A Lady Gaga Song Accidentally Sounds Like Madonna’s ‘Papa Don’t Preach’

Several Lady Gaga songs have received comparisons to Madonna hits. Things went a step further when one of Gaga’s producers admitted a Mother Monster track sounded like Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach,” saying that this was an accident. Regardless, the producer was still impressed with Gaga’s songwriting.

Lady Gaga’s producer said ‘Perfect Illusion’ sounds like Madonna’s ‘Papa Don’t Preach’

Mark Ronson is a producer most known for working on the song “Uptown Funk!” with Bruno Mars. During a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, he recalled seeing Gaga live and wanting to work with her. “I was like, ‘OK, I think I can see how this could work,” he said. “We’re into the same s***.'”

Together, the two artists created the hit song “Perfect Illusion.” Fans noticed some melodic similarities between “Perfect Illusion” and Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.” The tunes have “Obviously, that was some kind of accident,” he said.

While Ronson acknowledged the similarity between “Perfect Illusion” and “Papa Don’t Preach,” he felt that “Perfect Illusion” was a combination of two other tunes. “The message in that song is quite personal for her,” Ronson said. “It’s this bastard love child of [Tame Impala’s] ‘Let It Happen’ and ‘Bad Romance.'”

Madonna had some harsh words for Mother Monster

The fact that “Perfect Illusion” sounds like “Papa Don’t Preach” is part of a pattern in Gaga’s career. Fans and critics alike have repeatedly noticed Madonna’s influence on her music. For example, fans compared Gaga’s Latin-inspired single “Alejandro” to Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” and the groove of Gaga’s self-empowerment anthem “Born This Way” to Madonna’s earlier self-empowerment anthem “Express Yourself.” Many mashups between the two songs can be found online. Madonna herself performed one of these mashups, turning lots of heads in the process.

During a 2012 interview with ABC News, Madonna was asked about her influence on the “Shallow” singer. The Queen of Pop said that sometimes, Gaga’s homage to “Express Yourself” feels “reductive.” Madonna’s comment about Gaga being “reductive” became one of the most famous moments in the history of celebrity feuds. This interview was one of a long line of controversies in Madonna’s career.

What Mark Ronson thought of Lady Gaga

While Gaga’s originality is in question, Ronson is still a big fan. In the Rolling Stone interview, Ronson had high praise for Gaga’s singing from “Perfect Illusion”‘s parent album, Joanne. “Her singing and writing are so strong and present and such a dominating color that you never nerve to really worry about that,” he said. “She’s the glue. Everybody came in in such a natural way and heard what we were working on and found their way to fit in.”

Ronson also praised the “Paparazzi” singer for her honesty. “Everything she wrote about was honest, and you hear that in how she’s singing,” he said. “I was just playing it at a photo shoot and this kid said, ‘This is amazing — what is it?’ When I said it was Gaga, his mouth dropped in shock. She’s made incredible records, but this is raw and exposed in a way that maybe she’s never sounded before.” Notably, Joanne delves more into rock music than any of Gaga’s previous records.

“Perfect Illusion” is a fun song even if it sounds a tad like “Papa Don’t Preach.”