Akon Praises Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' Songwriting: 'She's Not Just Making Dance Records'

By Keith Murphy Posted Feb 10th 2011 11:59PM

Update: Hear Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'

It is once again shaping up to be the Year of Gaga. With her new single, 'Born This Way,' set to premiere Friday and a much-anticipated Grammy performance on tap for this Sunday, headline-grabbing pop rebel Lady Gaga is poised to re-claim her status as music's It girl.

Gaga's longtime producer and collaborator Akon tells PopEater the multi-platinum talent doesn't get enough credit for the depth and artistry of her songwriting. "Gaga says a lot of stuff in her records," says Akon, who first signed 'The Fame Monster' superstar to his Kon Live Distribution label in 2007. "But I know these parents and critics are not really listening to her lyrics. I know that for a fact. She's singing about a lot of adult subject matter. She's not just making dance records. Unfortunately, people pay more attention to what she is wearing."

The marketing push behind 'Born This Way' started in late January when the irreverent singer-songwriter released the lyrics to the title track from her upcoming album, due out May 23. With empowering sexual and gay-themed lyrics like, "A different lover is not a sin / Believe Capitol H-I-M" and "Don't be a drag / Just be a queen," the controversy-igniting Gaga is already stirring the pot.

Akon adds that fans of Gaga can expect even bolder artistic statements on the 'Born This Way' album.

"I think 'Born This Way' is the kind of record that if you are really paying attention you will get the full depth of Gaga as a songwriter. Sometimes, the creative image hides the element of her lyrical content," he says. "That's why she wanted to give people a better idea of what she was saying outside of her image when she dropped those lyrics."

"We are finishing up the album now," Akon says of 'Born This Way.' "She's about to go back on tour later this year. There's a lot going on."

The ubiquitous Akon is set to drop his next album, 'Stadium,' in May as well.

Tags: Akon, Lady Gaga

Comments

(20)

Thursday 10 February

By Mr. Future

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One word for it .... SPECRAPULAR !

By pugz

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typical liberal BS; blame it on your parents!

Friday 11 February

By nnqing

Akon adds that fans of Gaga can expect even bolder artistic statements on the 'Born This Way' album.I love reading this , So does My boyfriend .he is almost 11year older than me .i met him via age'lessmate.c'om a nice place for seeking age le ss love.which gives you a chance to make your life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive young girls and treat you like a king. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends..

By Non Monster

yeah she's music " It " girl ...if you add " SH " to " It ". New song sucks .

the NEW songs? and the old ones, and the future ones also, I'm sure will maintain the same standard of quality of family entertainment!

By Lilly

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thats funny cause it's not even out yet...

By Rich

AWESOME!!!!

when a person claims that they were "born this way", aren't they really claiming that they are a genetic mutation, a freak that exhibits traits not normally seen in the general population of a species?

By Kyle Proctor

People who are saying the song sucks blah blah blah, there is no way you could have heard the song already. Gaga made damn sure it didn't get leaked, the versions I've seen on youtube are just her singing the chours at her concerts and screaming "YEAHHHHH" from the VMA's or whatever award show that was. SO tell me how the song sucks again?

By shauntavious

trust us it sucks kyle. theres been no indication that it doesnt or wont suck. this transgender bubble gum music maker must disapper! shauntavious has spoken. and mr. future, how about craptastic? that fits too.

By Ohman

You all are really going to love this song, then get all flustered that you made fun of it and play it cool like nothing happened.
But secretly, you will play it when you're alone in the car, when no one else is home. You will hum it while you are making dinner, doing the dishes or taking out the trash.
We know you do. It happens all the time. :)
It's ok to be in denial and lash out, just shh.. there there. You are not alone!
These feelings are normal.

By Irene

"Gaga says a lot of stuff in her records,",funny.

By Don

Ban Gaga and her gay messages.

By Donna

Is she really a he? Is that the point to the song?

By Bry L

Ok I love The fame monster it's an amazing album and ep but it seems to me that what made GaGa special has gotten lost in "GaGa" as a celebrity vs GaGa as an artist and pop singer. She can write good music I know she can bad romance and basically everything off of the fame monster is fantastic song writing. Born This Way sucks GaGa admitted she wrote it in 10 minutes you can't write an amazing song in 10 minutes it doesn't happen anything that's going to be amazing or timeless requires hard work and some serious thought needs to be put into it. I read she snorts coke maybe on occasion maybe this is why her new stuff is absolute ***t. The lyrics to born this way are honestly some of the crappiest laziest lyrics I've ever read. She sounds like she's trying to be serious and make lasting timeless music which the fame monster was but this simply isn't you can have the sound and music put you gotta have the lyrics to match and the fact is BORN THIS WAY IS GOD AWFULL APPALLING GARBAGE! it makes me sad because I genuinely like GaGa and really really wanted to like this song and I looked forward to it and her new album for so long but I lost almost all hope when she posted the lyrics to twitter and when I heard this song what hope had held out went away.

By Kev

Here's a thought. If you want people to pay attention to the lyrics moreso than the costumes, stop dressing over the top. Seems simple to me.

By Lesley Sylvia

new gaga song sounds like old madonna song "respect yourself" but worse with lame lyrics.... regurgitated

By lesley

i mean "express yourself" nevertheless...still crap

Saturday 12 February

By Joe B

Lady Gaga is exactly what Akon is saying she's not - an average dance music songwriter using image to make herself look "artistic" and give her depth.

Besides, what would Akon know anyway?

Thursday 17 February

By greg

WEll, well, song is a global smash. I'm hearing people at work swearing that they hate it but then I hear those same people humming it in the elevator. No matter what you might think, Born This Way is simply a great pop dance song.

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