Initially intended to be a standalone single, the song was later announced to be included on Gaga's upcoming eighth studio album, Mayhem (2025).
Gaga and Mars wrote and produced the track alongside Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II and Andrew Watt while James Fauntleroy provided additional songwriting.
Musically, the soft rock-leaning track has been compared to Gaga's 2016 album Joanne and her 2018 release, "Shallow" from the A Star Is Born soundtrack, and Mars' work with Anderson .Paak as part of the Silk Sonic project.
An accompanying music video directed by Mars and Daniel Ramos showing both singers performing the song on a retro stage set was released simultaneously alongside the track.
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars first performed and sang together at the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on November 30, 2016, as a part of the lineup.
One night, after a long day, Mars invited Gaga to his studio to listen to music he had been working on and presented the track to her.
[8] Previously, a post from Hits magazine's "Rumor Mill", announced a collaboration between Gaga and Mars, revealing the song's title.
[9] The accompanying artwork shows the artists dressed in "country-leaning" red-and-blue "Western" outfits with Gaga smoking a cigarette and Mars wearing a cowboy hat.
"[22] She also mentioned that they aimed for the harmonies to feel "very 1970s" and were inspired by the collaborations between Carole King and James Taylor during the creative process.
[25] Robin Murray of Clash magazine gave the song eight out of ten stars, describing it as "a homage to those lush 70s duets" that "also feels profoundly modern".
Murray noted that "there's a feeling of mutual respect on this latest single, with both artists serving to push each other to different spaces", and said that "it's camp in places, but that's simple exuberant fun and hyped-up colour – the essential songwriting remains intact, plucking at those heartstrings".
[27] Consequence gave a positive review: "both artists sound great — Gaga's vocal run as she starts her verse is perfect!
"[28] Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone noted "the new track puts the duo's soaring vocals on full display".
[30] The New York Times dubbed the song "a romantic, lightly apocalyptic slow-dance that offers both the opportunity to belt to the rafters.
[32] The track debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week dated August 31, 2024, becoming Mars' 19th top 10 and Gaga's 18th in the country.
[35] In addition, Gaga also matched Diana Ross and Paula Abdul in joint seventh place for the most U.S. number one singles by female artists.
In addition, Gaga also becomes the fourth act to earn number-one entries in the United States in each of the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s decades, following Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus.
[52] Elsewhere, the song topped the national charts in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the region of MENA, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
[15] On August 27, 2024, the duo performed the song twice at his concert residency, Bruno Mars at Park MGM in Las Vegas.
[55] Gaga also performed a solo rendition of the song during a Christmas special of Carpool Karaoke, released on Apple TV+ on December 15, 2024.
[56][57] Gaga revealed via Instagram alongside the song's announcement that its accompanying music video would be released simultaneously with the track at 9 PM PDT.
[58][59] The clip shows the duo performing the song on a retro stage of a TV studio set, populated by faceless mannequins, as a black-and-white camera records them.