Gaga recording Born This Way + Trivia

[gagzus 15,772]

Wasn’t sure what tag to give this but I was bored and after a discussion in another topic I thought I’d share with y’all the order and the dates/months Gaga recorded every song that made it into the album. Also thought I’d throw in some fun facts with each song about the time it was recorded or other random stuff you may not remember or know. Some of this may not be facts as some is based on information I’ve gathered together from memory and pieces stuff together. Let’s start off with a bit of surprising trivia.

- Born This Way was the first song she ever wrote for the album and although she teased a snippet at the VMAs she did not actually record the song until after the VMAs. Hence why the melody at the VMAs differs from the studio version. The first song she ever recorded for the album might surprise you;

 

Bloody Mary (April 2010)

The very first song recorded for the album is none other than fan favourite “Bloody Mary” it was recorded on April 8th I’m 2010 at 301 Studios in Sydney, Australia. You can find the exact look she spotted to the studio that day here;

https://gagapictures.com/thumbnails.php?album=1398

Fashion of His Love (April 2010)

Recorded as a love letter to McQueen, the song was the second song recorded for the album on April 10th 2010 the day after a Monster Ball show. The songs is supposedly the second song she wrote for the album overall after Born This Way. There are no Candids of her on this day or the following two days.

Scheiße & Judas (May 2010)

Both songs were recorded in the same sessions on Gaga’s tour bus with RedOne after meeting with him on May 9th in Stockholm. He then joined her on her tour bus for 4 days where they recorded the songs- Judas first on May 9th and then Scheiße a few days later after her visit to LabOratory (a fetish club). Fun fact she had the album title decided by this point because she recorded her In Studio interview with ShowStudio in London a mere 3 weeks later where she hinted at the title in the live interview.

 

Studio Bus Sessions (Summer/Autumn 2010) 

Over the course of summer and autumn Gaga was touring Europe and began to work on songs on her tour bus studio with Fernando and Paul permenantly. During these sessions the majority of the album came to fruition including Hair (Summer 2010) presumably a July 16th recording date.

 Americano, Highway Unicorn, Government Hooker (August 2010) were all recorded over a 2 week period in August, we even have pictures from there recording sessions thanks to the Terry X Gaga book. 

https://gagapictures.com/displayimage.php?album=6372&pid=420391#top_display_media

You & I (Summer/Autumn 2010)

The Mutt Lange produced track has the most sessions out of all the tracks on the album, it was recorded primarily in Omaha but had additionally recording sessions in Italy and the UK. It was however one of the first tracks on the album to receive a final master; presumably because it was one of Gaga’s favourites.

The Edge of Glory & The Queen (October 2010)

Whilst on the European leg of The Monster Ball, Gaga recorded “The Edge of Glory” and “The Queen” in the same sessions with Fernando in Oslo on October 15th & 16th. The Queen was written after The Monster Ball show on October 14th whilst The Edge of Glory was written months prior when Gaga’s grandpa passed away. These sessions were captured by Gaga on Twitpic at the time.

https://ladygaga.fandom.com/wiki/2010/October?file=10-15-10.jpg

https://ladygaga.fandom.com/wiki/2010/October?file=10-16-10.jpg

Born This Way & Marry The Night (November 2010) 

Finally, after writing the song some 9 months prior, unveiling a melodic snippet in September at the VMAs and deciding it was the perfect album title; Born This Way received it’s official recording sessions in November of 2010 alongside Marry The Night, the songs were recorded alongside one another before and after The Monster Ball shows in the Netherlands primarily. Gaga also did additional recordings for Scheiße and Judas around this time with RedOne and The Edge of Glory’s mixing was conducted in the same studio that Gaga recorded Born This Way in. A month later on December 5th, Gaga played Anderson Cooper a final recording, however not fully mixed and mastered version of “Born This Way” as part of his 60 Minutes show which premiered on February 2011 the same day Gaga premiered the song on the GRAMMYs.

Electric Chapel (December 2010)

Next up to be recorded was Electric Chapel, the song was recorded two weeks before Gaga shot the album art, the song was recorded in Paris. No Candids or images of Gaga are available for said day.

Bad Kids (January 2011)

Around the time Gaga was filming the final segment of her 60 Minutes special in New York, she recorded Bad Kids inspired by fans she had met all over the world and how she related and was a “bad kid” when she was younger. The final mastering and mixing sessions for the title track and lead single “Born This Way” also happened in the same studio. 

