Lady Gaga: Born This Way (Single Review)

by Bradley Stern
filed under: Katy Perry, Kesha, Lady Gaga, Single Review, Xenomania

atta11f3 Lady Gaga: Born This Way (Single Review)

Hype is an ugly, impossible hump to overcome.

After Perez Hilton named it “one of the best songs of Gaga’s career,” Vogue‘s Jonathan Van Meter described it as an “unbelievably great dance song, destined to be the anthem of every gay-pride event for the next 100 years” and Elton John dubbed it “the anthem that’s going to obliterate ‘I Will Survive,’” Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way” was already mired by impossibly high expectations.

Naturally then, it was almost too obvious that the song would ultimately–or at least, initially disappoint a few (or more) upon its release this morning.

For one thing, it’s a grower. Unlike “Bad Romance,” which supplied me with what I like to refer to as ‘the “Since U Been Gone” effect’ and had me almost literally gasping for air, “Born This Way” felt noisy, underwhelming (a symptom of hype overload, no doubt) and cartoon-ish (my mind somehow went straight to Pokémon).

Additionally, “Born This Way” has arrived late to the party of “It Gets Better” pop anthems; the recent surge of self-empowerment, ‘flaws-and-all’ equality anthems that make up some of the biggest bangers of the past six months, including Ke$ha‘s “We R Who We R,” P!nk‘s “Raise Your Glass” and “Fuckin’ Perfect” and Katy Perry‘s “Firework.”

While all of the above songs were almost certainly scribed with a primary purpose to compete with Gaga’s upcoming single (as she had announced the theme of Born This Way and its title track a long, long ago), the track ends up packing a distinctly less modern, cutting bite than the efforts by her contemporaries.

And then there’s that unavoidable comparison: Madonna‘s “Express Yourself,” a connection so obvious that, at one point, the words “Madonna” and “Express Yourself” were trending on Twitter right along with #BornThisWayFriday this morning.

It’s not so much that “Born This Way” simply sounds similar to “Express Yourself.” (Lord knows, I treasure enough derivative pop to overlook that fact.) It’s that the melody is at times virtually indistinguishable from Madonna’s 1989 hit–to the point where it’s almost impossible to avoid singing the wrong lyrics.

When Gaga sings, “I’m beautiful in my way, ’cause God makes no mistakes,” I want to sing right back: “So if you want it right now, then let me show you how.” And when she sings: “I’m on the right track baby, I was born this way!” I hear “Baby, ready or not / Express what you got!” (And please, if you’re really so mindless to argue that they don’t sound the same at all, I’ll provide the snippets from each song–they are.)

So what does it mean? Everything and nothing, really. You could call it unoriginal, but pop is cyclical. I guess it’s great that “Born This Way” sounds like a song that’s amazing, but it doesn’t really offer a better alternative or improvement either.

Although there’s nothing particularly inventive about this production, the underlying message of the song is positive and praiseworthy. I’m very grateful that Gaga continues to genuinely stress the point of equality–especially in regards to LGBT rights–and that this song delivers the message as promised. If it inspires or encourages even one child to live the way they want to live, then Gaga is nothing less than a saint.

In a related note, the lyrics–as PopJustice’s Peter Robinson rightly assured us in his review–are not as heavy-handed in song form than they are on paper. Instead, they’re great (if not a mouthful) in moments, and a little bit garbage (“subway kid”) in others.

Much in the same way that, say, Kristine W‘s musical output is great, so too is “Born This Way”: It’s campy, fun and flamboyant–from Gaga’s overly theatrical delivery to Garibay’s surging, ’90′s Xenomania-esque club beat. “Born This Way” is a drag queen’s wet dream, which will make it all all the more interesting to see how the song performs to mainstream audiences.

I suppose my greatest issue with “Born This Way” is that, after over thirty plays and counting, I remain hopelessly neither here nor there: I don’t entirely love it, but I certainly don’t hate it either. If it was played at a club, I would probably dance to it. If it was played in my car, I would probably sing to it. But if I never heard it again, would I feel like I’ve missed out on something? I really don’t think so.

