| Die with a Smile | |
| Cover: | Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars - Die with a Smile.png |
| Artist: | Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars |
| Type: | single |
| Genre: | Soft rock |
| Length: | 4:11 |
| Label: |
|
| Producer: |
|
| Chronology: | Lady Gaga |
| Prev Title: | Sweet Sounds of Heaven |
| Prev Year: | 2023 |
"Die with a Smile" is a song by American singer-songwriters Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. It was released on August 16, 2024, through Streamline and Interscope Records. They co-wrote and co-produced the song with Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II and Andrew Watt while James Fauntleroy provided additional songwriting.
The collaboration was a result of Mars inviting Gaga to his studio where he had been working on new music. He presented the track in progress to her and the duo finished writing and recording the song the same day.[1] Musically, the soft rock leaning track has been compared to Gaga's own 2018 single, "Shallow", and Mars' work with Anderson .Paak as part of the Silk Sonic project. An accompanying music video directed by Mars and Daniel Ramos showing both singers performing the song on a retro stage set was released simultaneously alongside the track.
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars first performed together at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on November 30, 2016, as part of the lineup.[2] In June 2024, Mars confessed he would like to collaborate with Gaga on a song or "sing with her on her Las Vegas residency".
In a press release, Gaga revealed: "Bruno and I have a lot of mutual respect for each other and were talking about collaborating".[3] She revealed that the collaboration materialized while she was recording her upcoming studio album in Malibu. At one night, after a long day, Mars invited Gaga to his studio to listen to music he had been working on and presented the track to her. At this point, she was "blown away" when she heard what he was working on.[4] The duo finished writing and recording the song on the same night. Gaga described Mars' talent as "beyond explanation" and "next level", while Mars added that Gaga made the song "magical".[5]
On August 12, Mars and Gaga started following each other on Instagram.[6] On the same day, Gaga posted a series of emojis on Mars' Instagram post from his tour stop in Mexico City. On August 13, Gaga shared a video of herself playing a few chords of the song on a piano. During the video, she wore a shirt with Mars' face.[7] The following day, Mars posted a photo wearing a t-shirt with Gaga's face on it.[8]
Previously, a post from Hits magazine's "Rumor Mill", announced a collaboration between Gaga and Mars, revealing the song's title.[7] "Die with a Smile" was officially announced days later on August 15.[9] The accompanying artwork shows the artists dressed in "country-leaning" red-and-blue "Western" outfits with Gaga smoking on a cigarette and Mars wearing a cowboy hat.[10] Representatives for Gaga confirmed the song would be a standalone single and Gaga herself added in its Instagram announcement that it serves as new content for fans while they "wait till LG7", her upcoming seventh studio album.[11]
"Die with a Smile" has been labeled as a soft rock song,[12] displaying the emotional style of a pop and soul ballad.[13] [14] It has been compared to Silk Sonic, Mars' collaboration project with Anderson .Paak.[14] Critics found the sound to be closer to that of 1970s soft rock.[12] [15]
"Die with a Smile" received a positive response from music critics. Robin Murray of Clash magazine gave the song eight out of ten stars, describing it as an "homage to those lush 70s duets" that "also feels profoundly modern". He added that "both artists shine, but there's an undoubted chemistry here that lets 'Die With A Smile' have a character of its own". Murray noted that "there's a feeling of mutual respect on this latest single, with both artists serving to push each other to different spaces", and said that "it's camp in places, but that's simple exuberant fun and hyped-up colour – the essential songwriting remains intact, plucking at those heartstrings". He concluded that the collaboration is "an unexpected triumph, one that leans on the strengths of both artists, before presenting something new".[16] Jake Viswanath of Bustle wrote that the song "blends Gaga's emotive pop melodies with Mars' old-school R&B influences", with addictional "twang-y instrumentation", into a "sweepingly romantic and devastating" song which "portrays two lovers who want to experience their last moments with each other". Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly defined the song as a "spiritual sequel" to Gaga's 2018 single "Shallow".[13] Writing for Music Talkers, Peter Källman called the collaboration “a soulful masterpiece”.[17] Consequence of Sound gave a generally positive review: "both artists sound great — Gaga’s vocal run as she starts her verse is perfect! — and, as Paolo noted, the production from Andrew Watt is solid as ever. And at the end of the day, new, perfectly fine music from Lady Gaga is better than no new music from Gaga at all."[18]
Billboard reported that the song sold over 14,000 digital copies in its first four days of availability and that it was aiming for a debut in the upper regions of the Hot 100.[19]
Gaga and Mars performed the song live for the first time on August 15, 2024, as part of Mars' show for the opening of the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The duo donned attire similar to what they wear in the song's accompanying visuals. After Mars welcomed Gaga to the stage as part of the show's encore, they replicated the song's music video on stage, with Mars at the guitar and Gaga playing the keys.[12]
Gaga revealed via Instagram alongside the song's announcement that its accompanying music video would be released simultaneously with the track at 9 PM PDT.[20] The music video, directed by Mars and Daniel Ramos, shows Gaga and Mars in the blue outfits they are wearing on the song's cover art.[21] [22] The clip shows the duo performing the song on a retro stage of a TV studio set, populated by faceless mannequins, as a black-and-white camera records them.[13] [23] Mars plays the guitar wearing a cowboy hat as Gaga plays the keys while sporting red tights.[24]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD single.[25]
| Peak position | ||
| Japan Digital Singles (Oricon)[26] | 45 | |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Download Songs (Billboard Japan)[27] | 45 | |
| Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[28] | 11 | |
| South Korea (Circle)[29] | 32 | |
| South Korea Download (Circle)[30] | 24 |
| Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | August 16, 2024 | Interscope | [31] | |
| United States | Contemporary hit radio | [32] | ||
| Italy | Radio airplay | [33] | ||
| Germany | CD | [34] | ||
| United Kingdom | [35] | |||
| United States | [36] | |||
| Canada | August 23, 2024 | [37] | ||
| France | August 27, 2024 | [38] |