By Steven J. Horowitz, Variety | When Bruno Mars began sketching the idea that would inevitably become “Die With a Smile” three years ago, he ended up with a handful of lines for the first verse and part of the hook. He’d been collaborating with powerhouse musicians James Fauntleroy, known for sprinkling songwriting magic on hits from Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, and Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, who picked up a producer of the year nod at the 2025 Grammys following years of work with Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson. But the rough draft of “Smile” was swiftly abandoned, relegated to the demos pile, and presumably left to be forgotten.
That is, until they caught wind that Lady Gaga was working on last year’s “Joker: Folie à Deux” film, and Mars thought the idea could be a good pitch for either that project or Gaga’s accompanying “Harlequin” album. “He was such a genius for pulling that out of the back of his subconscious memory because of the timing of that movie, which is also how Lady Gaga came into his mind as a collaborator,” recalls Fauntleroy. “Then when we found out that wasn’t gonna be a thing, he had already kind of started the ball rolling because the power of Bruno compels you.”
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Mars played the bones of “Smile” for Gaga, who wanted to start work on the song right away. Both Fauntleroy and D’Mile describe the session as particularly unusual for an artist of her caliber, as they’re used to previewing an already recorded demo for a musician over speakers.
“She was like, ‘Let’s go to the piano,'” says Fauntleroy. “I knew she could play the piano, but watching her actually sit down like a musician and learn the chords, so much so that she actually asked for a pen and paper and wrote the chords down… This is unheard of. She learned the f**ing song, dude, right there. And they were performing, singing it together. And that’s when I should have known it was going to be something special.”
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/how-lady-gaga-and-bruno-mars-die-with-a-smile-went-from-a-leftover-scrap-to-one-of-the-biggest-hits-of-the-year/
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ ‘Die With a Smile’ Makes History as Year-end Hot 100 No. 1
By Gary Trust, Billboard
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” is the No. 1 hit on Billboard’s year-end 2025 Hot 100 Songs chart.
Notably, the ballad breaks barriers as the first annual Hot 100 Songs No. 1 duet by a female and male soloist each in lead roles over the chart’s 67-year history.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/lady-gaga-bruno-mars-die-with-a-smile-makes-history-as-year-end-hot-100-no-1/
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