User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 2316 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Jan 31, 2014
    8
    I love that it continues the dark theme of the fame monster, this is an awesome album, overall, my highlights are judas, government hooker and the edge of glory. this album deserves more recognition just a shame she went for marry the night as the final single instead of something like scheibe or bloody mary.
  2. Sep 23, 2014
    10
    this girl work so hard ... OMG THIS WORK IS AMAZING... Keep doin it gurl u know ull be the new Gaga... I love the way u ork keep working amazing work... You and I is the best :)
  3. Apr 3, 2015
    7
    This album really lies between The Fame and The Fame Monster. It's a good album with a positive message and great production. The only concern I have about Born This Way is that the music gets repetitive after a while. This album earns a B from me. Highlights: "Born This Way", "The Edge of Glory", "Government Hooker". Worst song: "You and I"
  4. Aug 26, 2019
    10
    Lady gaga did such an excellent job here! The album is magnificent and unique with a very special message for all.
  5. Sep 7, 2019
    10
    Melhor álbum do universo apenas ícones podem apreciar todo o seu valor, bíblia contemporânea com hinos atemporais
  6. Mar 19, 2021
    10
    This isn't up to The Fame or The Fame Monster. But both of those keep growing, and with its mad momentum and nutty thematics, this one could too--despite being laid down on tour trailed by 28 semis.
  7. Dec 7, 2016
    9
    It is and will remain one of the best and most important pop records of the decade. Apart from the odd head scratcher ('Highway Unicorn', 'The Queen', and the title track), every track is incredible in it's own way. This is pop's answer to hard-rock - taking pop and pushing it to it's ultimate limits. It didn't only confirm Lady Gaga's talent, it enhanced it.
  8. Nov 12, 2013
    7
    The good in Born This Way heavily outweighs the bad. The songs are fun, and Lady Gaga cranks out some catchy melodies and solid beats. Gaga also branches out and experiments with genres and styles. Sometimes it really works, sometimes it doesn't. Some songs are forgettable and become victims of generic pop trends. Standout tracks are "Marry the Night", "You and I", "Edge of Glory", andThe good in Born This Way heavily outweighs the bad. The songs are fun, and Lady Gaga cranks out some catchy melodies and solid beats. Gaga also branches out and experiments with genres and styles. Sometimes it really works, sometimes it doesn't. Some songs are forgettable and become victims of generic pop trends. Standout tracks are "Marry the Night", "You and I", "Edge of Glory", and possibly "Hair". "Judas" and "Born This Way" are the 'controversial' tracks, but they both serve as enjoyable, catchy dance tunes with a little bit of a message. Gaga's voice is definitely a strong asset, and it accompanies the rich synths and melodies very well.

    I'm writing this after having also listened to her new ARTPOP album, which was disappointing. Hopefully her next projects follow in the footsteps of Born This Way, as Born This Way shows musical growth and maturity. Not perfect, a little underwhelming or generic at times, but definitely a step in the right direction I believe.
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  9. Jan 7, 2013
    8
    Being a Pop Singer is never just about the voice. It's about the whole package and how his / her image is presented for the public's consumption. In an age of rampant piracy and declining album sales, Gaga is one of the most versatile. She embraced controversy like a blanket, communicating with her fans through social media. Born This Way is more of a product than an artist's expression,Being a Pop Singer is never just about the voice. It's about the whole package and how his / her image is presented for the public's consumption. In an age of rampant piracy and declining album sales, Gaga is one of the most versatile. She embraced controversy like a blanket, communicating with her fans through social media. Born This Way is more of a product than an artist's expression, but that's fine by me. It's slickly produced and Gaga has a natural talent of knowing what melody that's catchy and which hot 'topical' buttons to press. Like it or not, she is here to stay and one of the finest Pop Singer in the market today. Expand
  10. Feb 28, 2017
    10
    The bestest album by Gaga. Almost every song is perfect. My favourites are: Marry The Night, Hair, Heavy Metal Lover, You and I and The Edge of GLory. Easily the best album of 2011 and Gaga's best album!
