Pop fans like to neatly divide their favorite star’s career into defined “eras,” but Lady Gaga’s 2021 schedule proves no single era can contain her. The multi-hyphenate is busy, busy, busy on multiple fronts and across multiple mediums—so much so that it’s hard to keep up. Earlier this year there was buzz she could revisit her Chromatica and ArtPop albums in some form. Instead, she just ended up releasing a Born This Way special edition project for Pride month that no one saw coming. We know she’s starring in House of Gucci, but could she have filmed a separate flick with Brad Pitt as well? There could be some sort of project with Tom Cruise, too. This is all coming during a year that started with Gaga singing the national anthem at Joe Biden’s inauguration, which would have been a high point for most performers. Instead, it could just serve as a warmup to an Oscar campaign, a skincare launch, and another tour. Here, all the details on every possible Gaga project, either confirmed or heavily rumored.
House of Gucci
Status: 100 percent Confirmed
The movie has been filmed. The trailer has been cut. The release date has been set for November 24, 2021. The only question that remains is whether or not it will warrant a Lady Gaga Oscar campaign that becomes an outright project in itself.
Love For Sale Album with Tony Bennett
Status: 100 percent Confirmed
Recording for their follow-up to 2014’s Cheek to Cheek reportedly began back in 2018, but the announcement of the album still came as something of a surprise amid Bennett’s now-public battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The single “I Get a Kick Out of You” was released on August 3rd, a week in which the pair performed two sold-out shows at Radio City Musical Hall that will mark Bennett’s last public performances. The album itself, consisting of Cole Porter covers, is set to be released on October 1st, 2021. A television special is expected to coincide with its release.
Chromatica Ball Tour
Status: Confirmed
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s been postponed twice due to obvious reasons, but has now been rescheduled for 2022. Hang on to those tickets, Little Monsters.
Chromatica Remix Project
Status: Mostly Confirmed, But Details Still Murky
Chromatica’s main co-producer BloodPop tweeted about the possibility of a remix project or album of some sort for tracks from the 2020 album, and rumors and hints have flung freely across the internet ever since. But Lady Gaga herself only acknowledged the remix album’s existence on August 10th with a tweet.
No release date has been set, but some anticipate it could see the light of day as early as this week. Rina Sawayama, Dorian Electra, Bree Runway, Charli XCX, Shygirl, and Arca are either rumored or confirmed to appear. In both its selection of artists and promotion, it seems like the collection will squarely be aimed at Gaga mega-fans and internet-savvy pop music aficionados—the kind who could tell you every track of every good Hyperpop playlist compiled between 2019 and 2021.
The ArtPop: Act II Project
Status: Murky…
Amid revisiting the Born This Way and Chromatica eras, Gaga has also given some hope to those who think she may revisit the days of ArtPop as well. Rumors of unreleased tracks, an official sequel, or more remixes have bopped around the internet for years, often encouraged by producer DJ White Shadow. The biggest goal among the fans: the official release of a trove of unreleased songs from the era, including a collaboration with the notorious social media presence and rapper Azealia Banks. Gaga officially acknowledged the movement earlier this year, giving hope that the world of ArtPop could rise again. While DJWS has said he’s been in touch with Gaga about the possibility, Gaga herself stopped short of officially confirming anything.
In a follow-up interview with Entertainment Weekly this summer, DJ White Shadow also said that nothing was set in stone. But he did add he’ll likely work with Gaga again and revisiting those old tracks may be part of the process.
The Top Gun: Maverick Theme Song for Tom Cruise
Status: Rumor
Gaga is starring in her own movie this year, but could she provide the theme song for another? Rumors have bounced around the internet (though not anywhere official) that she’s recorded the theme song for Tom Cruise’s long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick (in a way, the film itself is Cruise’s personal ArtPop: Act II). That might seem a tiny bit random, but you have to remember that Berlin’s theme song for the 1986 original film, “Take My Breath Away,” was not only an era-defining mega-hit, but it also won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Of course, the follow-up would demand a major theme song as well.
The film is set for a November 19, 2021 release, a weekend before the Gucci movie. It is possible Gaga’s commitment to the theme song, should it actually exist, could have been made long before Gucci. The film has been delayed multiple times.
The Bullet Train Movie with Brad Pitt, Bad Bunny, and Sandra Bullock
Status: Actually, Completely Unclear…
Rumors that Lady Gaga was circling a part in the upcoming Brad Pitt action film were legit enough that they made their way into the Hollywood trade papers. But there were never any reports that she had officially signed on. She’s not listed on the film’s IMDB page (though she is on the Wikipedia page), there were no reports or photographs of her filming the movie, and the believable Hollywood outlets (essentially: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety) have made little mention of the news since. Filming was said to have began in November 2019 and to have ended in March 2020. Filming for House of Gucci started in Italy in February.
In an interview with Vulture from March, director David Leitch refused to confirm or deny Gaga’s involvement. So, there are two possibilities: 1) Gaga considered the part but either rejected it or couldn’t commit or, 2) she did film a part, but it was small enough to both hide from the public and not to interfere with the filming of Gucci.
Haus Labs Skincare
Status: Speculation
Lady Gaga uploaded an Instagram post about the importance of skincare back in December 2020. That, understandably, got the beauty press riled up with speculation that she would add skincare products to her Haus Labs makeup line. Her trademark application documents already covered products like toners and moisturizers, after all, and several celebs have extended their beauty lines into skincare before. Still, there’s been no official movement on this front so far.
The SOPHIE Tracks
Status: Very unclear.
We know that Gaga entered the studio with visionary pop producer SOPHIE during the Chromatica sessions. None of that work made the final album cut, but producer BloodPop promised the tracks would see the light of day somewhere within the “Chromatica universe.” SOPHIE’s untimely death in January 2021 has added a bittersweet element to the fact that those tracks remain in limbo. BloodPop has since confirmed that the Chromatica remix album will include only remixes and no new tracks of any type.