“Alejandro” was the third single released from Lady Gaga’s EP The Fame Monster, following her blockbuster debut album The Fame. In some markets, The Fame Monster was issued with The Fame as a re-release.

The song showcases her sense of cynicism towards deciding if Alejandro (or any of the men mentioned in the song) are the one. The song is sonically inspired by Swedish pop groups ABBA & Ace of Base. Gaga, speaking about The Fame Monster, said:

…I realized that I had written each song about a particular fear that I had come across on my journey promoting the fame….
Many interpret Alejandro as her lamentation of it.

Alejandro’s nine-minute video, directed by photographer Steven Klein, features totalitarian imagery and plays upon imagery from the 1930’s. The hispanic consonance of the names referred to in the song might lead one to think it’s about Franco’s Regime. But it is also said that the video references the treatment of homosexuals in Nazi Germany & the Weimar Republic. These references are rooted in imagery from the 1972 Bob Fosse film Cabaret.

Speaking to Larry King on Larry King Live in 2010, Gaga spoke of the music video saying it’s:

… a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community. My admiration of their bravery and their love for one another, their courage in their relationships. It’s something I have yet to – yet to nail on the head with a man…"