Lady Gaga is in a mad sprint to torture the world with the most amount of pre-release buzz and teasers than Britney Spears. How to do that? Get Ellen DeGeneres, James Blunt, and Justin Bieber to team up and exploit their own fan bases for your pleasure, that’s how.
fartists
Lady Gaga Ensnares Ellen DeGeneres + Justin Bieber In Massive ‘Born This Way’ Hype Ploy
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Zee
She’s doing a great job of hyping it up.
Join Me on Sodahead, we need more GLBT voices!
http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/born-this-way-lady-gaga-releasing-early-friday-feb-11th-will-you-be-listening/question-1502279/
Sceth
Although I acknowledge that Bieber has talent, I preferred Ellen’s singing.
Lefty
Gaga is great, but the message of this song is so lame.
Bieber and Blunt are obviously just piggy-backing her kudos but it’s a shame to see Ellen and Elton giving it so much attention.
sam
how is the message of the song lame? not particularly innovative i guess (there’s been “be who you are” messages for years), but how is the message in itself lame, as opposed to the lyrics themselves? Is that what you meant?
Jeff K.
She’s hyping this song up so much I’m afraid I’m going to be underwhelmed when it finally comes out.
Daine
Justin Bieber and James Blunt on the Ellen DeGeneres Show: Is this a nightmare?
Pat Duffy
I just feel sorry for this Fundie kid if/when he comes out…
Cheers, Pat
Lefty
@sam:
I mean the actual message of the song. The “I was born gay and I didn’t choose to be” line is obviously true and none of us here actually chose to be this way (whether we were actually born this way is still a matter of debate, but as far as I’m concerned I *was* born this way), but as a *justification* for being gay (usually to people who are – or are presumed to be – homophobic) it’s a weak stance. It’s weak because it implies that if we had a choice we would choose to be straight. It’s something that we don’t have any control over. These things may or may not be true but it’s when they’re used to justify being gay to people who aren’t that I think it becomes problematic. Contrast that with: “I am what I am/I am my own special creation” – that’s much more empowering because it instills the idea that we are in CONTROL of what we are. We OWN our sexuality and we don’t need to justify that with excuses about how we didn’t choose to be this way.
In short, “I was born this way” sounds empowering on the surface but in fact it’s a statement of passivity.
I know it’s just a pop song and if it was by Katy Perry for instance I wouldn’t bother writing all this, but Gaga is in a unique position right now and while I think she’s amazing I do think the fact this is being hailed by some as a great gay anthem is a little troubling.
sam
@Lefty: unfortunately it’s a message that needs to be said, when our “enemies” spend so much time telling us that we can “change”, and use that “reasoning” to attack us.
We shouldn’t have to defend ourselves that way, but let’s be realistic.
As is though, I think it’s a good message. We should embrace who we were born as (and who we can make ourselves grow into)
YUCK!
“Gaga is great, but the message of this song is so lame.”
Gaga is great just at marketing and publicity whoring.
Anthony
@Lefty: I hope you know the song’s not just for LGBT folk and she only mentions the LGBT community in a line where she also mentions the hetero community. “Born This Way” is a simple metaphor. The song is for her fans to sing to themselves so they can forget about what people constantly say about them. The message is far from lame or weak and the fact that she chooses to sing about this rather than, say, what Britney decided to sing about, shows how much she does care.
As for the hype… how is she even hyping it? Apart from the occasional tweet, she has been tight-lipped about this song.
Lefty
@sam:
“unfortunately it’s a message that needs to be said, when our “enemies” spend so much time telling us that we can “change”, and use that “reasoning” to attack us.”
BUt that’s my point. We shouldn’t even bother defending or justifying ourselves to them. Fuck them. “I am what I am/I don’t want praise I don’t want pity”
@Anthony:
I agree that as a simple catch-all statement for people who are being bullied for their looks or their race or whatever, it’s a fairly affirming lyric. But as a “gay anthem” which it’s being billed as (and the greatest one of all-time according to Elton John) it’s deeply flawed I think (as I said above).
“I was born this way” is not an empowering statement. It’s one of passivity and resignation.