Lady Gaga biography
Lady GaGa is a theatrical dance-pop
singer/songwriter whose
commercial debut single, the international chart-topping smash
hit "Just Dance," established her as an up-and-coming superstar upon
its release in 2008. Born Stefani Germanotta
on March 28, 1986, in Yonkers, NY, she attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a
private all-girl Catholic school in Manhattan, before proceeding to study music
at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts at
age 17. Influenced by flamboyant glam rockers such as David Bowie and Freddie Mercury (indeed, her stage
name is drawn from the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga") as well as '80s dance-poppers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, she began playing
the piano at a young age and later began writing songs and performing as a
teenager. In 2007 she began to make a name for herself on the downtown
Manhattan club scene with a performance art show billed as Lady GaGa and the Starlight Revue (co-featuring Lady Starlight;
born Colleen Martin, a DJ and makeup professional), and music industry insiders
began to take note. While Lady GaGa was initially
signed to Def Jam
in 2007, nothing came
of that association, and ultimately it was pop-rap superstar Akon who took her under his wing, signing her to his vanity
label Kon Live in association with Interscope Records.
In addition to working for Interscope as a
songwriter, Lady GaGa began preparing the launch of
her solo career. Her debut single, "Just Dance," was released to
radio in April 2008, and her full-length album debut, The Fame, followed in
August. Featuring fellow Akon affiliate Colby O'Donis, "Just Dance" took much of 2008 to catch
on. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in August, at which
time it had already become a massive club hit, but it didn't reach number one
until January 2009. Internationally, the song proved similarly popular,
reaching the Top Ten throughout much of Western Europe and beyond. In the wake
of Lady GaGa's international breakthrough success
with "Just Dance," the follow-up single, "Poker Face," was an
even greater success, topping singles charts across the board, from the U.S.
and Western Europe to Australia and New Zealand. Both songs were produced by Akon affiliate RedOne, who, along
with Rob Fusari, co-wrote and produced much of The Fame, itself an
international success in critical as well as commercial terms.