It’s been a massive year for Lady Gaga, who returned to the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 albums chart (with “Die With a Smile” alongside Bruno Mars and Mayhem, respectively), headlined Coachella and launched an acclaimed arena tour. This month, she continues her winning streak with an acting turn on the hit Netflix series Wednesday, and the accompanying new song “The Dead Dance.”

After an incomplete first week of tracking following its Wednesday, Sept. 3 release, “The Dead Dance” debuts at No. 40 on the Hot 100 in its first full week of release. It’s Gaga’s third top 40 hit of 2025 on the chart, following “Smile” and the No. 13-peaking “Abracadabra” — and shortly after its release, it was also included on a newly expanded edition of Mayhem, along with two additional new tracks, “Can’t Stop the High” and “Kill for Love.”

Is the song’s debut higher or lower than we expected? And is this Wednesday/”Dead Dance” era now a major part of Gaga’s 2025? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. Lady Gaga’s “The Dead Dance” debuts at No. 40 on the Hot 100 this week in its first full week of tracking. Is that bow lower, higher or about what you expected?

Katie Atkinson: Top 40 feels about right, as an end-of-Mayhem, Wednesday-cameo treat for all the Little Monsters. This is a fun song with a great beat that’s cut from the same cloth as morbid disco classics like “Murder on the Dancefloor” or “Heads Will Roll,” and Gaga is one of only a handful of artists who can say Tim Burton directed a music video for them. But after a steady year of Gaga output, there might not have been as much anticipation for new music as there had been. Having said that, “The Dead Dance” did debut in the top 10 of the Global 200 chart, so international fans were hungrier for more ghoulish Gaga.

Chris Claxton: I think that’s actually lower than expected. This track had everything going for it, a major VMA performance, a viral TikTok dance, a feature in Netflix’s big summer hit Wednesday, a Tim Burton–directed video, and more yet it only peaked at No. 40. Not that No. 40 is bad by any means, but given how perfectly Lady Gaga executed every move, I was expecting it to chart much higher.

Stephen Daw: Higher that what I would have originally expected — mostly because I was not expecting a one-off single written and performed for a Netflix show to do huge numbers on the chart — but lower than I thought it might get after I heard it for the first time. It’s extremely catchy, fits into the sound of her last album and has a very well-produced music video. With all of that, and a live debut at the VMAs, I thought the song might get a bigger boost, but breaking into the upper echelons of this chart has proven to be harder and harder lately. 

Kyle Denis: Definitely lower. Between a Wednesday sync, a new music video and a VMAs performance — not to mention an accompanying dance that’s clearly jockeying for TiKTok virality à la “Bloody Mary” — I expected a 5op 25 debut at the very least.  

Andrew Unterberger: Given the unusual timing of the release, and the fact that Gaga’s solo streaming debuts aren’t always the flashiest, I think “Dead Dance” creeping into the top 40 is probably a little better than I expected. The real question is how long it can hang on the chart, which may be up to whether or not radio ends up picking up on it.

2. “The Dead Dance” received a big look at the VMAs as part of Gaga’s medley performance from her satellite gig at MSG — did the performance change your perception of or feelings about the song at all?

Katie Atkinson: I don’t love a satellite performance at an awards show – especially when the Mother herself was actually (briefly) in the building that night to pick up some hardware. This did mark the TV debut of the broken-doll choreography that perfectly matches the song, and for anyone who hasn’t yet seen the Mayhem Ball in person, it was a glimpse into Gaga’s latest live spectacle. But overall, I don’t know if the remote performance moved the needle for the song.

Chris Claxton: No, the performance didn’t change my view, I was already a fan of the song, and the show only amplified that feeling. Lady Gaga has always known how to put on a spectacle, and this track is no exception. The performance captured everything that makes her world so unique: theatrical visuals, flawless vocals, and that bold mix of art and pop she’s mastered throughout her career. It fits seamlessly into the Gaga universe, where music isn’t just heard, it’s experienced. For longtime fans, it felt like a reminder of why she’s one of the greatest performers of our time, and for newer fans, it was a perfect introduction to her artistry.

Stephen Daw: As a staunch Gaga lover, I was pretty immediately into “The Dead Dance” when it came out — so while that really well-done performance for the VMAs certainly made me happy, it didn’t really alter how much I was already into the track. 

Kyle Denis: Not particularly, but that may have been because Gaga paired “The Dead Dance” with the much stronger (and still infectious) “Abracadabra.” It was a very solid performance, though! 

Andrew Unterberger: I was impressed with how big and how immediately familiar “The Dead Dance” felt as part of that performance, like it’s always been a fixture of the Mayhem era. I do hope, though, that next time she’s in the building for the VMAs, she can hang around for long enough to perform there too.

3. Between “The Dead Dance” and her Wednesday cameo, does this moment feel like its own mini-era within Gaga’s 2025, or is it more of a footnote to her year?

