When Bruno Mars began sketching the idea that would inevitably become “Die With a Smile” three years ago, he ended up with a handful of lines for the first verse and part of the hook. He’d been collaborating with powerhouse musicians James Fauntleroy, known for sprinkling songwriting magic on hits from Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, and Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, who picked up a producer of the year nod at the 2025 Grammys following years of work with Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson. But the rough draft of “Smile” was swiftly abandoned, relegated to the demos pile, and presumably left to be forgotten.

That is, until they caught wind that Lady Gaga was working on last year’s “Joker: Folie à Deux” film, and Mars thought the idea could be a good pitch for either that project or Gaga’s a

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