Posted by Nate Jones on 12/18/2012 at 1:38 PM News

The Popdust Files: born this way, jazz, lady gaga, You and I

After a relatively quiet year, Lady Gaga appears to be ramping things up for a monster 2013 with a series of wild-card moves. First there was “Cake Like Lady Gaga” and its very odd Terry Richardson video that we still don’t know what to make of, then the dropped Kendrick Lamar collaboration and now, a jazz cover of one of the least-likely Gaga tracks to get such a treatment.

On Born This Way, “You and I” was Gaga’s barnstorming tribute to the Midwestern rockers of her youth. In a new recording just released to her Twitter followers, though, Mama Monster’s transformed the track into a quirky jazz exploration, with the help of trumpeter Brian Newman. The heartland references are all still there—Gaga’s lover is still a “cool Nebraska guy,” and not, like, a “swinging-groove hepcat”—but she sings with a scatty twang that, if Twitter is to be believed, was the result of quite a few whiskeys on the rocks:

“You and I” the jazz version after too many whiskies with Newman soundcloud.com/hausofdima/lad…

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 17, 2012

Will this track end up on Gaga’s full-length jazz album with Tony Bennett? It’s too early to say, but even if it’s not, it’s an enjoyable glimpse at Gaga’s amazing stylistic range. Listen to it below:

[Idolator]