Lady Gaga has released the first single off her forthcoming album a week early because the song was circulating on the Internet, the BBC reports.
The song, “Applause,†a dance track, was originally scheduled to be released on Aug. 19, but the singer, declaring on Twitter that a “pop music emergency is underway,†gave the track to radio stations in the United States on Monday and hours later began selling it on iTunes. The decision came after low-quality versions of the song popped up on the Web on Saturday.
Music industry executives predict that the song will rack up well over 400,000 digital sales in its first week, Billboard reports. Katy Perry’s new single, “Roar,†also released this week, is expected to break that threshold as well.
Leaks are a fact of life for modern pop stars, and it is rare for a single or an album to remain completely under wraps until its release date. Beyonce, Katy Perry and Jay Z have all seen new songs leak online this year before they were ready to put them out.
“Applause†is the first single to be released from Lady Gaga’s new collection,â€Artpop,†which will go on sale in November. Her last studio album was “Born This Way,†from 2011.