  11. Nov 14, 2013
    10
    Born This Way was such a double-edged sword for Gaga. Things started out so well, with one of the biggest singles of her career and an amazing 2 million copies sold on the first day worldwide, including 1.1 million in the US alone. But then, things started going wrong. Polarising single choices, overexposure and too much weirdness all caused the album to die a slow death. By the time theBorn This Way was such a double-edged sword for Gaga. Things started out so well, with one of the biggest singles of her career and an amazing 2 million copies sold on the first day worldwide, including 1.1 million in the US alone. But then, things started going wrong. Polarising single choices, overexposure and too much weirdness all caused the album to die a slow death. By the time the tour began nearly a year after release, it was only the fans that cared anymore. Despite this, she managed to pull in a $181 million grossing world tour and had her final dates not been cancelled due to her hip injury (the icing on top of a terrible year), the tour would have been her second consecutive one to hit the $200 million mark. But the public still looks upon the album as a failure which is frankly baffling.
    So, why is the album looked upon so negatively? Because I think it's brilliant. Gaga really showed her diversity with this mesmerising body of work that has shades of light and dark, positivity and sadness. We get uplifting tracks about acceptance with Born This Way, Bad Kids, Hair, ScheiBe and Highway Unicorn. We get sexy songs like Government Hooker and Heavy Metal Lover. We get dark, spooky songs with Bloody Mary and Electric Chapel. We get religious commentary with Judas and Fashion Of His Love. We get deeply personal songs for Gaga in the form of Marry The Night, The Queen, Black Jesus/Amen Fashion and You And I. And we get the astonishing power ballad tour de force that is The Edge Of Glory. It's hard to find a pop album is deep, diverse and personal as this. It should be a pop classic but unfortunately will likely by filed under "under-rated diamond in the rough." I hope it hasn't ended Gaga's career for good because it's evident from this album that she has so much more to give.
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  12. Nov 19, 2012
    10
    An Amazing Album, for real it's her best work to date.. I heard the album for the very first time 2 weeks ago and wow I was impressed didn't expected this to be this good, well done GaGa! The Edge of Glory, Born This Way, Hair, Bloody Mary, Heavy Metal Lover, You and I and Black Jesus are my favorites, I can't wait for her next project.
  13. Dec 5, 2012
    9
    Obviously it's not the best album of the decade, best Gaga's album but it's realoly good anyways. This is incrible because she shows hard that powerful voice. There's a similar sound in Hair/The Edge Of Glory but both are great and the meesage that this songs try bring to us
  14. Jan 16, 2013
    10
    The best of the year 2011- 2012 is just perfect, something never seen before, something innovative, new & unique. Lady Gaga as always surprising us with music that no one would imagine could exist.
  15. May 20, 2021
    10
    Love it! Its one of the best albums of all time. It changed my life forever
  16. Nov 21, 2015
    9
    Writing a review 4 years later. If there's one thing at least everyone can agree on regarding this album, it is that for a pop album, it sounds NOTHING like any other pop album, both in 2011, before that and up till now. Lady Gaga is simply one hell of a songwriter and artiste. This album made such a grand statement in it's artistry I can confidently say it is her best work. First time IWriting a review 4 years later. If there's one thing at least everyone can agree on regarding this album, it is that for a pop album, it sounds NOTHING like any other pop album, both in 2011, before that and up till now. Lady Gaga is simply one hell of a songwriter and artiste. This album made such a grand statement in it's artistry I can confidently say it is her best work. First time I heard it, I heard lots of fillers. however, over time, i came to see what gaga was envisioning when writing these songs and arranging this album. 9/10 without a doubt (Previously 7/10) Expand
  17. Dec 17, 2014
    8
    Durante la era Born This Way, Gaga re-invento los estándares de la música pop desde sus bases con melodías pegajosas, memorables y cantos llenos de energía.
