Lady Gaga debuted her new single “Abracadabra” during the 2025 GRAMMY Awards.
Videos by American Songwriter
Taken from her eighth studio album, Mayhem, the anthem is classic Gaga built upon the theatrical dance-pop and language-bending earworms that define her biggest hits.
This is maximalist Gaga and may be one of her finest releases in years.
Finding Magic in Challenges
Gaga told Elle, “the song is about facing the challenge of life and the challenge of the night and finding the magic in it all.”
Pay the toll to the angels
Drawing circles in the clouds
Keep your mind on the distance
When the devil turns around
Life presents obstacles everyone must overcome. But sometimes, the barriers are self-imposed. In “Abracadabra,” Gaga takes on the world while battling the internal voices of stubborn hesitation.
She describes a lady in red as the opposition one feels within. The interior pressure. The “Do you really think you can do this” pessimism of self-doubt. Often, the external world mirrors the cynical demands of one’s internal dialogue. But Gaga wants more than endurance. She wants to thrive.
Like a poem said by a lady in red
You hear the last few words of your life
With a haunting dance, now you’re both in a trance
It’s time to cast your spell on the night
Inner Doubt
The music video for “Abracadabra,” in typical Gaga fashion, is stunning. It features two Gagas: One in white and another in red—two sides battle, pitting the good against the bad, the innocent vs. the wicked.
She could have resolved the video’s conclusion in many ways, but Gaga chose “resilience.” She said, “I wanted to crack open what it means to persevere.” Negativity lingers like a spell you must break. And Gaga said she’s fighting, singing, and dancing against it in the video.
But the visual also emphasizes human connection. “We worked with about 50 dancers. That’s the thing I love most about it. There’s this dance battle that’s led by the light and the dark sides of me. I can’t initiate or receive the challenge without my community, and the community is so strong,” she said.
You also feel the interconnectedness in the song’s nonsensical chorus. Sometimes, there aren’t words to explain the feeling. Absurd joy can only be expressed through sound, body movements, and chanted exaltations.
Breaking the Spell
The hook brings to mind Gaga’s 2009 classic “Bad Romance” and its Roma, roma-ma / Gaga, ooh-la-la refrain. But here, reaching for catharsis, Gaga speaks in tongues and uses the dance floor to exercise, confront, and defeat her inner demons.
Abracadabra, abra-oo-na-na
In her tongue, she said, “Death or love tonight!”
Meanwhile, “Abracadabra” arrives when many are feeling anxious about current events.
Said Gaga, “It’s wild to me watching the video now, this many weeks into the year because something that we made a good few months ago about resilience is coming out now when we need it most.”
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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