IIn the middle of August, with precious little warning, two of the biggest artists in the world decided to take hold of the pop-music narrative. On the night of Aug. 15, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars unleashed their collaborative ballad “Die With a Smile,” complete with a Dolly Parton-inspired music video released the same evening, as well as a surprise duet performance at Mars’ show in Los Angeles, blanketing the Friday release day with a full-court press in the first few hours of the song’s release. As the week went on, a digital campaign began to factor in as well, and the work paid off: “Die With a Smile” debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on both the Global 200 and the Global Excl. U.S. charts in its first week. But since then, the song has only grown, particularly around the world — this week, “Die With a Smile,” which is credited to Gaga’s label Interscope but is receiving a helping hand from Mars’ label Atlantic, spends its second week as the biggest song in the world, topping both of Billboard’s global charts midway through September. And that worldwide success helps earn Interscope Geffen A&M senior vp/head of pop/rock marketing Adrian Amodeo the title of Billboard’s Executive of the week. Here, Amodeo, discusses the initial rollout of the song, how Interscope and Atlantic worked together and how the Interscope global strategy — which has also seen huge success with Billie Eilish and Karol G, as well as with BTS’ Jimin — has helped the company reach new heights around the world. “We don’t want to just put out records in other territories,” Amodeo says. “We want to build real campaigns that are extensions of our domestic campaigns and also build into local cultures and communities on the ground and online.” This week, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With A Smile” is No. 1 on both of Billboard’s global songs charts for the second straight week. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen? First off, it was an enormous team effort across two amazing artist teams. We have two of the most important pop stars on the planet who wrote and recorded an absolutely incredible song and were involved in every detail of the rollout. We knew it was going to be a special moment once the song came out, but also knew we had to build a campaign that honored two superstars and their incredible artistry. We wanted to show the power of these two stars together and show that Gaga and Bruno are at the top of the game, with a ballad, in the midst of what has been an incredible summer of pop music. When we first heard the song, Kirsten Stubbs, our co-head of digital marketing, flagged that Bruno happened to be opening the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles around the time the song was coming out, so we immediately put the wheels in motion to make a performance be a key moment in our campaign. The genuine connection the world saw between the two of them, and the content we were able to capture and spread, really set the tone for the entire campaign. It was lightning in a bottle with the release of the song, the video and the performance that night. But we knew we had to keep building a runway for the song and eventize the release around the globe, so we treated it like an album rollout, not just as a single. The song debuted at No. 2 on both charts, before ascending to the top spot a week later. What went into such a huge global impact right out of the gate? Our international team has been so integral — every territory made it a priority to make this the biggest song in the world. Before the song came out we were fortunate to have all of the label heads from around the globe into our studio where we unveiled our plan for the track. We were able to play the music and explain our global vision, but more importantly we had Gaga and her team in the room to be part of those conversations with us. It really energized everyone to be part of a process like that. The subsequent local campaigns and partner support our teams have put together have been really amazing. I’m proud of what the team pulled off for the fans around the world, too. The out-of-home campaigns became important fan experiences, anchored by an eight city storefront experience that paid homage to the song, the artwork and the video. Combined with all the billboards around the globe, it just felt huge — and, more importantly, we got it to travel online. A great job by Kevin Rankin and Jessica Staats for driving that with all the teams around the globe. The themes of the song have also helped build an incredible TikTok world for the song, which has been fun to watch and really helped take it to another level globally. Our ability to conceive of and execute such a complex global campaign is really a core strength of Interscope and Universal Music Group. This music video also had a big impact, with its throwback theme and Dolly Parton-esque vibe. How important has it been to the song’s success, and what do you see as the role of the traditional music video these days? The music video has been so important, if not the most important part of this campaign. It was co-directed by Bruno, which continues to exemplify his artistry and shows the trust that Gaga put in him as a partner in this whole process. Again, that genuine connection can’t be overstated. Beyond being an incredible video, it also inspired every inch of our creative. The single art, the outfits they wore on stage at the Intuit Dome, the global out-of-home; everything has intentionally been cohesive and respectful to the aesthetic world built by Gaga and Bruno. The music video also kicked off a powerful viral moment with the fans recreating Gaga’s dance and inspired fans to recreate the looks online, at shows, and at the clubs — our influencer marketing team was quick to identify this and amplify it globally. It has been so amazing to see and we fully expect Gaga-Bruno to be one of the most seen Halloween costumes this year. We’re already getting ahead of that. Gaga and Bruno are two of the biggest superstars on the planet, and are signed to different labels. How did this song come together, and how did the marketing plan work across two companies? The making of the song is Gaga and Bruno’s story to tell, but it’s very well documented that they have wanted to work together for a long time. [Interscope Capitol Labels Group chairman/CEO] John Janick’s relationship with Bruno goes back for many years and the trust that Bruno and Gaga put in John can’t be overstated. [Atlantic Music Group chair/CEO] Julie Greenwald was an absolute force as well. Her energy and passion for the song helped drive both teams to be great. With so many relationships and teams in place we were truly able to hit the ground running. We spent about six weeks planning the song together and the relationship was great with all of our departments working hand in hand, on Zooms, calls, texts, DMs, voice notes and faxes. We’re still going. https://web.archive.org/web/20240913163952/https://www.billboard.com/pro/lady-Gaga-and-bruno-mars-die-with-a-smile-global-smash-how/

