Lauren 10PIB2 Fieldtrip (Assignment)

Lady Gaga rang in the New Year by announcing her new album's release date – and by showing us her bum. At 12:01 am on New Year's Day, the pop star revealed a possible cover for Born This Way, due in May, unveiling a photograph of her bare behind.

The black and white picture, posted on Twitter, was shot by British fashion photographer Nick Knight, who has previously worked with Björk and Antony Hegarty. It shows a woman we take to be Gaga, with her back to the camera, wearing only a denim jacket with the words Born This Way emblazoned in rhinestones and spraypaint.

The photograph recalls the cover of a mid-90s Madonna single, or perhaps a Girls EP. But for an artist whose Dadaist gowns and meaty frocks are almost as famous as her music, the image is decidedly dull. Although Gaga hasn't said that the picture will appear as part of Born This Way's final artwork, we hope this isn't the direction she is headed in. Stripped of her avant-garde artifice and fiery bras, Gaga becomes perhaps less interesting.

Then again, she'll always have her bum. "I think no pants is sexy," she told the Daily Star in 2009. "I love the naked human body." Those were the days when not wearing trousers was one of Gaga's biggest claims to fame. "My grandmother is basically blind," she explained to Rolling Stone, "but she can make out the lighter parts, like my skin and hair. She says, 'I can see you, because you have no pants on'. So I'll continue to wear no pants so that my grandma can see me."

Lady Gaga also tweeted two dates: "THE SONG 2 13 11 THE RECORD 5 23 11." As 23 May is a Monday, this is most likely the album's release date. As for 13 February, a Sunday, this is the date of the Grammy awards – suggesting that Gaga may perform. As it will still be winter, we suggest she wear some trousers.

source : guardian.co.uk