Lady Gaga’s now-iconic second album, Born This Way, turns 10 on Sunday. The album spawned the hit title track, as well as the singles “The Edge of Glory,” “You and I,” “Judas” and “Marry the Night.” In honor of the milestone, here are Five Fascinating Facts about the album:
5. Born This Way sold more than one million copies in its first week in the U.S, marking the highest first-week album sales in six years. However, that huge number was partly due to the fact that Amazon sold the album for just 99 cents that first week. This led to Billboard changing its rules, and mandating that an album had to cost at least $3.49 for its sales to count towards its chart position.
4. While the number-one title track has since become an anthem for many — especially in the LGBTQ+ community — it was criticized upon its release for having similarities to Madonna‘s 1989 single “Express Yourself.” Gaga denied copying the song, but the similarities were a bit too much for Madonna, who called the song “reductive” in a 2012 interview with ABC News.
3. Gaga began dating her ex-fiance Taylor Kinney after they met on the set of her music video for “You and I,” in which the Chicago Fire actor played her love interest. They got engaged in 2015, but called it quits in 2016.
2. Born This Way eventually became the name of Gaga’s charitable organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which supports mental health in young people.
1. In a 2018 Vogue interview, when asked what she wanted her legacy to be, Gaga said, “I want to be remembered for the message behind ‘Born This Way.’ I would like to be remembered for believing that people are equal.”
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