Does Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Borrow Too Much From Madonna?

This new hit of hers might be a little too similar to Madonna's hit "Express Yourself." In the "Born This Way" video, Gaga's rockin' Madge's classic lengthy high ponytail hairdo. Lady Gaga portrays herself as a strong, powerful woman just as Madonna has always done, plus she's channeling the 80s...

By Lenni Rosenblum

March 1, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

This new hit of hers might be a little too similar to Madonna's hit "Express Yourself." In the "Born This Way" video, Gaga's rockin' Madge's classic lengthy high ponytail hairdo. Lady Gaga portrays herself as a strong, powerful woman just as Madonna has always done, plus she's channeling the 80s for sure. One YouTuber went so far as to sync the songs up so you can hear the similarities.

The Material Girl has given Gaga her stamp of approval of "Born This Way," but my guess is because it sounds just like something she created in 1989.

In typical Gaga fashion, everyone spends most of their time in the video hanging out in the nude, but this video wreaks of sex much more than any of her past videos. Think of the totally NSFW music video for "See the Leaves" by the Flaming Lips, but much more graphic and gooey.

Sure, Gaga is known for her extremely high levels of creativity, expression and originality, but this music video just seems to channel Madonna. Maybe too much. Is Lady Gaga ripping off Madonna?

Watch Gaga's video below and sound off!

Oh, and if you need a refresher, Madonna's video is here.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Phoenix New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.