Born This Way

For the last six months, Lady Gaga has tweeted about Born This Way, calling it her best work and the first single from the album of the decade. Miraculously, she kept the song hidden, leaking it only to friends like Elton John, who praised the song as “the gayest song ever.” Without a performance, interview, or tabloid splash, Gaga transformed her song into an anticipated event that was supposed to be the monument of her career, a ballad like disco epic about human rights and essentialist theory, and a sure fire controversy ringer that would stay at the top of the hot 100 for months.

On Friday, Gaga managed to shock the world, but not in the way everyone anticipated she would. When I first heard the song, I was underwhelmed. It was a corny, unemotional jingle about loving yourself set to left over nineties house beats. Yes, I anticipated the corniness-she leaked the lyrics two weeks ago- but I was expecting an arrangement more “Total Eclipse of the Heart” than “Express Yourself.” I felt like I had heard this song before, but wasn’t sure if it was called “Express Yourself” or “We R Who We Are.” From the “don’t be a drag, be a queen” rap to the empty bridge, the production was a 100% Madonna rip off, but the blatant gay rights illusions reminded me of Ke$ha’s latest single. The difference in the two songs is that Ke$ha-the Jonathan Swift of the Dr. Luke era- has a cheeky humor that hint’s that she’s in on the joke. Based off recent interviews, Gaga thinks “Born This Way” speaks for a generation, and a lot of people agree with her. Thousands of little monsters have gone on Twitter, declaring the song a momentous occasion and life changing, while others deemed it a rip off.

In an ironic way, “Born This Way” is Gaga’s biggest failure and success. If you, as a fan or critic, believe Lady Gaga is a pop star on the verge of artistic genius or an artist who belongs among her downtown influences, then this song is crap. But if you constantly question if Gaga is aPR woman who sings, than this song is a masterpiece. It’s a piece of craftsmanship, not made to express Gaga’s self, but to gain publicity and momentum for her next album. It's supposed to make her a superstar.

After all, since when was Gaga really about the music? Sure, she plays the piano and has stellar vocal abilities, but she gets attention for her shocking outfits, performances, inspirational speeches, one liners, and “love for fans.” Every aspect of the Gaga story is calculated. Former friends never speak about Gaga in interviews. She has told the media everything she wants them to know about her past, shaping her own myth. Rolling Stone and the tabloids made Michael, Madonna, and Britney. Gaga isn’t a singer or dancer. She’s a genius PR person who has one project: making herself. How could “Born This Way” be a bigger success?