Monsters rejoice! Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way” has finally surfaced, and it’s a hit. The disco-synth banger debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100—GaGa’s third #1. It shattered all previous records set by Britney Spears (“Hold It Against Me”) for digital downloads, radio spins, and chart debuts. What’s more, just three hours after its iTunes release it was #1 in 17 countries, becoming iTunes fastest-selling single!
Although, in this blogger’s opinion, the vocals and lyrics aren’t on par with her previous singles (“Poker Face,” “Bad Romance”), the message more than makes up for it. “It doesn’t matter if you love him or capital H-I-M!” GaGa has been more than vocal about her opinions on equal rights including Proposition 8, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, etc. She’s taken this passion and channeled it into a #1 hit that the entire world is listening and really paying attention to. That’s an amazing accomplishment, if you ask me.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. “Born This Way” has been dubbed a knock-off of Madonna’s feminist opus “Express Yourself.” In fact, Madonna and “Express Yourself” were trending topics on Twitter along with #BornThisWayFriday. In my opinion, the parallels are uncanny. However, it’s hard to listen to a pop song nowadays not influenced by the most influential female pop artist of the past few decades.
What’s next for “Born This Way”? After a spirited performance at the Grammys and much talked about “pod” entrance, I see it being very successful. However, I don’t see the public reacting to “Born This Way’” as they do with similar songs like Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R,” which were no doubt released after GaGa’s announcement of the theme of “Born This Way.”
After her appearance on the Jay Leno show, she announced her HBO special for her Monster’s Ball tour coming in May. She also announced the music video has already been shot and was directed by fashion photographer Nick Knight. The video is rumored to have taken four days to shoot and will feature transsexuals. She claims the video is about “birthing a new race of young people with no prejudice.” It will be shocking for sure, but then again everything she does is shocking,
What do you think? Was it overhyped and failed to deliver? Or, have you been reborn again?