He’s yours, keep him

I stumbled upon this interview with Benedetta Degli Innocenti, a voice actor who worked on the Italian dubbing for AHS, A Star Is Born and House of Gucci (I think). Here, she's praising Gaga's acting in Joker and elaborated on the process to match her exact tone of voice while dubbing her. https://x.com/massyscalinci/status/1834562250973061350?t=AzEfUQMbsdSagVr2kuOFdg&s=19 Here's the translation: Q: "This is Lady Gaga's great return with Harley Quinn, everyone has great expectations from her. What can you tell us without getting fired?" A: "I can tell you that she's been amazing. For real." Q: "Could that also be linked to the fact that the movie is some kind of musical?" A: "No. I was surprised by her acting. She was super into it, believable and comfortable with the role. And her character is full of black humor, I didn't expect that. Even Max Alto [the dubbing director] told me before recording: be careful, because she is so good in this. There is one particular thing that I can tell you without revealing too much: in this movie she is often acting with a weak, almost crooked vocal register. Almost voiceless. So before each dubbing session, without caring about my own well-being, I repeatedly screamed in a pillow and chainsmoked like 8 cigarettes every day. Basically I was using the one I was putting out to light up the next one." Q: "That's some good health advice" [jokes] A: "No, but it's more important to do a good job with these things. [...] I did this to honor her commitment to the role. Max Alto told me I had to find that type of voice and so I did." I though some of you would find this interesting, while waiting for greater things to come among the billionth album ranking poll and the whining about charting for songs we haven't heard yet. X

YAAAS!!!! Hopefully, Interscope would use the same resources to push LG7 given how massive DWAS is! Great article. Thank you for sharing!

Now do that with LG7. Do that challenge.

Why don't they push it on the US, then? Where is the payola? And why haven't they released the performances online if they were planned to be part of this big campaign?

Lady Gaga reaches a new peak of 92,686,662 million monthly listeners on Spotify. She is in the top 5 most popular artists on Spotify for the first time in her career, and is about to surpass Taylor Swift. 1. Billie Eilish 105.9 million 2. The Weeknd 104.5 million 3. Bruno Mars 100.6 million 4. Taylor Swift 93.8 million 5. Lady Gaga 92.6 million 6. Coldplay 89.6 million

"Die With A Smile" achieves 20 days at #1 on the daily chart. 3 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS AT #1 on the Weekly Spotify Global Chart. And who would've thought? A NEW PEAK IN WEEKLY FILTERED STREAMS: 74.98M The 4th week being its best week... so far?? Oh wow. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars the hit makers that you are.

If you don't care about the dr l*ke situation, then no need to care about the hate and shade she's getting.