Heavy Metal Lover (March 2011)

Often mistakenly thought to be the last song recorded for the album, Heavy Metal Lover was recorded with Fernando Garibay in Los Angeles in March 29th. Only one picture of Gaga leaving the studio session exists, it’s thought she did the song in a matter of hours overnight.

https://ladygaga.fandom.com/wiki/2011/March?file=3-29-11_Out_and_about_in_LA_001.jpg

Black Jesus + Amen Fashion (April 2011)

The actual FINAL song to be recorded for the album is the deluxe bonus track Black Jesus. The song was recorded in Miami on April 14th at the height of the Judas era and recorded almost two weeks after the music video for the single was shot.

https://ladygaga.fandom.com/wiki/2011/April?file=4-14-11_Arriving_Studio_in_Miami_001.jpg

A mere 8 days later Gaga made some last minute touches to songs Hair and The Edge of Glory by having Clarence Clements play saxophone on the tracks. Only a month before the album’s release.

 

Random Facts 

“Bloody Mary” was one of the only 3 tracks to be recorded in a single session (Heavy Metal Lover, Black Jesus) but didn’t receive mixing or mastering until roughly a whole 12 months later.

You & I, Judas, Hair, The Edge of Glory and Scheiße has the most recording sessions of all the songs. 

Clarence Clement’s saxophone segments weren’t added to the songs until after Hair and The Edge of Glory’s masters were finished. Hence why the saxophone is not mastered the same way in the songs as the other layers of the instrumental. Clarence did the segments in just two takes roughly.

Tamar Braxton provides backing vocals to a large majority of Born This Way (the song) and her vocals were added in at Troy’s demand during the final sessions in January 2011. 

Mutt Lange provides backing vocals to You & I. Whilst RedOne provides backing vocals in Judas, Scheiße and Hair

I know this post was long but hope you guys enjoyed this little trivia countdown of when she recorded the album and wonder if you guys were as surprised as I was that Born This Way was one of the last songs recorded rather than THE first one. If you guys want me to do this for any other era just let me know ☺️

[Hurem 17,800]

Can you do this for every era?  I loved reading this.

Thanks for compiling all this.

[bxr 1,016]

That “Judas” was recorded exactly one year prior to the day “The Edge of Glory” was released … wilde — in the most biblically cultural sense.

 

Incredible retrospective — massive kudos abound

[SeasonOfTheWitch 3,789]

Liddos still think it takes Gaga 3 years to make albums 

I hope you do one for ARTPOP! 

[BradleyCooper 2,062]

I loved this, thank you so much 

[gagzus 15,772]

13 minutes ago, Hurem said:

Can you do this for every era?  I loved reading this.

Thanks for compiling all this.

No problem I was bored and thought it was a cute idea. I might try and do them for other eras but ARTPOP is going to be a pain to do tbh.

13 minutes ago, SeasonOfTheWitch said:

Liddos still think it takes Gaga 3 years to make albums 

I hope you do one for ARTPOP! 

Technically it does because she also needs free time, time to promote the project she is currently promoting and this doesn’t account for times she could’ve redone vocals etc on her studio bus and played around backstage at The Monster Ball. Plus she also recorded dozens more songs and demos after her shows like Stuck on F*ckin You, Acid Wash Girls (if it’s real) and other stuff 

The ARTPOP one will be difficult because from memory most of her sessions happened on her tour bus and backstage because she had little to no time once she started The Born This Way Ball to be in studios. The stuff I do know for example is she did record G.U.Y and Sex Dreams in very early 2012 in actual studios whilst she wrote Donatella on a private jet flight from Milan to Thailand on October 1st or 2nd. Mary Jane Holland was also recorded in October 2012 alongside Applause that’s why they carry a sonic theme. 

Aura/Burqa was recorded originally in September 2012 in London but the album version was recorded in Hollywood.

It’s hard to come by but I can try it

[RepentingSinner 2,642]

43 minutes ago, gagzus said:

Clarence Clement’s saxophone segments weren’t added to the songs until after Hair and The Edge of Glory’s masters were finished. Hence why the saxophone is not mastered the same way in the songs as the other layers of the instrumental.

Are you sure you know what mastering is? The way this is written it makes no sense. You don't master something, record something else and release it. You need a new mix and  master of the track after the sax is recorded.

[Nicklev 993]

Loved this

[Flu Symptom 2,541]

A visual album of Born This Way was a huge missed opportunity  THERE I said it

[Antoni 5,332]

Unknown fact: Marry The Night was either being written or a demo was recorded in the early morning of July 16, 2010, in the bus studio parked behind Conseco Fieldhouse (now Banker's Life Fieldhouse) on Delaware St. in Indianapolis, IN. The light was on as we drove by around 2am and my friend offered to drop me off to see if I could meet her but I just assumed it was a waste of time. This was before Uber and I didn't want to walk 20 blocks home at 17 years old in a scary city at 2am. After I got home, like right after, Fernando tweeted something about finishing a #1 hit song and lyrics that we later found out belonged to Marry The Night. He later deleted the tweet. 

[Smother Em Eh 7,088]

OMFG I loved this soooo much! 

Thank You for posting this! 

[13VictorC 1,102]

Wow! Thanks for sharing all of this!

I didn’t know RedOne sang in 3 of my favorite songs on the album!