Is “Born This Way” the defining theme of a generation? Perhaps, but certainly not one to which I belong.

In the end, hyperbole is hyperbole and pop is pop. And just because “Born This Way” isn’t actually the new “I Will Survive” doesn’t mean it’s not, at the very least, enjoyable.

So, just dance…it’ll be okay.

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  • muffinhead

    your journalism has grown at quite an exponential rate, quickly becoming my favorite blogs to read.

    excellent review.

  • Nicky

    It’s really catchy and is getting stuck in my head, but I agree with everything you said. I enjoy it but I’m not going to make an effort to hear it and I’d much rather listen to Express Yourself which is far superior. Shame on Elton John. Like wtf is he smoking? And I wish more people would point out the offensive lyrics. Orient, chola, etc. It shouldn’t be ok.

    Also I agree with what you said about appreciating the pro-gayness from Gaga. But even though I appreciate it and think it’s great she’ll help some kids with self esteem, I will never stop thinking that she’s doing it to take advantage of the gay community. She does it for the attention and because she knows all the gays eat this shit up. They do and they are. Except I’m one of them that aren’t falling for it.

  • sadie

    I’m utterly horrified, Madge must be flattered if she doesnt sue – what a fuckin rip, is that allowed? I’m a huge Madonna fan, I’m not a Garribay fan and this just proves how creatively barren he is – what a risk to put out express yourself as the first single. She is completely arrogant. Congrats Rob Fusari – I think now that you may have had a helluva lot to do with this gal. Oh the disapointment is immense, its fucking CRIMINAL & UNORIGINAL.

  • http://www.twitter.com/Seeser209 Seeser209

    I’m so disappointed. I am gonna give it a chance to grow on me but when you say “But if I never heard it again, would I feel like I’ve missed out on something?” I would 100% agree with you. My other grip is why does this “Gay anthem” have to so sound so gay. It sounds like it can only live in clubs. I applaud Lady Gaga for helping make gay rights so visible but this is not my anthem. I’ll stick to Beautiful, Raise Your Glass, We R Who We R & ofcourse I Will Survive.

  • http://www.aerosolde.tumblr.com ERIC

    “I will never stop thinking that she’s doing it to take advantage of the gay community. She does it for the attention and because she knows all the gays eat this shit up. They do and they are.”

    WELL FUCKING SAID!!!!!!

  • Mikey

    Excellent and fair review.

  • Alex

    Now, I’m predicting this is going to have a lot of hate (for not being as ground-breakingly phenominal) or even huge praise (for being GaGa…) but in my opinion, I think it’s actualy, brilliant.

    Ask yourself, what did she set out to do with this song? She’s set the flood-barrier open now, she’s openly praised homosexuality in a song, praised all races, the poor the rich, the disabeled. She’s set the freedom bar artists like Katy Perry pussy foot around to unreached heights. Like one of the posters said, she’s made this song a slap in the face for equality, not a quiet request for it.

    It’s very disco, with a anthemic chorus and a bridge anyone can sing along with. It’s lyricaly sharp and though I think some of the effects are over-done, imagine that in an arena? You think it’s a song to be sang on your own? No, it’s a song for 20’000 plus people to yell towards a stage while jumping, monster-claws in the air. It has energy, it brings smiles and it’s powerful. I think she’s shed another skin (albeit she’s going to be labeled as Madonna by so many now because it’s every female artists destiny to be compared to other female artists eternaly) and given us something that I perceive, as great.

  • http://dabblie.tumblr.com/ Edi

    Wow, you really think this isn’t as good as HIAM? I was underwhelmed by the new Britney when I first heard; it has since grown on me and I do like it now. With BTW, I was underwhelmed at the first chorus, but by the bridge and final chorus, I was sold

    Song for song, without the personas of Gaga and Britney, or if another pop singer sang both songs, I think it’s pretty hard to argue that melodically and especially lyrically, HIAM is better than BTW.