  18. Aug 10, 2014
    9
    Born This Way came out in 2011 and it's still one of the most polarizing pop records in the '10s, Lady Gaga channels her inner Bruce Springsteen on an arena rocking scale, Queen on a campy scale, and Madonna on a musical scale and, well, everywhere else -- "Born This Way" comes close to being hailed as one of the greatest remixes of "Express Yourself" to date. But although herBorn This Way came out in 2011 and it's still one of the most polarizing pop records in the '10s, Lady Gaga channels her inner Bruce Springsteen on an arena rocking scale, Queen on a campy scale, and Madonna on a musical scale and, well, everywhere else -- "Born This Way" comes close to being hailed as one of the greatest remixes of "Express Yourself" to date. But although her gender-f***ing emulation might be her trademark, Lady Gaga certainly is an icon in her own right and has her own emulating pop stars to increase her impact in terms of influence in the mainstream music industry.

    Notably, BTW is musically, vocally, and conceptually about whatever the hell it wants to be: Gaga sings in French, Italian, Spanish, and faux-German gibberish -- she "Doesn't speak German, but [she] can if you'd like" -- to dance-pop gloss covered in influences of EDM, country, rock 'n' roll, heavy metal, and in "Americano"'s case, mariachi, while turning sex, race, religion, immigracy, and LGBT rights into 16 of the catchiest pop songs of the early '10s, whether any of it feels natural or not. And although there are times when she takes herself way too seriously ("I'm gonna marry the night/I'm not gonna cry anymore"), Gaga is also a songwriter of epically goofy proportions, spouting some very, very memorable lines: ("Fame hooker, prostitue wrench, vomits her mind"), ("I don't speak German/But I wish I could"), and the most grandiose of them all ("I want your whiskey mouth all over my blonde south").

    The highlights on BTW come from the latter end of the disc: "Heavy Metal Lovers" sure ain't metal on any musical level, but it has leather-stutted-gay-haus-dancing-in-the-dark-dirty house music down to an art; "Electric Chapel" is an ethereal electronic rock song that's more ABBA than ABBA's cover group A-Teens (who were one of my guiltiest pleasures ever, by the way); "You & I" features former Queen guitarist Brian May on the electric guitar that'll be the first and last country rock ballad dedicated to the state of Nebraska; and at last, "The Edge of Glory" is an '80s wannabe arena pop stomper that was written about the death of her grandfather in 2010, which not only shows off Mother Monster's vocal pipes, but it's also a highlight in the '00s' era of electronic music, topped by an unnecessary yet nonetheless epic saxophone solo from the late legend Clarence Clemons.

    In retrospective, Born This Way very well could have worked as a successor to her most recent ARTPOP, because it's the Gaga we fell in love with during the 21st century. It's compositional pretentious never fails to rival of the heart that Gaga injects into it. It's not a masterpiece more than it is an admirably cohesive pop collection of songs that show just how inspirational top 40 music can be. It's not as if we all have to like it -- it's drained of innovation on a technical scale and we're still waiting to meet Stefani Germanotta when she's not in make-up or meat dresses. But whether it's for her commandment on the dancefloor, her wild, Bjork-esque fashion choices, or her support for the LGBT community, you got to respect on some sort of level.
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  19. Jul 22, 2013
    10
    BTW is a truly underrated album. It combines many different music gernes from rock to opera and gives you the illusion that you live on another world were unicorns and electric chapels are real. Gaga 's vision is more clear than ever now. It'a a really brave move and an important chapter to pop history.
    Gaga has proved that she doesn't care about negative critisism and she dares to
    BTW is a truly underrated album. It combines many different music gernes from rock to opera and gives you the illusion that you live on another world were unicorns and electric chapels are real. Gaga 's vision is more clear than ever now. It'a a really brave move and an important chapter to pop history.
