Introduction

Lady Gaga is an American singer and songwriter. She was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York and grew up in the affluent neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She was into music, songwriting and performing from a very early age. She exploded upon the music scene with her first album The Fame in 2008. Since then she has delivered four hugely successful music albums and several singles that became smash hits. Her bold acts and powerful performances set her apart from her peers. She has been called an eccentric, a rebel, a fashionista, an icon and a pop princess, all of which are true for her. Due to her garish style and controversial statements she grabs headlines everywhere she goes and yet she has managed to remain enigmatic. She is an exciting all-round entertainer who has pushed the boundaries of pop culture, fashion and music by just being who she is.

EARLY LIFE

Lady Gaga was born as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City to Cynthia Louise (née Bissett) and Joseph Anthony Germanotta on March 28, 1986. Joe Germanotta is an internet entrepreneur of Italian descent. Cynthia is half Italian and half French-Canadian with traceable English, German, and Scottish roots. Lady Gaga grew up in an affluent Upper West Side neighborhood in New York. She has one younger sister, Natali. Lady Gaga was able to sing and play the piano from a very young age. At the age of 11, she was enrolled at the Convent of the Sacred Heart School. Lady Gaga was disciplined and studious at school but she had to endure bullying from her school mates due to her small and plump appearance and large teeth. She never let the music in her take a back seat. When Gaga was all of 14, she was performing in clubs and bars. At 17 she received an early acceptance to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. There she would compose analytical papers on social and political issues as well as art and religion. She also used this time to sharpen her song-writing skills. She decided to withdraw from the school at the age of 19 to pursue a career in music. Her father agreed to pay her rent on a promise from her to go back to school if she didn’t succeed. Fortunately, Lady Gaga did not have to go back. She was signed to the Def Jam record label at 19, although that deal fell through within three months. Soon she signed another record deal with rap star Akon’s label ‘Kon Live’ with Interscope records. With this deal she took her first step towards attaining stardom in the music industry.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Lady Gaga started performing at cabarets clubs in New York while still in college. At the time she was working as a singer-pianist, and also developing the visual side of her performance. She soon collaborated with producer Rob Fusari who gave her the stage name Lady Gaga. A while later she signed a record deal with Island Def Jam that did not take off. Disappointed, she went back to singing at clubs where she experimented with neo-burlesque shows, drugs and bold dressing choices. She next got the opportunity to work on her songs with producer RedOne. She started a song writing job with Famous Music Publishing which was later acquired by Sony/ATV. She wrote songs for artists like Britney Spears and the band New Kids On The Block. She was singing a reference vocal at Interscope Records, when her abilities were recognized by singer Akon and he soon signed her for his own label “Kon Live”

She rose to prominence with a hit debut single “Just Dance” in 2008. She followed it up with a full length album The Fame. The album has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and earned critical appreciation. It contained songs like “Poker Face” that spoke of bisexuality and “Paparazzi” became famous for its provocative video. “Love Game” peaked at number five at the charts. She released The Fame Monster in 2009 that became an instant hit and spawned iconic singles like “Bad Romance”, “Alejandro” and “Telephone”. Her next full length album release was Born This Way in 2011. The album sold more than a million copies in the very first week of its release and topped the charts in 20 different countries. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200. In 2013, she wrote and released her next album ARTPOP. It included the hit numbers “Applause” and “Do What U Want”. The album topped the charts everywhere in the US.

Lady Gaga has won numerous awards for her string of hits. She has won five Grammy Awards and 3 People’s choice Awards to name a few. When she hit the music scene, Lady Gaga was already a fully formed star with a strong idea of who she was and how she wished to project herself. She appears as a rebel in her videos wearing avant-garde clothes, colorful wigs, overlarge sunglasses and heels. She often ends up killing someone in her music videos, usually a character portrayed as her boyfriend. Her live shows are as glitzy as her onscreen appearances. She has often been compared to Madonna at the height of her fame in 1980s in how she handles her public persona.

Her elaborate and highly fashionable garments are designed by her own team named “Haus of Gaga”. She refers to her fans as “Monsters”. Lady Gaga has often stated that she can relate to her gay fans as she herself felt like a freak during her childhood. She advocates “being who you are” to all those who feel like ‘mis-fits’. This sentiment has won her many fans in the marginalized communities.

TOP 10 HIT SONGS

1. “Applause” – Artpop (2013)

2. “Bad Romance” - The Fame Monster (2009)

3. “Poker Face” - The Fame (2008)

4. “Paparazzi” - The Fame (2008)

5. “Born This Way” - Born This Way in (2011)

6. “The Edge of Glory” - Born This Way in (2011)

7. “Telephone” - The Fame Monster in (2009)

8. “Just Dance” - The Fame (2008)

9. “Alejandro” - The Fame Monster in (2009)

10. “Judas” - Born This Way in (2011)