Lady Gaga - Biography

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 - 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.

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.
She 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.

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.

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.