"Born This Way" | ||||
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Single by Lady Gaga | ||||
from the album Born This Way | ||||
Released | February 11, 2011 | |||
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Recorded | 2010 | |||
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Abbey Road Studios (London) Germano Studios (New York, New York) |
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Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 4:20 | |||
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Writer(s) | ||||
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Lady Gaga singles chronology | ||||
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"Born This Way" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga, and the lead single from her second studio album of the same name. Written by Gaga and Jeppe Laursen, who produced it along with Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow, the track was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour. Inspired by the 1990s empowering music for women and the gay community, Gaga explained that "Born This Way" was her freedom song. She sang part of the chorus at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in 2010 and announced the song as the lead single from the album, released on February 11, 2011.
The record is backed by rumbling synth sounds, a humming bass and additional chorus percussion, with sole organ toward the end. The lyrics discuss the self-empowerment of minorities including the LGBT community as well as racial minorities, referring to "cholas" and "orients", which drew criticism from Latino and Asian communities. Critics positively reviewed the song, calling it a "club-ready anthem", though it faced criticism for having similarities with Madonna's 1989 single "Express Yourself". The song reached number one in over 25 countries and was her third single to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the 1,000th song in that chart's history (since 1958) to reach number one. "Born This Way" has sold 8.2 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Nick Knight directed the accompanying music video, which was inspired by painters like Salvador Dalí and Francis Bacon and their surrealistic images. Gaga is depicted as giving birth to a new race during a prologue. A series of dance sequences later, the video concludes with the view of a city populated by this race. Critics noted cultural references to the work of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Björk, late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, as well as to Greek mythology and surrealism.