Lady Gaga’s new album, Mayhem, is bringing joy to Little Monsters everywhere — and now Swifties have entered the chat.
After the album debuted Friday, March 7, fans of both pop stars soon started speculating that Taylor Swift made an uncredited guest appearance on the song “How Bad Do U Want Me.”
“Not Taylor Swift having her Snow on the beach moment on #MAYHEM with How bad do u want me,” tweeted one fan, referencing Swift’s collaboration with Lana Del Rey. Another X user asked, “Am i hearing Taylor Swift or my sleep deprived ass making stuff up?”
Other listeners noted that the song at least sounds a bit like Swift, even if the “Karma” singer is not actually featured on the track. It also includes what sounds like a sample or interpolation of “Only You” by Yaz, a band that Swift and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff have said they bonded over when they met.
Alas, those hoping for a Swift/Gaga team-up must keep praying, as a source confirmed to Luxury Handbag Shopping on Friday that Swift does not appear on “How Bad Do U Want Me.”
Gaga is, however, a vocal fan of Swift’s, getting emotional while discussing her pop compatriots in an interview with Vogue. “I go on the internet and, like, cry,” the “Bad Romance” singer, 38, told the outlet in September 2024, noting that she’s also a fan of Billie Eilish, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan. “And I love Taylor Swift too. And Kesha. I watch it all, and I’m like, ‘Yup. Go! Just go.’”
She added, “I’m not only cheering them on, I want them to know that my heart is in it with them. And I want them all to feel really happy.”
Swift, meanwhile, named Gaga as one of her pop culture obsessions in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“When people think she’s gonna go one way, she goes the exact opposite. She did that Tony Bennett record and won a Grammy,” Swift, 35, said. “And then she pivots and goes and wins a Golden Globe for American Horror Story: Hotel. And then she pivots and does Joanne. And then she pivots and wins an Oscar for A Star Is Born. That’s so cool, that ability to be so capable in so many different worlds. There’s so much dexterity to her career.”
So while Swift isn’t actually on “How Bad Do U Want Me,” the love between her and Gaga is clearly there. Maybe all this chatter about the song’s sonic resemblance to Swift’s discography could inspire Gaga to call her up for the remix. But please, call Beyoncé for the “Telephone” sequel first — the Beyhive has been waiting for that for 15 years.
