Update: Sorry, Swifties, but Cosmopolitan sources can confirm Taylor Swift is not on Lady Gaga’s new track “How Bad Do U Want Me,” despite fan rumors circulating online about it. Maybe next time!
Original: Lady Gaga’s seventh album, Mayhem, is officially here, and it’s full of dance-pop and disco elements that call back to her beloved The Fame and Born This Way eras. Ofc, Little Monsters are eating up Gaga’s highly anticipated comeback between her lead single “Disease” and her latest track, “Abracadabra.”
The love isn’t limited to lifelong Gaga stans though. Taylor Swift’s devoted Swifties have also entered the Mayhem chat to celebrate the album’s ninth track,“How Bad Do U Want Me.”
Our social feeds are flooding with love from both fan bases, who incorrectly theorize that Taylor laid down backing vocals for the track. (Cosmo sources can confirm Taylor isn't on the track, FWIW.) Still, critics from Variety and The Guardian are likening Gaga’s song to 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and her Reputation standout, “Gorgeous.”
According to Mayhem’s album credits, “How Bad Do U Want Me” was written by Andrew Watt, Henry Walter, Gaga, and her fiancé, Michael Polansky. (I.e. NOT Taylor Swift.)
Even though this wasn't a song collab moment, the pop culture icons have openly supported each other in the past. In June 2024, Gaga debunked pregnancy rumors while referencing Tay’s Tortured Poets track, “Down Bad” on social media. “Not pregnant—just down bad cryin at the gym,” Gaga wrote over the clip she posted to TikTok.
Taylor then dropped a comment in support of the “Die With a Smile” hitmaker, writing, “Can we all agree that it’s invasive & irresponsible to comment on a woman’s body. Gaga doesn’t owe anyone an explanation & neither does any woman.”
Here’s to hoping a collab between these two Grammy winners becomes canon in the future.
