Lady Gaga Releases 'Venus,' Plans to Stream 'ARTPOP'

Lady Gaga made good on her promise on Monday at 12:01 and released "Venus" on iTunes - the song that was originally planned as the singer's second official single off her upcoming record "ARTPOP." but was demoted to a promotional single after the success of "Do What U Want" featuring R. Kelly.

"Venus" is currently No. 2 on iTunes' Top Singles chart, beating out Justin Bieber's new song "Recovery." The adorable British boy band, One Direction's new single, "Story of My Life," however, is at the top of the chart.

Gaga and DJ White Shadow, who produced "Applause" and several other tracks on "ARTPOP", wrote "Venus". The singer produced "Venus" by herself. The song, however, has received mixed reviews from critics.

Popjustice wrote, "It's worrying, almost heartbreaking really, that this piss-poor, messy descent into self-parody was ever in the running for the second single from 'ARTPOP,'" later adding, "Most problematically, this song simply isn't finished. The production is incredibly basic, the lyrics feel like a first draft, and the middle eight is a disaster," giving the song four out of 10. The site's readers, however, rated the song an average of 7.2 out of 10.

PopCrush gave the song a three out of five and said the song sounded like a track off Gaga's "The Fame Monster." Alex Camp of Slant Magazine's official blog took issue with the song's "seemingly nonsensical lyrics."

"Venus" will get a proper music video, however. The clip is said to be directed by filmmaker Ruth Hogben, who has worked with Gaga before.

Just before "Venus" was released, Mother Monster performed on the British version of "The X Factor" and sang "Do What U Want" as well as "Venus." Popjustice reports during the show's commercial breaks, there was an ad of Gaga that said she will stream "ARTPOP" before the record's official release date, Nov. 6. According to the clip, she will be streaming the record on the United Kingdom's Internet service provider, O2 - though details are currently scarce.

Listen to "Venus" below and also check out Gaga's "The X Factor" performance, as well as the O2 commercial, below: