There aren’t many songwriters who have broken into the pop music scene with such style, originality and drama as Lady Gaga, and the critics are fascinated.
U.K reviews from The Guardian have described the 22 year old electro-pop act as “Equal parts pop cutie, Studio 54 debauchee and art-trash performance artiste… Warhol would have loved her” , while the London Paper calls her “a tasty little pop tart with a Ziggy Stardust fascination”.
Who is Lady Gaga?
Born Joanne Stefani Germanotta in 1986, Lady Gaga is a performance artist hailing from the New York’s Lower East Side, and has spent the last couple of years impressing the dance scene. A common fixture seen singing and dancing behind her keyboard in the Lower East Side clubs, her underground sound and raunchy presence belies her pop pedigree.
Physically, the poker straight bleached blond locks and theatrical make-up has seen her been compared to Christina Aguilera, but her dramatic 80's synth sounds and glamorous futuristic edge are more reminiscent of artists such as Prince and David Bowie.
False Start
A piano player at the age of four, Gaga penned her first song aged 13 and was signed to record label, Def Jam at just nineteen years old. Gaga's confidence took a beating when she found herself dropped by the label three months later.
But by early 2007, and after relocating to Los Angeles, she had a signed deal with Interscope Records - writing her own songs while working alongside producers RedOne and Martin Kierszenbaum to craft her debut album The Fame.
Her first single from the album, "Just Dance" featuring singer and legendary producer Akon, was released in the U.S on April 8, 2008, July 19, 2008 in Australia, August 15, 2008 in Europe and is due for release in the UK on December 29, 2008.
Recipe for Success
The Fame, peaked at number 5 in Canada and 7 in Australia. On October 28, 2008, the album was released in the U.S. where it sold 24,000 units in its first week. Her second single from the album, "Poker Face" was released on October 22, 2008, rocketing up the charts in Canada and Sweden and earning her #1 position in Australia and New Zealand.
Other comments from within the industry on Gaga's debut album have been just as complimentary, with online consumer music guide, Allmusic describing The Fame as "Fueled by heavy dance tracks and popping electronic beats,...the glamorous Lady GaGa is a well-crafted sampling of feisty anti-pop in high quality."
