Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars. Getty Images (2)
Lady Gaga teamed up with Bruno Mars for their “Die With a Smile” duet, marking her first single in two years.
The mid-tempo love song sees Gaga and Mars croon, “If the world was ending / I’d wanna be next to you.” On the chorus, the Grammy winners sing, “I wanna hold you just for a while / And die with a smile.” Gaga and Mars, both 38, also dropped a music video for the single on Thursday, August 15.
Hours prior to its release, Gaga teased the collab via social media, writing, “WHILE YOU WAIT TILL LG7,” referring to her upcoming album that does not yet have a release date.
Along with the tease, Gaga shared a photo of the musicians dressed in country-inspired costumes. Gaga wore a vibrant blue dress with a red scarf tied around her neck in a large bow and matching red tights.
The Oscar winner styled her hair high to the sky with bold curls reminiscent of Dolly Parton’s iconic locks. Gaga topped off the look with exaggerated eyeliner, blue nail polish and held onto a cigarette.
Mars wore a matching blue suit with embroidered details, a red shirt, diamond belt buckle and white cowboy hat. He shared the same promo photo with his Instagram followers, captioning it, “Song and video tonight! 9pm PT ♥️.”
Mars previously hinted at his new song with Gaga by sharing a photo of himself on Wednesday, August 14, wearing a T-shirt with her name across the front. The “That’s What I Like” singer pointed to Gaga’s moniker on the tee, which also featured a skull with pink hair, and captioned it with a sunglass emoji.
“Die With a Smile” is Mars’ first duet with Gaga. It is also his first single since 2022’s “After Last Night” with his Silk Sonic bandmate, Anderson .Paak.
Despite the lull in new music, Mars has been keeping himself busy, touring both internationally and in the U.S. He will be playing in California and Las Vegas through the end of the month and then heading to Taiwan in September before ending his tour back in Las Vegas in December.
Gaga, for her part, hasn’t released new music since 2022’s “Hold My Hand” from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack. The Grammy winner has since been working on Joker: Folie à Deux, in which she plays Harley Quinn. The movie — which also stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, a.k.a. Arthur Fleck — hits theaters in October.
As fans eagerly await the musical drama’s premiere, some have become impatient wondering when Gaga will be dropping her next album. Gaga confirmed in March that she was in fact working on something fresh. (Her last solo album was 2020’s Chromatica, followed by Love for Sale with the late Tony Bennett in 2021.)
“I can’t remember a time I was so happy on my bday. I am in love with my best friend, my family and friends are loving and kind and healthy,” Gaga wrote via Instagram, referring to her now-fiancé, Michael Polansky. “I feel like my heart is bursting with gratitude for my own health and music. I am writing some of my best music in as long as I can remember…”
She added: “Thank you thank you thank you for loving me the way you do and for having such a real love for my songs. I’ve been writing pop songs since I was a little girl. I can’t believe I still get to do what I love.”
Three months later, Gaga shut down a fan’s plea for “LG7!” during one of her June shows in Las Vegas. She cheekily replied, “Not tonight!”