LADY Gaga’s music may not be what I’d choose for a relaxing evening’s listening but she sure knows how to sell a song.

Actually, she’s very enjoyable to watch, showbizzy and, of course, totally modern. So it’s a tribute to her entertainment canniness that she’s seen by many as the up-to-date version of Madonna. As Madonna is still very much alive and belting out hits, though, this isn’t an easy situation.

Lady Gaga is quite open about the positive influence of the older singer. Madonna’s views on Lady Gaga are a little less kindly although she’s not said anything too cutting so far.

However, she has now admitted in an interview that she found Gaga’s hit Born This Way “very familiar”

when she first heard it and there seemed to be similarities to Madonna’s own 1989 hit Express Yourself.

Mysteriously, she told the interviewer that to her this felt “reductive” – a word that apparently means minimal or crude — but I suspect she’s implying something else more uncharitable.

The 53-year-old star has had a remarkably enduring career at the very top of the music field. Now, just like Madonna, pictured below, replaced established stars early on, it may be that her public appeal is waning slightly. If she’s still got the celeb savvy that we know she has, she’ll either record something with Lady Gaga or find a way to be otherwise involved with her musically and grab some of that modern glitter back. They’d certainly make a fearsome duo