There’s a real craft to being a musical artist in the modern age, but Lady Gaga‘s got her approach down pat.
Taylor Swift is constantly changing the game, as the massively successful artist teases future releases via social media posts, live appearances, and album inclusions, and keeps her fans intrigued and guessing with her careful — and incredibly clever — approach to marketing. It seems Lady Gaga is taking notes, because the 38-year-old sensation just teased her next song in flawless spooky season style.
The incredibly versatile star just released a fresh album in late September, and she’s been kept plenty busy over the last few months prepping for the early October release of Joker: Folie à Deux. The musical sensation isn’t known for slowing down much — she’s released a fresh album nearly every year since 2020 — but teasing a fresh track with less than a month since the last album is truly superhero.
And that’s exactly what Ms. Gaga did on Oct. 22, when a thrilling teaser landed on social media just in time for Halloween. The star’s incoming single, Disease, is set to hit the web on Friday, Oct. 25, and the imagery accompanying the incoming track is patented for the season. It features a grainy, old-school television with a classic horror image filling the background. A hand — uniquely Gaga’s, despite the warped screen — reaches to receive a monstrous grasp that could be straight out of the Hellraiser franchise.
It’s not the first teaser to ramp up hype for the track. Gaga posted to her own social medias as well, sharing what appears to be the single’s cover art. The image features a parked white car over the word “disease,” with a dark-haired woman doubled over the front, almost as if she’s been struck by the car. It invites curiosity, questions, and at least a little bit of gristly intrigue, and it got fans hyped.
Gaga’s Instagram post was already flooded with demands to “infect me mom” and promises that “on 10.25, history will be made,” but when the fresh teaser dropped, fan fervor ramped up several degrees. Comments below the Pop Base post celebrating the incoming single are practically rabid, as Gaga fans unite to celebrate the queen’s return.
The artist’s iconic style, inspired by the likes of David Bowie and Madonna, is written all over teasers for the track, and fans are convinced that the queen is set to “serve visuals” for her waiting Little Monsters. It’s also just the first of what’s to come, following an incredibly busy year for the artist. “Disease” is the lead single on Gaga’s incoming eighth studio album, which is set to release in February of 2025, following Harlequin — the Joker: Folie à Deux companion album — by less than six months. It likewise follows Gaga’s last studio album, her collaborative Love for Sale project with Tony Bennett, by around two and a half years.
The massive excitement surrounding “Disease” will serve as a nice boost to polish off 2024 for Gaga. Joker: Folie à Deux was considered a critical failure upon it’s early October release, despite praise for Gaga’s performance. After facing that disappointment, the 38-year-old icon is welcoming in all that fan positivity with open arms, and looking ahead to a delightfully spooky future.