Entertainment Music Pop Music Lady Gaga Almost Cut This Song from Mayhem. Her Fiancé Michael Polansky Made Sure She Didn't "I was not sure that I should put that on the record, and Michael was like, ‘You have to — your fans are going to love that song,' " Gaga said By Marina Watts Marina Watts Marina Watts is a Digital Writer, Music at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Bustle, The US Sun, Newsweek and OK! Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 12, 2025 05:00PM EDT 1 Comments Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky in 2024. Photo: Jacopo Raule/FilmMagic Lady Gaga almost cut a fan-favorite track from Mayhem. During the Wednesday, March 12 episode of Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, the 14-time Grammy winner revealed that she almost cut "How Bad Do U Want Me" from the album — until her fiancé Michael Polansky stepped in. “Oh my God, I almost didn’t put that on the album," Gaga, 38, said, adding that the synth-heavy song is a "total hyper-pop song" before explaining its genesis. "Michael and I started that song at home, but I started it first, and he heard me singing it, and he walks in the kitchen and goes, 'Is that about me?' and I was like, 'No?' " Gaga said, laughing. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Lady Gaga in 2025. Will Heath/NBC via Getty Lady Gaga Reveals the Wholesome Quality She 'Cared About the Most' Upon Meeting Fiancé Michael Polansky "And he came in and [we] started to finish it together, and that song embodies a feeling that I've probably had my whole life. I've always felt archetyped as the 'bad girl.' It's why the lyric is kind of funny." She pointed out that the lyrics about having ripped-up jeans were stereotypical for a "bad girl." "I've always felt this kind of shame. I’ve always been at war with this feeling that, if I am interested in someone, that they’re actually longing for a ‘good girl,’ but they’re stuck with me," she explained. "There is no actual other good girl, the good girl is in their head, and they’re kind of comparing me the whole time." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. " 'Cause you like my hair, my ripped-up jeans/You like the bad girl I got in me/She's on your mind, like, all the time/But I got a tattoo for us last week," Gaga sings in the chorus. "Even good boys bleed/How bad, bad do you want me?" Ultimately, Gaga was on the fence about keeping it on Mayhem, but Polansky encouraged her to keep it on. "I was not sure that I should put that on the record, and Michael [Polansky, her fiancé] was like, ‘You have to — your fans are going to love that song.' ” As for her hesitancy, Gaga said that sometimes when her songs are "really super pop," she gets a "weird reaction." "I felt this way about ‘Just Dance,’ so thank God I didn’t listen to myself then," Gaga added, referring to the 2008 song from The Fame. Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky in Venice in September 2024. Franco Origlia/Getty Lady Gaga Brings Mayhem to SNL as She Performs Songs 'Abracadabra' and 'Killah' from Her Latest Album: Watch Gaga told Vogue about Mayhem in November, saying that it was a dark pop album and reminiscent of some of her earlier music. “The album is chaotic from a genre perspective — it is genre-bending, and I think in that way is a deeply personal look into my mind as a producer and the way I think about music," she said at the time. Mayhem is "a celebration of a lot of the music that made me who I am," the "Abracadabra" singer added. "When I returned to a darker pop style of pop, all my early experiences with music came out." Mayhem is available to stream now. Close Leave a Comment