March 7, 2025: Gaga releases her new album “Mayhem,” on which Polansky is credited as a songwriter and executive producer.
Ahead of releasing “Mayhem,” Gaga credited Polansky with inspiring her to make pop music again. “Like anyone would do for the person they love, I encouraged her to lean in to the joy of it,” Polansky told Vogue.
Polansky was apparently hands-on during the creative process, too — he’s credited as a cowriter on seven of the album’s 14 tracks: “Disease,” “Vanish Into You,” “LoveDrug,” “How Bad Do U Want Me,” “Don’t Call Tonight,” “The Beast,” and “Blade of Grass,” which Gaga said was inspired by their engagement. Polansky is also listed as an executive producer alongside Gaga and Andrew Watt.
When asked what impact Polansky had on her new music, Gaga told The New York Times, “Michael was in the studio every day with me. He oversaw the whole process of making the record, completing it, helping me to shape the sound of the record creatively.”
At one point, Gaga said, she had the urge to transform “Mayhem” into a grunge-pop album in the vein of track four, “Perfect Celebrity.” Polansky convinced her to keep “Mayhem” as a mix of genres and sonic influences.
“He said, ‘But there’s so much other amazing music that you’ve made, and it’s all you. You don’t have to try to be something,'” she explained. “I thought that was really astute, and I was happy it happened because often I will run with my crazy idea and then sometimes regret that.”
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