Miranda's Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩
It is with much pleasure that I announce that Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Era has officially begun! It kicked off yesterday when the title song from Gaga's upcoming album received its first play on the radio in the US and then later on elsewhere around the world. Here in England, I was fortunate enough to be up early (I'm hardly ever up early!) and was able to tune into the station that had the privilege of being the first to share this new song with millions of 'little monsters' around the world. As a self-declared lifelong Gaga fan, established 19 January 2009, just throwing that in there, this is a big deal for me and of course I was super excited! Typical me, waking up early for the premier for a Gaga song! I need to sort out my priorities :) But, Lord knows how much Gaga means to me for various reasons and I feel that I am perfectly justified! If I absolutely adore someone, I will go to great lengths to fully support them!
Anyway, enough about me and on to the actual song itself! It's got a catchy, feel-good beat to it and it's sure to cheer someone up when they're feeling down. It is also reminiscent of Madonna's 'Express Yourself' and, naturally, there are people complaining that Gaga ripped off Madonna. Now let's carefully think about this. Gaga is obviously a fan of Madonna, thus she is influenced by the Queen of Pop. I, too, happen to notice the similarity in both songs but to me, Gaga presents an homage to Madonna with 'Born This Way.' She isn't stealing anything. She took something from the past, paid respect to it, and created something new and refreshing from it. And I'm sure Madonna is honoured, especially as she admires Gaga as well. So if Madonna ain't got a problem with it, neither should anyone else. So calm down guys! Don't get your knickers in a bunch over something trivial.
Moving on to what's really important, this is Gaga heading in a new direction with her music! It is still pop but she puts a twist on it as no other can. It is NOT your typical pop song that deals with the basic generic topics that every artist seems to be singing about these days, you know, the usual: sex, drugs, having a good time and living life as if it's one big party 24/7, whatever etc. At least, in my humble opinion, that's what the mainstream artists seem to be singing their hearts out about these days. But Gaga is different! Sure she has covered those topics with her past records. Take 'Just Dance,' 'Poker Face,' 'LoveGame' and many of her other singles, for instance. Yep, their subject matter has been about all those things, but she's constantly moving on and changing it up, leaving everyone else in the dust. This new song is no exception!
'Born This Way' is more than a pop song. IT IS AN ANTHEM! An anthem for both those who are straight and those part of the LGBT community, an anthem for their allies, for their supporters, for the kids who feel like freaks or out of place when everyone else seems to fit in. It is something special to Gaga and her monsters! Her fanbase completely and wholly understands where she is coming from with this record. She, of course, is a major advocate for LGBTs and this song is very much for them. And yet, when you pay close attention to the lyrics, it is clear that it is an anthem for everyone.
In this song, Gaga tells us to be proud of who we are just as God made us because He "makes no mistakes." How true those words are and it is a beautiful message. It reminds me of the message in Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful' which is quite similar. That was truly a wonderful song. However, it's been a few years since that first came out so it's great to have 'Born This Way' now to reiterate the message even more so than before. She even blatantly brings religion and God into focus in this song, which is going to upset some people, of course. It really seems like a risk to her career with such a bold move on her part on many different counts in regards to this song. Does that matter to Gaga? No!
And yet, in light of all that, it has certainly already made its mark in the world. In less than 24 hours since it was released, 'Born This Way' has broken quite a few records! It has quickly made it to the #1 spot on iTunes in all 23 countries where iTunes is available and has received the most first-day spins on U.S radios in history. Simply amazing! Gaga is taking the world by storm once again and no one can deny it!
A close friend of mine told me that she noticed some people didn't like it. I do not speak for everyone with what I'm about to say but merely for myself. I'm just simply giving my observations, which I am entitled to. From what I gather, this song is not appealing to certain people because it's not what they're used to hearing. They seem to want the songs about sex, party-all-night, do whatever I want lifestyle. They don't want to hear the truth. They don't want an anthem. They want useless, trashy music which they blindly consider masterpieces, when in reality that stuff is all crap and nonsense. And in this respect, our generation fails. Pity, really.
Sure, this song is different from what she's previously done. But different can be good and is good, just as she tells us in the song. Truth is, Gaga can't please everyone and she does not aim to do so. She aims to make music that makes her and her fans feel good with a message in it that speaks to all. So for the haters and those who don't like it and don't want to hear it ... well then, my dears, no one is forcing you to listen to it. You were given free will and you have the ability to choose not to listen. I know all the comebacks that come with such a statement and frankly, it's not worth my time to pay mind to them. Whether you like it or not, Gaga is here to stay and there will be no complaints from yours truly!
I, for one, am excited about this new era of Gaga's career. But I must say that I will forever love The Fame|Fame Monster Eras! I've thoroughly enjoyed them both, having lived through both and having been a big supporter of them since the beginning when Gaga was just getting started. I'm so proud of how far she's come! It seems like we're supposed to be saying goodbye to those eras but I personally won't be doing so. To me, they won't be truly things of the past because all I really have to do is whip out my Gaga CDs, vinyls, Fame Monster Super Deluxe Package, basically everything Gaga-related that I own, past and present, and those eras will still live on! That said, I fully welcome the Born This Way Era! I hereby award this new single 5/5 stars! So yeah, I'm biased for Gaga. I have my opinions and they won't change for anyone. Oh well ... I was born this way!
0 comments:
Post a Comment