Lady Gaga's new single "JUDAS" was released today - 4 days before actual date due to a "leak".
But it seems more likely that it was part of Gaga's scheme to refer to Judas, who betrayed Jesus 4 days before Easter. The song being "leaked" is also much like a betrayal in the artist’s point of view. Clever move Gaga.
The song was a controversy even before the release just because Judas was a Biblical character. Even I, being a Christian, was a bit nervous that Lady Gaga would give Christianity a bad rep because she an individual with much influence. I must say though, Lady Gaga did tell Larry King in an interview this: "I believe in Jesus, I believe in God, I'm very spiritual, I pray. At the same time there isn't one religion that doesn't hate or speak against or be prejudiced against another racial group or religious group or sexual group. I guess you could say I'm a very religious woman who is confused about religion."
I actually do agree with her. There are many things about religion and Christianity I still question. But it's completely normal. After listening to "Judas" I understood the lyrics as an expression of this spiritual confusion: being in love with sin, when you know it's clearly wrong ("I'm just a holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel/ But I'm still in love with Judas, baby"). The importance of knowing and admitting that something you are doing is wrong is an honest message from Lady Gaga ("I wanna love you/ But something's pulling me away from you/ Jesus is my virtue/ Judas is the demon I cling to").
The song "Judas" itself is great. It's like her 2009 single "Bad Romance" on steroids. Starting immediately with "Oh oh ohh I'm in love with Judas" ("Bad Romance" – Oh oh ohh caught in a bad romance") and "Juda-Juda-as" ("Bad Romance" – “Rah, rah, rah, ah-ah"), the song has a very similar structure to her past hit. With heavier bass and old school disco synthesizers during the chorus, Lady Gaga mixes the old with new to deliver a hit for the dance floor. I’m pretty sure all her fans will be singing “Juda-Juda-as!” by tomorrow.
From lyrics like "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" ("LoveGame") to "Rejoice and love yourself today/cuz baby you were born this way" ("Born This Way"), Lady Gaga has certainly grown up big time. Using fame for spreading love and acceptance, it's great to see artists like Lady Gaga who actually talk about deep, real life issues in the shallow society we indulge in today.
Listen to "Judas" below!