At #2 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 is ‘Die with a Smile,’ the collab between Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
The song was released in August of 2024 and kicked around the top ten for months until finally reaching #1 in January of this year. It has been kept alive on the charts by the release of multiple alternate versions, a Grammy win, and inclusion on Gaga’s latest album, Mayhem.
Mayhem otherwise hasn’t performed all that well. Its first single, ‘Abracadabra,’ peaked at #13 and is currently sitting at #26. No other track from the album cracked the Hot 100. But this duet has had real staying power.
By reaching #1 with ‘Die with a Smile,’ Gaga became only the third artist to have multiple #1 hits in three different decades. She joins Michael and Janet Jackson in that accomplishment.
I, I just woke up from a dream
Where you and I had to say goodbye
And I don’t know what it all means
But since I survived, I realized
[Pre-Chorus]
Wherever you go, that’s where I’ll follow
Nobody’s promised tomorrow
So I’ma love you every night like it’s the last night
Like it’s the last night
[Chorus]
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
If the party was over
And our time on Earth was through
I’d wanna hold you just for a while
And die with a smile
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
[Post-Chorus]
(Ooh, ooh)
[Verse 2]
Ooh, lost, lost in the words that we scream
I don’t even wanna do this anymore
‘Cause you already know what you mean to me
And our love’s the only war worth fighting for
[Pre-Chorus]
Wherever you go, that’s where I’ll follow
Nobody’s promised tomorrow
So I’ma love you every night like it’s the last night
Like it’s the last night
[Chorus]
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
If the party was over
And our time on Earth was through
I’d wanna hold you just for a while
And die with a smile
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
[Bridge]
Right next to you
Next to you
Right next to you
Oh-oh
[Chorus]
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
If the party was over
And our time on Earth was through
I’d wanna hold you just for a while
And die with a smile
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
If the world was ending
I’d wanna be next to you
[Outro]
(Ooh, ooh)
I’d wanna be next to you
Meet Me In Montauk 
Clearly a good move for Gaga to team up with Mars.
My feelings about Gaga are well documented, so I was quite disappointed to hear about this collaboration. To me, it’s Bruno Mars doing what I like least out of him. He occasionally soars on a ballad with a little edge like “Grenade” or just a really sweet one like “Just the Way You Are”.
This song seems like it’s trying to be in the next Bond movie or something but I get no real sense of emotion from it. Kinda like they just strung extreme words together.
The verses are forgettable and the chorus has been played to death on numerous TikTok edits where I assume the song is getting its delayed boost in streams. This is one of those moments where I feel completely out of the loop. I get that they’re both great singers and it’s vocally impressive, but I could live a long life never hearing this song again and I’d die with a smile!
I agree with Cool Guy.