LADY GAGA

Biography of Stefani Germanotta
LADY GAGA

Birth name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta Born: March 28, 1986 (1986-03-28) Yonkers, New York Origin: New York City Genres: Pop, Electronic Dance Occupation: Singer, songwriter, musician Instruments: Vocals, piano, synthesizer Years active: 2006–present Labels: Def Jam, Interscope, Kon Live, Streamline, Cherrytree

1986 to 2004
Lady Gaga was born in Yonkers, New York on March 28, 1986. She is the eldest child to Italian American parents Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta. At the age of eleven Gaga was sent to join Juilliard School in Manhattan, but instead attended a private Catholic school. She expressed her musical talent at an early age by learning piano at the age of four. Gaga wrote her first piano ballad at thirteen and began performing at open mic nights by the age of fourteen. By the age of seventeen, she gained early admission to the Tisch School of the Arts and studied music. There, she improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art and religion.

Photo of Stefani with brunette hair before she became know as Lady Gaga

2005 - 2007 When Lady Gaga was 19 she signed with Def Jam Records. After three months she was dropped from the label and started performing downtown in the Lower East Side club scene. She began to focus on pop music. At this time in life she began taking drugs and performing at Burlesque Shows. Lady Gaga got her stage name when music producer Rob Fusari compared her vocal style to Freddie Mercury. He nicknamed her Gaga, after the Queen song 'Radio Ga Ga.' She was thereafter known as Lady Gaga. In 2007 Lady Gaga collaborated with performance artist Lady Starlight. They started playing at downtown venues like Mercury Lounge and Rockwood Music Hall. Later in 2007 Gaga and Starlight were invited to play at the American Music Festival Lollapalooza. Lady Gaga began writing for Fergie, The Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block and Akon's Konvict label. Gaga formed an affiliation with Akon and started to work on her own new material for her debut album with producer RedOne.Photo of Lady Gaga and Lady Starlight

2008 - Present Lady Gaga finalized her debut album The Fame in 2008. She began working with a collective called the Haus of Gaga. The Fame received mostly positive reviews from critics and peaked at number one in Austria, United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland, and number four in Australia and the United States. The Fame has sold over 3 million copies. The single "Just Dance" has topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The single "Poker Face" has reached number one in twenty countries.
Lady Gaga - The Fame - Album Cover

In October 2008 Lady Gaga started her concert tour with the reformed New Kids on the Block. Gaga appeared as a guest for their song "Bad Girl Now". She began her first headlining tour, The Fame Ball, in March 2009. In May Gaga performed with the Pussycat Dolls in Australia. Lady GaGa performs at The Pussycat Dolls 'Doll Domination' world tour

Lady Gaga appeared semi nude, wearing only plastic bubbles, on the cover of May 2009 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

Lady Gaga in Rolling Stone magazine 2009

Lady Gaga appeared on rapper Whale's single "Chillin"

Lady Gaga was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Music Awards. Gaga won the award for "Best New Artist" and her single Paparazzi won two awards for "Best Art Direction" and "Best Special Effects".
Lady Gaga Perfoming at the 2009 MTV Music Awards

In October 2009 Lady Gaga received Billboard magazine's Rising Star of 2009 award. She also appeared on Saturday Night Live, in a comic skit with Madonna and performing a part of her upcoming single "Bad Romance", from her forthcoming album titled The Fame Monster. Gaga attended the Human Rights Campaign's "National Dinner" on October 10th, 2009, before marching in the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. Gaga performed a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine". In November 2009 Lady Gaga announced the release of The Fame Monster, a collection of eight songs that dealt with the darker side of fame as experienced by Gaga over the course of 2008–2009 while travelling around the world, and are expressed through a monster metaphor. "Bad Romance" was released as the first single from the album. It topped the Canadian and Swedish charts while reaching the Top 10 in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Gaga also announced The Monster Ball Tour associated with the release.

On December 11, 2009, she met and sang the song "Speechless" for Queen Elizabeth II. Lady Gaga was named chief creative officer for a line of imaging products for Polaroid at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 7, 2010 where she commented that she will create fashion, technology and photography products. "I'm working on bringing the instant film camera back as part of the future." On January 14, 2010, Gaga had to cancel the Monster Ball concert in West Lafayette, Indiana, due to health concerns; she was having trouble breathing in the hours leading up to the show, and paramedics later stated that she was suffering from an irregular heartbeat as a result of dehydration and exhaustion.
2010 Grammy Awards
Lady Gaga rocked the red carpet in a custom-made Giorgio Armani Prive gown at the 2010 Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 31. Gaga took home the awards for Best Electronic/Dance Album for The Fame and Best Dance Recording for “Poker Face”.
Lady Gaga at the 2010 Grammy Awards

Lady Gaga's "Telephone" Video
Lady Gaga's epic new video for "Telephone" featuring Beyonce has been described as Gritty, Erotic and Wildly Fierce, this nine-minute, visually stunning, cinematic masterpiece features the inimitable Beyoncé and is helmed by famed music video director Jonas Akerlund. Rich with Gaga’s unique dance stylings, iconic costume design and unworldly hair and make-up, this is far from your typical music video. The "Telephone" video debuted worldwide on March 11, 2010. Watch Lady Gaga's "Telephone" in the video section on this page.

