The rumors aren’t terrible, and they also aren’t true. Fans online are convinced that none other than Taylor Swift makes an appearance on Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated sixth album Mayhem. Specifically, they seem to believe Swift lent vocals on track nine, “How Bad Do U Want Me?” However, a source confirms to Rolling Stone that no, that is not Swift on the song.
Upon first listen, the outlandish theory that the two pop Goliaths teamed up sounds almost plausible. The song starts with tantalizing synths that recall Swift’s reputation era and echo her own track “Gorgeous.” (“How Bad Do U Want Me” actually interpolates the 1982 song “Only You” by Yazoo.) As Gaga sings the hook in the first verse, a supporting background vocal echoes “how bad do you want me” — and the crisp voice sounds eerily similar to Swift.
One X user posted a picture of Gaga’s album art paired with a photo of Swift from her reputation album photo shoot, writing, “THERES TAYLOR SWIFT BACKGROUND VOCALS ON HOW BAD DO YOU WANT ME BY LADY GAGA #MAYHEM.” A different user on X agreed with the theory, writing “Wait, why does how bad do u want me by lady gaga sound like a taylor swift song??? i was so convinced it was hers i had to check the credits. is just me????”
To make the rumor mill even worse, a Swift fan account posted an AI version of the song on X, alleging it was a real version with Swift fully singing a verse. Another user responded to the post, writing, “I know it’s fake but my brain has been convinced and now I always hear Taylor when I listen to this song . Probably why I love it so much.”
Other fans were coming to conclusions about how a possible Swift and Gaga collaboration came to be. One user wrote, “My theory is Taylor secretly wrote How Bad Do You Want Me for Gaga.. the production? the vocal style? the lyrics?? it’s screaming 2014-2019 Taylor so bad.”
However, Swift doesn’t appear on any credits of the song. This isn’t the first time fans theorized that the pop star secretly appeared on a major album release. When Beyoncé’ released Cowboy Carter, fans were convinced that Swift made an uncredited appearance on “Bodyguard.” She, in fact, did not.
It’s not the first rumor to come out of Gaga’s Mayhem era either. In June 2024, the singer referenced Swift as she set the record straight about pregnancy rumors. “Not pregnant,” Gaga wrote in the caption of a TikTok vide. “Just down bad cryin’ at the gym.” At the time, Swift responded to the lyrical mention in a TikTok comment, writing, “Can we all agree that its invasive & irresponsible to comment on a woman’s body. Gaga doesn’t owe anyone an explanation & neither does any woman.”