Billboard: "Gaga's LG7: 5 Things We Want to Hear"

[palma 6,197]

As the era draws nearer, Billboard Magazine has just released a new article on LG7, in the form of a wishlist. Read below or here. 

"5 Things We Want From Lady Gaga’s Next Studio Album: Critic’s Take

From genre influences to potential collaborations, here's Billboard's wishlist for LG7.

Four years have passed since Lady Gaga released her 2020 dance-pop symphony, Chromatica, although that gap may feel like a yawning void to some. Between the seismic social shift caused by a global pandemic and a steady, mind-boggling stream of historic events in the intervening months since, the last four years have felt more like decades. 

It’s fitting, then, that Lady Gaga’s fans have grown more ravenous by the minute for her next studio album. The 38-year-old pop superstar packed her schedule after dropping Chromatica; she embarked on a globe-spanning tour, released a remix album (Dawn of Chromatica), a second set of jazz standards with the late legend Tony Bennett (Love For Sale), filmed a documentary of her tour (Gaga Chromatica Ball), and starred in two blockbuster films (2021’s House of Gucci and the upcoming 2024 film Joker: Folie à Deux). 

But it appears that, after nearly half-a-decade away, Mother Monster is ready to give fans some new music. At the end of her Chromatica Ball documentary, Gaga slipped in an 8-second clip of an unreleased song as the words “LG7 Gaga RETURNS” flashed across the screen — referencing her fans’ acronym for the singer’s seventh studio album. In a since-removed interview with Drag Race star Sasha Velour for the documentary, Gaga revealed that she’s been spending time in the studio lately “making a lot of music,” adding that she was “excited for Monsters to hear where I am now.” Most recently, Gaga gave her French fans a taste of even more new music following her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, by taking to the streets in a stretch limousine and playing two more snippets from her new album. 

While Gaga has yet to confirm any specific details about the album — there’s no word yet on a release date, a title or practically anything else about the project — Billboard decided to put together a short wish list for the long-awaited LG7. From genre influences to collaborations, here are just a few things we hope to see on Lady Gaga’s next studio album:

1. Forget About the 'Genre Album' Concept

Each time she releases a new album, Gaga proves that she is a master of creating distinct musical eras. ARTPOP incorporated a much heavier EDM sound than her past works; Joanne heralded the singer’s less-beloved country switch-up; she’s even given us two albums’ worth of jazz standards. Thanks to this trend, Little Monsters have grown accustomed to calling for an “[insert genre here] album” for LG7. Some say they want to see the LP embrace a hard rock sound, while others have hoped for a pure disco album from Mother Monster.

But why limit Gaga? On her singular masterpiece Born This Way, the genres she employed on each track were entirely dependent on the emotional undercurrent of what she wrote. Sure, let Gaga do rock, and disco, and industrial techno, and anything else that she wants to — as long as the genre fits the overall of the song she’s singing, there should be no limit to the sonic landscape of LG7.

2. Book Another A-List Collaboration

Lady Gaga is selective when it comes to featured slots on her projects — since she doesn’t do that many collaborations, the star goes out of her way to make them count when she does. Some of her biggest hits (“Shallow,” “Telephone” and “Rain on Me,” to name a few) came from Gaga’s choice of a proper collaborator. So on LG7, we’re hoping to see Gaga keep up her hot streak with another culture-breaking collaboration.

Our pitch? If Gaga continues to lean in the dark-pop direction she teased in Paris, then she should tap Kesha [] for a feature that’s been years in the making. After the release of her criminally underrated 2023 album Gag Order, Kesha is officially an independent artist again. Her latest single “Joyride,” along with the entirety of Gag Order, showed that Kesha is ready to play with her sound and take some creative risks — who better to help facilitate that process than Lady Gaga? 

3. Dance in the Dark a Little Longer

Part of what made Chromatica stand out so boldly in 2020 was its stark contrast to our lived reality at the time — while the world felt bleak and colorless in the early days of the pandemic, Gaga’s album provided vibrant escapism with its dance-pop fervor. While we love what Gaga accomplished on Chromatica, we’d like to see the “Stupid Love” singer dive deeper into a darker sound []. When you listen back on a project like The Fame Monster, it’s fascinating to hear Gaga blend rich pop melodies with eerie, macabre themes — a feeling we think has been missing for too long from some of Gaga’s latest work.

4. Corral Some New Producers

Despite her reputation as pop music’s resident shapeshifter, Gaga has kept a relatively close-knit stable of producers around her since her debut in 2008. Working frequently with artists like RedOne, DJ White Shadow, Mark Ronson and BloodPop, Gaga has found a group of producers who understand her work — and while we don’t think she should abandon that team altogether, it would be nice to hear another producer’s take. 

