Madonna: Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ Is a Great Remake of ‘Express Yourself’

It’s been a year since Lady Gaga released “Born This Way” and several critics have pointed out that the song is very similar to Madonna’s “Express Yourself.” Well, it turns out that Madonna feels the same way.

Madonna will appear on 20/20 tonight but a few tidbits from the interview have already leaked online. When asked about how she felt about Lady Gaga and “Born This Way,” Madonna said:

“I thought, What a wonderful way to redo my song. I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was…interesting…. I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it’s amusing and flattering and well done.”

Do you think Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” is a remake of “Express Yourself?”

Here’s Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” (Skip to 2:45 to get to the music.)

Here’s Madonna’s “Express Yourself.”

But Madonna says that she isn’t annoyed by Lady Gaga’s mimicking, she’s honored. Madonna said:

“There’s a lot of ways to look at it. I can’t really be annoyed by it …because, obviously, I’ve influenced her.”

The pop icon went on to say that she things Lady Gaga is a “great artist” but her music, at least “Born This Way,” “felt reductive.”

Madonna will be on 20/20 tonight at 10 p.m. ET.