Born This Way

Born This Way is the second studio album by American singer Lady Gaga, released by Interscope Records on May 23, 2011. It was co-written and co-produced by Gaga with other producers, including Fernando Garibay and RedOne, who had previously worked with her. She also worked with artists such as E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons and Queen guitarist Brian May. Gaga and Garibay are the album's musical directors. The music of Born This Way stems from the synth-pop and dance-pop styles of her previous material while incorporating different forms of instrumentation from that on her previous releases, such as electronic rock and techno. It features a broader range of genres, such as heavy metal, disco, house, and rock and roll, while its lyrical topics include sexuality, religion, freedom, feminism, and individualism. Despite divided opinions among religious and conservative commentators, the album was well received by music critics, who praised the varying musical styles and Gaga's vocals. Several music publications included the album in their year-end best-of lists. Born This Way received three Grammy Award nominations, including Gaga's third consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. In 2020, Rolling Stone included it in their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Born This Way debuted atop in various major music chart worldwide, including the US Billboard 200, where the record sold 1.108 million copies in its first week—the highest first-week album sales in five years; an estimated 440,000 copies were sold on Amazon in two days of its first week at a price of 99 cents. It has since been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Four of the album's singles—the title track, "Judas", "The Edge of Glory", and "You and I"—charted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, where "Born This Way" stayed atop for six weeks. At the time of its release, the title track was the fastest-selling single in iTunes history. The fifth single, "Marry the Night", charted within the top 30 in the United States. After going viral on the video sharing service TikTok, "Bloody Mary" was released as the album's sixth single in 2022, eleven years after its release. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Born This Way was the third global best-selling album of 2011.