There are already rumors swirling that Gaga may have worked with techno artist Gesaffelstein on LG7, which is as fitting a pairing as we can imagine for an industrial-inspired sound []. If she wants to truly shake things up, though, we would love to see Gaga bring in some of the artists behind her Dawn of Chromatica remix album — LSDXOXO, Arca, A.G. Cook and others — and incorporate their experimental flair into LG7. 

5. Keep It Weird

For all the talk of change here, there is one thing we hope stays universally the same with Gaga’s next album: her love of the eccentric. From the very outset of her career, Gaga got (and stayed) ahead by focusing on the concept of non-conformity itself. She played with meta-narratives about the performance of fame (a feat modern artists would go on to replicate in their own style more than a decade later); she dedicated her work to outcasts, weirdos and “Monsters” alike; and she allowed herself to make music not defined by trends, but by what actually interested her. 

If there is anything we can hope for in Gaga’s seventh studio album, it’s the simple plea that she stays true to the inherent peculiarity that has made her the singular pop icon that she is."

Edited 2 hours ago by palma

[HelloHangoverz 8,789]

Is it just me or is this era shaping up to be an event event? Idk something feels different this time but GOOD different

[HelloHangoverz 8,789]

5 minutes ago, palma said:

she should tap Kesha for a feature

i would COLLAPSE

[palma 6,197]

2 minutes ago, HelloHangoverz said:

Is it just me or is this era shaping up to be an event event? Idk something feels different this time but GOOD different

people are thirsty for some darkGa 

[Head Empty 23,209]

10 minutes ago, palma said:

1. Forget About the 'Genre Album' Concept

Each time she releases a new album, Gaga proves that she is a master of creating distinct musical eras. ARTPOP incorporated a much heavier EDM sound than her past works; Joanne heralded the singer’s less-beloved country switch-up; she’s even given us two albums’ worth of jazz standards. Thanks to this trend, Little Monsters have grown accustomed to calling for an “[insert genre here] album” for LG7. Some say they want to see the LP embrace a hard rock sound, while others have hoped for a pure disco album from Mother Monster.

But why limit Gaga? On her singular masterpiece Born This Way, the genres she employed on each track were entirely dependent on the emotional undercurrent of what she wrote. Sure, let Gaga do rock, and disco, and industrial techno, and anything else that she wants to — as long as the genre fits the overall of the song she’s singing, there should be no limit to the sonic landscape of LG7.

This has been my biggest wish. She's in a unique position where she can pull elements from all kinds of genres that she loves and excels in, but she often slips into more isolated genres and tropes.

Born This Way (album) was a true amalgamation of pop, dance, house, rock, metal and a bunch of other niche sounds, making it completely unique. It's her biggest strength, and her previous few releases didn't capitalize on it.

Edited 2 hours ago by Head Empty

[julz 3,847]

I agree with all of these

[palma 6,197]

1 minute ago, julz said:

I agree with all of these

Call me delulu but I think this article might reflect some industry rumblings - or they may have gotten some limited amount of tea from team Gaga. Literally everything they listed reflects what we also expect from LG7 and I think we're in for a ride 

[PMM 2,246]

what I want
11+ tracks
no features
pop based with other genres (rock, industrial, ballad etc.)
black and.. cover 

[Mister G 9,417]

8 minutes ago, palma said:

people are thirsty for some darkGa 

She shines best and brightest when she explores darker themes in pop. We are here for this.

[jacs vs looser 2,902]

8 minutes ago, HelloHangoverz said:

i would COLLAPSE

I feel like their constant interactions heavily point to a collaboration, I would actually be surprised if there wasn't one on the album.

[HelloHangoverz 8,789]

2 minutes ago, jacs vs looser said:

I feel like their constant interactions heavily point to a collaboration, I would actually be surprised if there wasn't one on the album.

omfg imagine

[palma 6,197]

2 minutes ago, jacs vs looser said:

I feel like their constant interactions heavily point to a collaboration, I would actually be surprised if there wasn't one on the album.

100%. I expect Kesha and maybe The Weeknd 

[Bolkins 3,918]

Which one of you got a job at billboard, this is on point 

Edited 2 hours ago by Bolkins

[mamo 16,177]

I have a feeling LG7 is going to be her magnetic octopus 

Edited 2 hours ago by mamo

[Jigglygoth 2,448]

I think the album will be very industrial and not so radio friendly. I am 100% sure "Joker 2" influenced her mood and artistic approach