Did Lady Gaga Rip Off Madonna’s “Express Yourself?”lady gaga magazine 2011

Did Lady Gaga Rip Off Madonna’s “Express Yourself?”: "

Lady Gaga’s new anthem, “Born This Way,” hit the airwaves on Friday and if you thought you were actually listening to a classic Madonna tune instead, it turns out your ears weren’t playing tricks on you. The Gaga is hogging the top spot on music charts all over the world, but reviews reckon the freaky pop tart ought to be donating her royalties to Madonna. The web is ablaze with allegations that the song sounds suspiciously like Madge’s ’80s classic “Express Yourself.”

Here’s what the reviewers are saying:

Ryan Tedder (producer behind Beyonce’s “Halo” and Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Heart”) tells The Hollywood Reporter: “If I wrote ‘Express Yourself’ and I heard that song, I would be calling my manager five minutes later… If Madonna’s not getting credit on it, then I would just say, be careful.”

Britain’s The Guardian: “What does it sound like? Well, a lot like Madonna’s ‘Express Yourself’, so much so that those two words are currently trending on Twitter. There’s also some spoken-word bits a la the Material Girl (as no one calls her any more), but it doesn’t sound copycat, more a knowing nod and a cute wink.”

Rolling Stone (which awarded the tune 4/5 stars) writes: “Despite the obvious tip of the cap to Madonna’s ‘Express Yourself’ (which was just Madge’s knock-off of The Staple Singers’ ‘Respect Yourself’), it’s steeped in decades of gay disco tradition — it sounds a lot like Patrick Hernandez’s 1978 classic ‘Born To Be Alive.’”

Madonna’s estranged brother Chris Ciccone expressed his outrage to RadarOnline.com: “All I can say is ‘What the fuck! It sounds just like ‘Express Yourself’ – I can’t believe it to tell you the truth.”