Katie Atkinson: It feels more like Gaga is tying a shiny black bow on the Mayhem era than kicking off anything new. Even the Wednesday cameo fits into the aesthetic of her sixth album. Last August, she and Bruno wanted to die with a smile, and now, more than a year later, she still has one last breath in her to leave it all on the dance floor.

Chris Claxton: This honestly feels like its own mini-era. As a Wednesday fan, I can’t separate the two anymore: I associate the song with the show and the show with the song. Hearing the track and watching the performances almost feels like seeing Wednesday come to life in real time. I even half-expected Gaga to bring Jenna Ortega out during her MSG show. Either way, Lady Gaga is in the middle of an incredible 2025, and “The Dead Dance” is only adding to the momentum.

Stephen Daw: This, to me, feels like a coda for the Mayhem era, a little musical (and cinematic) motif to celebrate this particularly excellent album year that she’s found herself in. Even her appearance on Wednesday feels like it’s part and parcel with Mayhem — they’re both gothic, campy, horror-adjacent art pieces where Gaga gets to try some very fun new stuff. 

Kyle Denis:This feels like more of a footnote — especially since “The Dead Dance” has been added to Mayhem on streaming services. I don’t think “The Dead Dance” and her Wednesday season two cameo quite replicated the 2022 fervor “Blood Mary” did, which makes this month feel like an extension of Mayhem’s momentum instead of an entirely different juggernaut. And that honestly has more to do with the new Wednesday season having a far less feverish reception than the last. 

Andrew Unterberger: I think combined with Wednesday and some of the tour visuals, it’s been a really effective bonus extension of Mayhem in general — a way to keep Gaga and this era of hers in the pop culture mix at a time when album cycles usually don’t last long beyond their first month or two.

4. When you go back to Mayhem, will it be the deluxe version with this song, “Kill for Love” and “Can’t Stop the High” or are you good sticking with the original?

Katie Atkinson: Reissues often seem like afterthoughts to me, but I think “The Dead Dance” deserves to be in the mix on this project — so I’m voting for the deluxe. In the grand scheme of reissues, three extra songs is just a little icing on the already-delicious cake.

Chris Claxton: I’ll definitely be going back to the deluxe version — honestly, the more tracks the better. Songs like “Kill for Love” and “Can’t Stop the High” just add more depth to the project, and I feel like they expand the world of Mayhem in a really exciting way. The original holds up on its own, but the deluxe feels more complete, and that’s the version I see myself returning to.

Stephen Daw: I’m a big fan of all three new songs, so I will definitely be revisiting with the new additions. I especially appreciate that Gaga thought about where to place each of these songs on the album instead of simply tacking them onto the end as a series of bonus tracks. “Perfect Celebrity” bleeds perfectly into “Can’t Stop the High,” and “Kill for Love” is a great transition from “Don’t Call Tonight” into “Shadow of a Man.” The only one I wish she would’ve put at the end is “The Dead Dance,” if only because I already loved the album going from “Zombieboy” to “LoveDrug.” 

Kyle Denis: I’m…. good with the original. “Vanish Into You” is still in constant rotation. These new songs are all fine, but none of them get anywhere near my personal favorites on the original Mayhem tracklist. It’s pretty clear to me why these were relegated to bonus track/soundtrack status. 

Andrew Unterberger: I tend to be kind of a purist when it comes to album tracklists, so when I return to Mayhem it’ll almost certainly be the original version. But the new songs are all fairly strong, so if I accidentally end up queueing the deluxe instead, they’ll be pleasant surprises to me when they hit.

5. Gaga has been pretty active throughout 2025 — is there anything else she can still do to finish the year strong, or do you think she should just finish out her Mayhem Ball dates for the year and otherwise keep it low-key?

Katie Atkinson: She can (and should) coast through the end of the year on all the good will she’s built up over the past 12 months. After all, she just announced a 2026 extension of the tour, so people clearly want more Mayhem on a stage near them.

Chris Claxton: If Gaga decides to do more, that would be great, but honestly, if she just focuses on finishing out her Mayhem Ball dates, that’s more than enough. She’s been really active all year and has already given fans so much to take in. Either way, she’s been doing incredibly well, so whether she keeps the momentum going or chooses to keep it low-key, it still feels like a win for her fans.

Stephen Daw: While we have been spoiled for content with Gaga this year, I am holding out hope for just one more video. Gaga is the queen of visuals, and we have gotten four from this particular era. But the thought of there being a definitive, truly insane video for a song as chaotic and fun as “Killah” would be the cherry on top of this already very excellent year for her. 

Kyle Denis: I think she should finish out Mayhem Ball and announce her next film role to close out the year. She’s steered the Mayhem era brilliantly, especially for a pop star of her stature this deep into the streaming era. She deserves a low-maintenance end to a banner year. 

Andrew Unterberger: I don’t think she needs to do anything else — but if she can add a couple big Grammy nominations to her resumé in November, that’ll be a pretty nice note to end her extremely successful 2025 on.