Photo of Beyonce in Lady Gaga's "Telephone" Video

Lady Gaga's younger sister, Natali Germanotta appears as a prisoner in Gaga's "Telephone" video.
Photo of Natali Germanotta in Lady Gaga's Telephone video

Musical Style & Influences Lady Gaga has been primarily influenced by pop singers Madonna and Michael Jackson, as well as glam rock stars such as the band Queen and David Bowie. Her stage name was inspired by the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Artist Andy Warhol, poet Rainer Maria Rilke, fashion icon/actress/singer Grace Jones have all been cited as inspirations. The structure of Gaga's music is said to be reminiscent of classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. Lady Gaga has stated that she is "very into fashion" and that it is "everything" to her. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." Gaga claims that: "When I'm writing music, I'm thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It's all about everything altogether—performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it's everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us." Gaga has her own creative production team called the Haus of Gaga, which she handles personally. The team creates many of her clothes, stage props, and hairdos.

Lady Gaga's Tattoos

Lady Gaga is inked. She has at least four tattoos, although she has said in interviews that she thinks she has about seven. The tattoo on her lower back was done by Kat D from TV's L.A Ink. Gaga got a new tattoo in August 2009 while on her Asian Tour in Japan. Her new tattoo is on the inside of her left arm and is a curling script that wraps around her arm. It is a quote from German poet Rainer Maria Rilke "In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write?"

Lady Gaga's Peace Tattoo on her left wrist

Lady Gaga has Roses tattooed on her lower back and hip

Gaga's White Daisies on her left shoulder

Image from Bad Romance Video Clip showing Gaga's new tattoo on her inner arm

Lady Gaga Magazine Covers
Lady Gaga has appeared inside and on the covers of numerous fashion and music magazines.

Lady Gaga on the cover of Parlour magazine in 2009Lady Gaga on the cover of Style magazine February 2009

Lady Gaga on the cover of Inrockuptibles in March 2009
Lady Gaga on the cover of Fabolous in March 2009Lady Gaga on the cover of ASOS magazine - April 2009Lady Gaga on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in June 2009

Lady Gaga on the cover of FHM Germany August 2009 issue

Lady Gaga on Billboard Magazine's cover August 2009

LAdy Gaga on the cover of V Magazine 2009

Lady Gaga on the cover of Out magazine 2009

Lady Gaga on the cover of NEO2 magazine September 2009Lady Gaga on the cover of Elle magazine - January 2010 Issue

Lady Gaga Quotes
"I was told for a very long time that I was not pretty enough, too strange, not edgy enough. But I've always been famous; it is just that nobody knew. ... There are times when it can be a lot to deal with, but always when I get up in the morning I try to find that very joyful place that reminds me that I would die if someone took it all away. If someone did that I wouldn't be a person any more." — Lady GaGa / May 2009
"I don't feel like I look like the other perfect little pop singers, I think I'm changing what people think is sexy." — Lady GaGa / May 2009

"Whether I've got a number one record or nobody knows who the hell I am, I'm going to still make music, It's always fun for me." — Lady GaGa / May 2009

"And, now, I’m just trying to change the world one sequin at a time." — Lady GaGa

THE FAME MONSTER

The Fame Monster is the second studio album by Lady Gaga released on November 18, 2009. The album's eight songs were initially intended to be part of a re-release of Gaga's debut album The Fame. However, Gaga announced that the new songs would be available as a stand alone album, as she thought the re-release was too expensive and that, as the piece represents a separate conceptual and musical body of work, it does not need the songs of The Fame to support it. A Super Deluxe Fame Monster pack containing the two releases will be released on December 15, 2009. The album deals with the darker side of fame, as experienced by Lady Gaga over the course of 2008–2009 while travelling around the world, and are expressed through a monster metaphor. Gaga compared the feel of her debut album and The Fame Monster with the Yin and yang concept. Cover artwork was done by Hedi Slimane and has a gothic look which Gaga had to convince her record company to allow her to shoot. The composition takes its inspiration from Gothic music and fashion shows. Contemporary critics gave a mixed to positive review of the album, majority of them complimenting the songs "Bad Romance" and "Dance in the Dark". In some countries the album charted together with The Fame while in others like the United States, Canada and Japan, it charted as a separate album. It has reached top ten in most of the major markets. "Bad Romance" was released as the album's first single. It topped the Canadian chart while reaching the top ten in United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden. She announced The Monster Ball Tour supporting the album, which started on November 27, 2009 and will continue through June 2010.

Lady Gaga's Naked & Sexy Futuristic Photographs
by David LaChapelle LaChapelle's Studio www.lachapellestudio.com
Lady GaGa is definitely not the shy retiring type. She has taken her clothes off again in the name of art. She was snapped by acclaimed photographer David LaChapelle.

Lady GaGa covers her modesty with newspaper cuttings