Less than a month ago, 17-year-old singer and dancer, JoJo Siwa came out as gay on her TikTok page lip-syncing “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. Siwa is among the countless members of the LGBTQ community to proudly proclaim their sexuality with the hit Gaga song.
@itsjojosiwa
When “Born This Way” was released on February 11, 2011, it was apparent Lady Gaga had tapped into the zeitgeist of the LGBTQ culture and created an epic anthem for anyone that did not fit into the “norms” of society. It didn’t take long for the song to take hold in pop culture.
Less than a week after the single was released, Gaga performed it at the 53rd Grammy Awards, where she emerged from an egg-like pod on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Following her performance at the Grammys, “Born This Way” made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number one, giving Gaga her third number-one single and the 1,000th number one song in the then 52-year history of the Billboard Hot 100.
Not long after becoming the top song on the Billboard chart, the music video for “Born This Way” was released and it did not disappoint. MTV’s James Montgomery said about the video:
It’s part fantasy, part hopeful reality. It’s about the future and the past (especially at the clip’s end, when Gaga sports Madonna’s near-trademarked tooth gap), but really, all of that pales in comparison to the sheer spectacle of the thing. And that sort of makes sense, because after thoroughly dominating this world, with “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga seems content to create brand-new worlds to tower over. Welcome your new overlord.
Two months later, Gaga’s audio masterpiece would cement its place in pop culture when the hit Fox show, Glee, would not only cover “Born This Way” but it was used as the title of the 18th episode of the show’s second season.
The cast of Glee would sing the song again for the concert film, Glee The 3D Concert Movie, which was shot during the Glee Live! In Concert! Tour during the summer of 2011.
Even though, the song had drawn criticism for reportedly borrowing from Madonna’s songs, “Born This Way” is considered as one of Gaga’s best songs ten years later.
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Sources: NPR, Billboard, MTV, IMDB, Hollywood Reporter, Lady Gaga Official YouTube Channel,
