Hot 100 Song Review #1 - "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga

Gaga's "reheating her nachos" again - how good is the result?

When Lady Gaga began her hit-making career in 2009, she immediately sought to be the most provocative and talked-about popstar in music. I don’t think it’s controversial to say she succeeded – what with her over-the-top music videos, fashion sense, and personality in her music, Gaga made the most evocative music on the pop charts up until 2013. Then… she kinda wasn’t. She made vocal jazz records, singer-songwriter pop rock, and a dance-pop album in 2020 that wasn’t nearly as strong as her first few records. When Disease was released last year, I saw a glimpse of a return to form from her, but that track didn’t stick around enough in public consciousness (which is a shame since I like that track).

So now there are rumblings of a new Gaga song rising on the charts, one that is a return to form for her music with many comparing it to her work on Born This Way or The Fame Monster. Before writing this, I hadn’t heard Abracadabra except through a few jokes thrown around about it and Gaga’s music in general. My review is going to be addressing some of the things said about the single, since I believe that my feelings about the song can be contextualized using them.

First, Gaga’s back to her nonsensical choruses. You know the type, “rah rah ah ah ah, Gaga, ooh la la,” or “Judas jud-ah-ah-ah, Judas Gaga.” This isn’t a novelty in Gaga’s music, but it’s something I notice has been missing from her hits in recent years. Personally, I don’t think that repeating “abracadabra, abra, ooh na na” in the chorus detracts anything from the song. I don’t know if there’s any real meaning you can pull from the song other than finding escape from life’s struggles through nightlife. The nonsensical lyrics are an adjustment, sure, but that’s nothing new to Gaga, and it does feel like Gaga’s drawing inspiration from herself in that sense.

In fact… This whole song feels like a pastiche to Gaga’s best work. I’ve seen it compared to Bad Romance, but I feel like the song resembles her single Judas the most. Now I like Judas – Almost 15 years removed from Gaga trying to be as provocative as possible, I feel as though that song is among her strongest work. It’s a bit repetitive, but the production is forceful and I think it’s among Gaga’s best vocal performances. One of the main jokes I see floating around about Abracadabra is that Gaga is “reheating her nachos” – which basically means repackaging her sound. Now this song is beloved, I’ve seen very little real push-back against Gaga for drawing from her back catalog for her album rollout, and many more people consider this song among Gaga’s best work. The debate I want to focus on the most is whether or not I find “reheating her nachos” strengthens or weakens Abracadabra.

Abracadabra is fine. It’s grandiose in its production and Gaga’s performance, but not in a way that I feel is so pretentious that it makes the song suffer. The fact that Gaga’s relying on sounds she picked up along her career doesn’t bother me, more so the fact that it makes the song feel like something I’ve heard a million times before by her. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and certainly not for Gaga who has struggled to sound like herself since 2014. Maybe this song will grow on me more with time (as I’ve said, I first heard this song today). Check in with me in about 3 months.