Music

Rats enjoy “bopping to the beat” of Lady Gaga’s hit song Born This Way, study finds

By Jordan Robledo

21st November 2022

Scientists have revealed that rats enjoy dancing to Lady Gaga’s hit LGBTQ+ inclusive single Born This Way.

Back in 2011, Mother Monster released her second studio album to critical acclaim. 

The beloved record featured smash singles such as Judas, The Edge of Glory, Yoü and I and Marry the Night, as well as fan-favourite tracks Government Hooker, Scheiße and Heavy Metal Lover.

However, the album’s stand-out single was its title track, which made waves on numerous international charts.

In the years following its release, fans have considered the song an LGBTQ+ anthem.

But a recent study shows that human listeners aren’t the only ones enjoying the dance heavy single. 

In a report from Science Advances, researchers found that rats have a “human-like sense of rhythm” and are particularly drawn to Gaga’s Born This Way.

As part of the study, ten rats were strapped with small wireless accelerometers and placed in a dimly lit box. Researchers then played five songs to measure their head movements.

In addition to the rats, 20 human subjects were also analysed. However, their accelerometers were located in their headphones, and the experiment took place in a soundproof room. 

“Rats displayed innate — that is, without any training or prior exposure to music — beat synchronisation most distinctly within 120-140 bpm (beats per minute), to which humans also exhibit the clearest beat synchronisation,” explained the study’s co-author Uhirokazu Takashi in a press release. 

Gaga’s Born This Way wasn’t the only track that the rats enjoyed. The study also suggested that they responded well to Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust.  

In response to the informative study, fans of the Bad Romance singer flocked to social media to share their thoughts on the research. 

One person wrote: “I just heard on the radio that there was a study that proves that rats really enjoy music, and their favourite song was Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Slay gay rats.” 

Another fan tweeted: “Even rats are Born This Way, stans. Album of the millennium, indeed. ARTPOP stans lost as always, hehehe.” 

The recent study comes a year after Gaga released a special edition of her Born This Way album for its landmark tenth anniversary. 

The new record, which featured the 14 original tracks from the 2011 release, included six new renditions of the record’s songs, performed by artists like Orville Peck, Big Freedia, Years & Years, Ben Platt, The Highwomen and more.