Electric. Poetic. Powerful. It’s the best way to describe Lady Gaga’s newest single “Abracadabra” as part of her upcoming album titled MAYHEM (2025) that will be coming out on Mar. 7. She teased the third song from her album through a surprise release of the new music video amid a string of commercials during the 67th annual Grammy Awards. Gaga steps back into her eccentric, dark pop roots, while still capturing the essence of who she is — dramatic and authentically quirky. The lyrics take us through a captivating, hypnotic dance of techno, deep beats, and quick drums in defeating the devilish world that we live amongst.
“Abracadabra” maintains quick, pulsating snares with spurts of drums and angelic sounds in between. Gaga gives listeners peace of mind and advice ahead of our trying journeys with the lyrics: “Pay the toll to the angels.” The tempo increases as we trudge through life’s element of self-doubt, but there’s hope for a light at the end of the tunnel. “Hold me in your heart tonight / In the magic of the dark moonlight,” the tone digs deeper with a slow, muffled beat, and her commanding vocals present mystery and fear from our internal monologue. “Like a poem said by a lady in red / You hear the last few words of your life” questions our capabilities for success, and the narrative of reinvention is born when we’re faced with our ultimate challenge; ourselves.
The witch-like lyrics of the main chorus surround the rolling synths, as her voice rises above the energetic instrumentalization of pounding bass lines singing, “Abracadabra, amor-oo-na-na / Abracadabra, morta-oo-ga-ga.” The words are like a spell cast from the character of the “lady in red” and it relates to the song’s theme of light and dark battling each other, or our hopes and fears.
Despite the mysterious flavour, it’s intense, catchy, and persuades us to get on the dance floor whether we want to or not. In the midst of her lyricism, “amor” and “morta” come to the forefront. Meaning love and death in Latin, Gaga delivers an easter egg to a previous hit song with “amor” spelling “Roma” backward, linking to the love spells in “Bad Romance.” Gaga cleverly uses the dance floor to extinguish the fire felt from the “lady in red,” known as our inner demons who challenge our worth. She symbolically ends with us breaking free from her control and relishing in the freedom, never returning to the past.
Much like her fashion, Gaga delves into the artistry of avant-garde creation. Despite how addictive the tune is from its hard bases in the midst of heavenly cries, the song isn’t super distinct from her previous hits. Her vocals are undoubtedly powerful, but the uneven, boxy rhythm of the chorus made me cringe in discomfort. It sounded too clunky, and I hit a wall in trying to get back into the smoothness of the following verses. Even though her cryptic lyrics made me wrinkle my nose in objection at first listen, I’ll admit the more I listened the more I danced. As someone with a knack for a dark, thrilling story with unusual characters, the song definitely checked all my boxes.
“Abracadabra” is groundbreaking and earth shaking, no doubt. It holds a theme of transformation in our fights to survive the destination through life’s trials. Gaga resurrects a powerful message about thriving in the face of adversity, and she encourages listeners to say “I’m up for the challenge.” She tells us in order to defeat the monsters, we must be the angels. Authentically and unapologetically ourselves. Most of all, the song is a valuable lesson to all who will listen — be resilient in the challenges, persevere, and find the magic in life by embracing in the mayhem of it.
Veronica is a Staff Writer at The Cascade. She loves to travel and explore new places, no matter how big or small. She is in her second year at UFV, pursuing the study of Creative
Writing.
