Lady Gaga finally hatches Born This Way

New York - She once performed in New York's small bars searching for followers, but pop's reigning queen Lady Gaga will likely score a huge audience when her second full-length studio album is officially released next week.

Early reviews for Born This Way, which has already leaked onto the internet ahead of the official May 23 release, have been modest. But a publicity blitz and Gaga's social media power should produce strong sales regardless of whether it is any better than her first studio album The Fame, say music experts.

"The first-week sales figures are going to be pretty massive; after that, it will be up to the people to decide whether it really has legs," Leah Greenblatt, music critic for Entertainment Weekly told Reuters. "But doesn't she win either way? Clearly, we can't stop talking about her, and we won't any time soon."

Ensuring the 25-year-old New York singer's chances, Greenblatt noted that Interscope Records, part of Universal Music Group , was "blanketing the album at every retail outlet short of Baskin Robbins".

Billboard said Gaga would likely oust British singer Adele's 21 - the biggest selling album of the year with 1.7 million copies and counting - from her eight week reign at the top of the Hot 200 album charts.

Born This Way, could be set for first week US sales in the range of 450 000 to 750 000 copies, according to Billboard. One fan website is devoted to getting the album to sell one million copies in its first week.