“Disease” represents a return to form and a new step for Lady Gaga, featuring a dark electronic synth-pop production. Andrew Watt, Henry “Cirkut” Bell, and Gaga herself produced the song.
The vocals of the chorus delve into a rock-like sound on the hook. In the last chorus of the song, Gaga pulls back vocally, singing less intensely with a more melodic-siren tone.
Afterwards, she returns to the central melodic line and leans into emotion with her singing style to end the song.
The production seems reminiscent of her previous albums, such as “The Fame” and “Born This Way”, but with a more modern Lady Gaga touch.
The lyrics and themes set the song in a new direction, as it is about facing parts of herself and her realization that she’d have to live with the parts that she fears.
Lyrics such as “You’re so tortured when you sleep” and “Plagued with all your memories” support the central theme of the song.
Gaga stated on her Instagram that “Disease” was about facing her inner darkness and how she can’t run away from it. She reflects on this by saying it’s now beautiful to her since it’s a part of herself that’s within control.
Gaga and her label promoted “Disease” in a unique manner that aligns with the current streaming landscape. While in attendance at the 81st Venice International Film Festival for “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Gaga stated that the lead single for her long-awaited seventh studio album would be out in October.
Gaga posted a Spotify playlist called “.com” on October 18. The playlist contained 11 songs across her albums, with each of the first letters spelling out “Gaga disease.”
Universal Music Group confirmed the release of “Disease” through the unveiling of a presave website on October 21. On the same day, Gaga posted the release date and cover art on her Instagram.
“Disease” was released as a single and sent to U.S. radio stations on October 25.
The “Disease” music video debuted shortly after the release of the single. The video, directed by Tanu Muino, features multiple versions of Gaga fighting each other, running, and dancing.
The setting of the video is a suburban neighborhood, putting an increasing amount of focus on each of the Gaga displays. One Gaga has red eyes and wears a black suit, eventually running over a Gaga in a nightgown.
In the middle of the video, when one Gaga hits another with a car, a snippet of a new song is supposedly being played on the radio. Toward the end of the video, Gaga is seen trapped between two houses, trying to escape from her own inner darkness, which directly relates to what she said in her X post about the video.
The video ends with the black-suit Gaga walking off mysteriously. The mystery leads to the question of what Gaga’s new project will sound like, future music video releases, and the project’s visual storyline.
“Disease” debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of November 9. It also became Gaga’s second top-20 debut of the year on the Billboard Global 200 charts, after Gaga’s song with Bruno Mars, “Die with a Smile.”