    Gaga has proved that she doesn't care about negative critisism and she dares to challenge music. "In the most biblical sence I am beyond repentant, fame hooker, prostitute wench vomits her mind'' Lady Gaga Judas
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  20. Aug 15, 2013
    10
    My favorite CD from Lady Gaga. "Born This Way" is creative and different, and an icon in pop music. The best songs are "Americano", "Bloody Mary", and "Highway Unicorn (Road To Love)".
  21. Aug 26, 2014
    10
    One of the best albums ever. Amazing climate, instrumentals and lyrics. My favorite songs - The Edge of Glory (the best on the album), Marry The Night, Bloody Mary and Heavy Metal Lover.
  22. Sep 28, 2013
    10
    Nostalgic. Born This Way refers to religious themes, the darkest thoughts of our souls and the desperation for wanting to reach paradise, reshaped a texture that only art gaga is able to achieve. Incredible and amazing!
  23. Oct 13, 2013
    10
    Lady gaga explora nuevos sonidos fuertes desde el rock, hasta pequeñas partes de opera, una verdadera artista que se dedica a revolucionarse musicalmente, a buscar sonidos extraños y arriesgarse en crear un fantastico album.
  24. Oct 17, 2013
    10
    born this way is one of the best albuns ever, it´s so experimental and dark, with a good message of love, peace, it´s a fantastic invite to love yourself celebrate who you are and follow all your dreams, to make them come true, gaga shows her many ways to make good songs there are amazing tracks and fantastics productions, it´s the best album of the year
  25. Oct 20, 2013
    10
    This album was amazing! Not only inspiring, but it was out of this world. I've never heard an album with such deep lyrics, combined with great production.
  26. Nov 3, 2013
    10
    De verdad pienso que es uno de los discos más menospreciados de esta nueva era.
    BTW es el epítome en el momento de la globalización. Aquí se reúnen grandes sonidos y géneros al rededor del pop.
    La voz de Gaga está en su mejor momento. Es variado, lleno de momentos grandes... en ningún instante de da un respiro. Y de eso se trata, de cantar a todo volumen las letras. Es el album más
    De verdad pienso que es uno de los discos más menospreciados de esta nueva era.
    BTW es el epítome en el momento de la globalización. Aquí se reúnen grandes sonidos y géneros al rededor del pop.
    La voz de Gaga está en su mejor momento. Es variado, lleno de momentos grandes... en ningún instante de da un respiro. Y de eso se trata, de cantar a todo volumen las letras.
    Es el album más emblemático de los últimos años.
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  27. Nov 4, 2013
    7
    My main problem with born this way is the fact that it consists of some of her greatest songs like The edge of glory and some of her worst. If The queen, highway unicorn and black jesus were cut this album would be higher for me.
  28. Nov 7, 2013
    10
    A mixture of several styles, Gaga always changing and evolving in a manner inexplicable. Born This Way and many surprises! I WAS BORN THIS WAAAAAAAAY!!
  29. Nov 11, 2013
    8
    I'm thoroughly surprised at the quality brought before me, as I was originally turned off by the Arcee inspired art and overproduced nature of the first two singles. This just proves that (and I know it's hard to except) that I can be wrong, but at the end of the day folks (dare I end it on such an obvious note, ah what the hell) I was born this way.
  30. Sep 26, 2014
    10
    prometeu álbum da geração e cumpriu, rainha do pop é assim mesmo amore. não esperava menos, tem mais qualidade que toda a carreira da doceira sem grammys
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 34
  2. Negative: 1 out of 34
  1. Sep 25, 2014
    86
    Lady Gaga promised her fans (perhaps a tad prematurely) that her new album would be the greatest of the decade. But even if the next nine years bring something better, we're unlikely to hear anything bigger than Born This Way.
  2. Q Magazine
    Aug 8, 2011
    60
    Born This Way feels like the first proper Lady Gaga album. [Aug. 2011, p. 114]
  3. Jul 6, 2011
    60
    Gaga has always been able to anchor her haughty conceptual undertakings with simple, catchy tunes, but with Born This Way, the persona and the message are starting to bleed into the songs. It's not a good look.