What is 'Recession Indicator' in pop culture? Viral trend involving Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran explained

The internet’s latest obsession, the Recession Indicator, is taking over pop culture conversations — and it’s all centered around the music’s biggest names.

On April 20, 2025, the viral trend of this indicator emerged on the internet, involving two heavyweights in the music industry: Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran.

The term Recession Indicator is a viral pop culture meme that humorously blends economic anxiety with celebrity culture. According to this tongue-in-cheek meme trend, economic downturns and the simultaneous absence of major pop stars are widely connected.

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Recession Indicator in pop culture, explained

According to Newsweek, a Recession Indicator in pop culture is a broad term that refers to commercially successful pop music that charts high during a global financial crisis. The trend is being linked to the global recession from 2007 to 2009, which the United States faced.

Some examples that fall under the viral tongue-in-cheek meme trend are Ke$ha's TikTok from the album Animal, Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z, and Katy Perry's California Girls.

The trend experienced a resurgence after Lady Gaga released an album, Mayhem, on March 7, 2025, marking her return to pop music after a long time.

Since the release, a user on X, @kelly_anne73, took to her X account and indicated that Lady Gaga's music served as the "biggest recession indicator." Shortly after the post, the indicator meme went viral across social media platforms, sparking widespread discussion and engagement.

"i’ve heard enough lady gaga’s newest album is the biggest recession indicator we could possibly receive," the user wrote on X.

Furthermore, the user @kelly_anne73, whose real name is Kelly Deschaine, told HuffPost that Lady Gaga's album felt "nostalgic" to her. The 24-year-old Baltimore resident expressed her excitement about the return of Lady Gaga with an album —

"[The album] felt very nostalgic. I was like, Oh, the crazy Lady Gaga pop is back. I mean, it’s kind of been back, but, like, really back,” Deschaine told HuffPost.

Lady Gaga’s name appears in the Recession Indicator meme due to an interesting historical coincidence. During the global recession from 2007 to 2009, Gaga released her breakout hit, Just Dance—a track unrelated to the economic crisis yet often retrospectively linked to that period in pop culture discussions.

Similarly, following recent tariff announcements by former President Donald Trump—moves speculated to trigger a potential global recession—Gaga released a new album, Mayhem.

While her release has no direct connection to the economic news, the meme saw a resurgence, reflecting how viral trends often resurface in response to cultural or political events.

The other celebrity, Ed Sheeran, has been widely discussed in the trend because the English singer-songwriter responded to a user on TikTok on March 27, 2025.

In the post, the user was calling Ed Sheeran relatively "cool" and quieter in terms of music these days, and Ed Sheeran suggested that this was a "recession" —

"A recession indicator," Ed Sheeran replied.

As of now, neither of the artists has responded to the viral tongue-in-cheek meme trend yet.

Additionally, it is a humorous social media trend with no connection to Trump’s announcement or any real indicators of a domestic or global recession.