Madonna : I've influenced Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has been up front about her admiration for Madonna. But does Madonna share the love? The "Material Girl" sounded lukewarm in US interviews released on Friday, calling her influence on Gaga's music "interesting" and "amusing". Sometimes. "I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done," Madonna, 53, told ABC News in a television interview. "There's a lot of ways to look at it. I can't really be annoyed by it, because obviously, I've influenced her," she said. The comparisons between the two divas came to a head when Gaga released her Born This Way single. The song was instantly likened to Madonna's 1989 hit Express Yourself. "When I heard it on the radio, I said that sounds very familiar," Madonna said. Asked if that felt annoying, Madonna responded, "It felt reductive." In a separate interview in the upcoming issue of Newsweek, Madonna described Born This Way as "a wonderful way to redo my song". "I mean, I recognised the chord changes. I thought it was... interesting." Meanwhile, Madonna's new album, M.D.N.A., has sparked controversy months before its release after health campaigners criticised her for using a name similar to the drug MDMA. Madonna revealed the title on Wednesday and just hours later was accused of popularising drug culture. The album's title is believed to be an abbreviation of Madonna's name, but sounds similar to a narcotic also known as Ecstasy. M.D.N.A. is set for a March release.