Musician Spotlight: Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – more usually known as Lady Gaga – is an American singer (and now actress) whose work contains plenty of experimentation (both visually and tonally), but that, despite this, always finds its way to the mainstream. This is testament to Lady Gaga’s talent and also to her likeability which, even if she is determined to come across as aloof and apart, still shines through.

Lady Gaga’s 2008 debut album, The Fame, was aptly called because it did shoot her into the public gaze, and three singles – ‘Paparazzi’, ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face’ – were the cause of that. It sold over eight million copies worldwide within a year of its release. The Fame Monster, an EP which followed in 2009, was just as popular, many citing ‘Telephone’, ‘Alejandro’, and ‘Bad Romance’ as the reasons why.

Born on 28th March 1986 in New York City to Italian-American parents, Lady Gaga is well-known for her flamboyant costumes (some of which, such as the infamous ‘meat dress’ that she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, and which is now on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, courted plenty of controversy), strong vocals, and astonishing songwriting talent. However, it wasn’t always easy for Lady Gaga; at school, she was often bullied for not ‘fitting in’ and for not being conventionally attractive, and this was essentially the catalyst for her music career – in her music, she was able to say what she wanted to say and be the person she wanted to be.

Awards have always been forthcoming when Lady Gaga is involved. Her first two Grammys came for The Fame (best electronic/dance album) and ‘Poker Face’ (best dance recording). The same album won international album at the 2010 BRIT Awards. However, it was 2009’s The Fame Monster that is perhaps more impressive since it was nominated for 13 awards, winning eight of them at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, also known as the VMAs. This cemented Lady Gaga’s fame, making her the most nominated artist in VMA history for one year’s work.

2011 was just as good a year, with Lady Gaga winning three Grammys (best pop vocal album for The Fame Monster, best short-form music video for ‘Bad Romance’, and best female pop vocal performer) and being nominated for six. This was also the year that Gaga’s second album was released. Born This Way was another impressive feat, again winning numerous awards. All in all, Lady Gaga has, throughout her career so far, won 11 Grammys and plentiful other accolades.

Her over-the-top style can be seen on display in this live performance of “Born This Way”:

But as well as being a wonderful singer-songwriter, Lady Gaga is also an actress. One of her earliest roles as The Countess in American Horror Story’s fifth season, Hotel, earned her a Golden Globe. Yet it was 2018’s A Star Is Born, in which she played her first lead role, that truly showed a wider audience what her acting was like. Not only did she act, but she wrote the music too, and insisted that she and Bradley Cooper, her co-star, perform it live when filming. The song ‘Shallow’ went on to win an Oscar and two Grammys.

Always outspoken about her beliefs, Lady Gaga has often been seen as a controversial figure to some but is also perhaps growing into herself more as she grows older. The fact that she sang the national anthem at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021 perhaps shows this best of all.