Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM – Vulnerability as Beauty
The cohesion is in the chaos.
The moment I heard the first track of MAYHEM, I knew Lady Gaga had done something extraordinary – she'd turned her darkness into something brutally honest and undeniably beautiful. This isn't just another pop album; it's a masterclass in creative vulnerability that changed how I approach my own art.
I know this is typically a photography focused newsletter, but today I'm diving into something that's been consuming my thoughts as a creative. Because at its core, this channel has always been about creativity and how our life experiences shape what we create.
What If Chaos Could Be Beautiful?
That's a question I've been asking myself while listening to Lady Gaga's newest album, MAYHEM. If you've seen her recent interviews, there's this incredible vulnerability and joy that shines through both in her as a person and in the music itself. And that's where the real beauty lies.
Why MAYHEM Hit Different For Me
What really inspired me to make this video was hearing Gaga talk about her journey through some really dark years and how she emerged from that darkness. I can relate to that after losing both my parents recently. Watching her transform that pain into MAYHEM with such honesty has been incredibly inspiring for me.
I actually posted a Thread the other day saying that MAYHEM might be her best album simply because it feels so authentically her. It's not trying to be the opulence of The Fame, the rebellion of Born This Way, the avant-garde experimentation of ArtPop, the intimacy of Joanne, or the strength of Chromatica. It's somehow all of those things and none of them at the same time.
I think Gaga's personal growth—through pain, healing, and self-acceptance—has created an album that uses vulnerability as its greatest strength.
This post I saw on IG puts it very succinctly:
Finding Your Creative Voice
In her interviews, Gaga talks about how each of her previous albums had a specific "look" to it, and I think this applies to all of us as creatives. We all draw inspiration from different sources until we experiment enough to find something new, which leads to our next creative phase.
You can hear the David Bowie and Prince influences in tracks like "Killah," just like you might see anime influences in some of my photography work, like that Philbrook shoot I did.
Songs like "Perfect Celebrity" and "Blade of Glass" sound completely different from each other, but they feel natural together because Gaga is being her most authentic self throughout. That honesty creates cohesion even when the styles vary wildly.
As creatives, we do our best work when we embrace our influences and unique perspectives. The magic happens when we're not pulling from just one source but from many different ones. The cohesion is in the chaos.
The Sound of Vulnerability
Let's dig a little deeper into some specific tracks.
Take "Blade of Grass," a beautiful ballad that came from a genuine moment of just living life. Or the raw introspection in "Disease." The confident swagger of "Killah" or my personal favorite, the pure joy of "Zombieboy." Each of these songs has a distinct emotional core.
When I think about how this translates visually, the "Abracadabra" music video is perfect. Those chaotic camera movements, the deliberate lighting choices on an otherwise empty set, the color shifts from cool tones before the bridge to warmer tones after - all taking viewers on an emotional journey.
The cohesion is in the chaos.
As photographers and artists, we can elevate our work by infusing it with emotion and making intentional choices that guide viewers through an experience. Gaga said in her Apple Music interview: "I just really wanted to constantly be a student. Not just reinvent myself, but learn something new with every record." I think we can apply that philosophy to every photograph we take, whether we share it with the world or not.
Why MAYHEM Matters
MAYHEM proves that chaos and beauty can coexist, and that true artistry comes from fearless self-expression. As creatives in any field, this is something we can all aspire to - maybe not in everything we do, but as a guiding principle. By embracing our individuality and leaning into vulnerability, we create our most authentic work.
Lady Gaga has always been known for reinvention. But with MAYHEM, she's given us something even more valuable - her unfiltered truth. And in that authenticity, she's created something truly beautiful that we can all learn from.
What do you think? Has an artist's vulnerability ever inspired your creative work? Let me know in the comments.