Born This Way is the forthcoming second studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga scheduled for release on May 23, 2011 by Interscope Records. Preceding its release, the album's eponymous lead single "Born This Way" debuted on February 11, 2011 while its second single "Judas" will debut in the weeks before the album's release.

The album's title was revealed as Gaga accepted the 2010 MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year, while the release date was confirmed on her official Twitter page at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day 2011.

Background and development

Lady Gaga You and I.jpgleftthumbGaga performing "You and I" on Today.

By late March 2010, Gaga stated that she had begun working upon new material for Born This Way; adding that she had "already written the core of it." Three months later, she commented that she "felt very strongly" that she had completed the album. Upon being interviewed, she said, "It came so quickly. I've been working on it for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day."

By the last quarter of 2010, Troy Carter, Gaga's manager, and frequent collaborator/producer RedOne gave personal opinions upon the album. Carter explained that they were just starting to play the album to the label. He said, "We're very excited about . We're starting to play a little for people and getting a feel for it, and she's done an incredible job, a really incredible job. Well, you know what, it's not where I go from a business standpoint, it's more about where she goes creatively because, truth be told, we built the business around her creative infrastructure and that business that was built is unique to Lady Gaga." RedOne added, "I think it's more of her freedom album. his album that she's making is too precious to talk about. I think it's too precious for me to talk about it."

Composition

Gaga announced on November 26 during the Monster Ball in Gdansk, Poland, that the album could have up to 20 tracks, and promised that it would be the album of the decade. She also added that the album is completely finished. Gaga stated that it's full of "head-sledging dance beats." She also explained that the album is going to be like “bad kids going to church, having fun on a high level.” It was confirmed in an interview with Vogue that 17 tracks were recorded for the new new album, 14 of which will make the final cut to the standard edtion. The leftover 3 were originally going to be released on an exclusive Target deluxe edition of the album but on March 9, it was reported that Gaga ended her partnership with Target on the grounds that the company donated money to an anti-gay organization.http

In an interview with the BBC's Newsbeat Gaga commented on the album stating "The album is a marriage of electronic music with major, epic, dare I even say, metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats. It's finished and all, it's just fine-tuning everything. It's kind of like the post-operative stage of the album. I've already done the full heart surgery. I'm just sewing myself back up again. I think that lyrically this album is more poetic. It's really written by the fans, they really wrote it for me because every night they're funneling so much into me. So I wrote it for them. Born This Way is all about my little monsters and me, mother monster."

Release and promotion

Born This Way was scheduled for a worldwide release on May 23, 2011. While accepting the Video of the Year award (for "Bad Romance") at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga announced the album's title before declaring that she promised that she would reveal it if she won that award. This revelation was followed by Gaga singing a few lines from the title song: "I'm beautiful in my way, 'cause God makes no mistakes; I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way." Given as a Christmas "gift" to her fans, Gaga announced via Twitter the release dates of the album and its lead single at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day 2011. Supplementing this announcement came a black-and-white photograph in which Gaga is "nude from the waist down, with her hair blowing about, and sporting a jacket with emblazoned in what looks like bedazzled jewels."

Lady Gaga BTW 01.jpgthumbrightLady Gaga and her dancers performing "Born This Way" for the first time at "The Monster Ball Tour", in February 2011, Atlantic City.

Additionally contributing to a Paris fashion show, in mid January 2011, by designer Thierry Mugler for which Gaga was named musical director, she previewed a remixed version of "Scheiße" (German for "shit"), a song that appears on the album which "begins with Gaga repeating foreign phrases over a thumping club beat." She released the complete set of lyrics to "Born This Way" on her official Twitter page in late January 2011. The names of the five songs that appear on the album were revealed in the March 2011 issue of US Vogue. At the beginning of March, Gaga, as the musical director at another Mugler fashion show in Paris, unveiled a preview of "Government Hooker" described as featuring "a thumping beat, operatic vocals and a trance-y vibe."

Promotion for Born This Way began through a performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards on February 13 in Los Angeles where she performed the album's title track and first single "Born This Way". Before the performance, Gaga was found "incubating" on the Red Carpet. She was encased in a translucent material that was said to be an embryo, which she came out of on stage during the beginning of her performance. She was dressed in a nude-colored outfit with noticeable protrusions coming out of her face and shoulders. Towards the end of the performance, she began playing an organ before singing the end of the song. Gaga also performed "You and I" on Todays Toyota Concert Series in July 2010. Both "Born This Way" and "You and I" have since been added to her set list at The Monster Ball Tour. It was also confirmed that Gaga will perform "Judas" on the season 10 finale of American Idol on May 19.

Singles

"Born This Way" was released as the album's lead single on February 11, 2011. The song was written by Lady Gaga and Jeppe Laursen, and produced by Gaga, Laursen, Fernando Garibay, and DJ White Shadow.Billboard