Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way': A shameless Madonna ripoff?

The song: For some, it's been a long, eager wait for Lady Gaga's new song "Born This Way," the title track off her upcoming album. In October, none other than Elton John dubbed it "the new gay anthem." Two weeks ago, Gaga published the lyrics, which some likened to a "21st century handbook on self esteem." Today, at long last, Gaga fans (err, "monsters") got to listen to the track and drama quickly ensued. The song bears an unmistakable resemblance to Madonna's 1989 hit "Express Yourself" (listen below) and fans have been hotly debating Gaga's motives on Twitter.

The reaction: From the opening "spoken word chant" to the dance-y beat, "it's a total ripoff of Madonna's 'Express Yourself,'" says Melissa Bell in The Washington Post. But, "it's also a delicious pop song." I don't know, says Michael Cragg in The Guardian, I wouldn't call it a ripoff or "copycat," so much as a "knowing nod and a cute wink." C'mon, "Born This Way" has superior lyrics, plus an "up tempo beat and added techno sounds" that give it a "distinct difference," says "LaShonda" at ChicagoNow. But, who knows. "Maybe Gaga wanted the controversy for album sales." Check it out for yourself:

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