On Friday (7/3), Lady Gaga released her long-awaited seventh full-length album MAYHEM, 5 years after the release of her critically-acclaimed album Chromatica.

The Perfect Celebrity: Lady Gaga's long-awaited return to form has been greeted by critics and fans alike with showers of flowers all around.

The album is barely two weeks old, yet Gaga has achieved so much in such little time. Even prior to the album’s release, the album’s first single “Die With A Smile,” smashed Spotify records as her collaboration with Bruno Mars achieved the longest-running No. 1 song in the Global Spotify Chart, in addition to reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Her winning streak since then has continued as the third single, Abracadabra, has become a viral craze on TikTok, in addition to the album’s widespread acclaim, as renowned digital music critics Pitchfork and theneedledrop, respectively rating it 8/10 and 7/10. There is no stopping Gaga, as she has recently also announced a promotional stadium tour in several countries. With concerts planned for Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, as well as a headlining slot at the prestigious Coachella Festival, Gaga’s most recent announcement extended her stadium tour run by announcing a four-night leg in Singapore as her only stop in Asia.

Focused and committed, Singapore trailblazes with pride in being one step ahead of the event tourism curve in the region.

The following ensued social media mayhem among Asian pop music fans, especially those in the Southeast, as it reminded them of Taylor Swift’s Singapore-exclusive stop last year, leaving fans from other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia disappointed. However, the blame might be misplaced should it all be pitted to Gaga and her team, as according to Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, it is an intentional move from their government to secure big name Western acts and have them perform in Singapore, beating other countries in the region to the punch.

Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong even confirmed that a “deal” was made to secure Singapore’s exclusivity to Swift in the region, reportedly through an ambitious 2 to 3 million USD incentive. This commitment by the Singaporean government can be understood from an economic perspective, as over the last few years event tourism has become a very lucrative market in the Asia Pacific region, expected to even grow to an estimated 550 billion USD by 2028 according to Business Market Insights. 

In the face of fierce regional competition, contrasts to Indonesia's potential to compete in areas where other countries are currently leading have been raised.

Last year, the former Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) announced that plans are underway to develop the Indonesia Tourism Fund, investing an initial 2 trillion Rupiah to drive its establishment. However, in the “Outlook Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif 2024/2025,” Kemenparekraf clarified where they believe the market trends are heading, citing an emphasis on “cultural immersion” and eco-tourism as the main driving forces of Indonesia’s future in tourism, showing little interest in attracting Western acts to the country.

Government intervention aside, some may also refer to the rise of religious conservatism as a big factor in driving away international acts. In 2011, conservative groups rallied against Lady Gaga’s planned visit to Jakarta for the Born This Way Ball, successfully demanding its cancellation as they claimed the pop superstar was corrupting the country’s youth with her ”indecent display of nudity,” alleged satanism, and unwavering support of the LGBT+ community. Even as recently as 2023, protesters also rallied against Coldplay’s concert and demanded its cancellation because the band showed support for the LGBT+ community.  

Nevertheless, there is a strong possibility that Lady Gaga will also announce an official MAYHEM Ball Tour later this year in a similar fashion to previous years, in addition to her current promotional run of stadium tours, meaning that a Jakarta date should not be checked off just yet. While the setbacks mentioned may stand in the way of it happening, the question in the minds of many pop music fans is “how long will these uncertainties stand in the way of Lady Gaga’s visit to Indonesia? Will she ever get to come to the country?”