Lady Gaga has built one of the most impressive histories on Billboard’s charts, achieving seven No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, among other honors.
Her fiancé, Michael Polansky, has largely stayed out of the spotlight. The Harvard-educated businessman is the founder or co-founder of several tech companies, including Avos Capital Management, Hawktail and Outer Biosciences. He’s also a board member for the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Gaga’s makeup company, Haus Labs.
As of Billboard’s latest charts (dated March 22), he can now add another item to his résumé: Billboard-charting songwriter.
Polansky is credited as a co-writer on seven songs on Gaga’s new album, MAYHEM, which debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Of those seven cuts, four are on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart. Here’s a recap:
Rank, Title (co-writers in addition to Polansky):
- No. 4, “Vanish Into You” (Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, Cirkut)
- No. 5, “Disease” (Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, Cirkut)
- No. 9, “LoveDrug” (Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, Cirkut)
- No. 13, “Don’t Call Tonight” (Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, Cirkut)
Thanks to those four charting hits, Polanksy debuts at No. 6 on the Dance/Pop Songwriters survey, marking his first appearance on a Billboard chart.
Gaga places at No. 3 on Dance/Pop Songwriters, while Cirkut and Watt tie at No. 1.
Polansky is also credited as a co-writer on MAYHEM tracks “How Bad Do U Want Me,” “The Beast” and “Blade of Grass.” Of those, “How Bad Do U Want Me” debuts at No. 69 on the Hot 100, “Disease” peaked at No. 27 on the Hot 100 in November, while “Vanish Into You” and “LoveDrug” debut on the latest list at Nos. 61 and 95, respectively.
Gaga has been vocal in recent interviews about Polansky’s role in creating MAYHEM, saying he encouraged her to return to her dance-pop roots. “Michael is the person who told me to make a new pop record. He was like, ‘Babe. I love you. You need to make pop music’,” she shared in a September interview with Vogue.
Polansky added, “Like anyone would do for the person they love, I encouraged her to lean in to the joy of it. On the Chromatica tour, I saw a fire in her; I wanted to help her keep that alive all the time and just start making music that made her happy.”
Gaga and Polansky met in 2019 and got engaged in 2024. In a March 7 interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, she said the pair include each other in their work. “He includes me in his business, as well. He’s really creative, he plays guitar — he’s like a beautiful musician. We have a really creative relationship.”
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