48
Born This Way
Lady Gaga
2011
Let's talk about Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta for a moment, if I may (and I may, because this is my top 100!). When she first burst onto the scene, I, like many others, thought she was a goon. A weirdo. The outfits were weird, the songs were weird, the antics were weird. I thought the best thing she did was her plunge into the abyss during her Super Bowl LI halftime show. I thought she was Madonna without the substance.
I'm here to tell you that I was wrong. My views of Lady Gaga have definitely evolved, and she's undoubtedly one of my favorite performers today. So much so that I dragged my entire family to her show in San Francisco last year! She is an incredible talent, an incredible performer, and has an incredible voice.
What changed? Well, for starters, I got past the optics and got into the music. That always helps! But this song in particular definitely helped change my mindset. She's got a lot of really great songs -- Bad Romance, The Edge of Glory, Just Dance, and Hold My Hand round out my Gaga Top 5, but this is her best in my (not so) humble opinion. This is, of course, an LGBTQ anthem -- and I love it for that reason alone -- but the message is universally applicable:
I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself, and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way
I love her courage. She doesn't give a rat's you-know-what about how her songs are going to be perceived, and she speaks out passionately on issues that she believes in. I'm 100% behind that. And I love her voice. Here is a clip of her performing this song acoustic -- just Gaga behind the piano -- during our show a year ago. And here's another gorgeous (and I do mean gorgeous) clip of her singing The Edge of Glory, piano only, on the Howard Stern show. That one was so good I had to download some third party ripping app to get the audio of this on my phone.
If you're holding out on Gaga because you think she's too weird for your taste, just let it go. Let the music speak to your soul. This is art at its finest.
Other Songs Considered:
Bad Romance, The Edge of Glory, Just Dance, Hold My Hand, Poker Face, LoveGame, Applause