The Musician Insight

The pop collaboration of the year: a pure love ballad

After her latest album in 2021, Love For Sale, the superstar Lady Gaga is back with her new single Die With A Smile, promising an eight album soon, one that could take a similar path to Joanne (2016) with a more acoustic and rock inspired production.

Featuring Bruno Mars, the track is pure love ballad, with musical influences ranging from soft rock, R’n’B, soul and pop, paying hommage to the music of the 70s. Written and produced by both Gaga and Mars along with James Fauntleroy, D’Mile and Andrew Watt, the musical production consists only of real instruments: electric guitar, bass, drums and piano. This production has a lot of similarities to Silk Sonic, Mars’ band with Anderson Paak, with a retro feel imbued in R’n’B and soul inspirations, but this is no coincidence, for D’Mile is also one of their producers.

While the retro feel is prominent throughout the song, the entire production also feels modern, blending musical elements from the past and the present gracefully. The lyrics are ones we could find in a classical 70s ballad, with phrases such as: ”If the party was over on Earth was through, I’d wanna hold you just for a while” and ”So I’ma love you every night like it’s the last night”. Both Gaga and Mars’ vocal performances are pure perfection, with great chemistry, complimenting each other’s voices, both transpiring their emotions with ease. Lady Gaga’s vocal technique is reminiscent to her A Star is Born era in songs like Always Remember Us This Way and I Don’t Know What Love Is,showing off her powerful and soulful vocal abilities. Mars’ vocals continue on the path of his most recent works such as his last album,  An Evening With Silk Sonic, with a more R’n’B and soul infused performance, compared to his more pop and hip-hop inspired records (e.g. That’s What I Like, 2017).

Photo © John Esparza