Photo: FilmMagic
Lady Gaga just released her latest album MAYHEM and has admitted that the project was heavily influenced by '90s rock music, namely Nine Inch Nails' 1994 hit "Closer." In a new interview, the pop star divulged that she can't remember the first time she met the band's frontman Trent Reznor because "I think I black out every time I’m in his presence."
When asked if she'd ever met Reznor, Gaga simply said "Yeah." When asked for more details, she confessed “I forget the first time. I think I black out every time I’m in his presence. … He’s an amazing musician.”
She was then asked if she's intimidated by the NIN bandleader. “Not intimidated," she clarified, "just really excited, stoked, quiet.”
NIN isn't the only rock act that inspired the album. In an interview with Elle, Gaga went into more detail about her influences. “There was industrial inspiration with a lot of the sounds,” she noted. “There’s a transitional moment on the album that’s rooted in ’90s music. A sort of electro grunge defiance. That era in music which was a response to the music that came before it. And then David Bowie theatrical rock, Prince, Radiohead. I was inspired by so much music that has grown roots in my veins.”