  • Mikey

    “Song for song, without the personas of Gaga and Britney, or if another pop singer sang both songs, I think it’s pretty hard to argue that melodically and especially lyrically, HIAM is better than BTW.”

    Edi, I disagree with that entirely.

  • Spaxicle

    I like how biting, reflective yet resolute the concluding statement is. It takes me back to a time several sequins ago when Just Dance was released. All things considered, at least it’s a step far, far away from her initial effort, showing that she is willing to move on, in a way.

    As far as your review is concerned, you’ve helped verse my thoughts out in clear precision. Many of us need to understant that a lot of times it takes more than just a limited set of blunt and vulgar, superficial words to get a point across, something which almost everyone on the internet seems to be happy to leave at comments sections (not MuuMuse of course!)

  • Kevin

    ALTHOUGH the song is catchy, it’s nothing special.

    The problem with Gaga and her team (which, sadly, includes Perez) is that they insist on OVER hyping every single piece of material she puts out, and at first that worked… but now it’s not working.

    BTW isn’t bad – but it’s not good either. That being said, she has the #1 spot on iTunes now, but I don’t see it being there for long.

  • http://hellofromlisbon.tumblr.com JP

    OMG here is the ORIGINAL inspiration, it sounds almost the same!!!!!!!! With a 201o production iof course but fuck!!!!!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtaO7IJupfc&feature=player_embedded#at=57

  • Lance

    I don’t know if you were born this way, Bradley, but you sure can express yourself better than any other pop blogger around. The review is dead on….just like this song is dead on arrival. Indifference is a killer.

  • http://dylancx2.wordpress.com dylancx2

    I THOUGHT CARTOONS TO. Spot on review, however, I don’t think this one will be growing on me. I genuinely wanted to like this, I started believing the hype. I was literally to the point of “OMG, I’m going to like a freaking Lady Gaga song.” But this song is a COMPLETE ripoff. I understand, and I don’t mind, that pop music is cyclical BUT this is not inspired by nor did it sample. It completely stole, not only the technical aspects like the melody, but the overall feel of Express Yourself. And it might have been different, if she made a BETTER version or a BETTER take on the melody, etc, but it wasn’t. It sounded cheap and lie you said, under whelming. I like what someone said in the comments, the one about how it can only live in the club. That’s so true. So many of my friends, who pretty much only listen to Top 40, generally lived Poker Face, Bad Romance, Just Dance, etc etc. But I can guarantee you that people are not gonna feel this song like the ones just mentioned. Gaga is alienating a huge part of the audience, who wasn’t necessarily “Gaga fans”, but were a huge part of what”s made her successful this far. I’m not dying for her to fail, but at this point, she needs to step her game up and not be so “gays, gays, gays, gays, gays, cholos.”

  • MICHAEL

    (HAHA. OMG. This could totally be the intro to Pokemon!)

    I agree with the review. A little late in the “It gets better” barrage. Overall, don’t hate it don’t love it = okay.

    It is a move away from her beginnings, so at least she is evolving.

    “Gays, gays, gays, gays, gays, cholas!”

  • Teacup

    PERFECT REVIEW. You got me with:

    “But if I never heard it again, would I feel like I’ve missed out on something? I really don’t think so.”

    “Is “Born This Way” the defining theme of a generation? Perhaps, but certainly not one to which I belong.” – I guess that means “yes” to the people who didn’t grow up to Madonna.

  • Andrew

    I think I would have liked this song a lot more if she didn’t hype it like it was the second coming of Jesus. Naturally, the fact that it didn’t live up to the hype made it more disappointing. I think its a good song, but it isn’t as epic as Bad Romance or Poker Face.

    Although the lyrics are cheesy, they convey a powerful message. However, the problem is that the busy production overwhelms the lyrics. She could be singing about equality or pancake mix and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference over that club banging beat. I was expecting better production from Fernando Garibay since he produced the masterpiece that is “Dance in the Dark”.

    From a purely objective standpoint, I prefer HIAM over BTW, even though I am more of a GaGa fan. BTW does sound a bit dated while HIAM’s sound is more progressive.