Spotify Monthly Listeners #5 Lady Gaga - 91,413,179 (+878,887) Is she about to snatch Taylor's wig?

these white men are just spawning out of nowhere what the f*ck is a benson boone and do i need to get vaccinated against it?

Filtered stream numbers last week: #1 DWAS - 71.6M #2 BOAF - 59.4M #3 Tasteless - 56.2M Filtered stream numbers this week: #1 DWAS - 74.98M (+3.38M) #2 BOAF - 56.95M (-2.45M) #3 Tasteless - 49.85M (-6.35M)

radio (new peak): 23 (+1) Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - Die With A Smile 29.97 (+0.74)

Day 27 DWAS 11.005.021 Flowers 10.942.345

DWAS remains at #1 in NZ for its 4th week. It’s also Gold omg

New album ‘EUSEXUA’ out January 24, 2025. pre-order/pre-save: https://fkatwigs.lnk.to/eusexuaID Director: Jordan Hemingway Composers: Alexandra Drewchin, Ethan P. Flynn, Lewis Roberts & FKA twigs where my homo-eusexua's at??? it's time.

She xommented on this toktok post https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Joc7bd/ Before this, some fans believe this group never exist and was only a meme. So appare this was made when she was in Tisch, since she mentions college.

Interscope watching DWAS smashing without them lifting a finger:

Die With A Smile reaches a new peak of #6 in the United Kingdom today as it spends four consecutive weeks in the top 10 here!! UK Official Singles Chart (13/09/24): #6 (+1) Die With A Smile (with Bruno Mars) Chart Run: 7-7-7-6 Total Sales: 132k (68k sales from being certified silver, if it remains stable then this should happen within two weeks, just in time for her Joker 2 London Premiere/Graham Norton appearance to bump sales back up) 23/08/24: #7 (NE) 27,333 sales 30/08/24: #7 (---) 34,128 sales (61,461 overall sales) 06/09/24: #7 (---) 34,194 sales (95,655 overall sales) 13/09/24: #6 (+1) 37,039 sales (132,694 overall sales) It now out-peaks Alejandro and equals The Edge of Glory's UK peak position. Fingers crossed it cracks the top five next week and becomes her 11th song to do so!!

well yes, if you ignore working with an accused abuser (especially on your flop feminist AI lyrics anthem) then the hate would be insane however, she DID work with an accused abuser and we can't really ignore that, can we? especially when she's out here flogging "sexy, confident, so intelligent" and whatever this sh*t is if the marketing is "yes women! support women!" you CANNOT ignore collaborating and supporting of somebody who's a danger to women

Female songs with most days at #1 on Spotify Top Songs Global in 2024: #1. "Espresso" — 32 #2. "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" — 22 #3. "Die With A Smile" - 20* #4. "Please, Please, Please" - 19 #5. "we can't be friends" — 13 #6. "Fortnight" — 10 #7. "Greedy" — 8 #8. "yes, and?" — 8 #9. "LUNCH" — 5 #10. "Texas Hold'Em" — 3

ARIA Official Singles Chart (Australia) Die With A Smile reaches a new peak at #3 on its 4th week. Last week it was #6. Chart Run: #10-#5-#6-#3 https://www.aria.com.au/charts/singles-chart/2024-09-16

Right?! Seems like they were using it as a test run for LG7, I’m excited to see what they have in store for promo!

Oh look it's a picture of Katy's career

She really said "Needs more gay"

I had a very small amount of free time and I spent it running rampant with a boxcutter, a friend, and pure joy. You can watch the video here: https://x.com/ChicaSkas/status/1834253893020111325?t=RDltpBasl91eXBTcCCac6Q&s=19 I picked up some extras for myself and @Jase

Apple Music WW: #1 Die With A Smile - *12 days at #1*

4 weeks #1 on NZ Official Charts and is now certified gold.

