Tim Pawlenty may or may not be a Lady Gaga superfan

Tim Pawlenty likes to joke about how his campaign trail demeanor isn't as exciting as Lady Gaga. But apparently the 2012 GOP hopeful has a bit of a fascination with the eccentric pop star--or at least that's what he wants people to think.

In an interview with the pop culture blog Glitterazzi, Pawlenty cited Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp as his favorite musical artists of all time. He also said he likes "new country" stars like Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith.

But the former Minnesota governor went out of his way to talk up Lady Gaga, asking the bloggers which of her songs they preferred before volunteering his own choice.

"In terms of the beat, I like 'Bad Romance,'" Pawlenty explained. "(But), I gotta say, even though she's a little unusual, 'Born This Way' has some appeal."

As evidence, Pawlenty cited the singer's recent HBO concert special.

"Now if you go to the end of the HBO special, the Lady Gaga HBO special, and you watch her sing a cappella 'Born This Way,' she can sing. She can definitely sing. She's talented," he said.

Yet perhaps knowing that his love of an occasionally androgynous pop singer might not play well with all GOP voters, Pawlenty added, "Interesting. Talented. A little weird, but if you had to limit your artistic choices to just conservatives, we wouldn't have a lot of choices."

You can watch the interview here: