Born This Way is the second studio album by American singer Lady Gaga, released by Interscope Records on May 23, 2011. It is a follow-up to her internationally successful album The Fame (2008) and EP The Fame Monster (2009). As co-producer of every track on the album, Gaga collaborated with several producers, including RedOne and Fernando Garibay, with whom she had previously worked. She also worked with artists such as E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons and Queen guitarist Brian May.
The music of Born This Way stems from the synthpop and dance-pop styles of her previous material while incorporating different forms of instrumentation from that on her previous releases, such as electronic rock and techno. It features a broader range of genres such as opera, heavy metal, disco, house and rock and roll while its lyrical topics include sexuality, religion, freedom, feminism, and individualism. Despite divided opinions among religious and conservative commentators, the album was well received by music critics, who praised the varying musical styles and Gaga's vocals; others felt Gaga was trying too hard to please everyone through the album's self-empowerment message. Several publications included the album in their year-end best-of lists. Born This Way received three Grammy Award nominations, including Gaga's third consecutive nomination for Album of the Year.
Born This Way debuted in the top five spots of every major chart, including the Billboard 200. In the United States, the record sold more than one million copies in its first week—the highest first-week album sales in five years; an estimated 440,000 copies were sold on Amazon in two days of its first week at a price of 99 cents. It sold six million copies worldwide. Four of the album's singles—"Born This Way", "Judas", "The Edge of Glory", and "You and I"—charted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and "Born This Way" became the 1000th song to reach the number one spot since the inauguration of the chart in 1958. The title track was also once the fastest-selling single in iTunes history, while the promotional track "Hair" charted in sixteen countries.
Gaga has performed songs from the album on different occasions, including the 53rd Grammy Awards and the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as in other events and on television. In November 2011, Born This Way, and the remix album, Born This Way: The Remix, were packaged with the compilation album, Born This Way: The Collection.
