Leave it to Lady Gaga to hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 without really trying.
A few weeks ago, Gaga released the anthemic number "The Edge of Glory" as a promotional single to pump fans up over the release of Born This Way, her second full-length studio album. But the track proved so popular the powers that be released it as the third official single from the album—and it subsequently debuted in the top 3. Because Gaga's got it like that.
So what is it about this track that people love so much?
Well, "Edge of Glory" epitomizes the Springsteen-esque power balladry that pops up all overBorn This Way, with a familiar belt-it-out chorus that'll find favor with anyone who loved listening to the radio late '80s. It even features a saxophone solo by Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
It's also one of Gaga's personal favorites on the album. In an interview with Google, she explained, "[My] grandpa died about five months ago, and my dad and I were going to say goodbye to him at the hospital, and I got out a big thing of agave tequila and my dad sat next to me at the piano and we started doing shots back and forth, and I wrote 'Edge of Glory' on the piano and my dad and I cried. The song's about your last moment on Earth, the moment of truth, the edge of glory is that moment right before you leave earth."