"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album of the same name. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour. It was inspired by the 1990s empowering music for women and the gay community, with Gaga explaining that "Born This Way" was her freedom song. Previously, she had sung part of the chorus at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in 2010. The song was announced as the lead single from the album, and was scheduled to be released on February 13, 2011. However, it was instead released two days earlier, alongside the full set of lyrics and the single artwork.
"Born This Way" is an electropop song, backed by rumbling synth sounds and a humming bass, with a percussion added in the chorus. It also includes Gaga singing a cappella near the end with an organ added. The lyrics of the song talk about empowerment with the chorus lyrics talking about making no apologies and being who you are. It features the names of communities like the gay, lesbian as well as transgender. After the early release of the lyrics, it garnered criticism from some Asian and Hispanic communities, claiming that the lyrics' use of the terms "chola" and "orient" to describe Latino and Asian communities is offensive and derogatory. The song has been remixed by different remixers, including a Country Road version recorded by Gaga herself, and another by Indian music producer duo Salim and Sulaiman Merchant.