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"Born This Way" is the lead single from Lady Gaga's second studio album of the same name. Inspired by 1990s music which empowered women, minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community, Gaga explained that "Born This Way" was her freedom song. She sang part of the chorus at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in 2010 and announced the song as the lead single from the album, released on February 11, 2011.
"Born This Way" is backed by rumbling synth sounds, a humming bass and additional chorus percussion, with sole organ toward the end. The lyrics discuss the self-empowerment of minorities including the LGBTQIA+ community and on themes related to racial minorities. Critics positively reviewed the song, calling it a "club-ready anthem". The song reached number one in over 25 countries and was her third single to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the 1,000th song in that chart's history (since 1958) to reach number one. "Born This Way" has sold 8.2 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Nick Knight directed the accompanying music video, which was inspired by surrealist painters like Salvador Dalí and Francis Bacon. Gaga is depicted as giving birth to a new race during a prologue. After a series of dance sequences, the video concludes with the view of a city populated by this race. Critics noted the video's references to the work of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Björk, and the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, as well as to Greek mythology and surrealism.
Gaga performed the song at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards after coming out of an incubating vessel. Shortly after, she added it to the setlist of the last leg of the Monster Ball Tour. "Born This Way" was later performed on television shows, such as Saturday Night Live, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and Good Morning America, many of the singer's tours, and it was notably part of her Super Bowl LI halftime show set.
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