Lady Gaga Drops Video for Surprise Single 'The Dead Dance'

"The Dead Dance" is an '80s-inspired synth-pop romp; it's a fitting sound for the show that likewise popularized that truly wretched remix of "Bloody Mary" awhile back. It's a great track in context to the show, sounding like a b-side on the Mayhem deluxe edition, or 20th anniversary re-release. Better yet, the video was directed by none other than Tim Burton.

It's most memorable bits are the very punchy synths that kick in on the second verse, underscoring "You've created a creature of the night/ Now I'm haunting your air, your soul, your eyes." It's some fabulous production work from Gaga, Cirkut, and watt. As fans will know, Cirkut and watt worked on the majority of Mayhem, producing even its bonus tracks included on physical editions of the album "Can't Stop the High" and "Kill For Love." (Some of the albums best songs, if I say so myself.)

In a press release following the August 28 "Graveyard Gala" hosted by Netflix and Spotify, Gaga said of the track:

The inspiration for "The Dead Dance" was a breakup, and it was all about the way that we sometimes feel when it’s over; how a relationship ending can kill our ability to feel hopeful about love. It’s got this really cool, funky beat underneath it. And that is when the song becomes not just about the relationship; it becomes about having fun with your friends when you’ve been through something tough and amazing. I can’t wait for people to listen to it.

Fans previously spotted Gaga filming the top secret project at La Isla de las Muñecas in Xochimilco in Mexico earlier this summer, speculating it'd be for the next single off Mayhem. Infamously, the island full of baby dolls featured prominently on The Real Housewives of Miami, providing the backdrop for one of Bravo's most bizarre brawls in the history of the network.

Per Lady Gaga's official fan wiki, she even teased the song at a "Dress to Impress" Q&A inside Roblox. (For the uninitiated, it's a popular children's dress up game popularized by adults on the internet.) At that Q&A, she previewed lyrics from the song in the in-game chat, which feels like a style of pop marketing we haven't seen since the early 2010s — or when Soccer Mommy did a concert in Club Penguin.

Back to Lady Gaga, she's set to continue the Mayhem tour through November, when some fans speculate she'll release the proper deluxe edition of the album, or a set of remixes akin to Dawn of Chromatica. In the meantime, let's do as "The Dead Dance" says and quite literally dance until we die.

Image courtesy of Lady Gaga/Interscope Records