I just want to say that Bruno has achieved new heights on Spotify thanks to Die With A Smile. It accomplished things he has not yet done before like being Top 3, surpassing Taylor Swift, when he reached #1 in the US with Leave the Door Open he had 40 million monthly listeners nowhere in the Top 10. That was 2021/2022, with this song it more than doubled. Die With A Smile is also Bruno's highest streams in a day (11M+). It is also the fastest song of Bruno to reach 100 million streams (13 days). It is also Bruno's First Global 200 #1 since the chart started in 2019, none of his 2019-2023 songs went #1. Gaga helps Bruno and Bruno helps Gaga, its a duet. Hooligans and Monsters are streaming the song and its a win-win for both.

I haven't seen this posted, maybe I missed it? Deserves some more love and views!

every day i wake up and its "Cucumber Mason reveals armpits" i feel old

Die With A Smile is now certified Gold by RMNZ in New Zealand selling more than 15,000 units. This week, it spends its 4th consecutive week at #1 on the Official Top 40 Singles Chart. https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles Die With A Smile is second only to Poker Face for most weeks at #1 in New Zealand. Poker Face holds the record with 10 weeks as the longest #1. https://www.muzic.net.nz/charts/s52184/poker-face

more like 2 or 3 total

We know

Italian radio this week 4 (+10) Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - Die With A Smile

Episode 9 - Venice, Vogue, and LG7 Unveiled In this episode, the wait is finally over (well, almost)! We dive deep into the long-awaited release date for Lady Gaga's first single from LG7 and the full album release date. Get all the juicy details as we break down the exclusive Vogue article, revealing everything you need to know about Gaga's new era. The song has been described as "intense and ominous, an old-school Gaga banger that's both unsettling and buoyant.” We also cover the worldwide premiere of Joker: Folie à Deux at the Venice Film Festival, and what it means for Lady Gaga’s blossoming Hollywood career. From secret projects to LG7, we’re giving you the full inside scoop on what’s next for the Queen of Pop. Tune in to stay up-to-date on the latest Lady Gaga news and rumors!

Transgender illegal aliens are the thing now, where has she been?

composers: Tate McRae, ILYA, Ryan Tedder & Savan Kotecha

Respectfully: 🤡

New charts updates and increases for Die With A Smile... #1 (+4) Indonesia (5-1) #3 (+1) UAE (9-4-3) #4 (+2) Ireland (13-6-4) #5 (+2) Paraguay (7-5) #6 (+3) Latvia (9-6) #6 (+2) Taiwan (8-6) #6 (+1) United Kingdom (7-7-7-6) #7 (+2) Hong Kong (9-7) #11 (+12) San Marino (23-11) #14 (+1) Belgium, Flanders (28-15-14) #28 (+6) Austria (45-34-28) #29 (NE) Venezuela (29) #30 (+3) Belgium, Wallonia (33-30) #34 (+3) Germany (52-37-34) #35 (+4) Slovakia (73-39-35) #35 (+4) Spain (39-35) #41 (+6) Czech Republic (47-41) #56 (+13) Romania (Airplay Charts) (69-56) #111 (+44) Russia (Airplay Charts) (155-111)

Gaga pls come back soon in Jakarta and SEA. Bruno knows 🥹 Everybody is singing it 😭

09/12 KIIS FM LA: 1:27 AM Die With A Smile 2:49 AM Bad Romance ??????????? 3:30 AM Die With A Smile 4:59 AM Die With A Smile 6:02 AM Die With A Smile 10:14 AM Die With A Smile 12:11 PM Die With A Smile 1:31 PM Die With A Smile 2:47 PM Die With A Smile 3:56 PM Die With A Smile 5:20 PM Die With A Smile 7:09 PM Paparazzi ?????????????? Aaaaaaah 10 times already and the day isnt done, this is beyond from last week 😭 Also Bad Romance

The more people I meet in this world, the less I believe it’s fake

I’m his, he’s L*ke

i mean i'm happy for the song's success but lowkey it feels really organic? like it feels they didn't really push it that much so far... only a CD release, billboards and playlists when there's potential for a 7 inch vinyl/picture disc, basic merch, lyric video for karaoke parties or even a VMAs performance? (but i guess a performance is a lot more expensive and intricate)

you know what they say about broken clocks

I tend to forgot all of GGD live in New Zealand