Fans are speculating that Lady Gaga and Will.i.am are plotting a future collaboration.
The pair were seen leaving a restaurant in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening (November 21) carrying large folders under their arms. They reportedly spent four hours in the restaurant, alongside the ‘Born This Way’ hitmaker’s boyfriend Michael Polansky, and a mystery woman.
Here’s picture evidence of the meeting.
Something is cooking. pic.twitter.com/ajpp0XOX5c— Owuru Samuel Nweze (@OwuruSamuel) November 22, 2023
In a thread following Pop Crave’s reporting of the event on X, fans quickly speculated the possibility of a collaboration between the two pop stars. Reactions to the prospect appear mixed.
Some fans expressed excitement with Lady Gaga’s return following her 2020 solo full-length ‘Chromatica’, tweeting comments including “2010 HITS ARE BACK” and “MOTHER is coming back soon”, others expressed skepticism about a collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas member, tweeting, “Please god no”, and “someone needs to stop her before it’s too late”.
Regardless, the potential collaboration would mark the pair’s first co-write since working on ‘Fashion!’, a cut from Lady Gaga’s 2013 album, ‘Artpop’. According to Line of Best Fit, she stated upon its release: “It just felt really good and we worked on it for a while together and we made it perfect and we really spent a lot of time editing it until it was just right.”
Lady Gaga has kept herself busy since releasing her last solo album, 2020’s ‘Chromatica’. Most recently, she was featured on the Rolling Stones’ new album, ‘Hackney Diamonds’, on the track ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven’, alongside Stevie Wonder. Commenting on her vocal performance, Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger expressed: “She’s a really great singer and I’d never heard her sing [in] quite that style before.”
She has also concluded her ‘Jazz & Piano’ residency in Las Vegas, which spanned 12 dates across August, September and October. The residency took place shortly after the passing of jazz great Tony Bennett, with whom she recorded his last studio album, ‘Love For Sale’, in 2021. In a heartfelt tribute to the late singer posted on Instagram, Lady Gaga called him her “real true friend”, writing: “I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together.”
‘Chromatica’, which featured the Ariana Grande collaboration ‘Rain On Me’, and received four stars from NME. “On ‘Chromatica’ Gaga has fully embraced creating a pure pop album,” wrote Hannah Mylrea. “From the exhilarating melodies to the positive, hope-filled lyrics, ‘Chromatica’ is a celebration – and a well-deserved one at that.”
Meanwhile, Will.i.am recently collaborated with Britney Spears on a new single, ‘Mind Your Business’, marking their first joint effort in a decade. The single serves as the latest preview of his upcoming fifth solo album, and is the second track to feature Spears since the end of her conservatorship, following her Elton John collaboration, ‘Hold Me Closer’.