Lady Gaga Thanks Whitney Houston for Inspiring ‘Born This Way’

When Lady Gaga was writing her latest smash “Born This Way,” she looked to an unexpected source of inspiration. While accepting her award for Best Pop Vocal Album at Sunday’s Grammys, the pop diva revealed that Whitney Houston played an important role in the song’s development.

“I need to say thank you tonight to Whitney Houston,” explained a teary Gaga. “I wanted to thank Whitney because when I wrote ‘Born This Way,’ I imagined she was singing it because I wasn’t secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar. So Whitney I imagined you were singing ‘Born This Way’ when I wrote it. Thank you.”

Upon its digital release on Friday, “Born This Way” reached No. 1 on iTunes in every country in which it was released. The dance anthem is the lead single from Gaga’s third album of the same name, due May 23.

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