Lady Gaga rekindles passion for music with new album 'Mayhem'

When Lady Gaga walked into a New York City bar she frequented five years ago, the memories hit hard: Back then, she wrote songs there, feeling lost and disconnected from herself.

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But this time was different. While sitting in the bar, Gaga felt a sense of peace and rejuvenation, reminiscent of her teenage years spent scribbling lyrics on napkins. In recent years, Gaga rediscovered her passion for music by taking a step back from the limelight, cutting ties from fake friendships, swapping the spotlight for quiet nights at home and surrounding herself with people she truly trusts. That personal transformation became the soul of her new album, “Mayhem,” which is being released on Friday.

“I reclaimed myself as an artist,” said Gaga, a 14-time Grammy and one-time Oscar winner who returned to her dark pop music roots on the album, which spans 14 tracks.

Her new project follows last year’s “Harlequin,” a jazz-inspired companion album for the film “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which stalled at No. 20 on the Billboard 200.