone touching me all day and talking at me all day to total silence.” Now, at 38 and happily engaged to tech entrepreneur Michael Polansky, she reflects on how those years of solitude fueled her biggest fear: living life alone.
“I think my biggest fear was doing this by myself – doing life on my own,” she tells the BBC.
Gaga credits her engagement to Polansky as a transformative experience, stating, “I think that the greatest gift has been meeting my partner, Michael, and being in the mayhem with him.” The couple, who began their relationship in 2020, made headlines last September when they announced their engagement at the Venice Film Festival. Gaga showcased her stunning engagement ring, adorned with an oval-cut diamond set in a unique band, but she places even more significance on a smaller ring made with blades of grass that Polansky used to propose.
Artistry and personal growth in ‘Mayhem’
Gaga’s recent work, her new album Mayhem, marks a notable return to her pop roots after a period of exploring different genres, including jazz and classical music. The artist expresses gratitude to Polansky for encouraging her to embrace her pop identity again, saying, “He was like, ‘Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music.’” This fresh direction reflects her earlier hits while incorporating a new depth, as seen in tracks like “Blade of Grass,” which metaphorically addresses love amidst darkness.
In the album, she confronts her past celebrity status. The song “Perfect Celebrity” offers a raw exploration of her relationship with fame, as she sings, “I became a notorious being.” Gaga describes it as her most personal and arguably angriest song about the pressures of being in the spotlight, revealing the duality she has navigated between her public persona and private self.
Gaga’s evolving artistry is evident not only in her music but also in her approach to connecting with fans. Last summer, she surprised fans in Paris by sharing early demos of her new work, a nostalgic return to her roots of spontaneous interaction with her audience. “This has been something I’ve done for almost 20 years, where I played my fans my music way before it came out,” she reminisces.
As she continues to grow personally and professionally, Gaga emphasizes the importance of integrating her personal and public identities. “I think what I actually realised is that it’s healthier to not have a dividing line and to integrate those two things into one whole human being,” she explains. This newfound wholeness has allowed her to reclaim ownership of her music, empowering her to redefine her legacy.
With Mayhem, Lady Gaga not only returns to her signature sound but also embraces the complexity of her journey, culminating in a narrative of love and self-acceptance. As she puts it, “I wanted Mayhem to have an ending. I wanted the chaos to stop. I stepped away from the icon. It ends with love.”