Born This Way (2012)

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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 1990s music which empowered 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.[1]

Key Lyrics

No matter gay, straight, or bi,

Lesbian, transgendered life,

I'm on the right track baby,

I was born to survive.


No matter black, white or beige

Chola or orient made,

I'm on the right track baby,

I was born to be brave.

Background

In 2010, Lady Gaga was touring for her second world tour, The Monster Ball. At that time she started developing ideas for her second studio album, Born This Way.[2] The first song written and recorded for the album was the title track itself which she wrote in Liverpool and Manchester, England, described by Gaga as a "magical message" song. She wrote it in ten minutes and compared the process to an Immaculate Conception.[3]

Interpretation

The lyrics during the verses talk about empowerment, while the chorus talks about making no apologies and accepting one as themselves.[4] It features the names of LGBT and other minority communities, which was due to the support Gaga had received from the community over the years. She also explained that since The Fame and The Fame Monster did not directly address those communities, "Born This Way" was her chance to create something that not only supported her political and social beliefs, but also empowered her to artistically say, "'I'm not being safe with this record.' I'm not trying to gain new fans. I love the fans I already have, and this is for them."[5]

Reception and Awards

At the end of 2011, Slant Magazine listed "Born This Way" as the fifth best song of the year, with Ed Gonzalez from the website commenting that the song is an "unmistakable landmark pop-cultural moment, a post-irony, post-metaphor, pansexual celebration, aimed squarely at the audience that probably needs it the most."[6] It also placed the same rank on the list by MTV, with Gil Kaufman from the channel saying that the song and the music video "added to Gaga's mind-tripping visual canon and further established her as one of the biggest triple threats in music."[7] PopMatters listed it at position 73 on their list of "The 75 Best Songs of 2011", with Sean McCarthy from the website saying that although Born This Way "is a labor to listen to because of its over-the-topness. No such problems exist with the title track. All of the Gaga's strengths on her one-hour monolith are condensed into a four-minute unstoppable ode to the outcasts of the world."[8] Furthermore, The Guardian listed "Born This Way" as the 18th best song of 2011.[9]

The video music of Born This Way won two awards at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, in the categories of Best Female Video and Best Video With a Message.[10] Along with the song winning the 2011 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song, Gaga won also the award for Best Video with "Born This Way" at the same event.[11] The song also set a world record at the Guinness World Records as the "Fastest-selling Single" on iTunes, with over a million copies sold in five days since its release.[12]

Reference

  1. Born This Way. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. Neil Strauss. "Lady Gaga Tells All". 21 June 2010. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. Jonathan Van Meter. "Lady Gaga: Our Lady of Pop". 11 February 2011. Vogue. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. Tanner Stransky. "Lady Gaga releases full lyrics to forthcoming single 'Born This Way': Read them here". 27 January 2011. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. Bill Werde. "Lady Gaga 'Born This Way' Cover Story". 18 April 2011. Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  6. Ed Gonzales. "The 25 Best Singles of 2011". 13 December 2011. Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  7. "Best Songs Of 2011". 14 December 2011. MTV News. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  8. "The 75 Best Songs of 2011". 5 December 2011. PopMatters. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  9. "The best songs of 2011". 19 December 2011. The Guardian. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  10. "2011 MTV VMAs: Winners". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  11. "Lady GaGa Wins Best Video At The 2011 MTV EMA". 6 November 2011. MTV News. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  12. Gil Kaufman. "Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Is Fastest-Selling Single In iTunes History". 18 February 2011. MTV News. Retrieved February 1, 2021.