Posted by Maura Johnston on 02/21/2011 at 10:15 AM Videos

The Popdust Files: born this way, lady gaga

Lady Gaga launched another leg of her seemingly endless Monster Ball tour on Saturday in Atlantic City, and she had a couple of surprises for the crowd (and the people watching YouTube clips taken by its members): First, she announced that the “Born This Way Ball” would be her next concert tour, and that she would embark on it in 2012; second, she incorporated “Born This Way,” the title track from her forthcoming album and the No. 1 single in the US, into her show. The performance isn’t too different from the treatment she gave the song at the Grammys, save the blood from earlier scenes in the show smeared all over her midriff and the lack of a vessel heralding her arrival. Clip below:

Over the weekend Rolling Stone heard rough mixes of four not-yet-released songs from Born This Way, including the original version of her Mugler anthem “Scheiße.” Here are some of the descriptors that stuck out during a skim of the preview:

“thumping”
“massive”
“heavy”
“stadium rock”
“C&C Music Factory, Snap and RuPaul”
“metal edge”

Is it too much to wonder if Born This Way is going to be the 2011 dance-pop equivalent of one of those arena-metal albums from the late ’80s? (Or two, given that the album is reportedly 17 tracks long?) I’m hoping for Dr. Feelgood with more empowerment rhetoric, myself.