Lady Gaga holds a special place in the eyes of many rock ‘n’ rollers. The singer isn’t considered a regular pop star whose songs have entered the mainstream but a musician who fits many genres. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various artists from different scenes. The versatility that Gaga has demonstrated, especially after her viral performance with Metallica at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, introduced her to a new audience.
Many influential rockers like Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford have praised Gaga as an artist with the potential for rock music. While Gene Simmons has hailed the musician as the ‘new rockstar,’ Sting has expressed his fascination with Lady Gaga’s live performances after comparing her to Lionel Richie.
Besides her extravagant live performances, in which she may be flying, or flames might be bursting out of her breasts, Gaga is known to bring drama wherever she goes, specifically to award shows, since she dresses to impress. The icon is known for standing up for the underrepresented, which is something they have in common with Bruce Springsteen. In fact, one of her most beloved albums ‘Born This Way’ was inspired by his music and lyrics.
Does Lady Gaga Like Bruce Springsteen?
In 2011 Lady Gaga released her critically acclaimed album that became a chart-topper, ‘Born This Way.’ The album received three Grammy Award nominations, and in 2020, Rolling Stone included it in their updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album debuted at the top of worldwide music charts, including the US Billboard 200, and the record sold 1.108 million copies in its first week.
The musician disclosed whose works impacted the album’s sound before ‘Born This Way’ came out. In a Rolling Stone interview in 2011, Gaga explained that her father introduced her to Bruce Springsteen as he enjoyed his music. She said her father related to Bruce because his lyrics dove deep into the blue-collar lifestyle her dad had also experienced.
In a way, Lady Gaga could also connect with the rocker because she witnessed her father’s life. The musician noted that Springsteen wrote about the country’s ‘underdogs’ who believed they would be ‘the winners’ one day, which she always appreciated. Thus, she was heavily inspired by the singer while creating her second album, as it also spoke about taboo topics in society.
The title track, which she described as a freedom song, became an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community, other marginalized communities, and those bullied and insecure. The song conveyed that Lady Gaga believed everyone was equal and worthy of appreciation and love, and those who believed in themselves would eventually achieve their dreams.
Lady Gaga’s words about her admiration for Bruce Springsteen, which influenced her second album:
“I’m obsessed with Bruce Springsteen. My father played many Bruce Springsteen records when I was a kid and was blue-collar in America. And in a way, I related to Bruce because I watched my father, a blue-collar American citizen, relate to Bruce, and socially, my fans feel blue-collar. They feel like they’re the underdogs that will someday be the winners. And I took the influence of Bruce on my father in my life to create this album.”
You can listen to ‘Born This Way’ below.
