Lady Gaga’s “The Dead Dance” from Netflix’s “Wednesday” will be nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics.
The song was written and produced by frequent Gaga collaborators Andrew Watt and Cirkat (Henry Russell Walter). “Dead Dance” can be heard in episode 7 of the series’ second season, directed by Tim Burton. The song plays as Enid (Emma Myers) and Agnes (Evie Templeton) dance at the Venetian Gala.
Gaga, who was already a fan of the series, told Tudum, “I got a call saying the show was looking for music, and the song ‘The Dead Dance’ immediately popped into my head.” Once I found out it was going to air on Wednesday, I decided to work on it even more and make it special for the show. ”
Gaga released the song last September and included it in her setlist for her Mayhem Ball tour. The multi-hyphenate said the inspiration for “The Dead Dance” was about breakups. “This is about how we feel when a relationship ends. It’s about how the end of a relationship takes away our ability to have hope in love,” she told Tudam. “In the song, I say, ‘I’ll keep dancing until I die,’ which means I’m going to accept that and move forward. I also say, ‘I’m going to take my power back.'”
A cheerful song is never a sad song. It’s about transformation and celebration. Gaga said, “In the middle of the song, I say, ‘Do a dead dance, do a dead dance,’ over and over again. From that point on, it’s not just a song about a relationship. It’s a song about having fun with friends when you’re going through something hard and wonderful.”
A creepy video directed by Burton was also released. In the video, Gaga stands on a wall surrounded by baby dolls and starts a dead dance to wake them up. As day turns to night, her chorus is joined by masked backup dancers, all the while the dolls bounce their heads to the upbeat tune. Gaga produced the video with Michael Polanski, along with Burton and Natalie Testa. Costume designer Colleen Atwood designed the costumes for both the video and the show.
Gaga also had a brief cameo on the show as Rosalyn Rotwood, “the legendary Nevermore teacher who meets Wednesday (Jenna Ortega).”
Burton, who serves as the show’s director and executive producer, told Variety of their collaboration, “She’s such an artist, so working with an artist is inspirational to me.”
Emmy nomination voting begins June 11th.