    PS – I wholeheartedly agree with the above posters about your journalism skills. =)

  • http://www.karlismyunkle.com Nik

    Really nicely put Bradley.

  • http://www.musicboxmix.net Louie

    Bradleeeeey!

    When I first gave the tune a spin early this morning I immediately deflated in disappointment. BUT I didn’t feel I could post that on my blog, so I resolved to continue to play it until I felt some sort of spark or connection. There was none. In the void for what I was feeling, somehow I knew to come here in the hopes of finding a review or a reaction. And here was this piece. I think it encapsulates so comprehensively everything that surrounds the message, the influences, the references and its impact, that it gave language to that confusion I was feeling. Ergo, I carried this over to our site – certainly giving you credit – and you’ve spoken for many. I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that it might be the anthem of a generation – that we don’t belong to. That sealed the deal for me (I’m older).

    Kudos, congrats and thank you all rolled up in one lovely appreciative salute!

  • Josh

    hey dude… you don’t understand music yet. I’m 100% sure you are going to love the born this way music video and you’ll disagree in what you wrote here… I remember when you wrote about bad romance, it grew on you! you suckkkk

  • http://ladygaga.com Mae-sa

    Doesn’t sound like Express Yourself at all.
    The melody, the chorus, the message, the tempo of the verses it’s all different.
    You *want* to hear Madge, so you do.

    Everyone says Gaga needs to do something original, so she creates this beat (that wasn’t stolen from DUBSTEP), and you say it’s distracting, or unfinished or bland. Well maybe she’s training your ears for what’s to come. She has at LEAST 17 songs on the album, all with lyrics that take a stand, not just about getting fucked or fucked UP!

    Everyone is saying, “oh the lyrics are simple and cheesy, a ten year old could’ve written that,” etc, well why didn’t they then!? If Express Yourself had any positive effect on the world, we wouldn’t HAVE people who are repressed and discriminated against or insecure! Just because you guys got to experience liberation through music 25 years ago, doesn’t mean this generation doesn’t deserve it! (I am 26 and I never cared for Madonna! EVER!)

  • goldie

    Bradley, hon, you speak the truth.
    Bitches, STFU and GDIAF!

  • denny

    All I have to say is, if this is a massive worldwide smash and Get Outta My Way can’t even make the UK Top 10? Not only is there no justice in the world, but people simply have no taste.

  • Wicked

    Dear poster Mae-sa, it’s basically a carbon copy.
    Listen to this mashup that overlays the two songs. They are basically identical. You are pretty delusional and the fact that you never cared for Madonna says a LOT about your taste in music.

    http://indigoisbetter.tumblr.com/post/3248775553/applebits-narcissas

  • http://dylancx2.wordpress.com dylancx2

    Because I love to hear what people have to say, I came back to this review to read the comments made after mine. Mae-sa, you say if Express Yourself had any positive effect on the world, we wouldn’t have any repression or discrimination today to deal with, but SURELY your not expecting Born This Way to fill that void, are you? You are delusional if you think Born This Way is going to just make everyone who is a homophobe love all the gays and all of a sudden LGBT rights are going to be given out like pieces of chicken teryaki at a food court in the mall. It does not work like that. The bottom line, is that wether or not the message is a good one, what’s that matter if you can’t take it seriously? The song is garbage and it’s going to do nothing but be over played in all the gay clubs.

  • joy @UOwnMyHeartAdam

    Considering how I am not much of a Madonna fan and I even noticed it was a ripoff of Madonna’s musical style is really sad. Extremely disappointing that she did this and not really understanding her reasoning, unless it was intentional on her part. This seems like the only reasonable explanation given how intelligent, creative and forward thinking Gaga is. The industry re-does old pop tunes and “steals” other pop artist sounds all the time (i.e. Christina Aguilera ripping off Perry, Kesha, Madonna and Lambert all in one album), but it’s unfortunate that Gaga was the one to do it as her image has always been about musical originality and creativity.

