Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' 'Sounds Very Familiar' To Madonna

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' 'Sounds Very Familiar' To Madonna

'I certainly think she references me a lot in her work,' Queen of Pop tells ABC News.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga
Photo: Andreas Rentz/ Getty Images

There was a hot debate raging about 12 months ago when Lady Gaga dropped her song "Born This Way," with people questioning whether the song sounds too much like Madonna's 1980s hit "Express Yourself." As the discussion went viral, fans, critics and even Lady Gaga herself weighed in on it. Now, as Madge preps the release of her next album, M.D.N.A., and her film "W.E.," she's finally weighing in on the controversy. Madonna, known for her curt, pithy responses when asked about anyone who might take a cue or two from her playbook, sat down with ABC News recently and had some choice words for pop's latest princess. "I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well-done," she explained of her onetime "Saturday Night Live" co-star. "When I heard ['Born This Way'] on the radio ... I said, 'that sounds very familiar' ... It felt reductive."

When asked if "reductive" was good or bad, Madonna replied, "Look it up." The Queen of Pop did call Gaga "a very talented artist" and explained that she thinks that she's making a "statement about taking something that was in the Zeitgeist, you know, 20 years ago and turning it inside out and reinterpreting it." Madonna also addressed her apparent penchant for kissing female pop stars. She recently made headlines when her "Gimme All Your Luvin" cohort Nicki Minaj tweeted that Madge had kissed her on the set of her video. In true Madonna fashion, she brushed it off, saying, "It was her birthday. I gave her a birthday kiss. No tongue!" Of course, Nicki is not the first pop star Madonna has locked lips with. Back in 2003, Madge shared kisses on the VMA stage with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. "Nice moment, good kisser. Cool," she remarked of Spears. When asked if she would kiss Spears again, she replied, "No, I already did it. I don't like to repeat myself." For those who may have missed the "Nightline" interview on Thursday, it will air on Friday night (January 13) on "20/20."

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