Maps of Music

Born This Way (2011)

Where the lyrics of Born This Way take you, and where it was really made.

Amazon sold an estimated 440,000 copies in two days of the first week at 99 cents, a deal that cost it over $3 million.

Key places

Abbey Road Studios, London (2011)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — Recording and mixing for the album took place at Abbey Road Studios in London, England, one of several studios used for the record. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Germano Studios, New York City (2011)

Recording site Germano Studios — Germano Studios in New York City was one of the studios where the album was recorded and mixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Mix Room, Burbank (2011)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The Mix Room in Burbank, California was one of the studios used for recording and mixing. The point is set at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio at the Palms, Las Vegas (2011)

Recording site Studio at the Palms — Studio at the Palms in Las Vegas was among the studios where recording and mixing for the album took place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Henson Studios, Los Angeles (2011)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Henson Studios in Los Angeles was one of the studios used for recording and mixing the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Larrabee, North Hollywood (2011)

Recording site Larrabee Sound Studios — Larrabee in North Hollywood, Los Angeles was one of the studios where the album was recorded and mixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Setai Recording, Miami Beach (2011)

Recording site South Beat Studios — Setai Recording in Miami Beach was one of the studios used for the album. The point is set at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Warehouse Productions, Omaha (2011)

Recording site Warehouse Productions — Warehouse Productions in Omaha was one of the studios where the album was worked on. The point is set at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Gang Studios, Paris (2011)

Recording site Pathé Marconi studios — Gang Studios in Paris, France was one of the studios used for recording and mixing. The point is set at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studios 301, Sydney (2011)

Recording site Studios 301 — Studios 301 in Sydney was one of the studios where the album was recorded, alongside Paradise in the same city. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Paradise, Sydney (2011)

Recording site Paradise — Paradise in Sydney was one of the studios used for recording the album, alongside Studios 301 in the same city. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne (2011)

Recording site Sing Sing Studios — Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne was one of the studios where the album was recorded and mixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Officine Meccaniche, Milan (2011)

Recording site Officine Meccaniche — Officine Meccaniche in Milan, Italy was one of the studios used for recording and mixing the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Livingroom Studios, Oslo (2011)

Recording site Livingroom Studios — Livingroom Studios in Oslo, Norway was one of the studios where the album was recorded and mixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Born This Way is the second studio album by American singer Lady Gaga
• Released 23 May 2011 by Interscope Records, in two separate editions worldwide
• Gaga co-wrote and co-produced it with other producers, including Fernando Garibay and RedOne, who had worked with her before
• Gaga and Garibay served as the album's musical directors
• Queen guitarist Brian May and E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons also worked on the album
• The standard edition has 14 tracks; the deluxe edition adds eight more
• The sound builds on the synth-pop, electropop, and dance-pop of Gaga's earlier work, with electronic rock and techno added
• Genres widen to heavy metal, disco, house, and rock and roll
• Lyrical topics include sexuality, religion, freedom, feminism, and individualism

Background

• Follows The Fame (August 2008) and its reissue The Fame Monster (November 2009)
• In March 2010 Gaga said she was working on a new album and had written most of its songs
• RedOne described the project as Gaga's freedom album
• Her then-manager Troy Carter felt her public image would begin to change after the release
• Written and recorded during the Monster Ball Tour (2009–2011), including sessions on tour buses
• Garibay revealed each song was revised about 50 times, as Gaga wanted to try different genres and sounds
• Contents leaked online on 18 May 2011 through an exclusive stream session for subscribers of the British newspaper Metro

Recording

• Recording and mixing took place at several studios, including Abbey Road Studios in London and Germano Studios in New York City
• Studios were also used in Burbank, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, North Hollywood, Miami Beach, Omaha, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Milan, and Oslo
• All mastering was done at Oasis Mastering in Burbank

Cover

• Gaga tweeted her selection for the cover art on 17 April 2011
• The cover shows the singer fused into a motorcycle
• The cover was photographed by Nick Knight and created with the Haus of Gaga
• Gaga's name does not appear on the cover; the only text is the chrome album title across the top
• Initial reactions from critics and fans were negative
• The special edition cover shows only Gaga's head, with the name and title in Impact font

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City.
• Signed with Interscope Records in 2007; Streamline Records was an Interscope imprint.
• Debut album The Fame (2008) and reissue The Fame Monster (2009) brought global recognition.

Career

• Born This Way (2011) debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 1.1 million first-week sales in the US.
• Expanded into jazz with Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek (2014) and Love for Sale (2021).
• Acting: American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016), A Star Is Born (2018), House of Gucci (2021).
• Chromatica (2020) and Mayhem (2025) returned to pop; the Mayhem Ball concluded in April 2026 as her highest-grossing tour.
• Estimated sales of 124 million records; 16 Grammy Awards; 22 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Philanthropy and activism focus on mental health and LGBTQ rights; founded the Born This Way Foundation in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score 71 from 34 reviews, generally positive
• NME's Dan Martin said it was a damn good thing that Gaga does not know when to hold back
• Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani called it bloated and proudly American, an exercise in extraordinary excess
• Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield felt the more excessive Gaga gets, the more honest she sounds
• Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot gave a mixed review and felt it was rushed
• PopMatters' Evan Sawdey called it her weakest album to date
• The Washington Post's Chris Richards found it boring
• The Boston Globe called it the most deflated moment in pop music that year

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone ranked it 11th greatest album of all time by a female artist in 2012
• Rolling Stone placed it 484th in its 2020 update of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• NME ranked it number 1 on its list of the 10 Most Pretentious Albums Ever
• Dazed's Jake Hall called it a misunderstood masterpiece in a retrospective written five years after release

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 1,108,000 copies in its first week
• Second-week sales of 174,000 set a record for the largest percentage drop for a debuting number-one album since SoundScan began in 1991
• US sales of 2,101,000 made it the third-best-selling album of 2011
• Certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA; 2.43 million copies sold in the US as of March 2019
• Number one in the UK with 215,639 copies in its first week
• Number one in Australia, later certified triple platinum
• Number one on the Oricon chart in Japan with 184,000 copies in its first week
• Third global best-selling album of 2011 according to the IFPI
• Grammy nominations at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Album, Best Pop Solo Performance
• Won Western Album of the Year at the 2012 Japan Gold Disc Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Amazon sold an estimated 440,000 copies in two days at 99 cents, a loss of over $3 million, and this helped its 662,000 digital sales
• The album was cited as the reason Billboard set a rule that only sales priced over $3.49 count during an album's first four weeks
• Gaga ended her partnership with Target after the company donated US$150,000 to the conservative group Minnesota Forward
• Lebanon temporarily banned the album, and the Judas single was banned there shortly after release
• In Malaysia, radio stations edited out several lyrics of the title track as ordered by the government
• Bloody Mary went viral on TikTok in 2022, eleven years after the album's release, and was later sent to radio as a single

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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