    Worried now about the rest of the album but keeping my fingers crossed. Sophomore singles/albums tend to be a let down anyway so I was expecting that on some level, just not in such a huge way… Bummer

  • Zac

    mm I listened to the overlayed version and all though I think the songs both follow a similar format I think the melodies and lyrical differences are enough to set them apart. The similarities are enough to suggest that gaga isnt trying to pretend it’s not madonna influenced, but more of a nod to her?

    If not for gaga who else can we expect to deliver an up beat anthemic single in our generation? I feel like its been a long time since a top forty song has had a true message as opposed to a gimmick.. Not only that but who can our generation expect this sort of message from, when alot of the people complaining had madonna to look to for it.

  • z

    i just ran across this site after hearing about this Madonna/GaGa stuff! she just jacked that song from Madonna completely. Madonna is gonna be pissed

  • http://www.aerosolde.tumblr.com ERIC

    “I feel like its been a long time since a top forty song has had a true message as opposed to a gimmick.”

    Really? Really? Reeeeeeeeeally?
    …”true” should never be used in the same sentence as Lady Gaga.
    Her character is a complete persona! I hate how people think she is so real and thinks of everything herself and is so forward-thinking and fashionable. The fucking girl has a huge team behind her thinking of every little gimicky thing possible that could make her more famous.
    Yes she’s singing about gays… BRAVO! *rolls eyes* I don’t need Lady Gaga to tell me it’s okay to be gay.. she’s light-years behind on the “it gets better” campaign… it reminds me of when madonna released “4 minutes”… she was the last one to crawl to timbaland after the entire world had already used him.

    AKA.. Gaga’s gimick is getting old and tacky. If she wants to be cutting edge, she should make something REALLY new that I haven’t already heard.

  • dang

    What a dry bradley- this song may e bad, but how come you managed to point out all gaGa’s flaws and ignore all of Britney’s?
    Gaga may be derivative but she is daring and avant-garde. Britney is a pop veteran but she is dull and derivative (of her own work?) and has no inspiration (and can’t sing).
    At least Gaga puts effort in.

  • GagaGY

    I personally don’t hear the similarity to Express Yourself. That said, I think this “anthem” she wrote is specifically targeted to the younger generation – those who were just born during or shortly after Express Yourself was released. I am a fan of Madonna, but I had never heard Express Yourself before. After listening to both I don’t hear the similarities, though there is no doubt the song is very much inspired by Madonna. Like you said, this is no Bad Romance, but I think it can be an anthem for a generation – a younger one (including myself) who are in their early 20s and younger. Because I love the song, and it makes me feel pride. Though again, I wasn’t hooked immediately like I was with Bad Romance, it’s a grower.

  • krissy

    @dang, leave britney alone! lol.

    but seriously, pointing out britney can’t sing (live) is like pointing out gaga doesn’t dress like a normal person. its already in their packaging and should not be something to be held against them. so your arguement about HIAM being far superior to BTW is not valid. i respect your opinion if you think britney is dull just as i think gaga in not avante garde. gaga just copies indie talents and brings it on mainstream pop music.

  • http://www.acrowdelectric.com david

    “I am a fan of Madonna, but I had never heard Express Yourself before.”
    Um, okay.

  • Erica

    GagaGY- You make me want to GaGaGag. Go download Immaculate Collection and listen to it on repeat for a few hours before you even think about calling yourself a Madonna fan.

  • Guest 182

    I think the greatest desapointment of this song was not the rip-off but the hype… everybody expected something new… when britney debuted HIAM the critcs said it was really one of the best britney’s songs and it would be hard to say if it would be better the Gaga’s BTW because nobody never knew what to expect from Lady Gaga… When she debuted BTW, everybody expected something new, something nobody ever heard before but instead they got this Madonna’s rip off that look a lot with her other early 90′s songs… In the end, the song’s problem was what people expected and what she gave to the public… Other than that, the song is ok… If you like Gaga’s other songs, you should like this one too ’cause they’re not so different…



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