Listen to Lady Gaga’s new single ‘Applause’

Lady Gaga is roaring back.

Mere days after Katy Perry unleashed “Roar� -- the lead single from her upcoming “Prism� album -- the eccentric pop superstar rush-released her own single Monday to YouTube and iTunes, a week earlier than she’d originally planned.

“A POP MUSIC EMERGENCY IS UNDERWAY,� she wrote with characteristic drama on her website. “DUE TO HACKERS AN ABUNDANCE OF LOW/HIGH QUALITY LEAKS...WE ISSUE THIS POP MUSIC EMERGENCY...MONSTERS SPREAD THE WORD.�

PHOTOS: Lady Gaga through the years

“Applause� is a stomping dance track with little trace of the self-conscious hair-metal stylings that defined 2011’s “Born This Way�; it shares more with the sleek Euro-house vibe of Lady Gaga’s early hits, including “Poker Face� and “Bad Romance.�

But that doesn’t mean she’s returning to the days before the world followed her every move.

“I live for the applause,� Gaga sings over the song’s surging synths, “Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me.�

“Applause� is the first sampling from Gaga’s third album, “ARTPOP,� due out Nov. 11, and by early Tuesday it had zoomed to No. 2 on the iTunes singles chart, right behind Perry’s “Roar.�

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Twitter: @mikaelwood