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Lady GaGa
Profile of
Lady GaGa
Type(s) of Music: Dance-pop, pop
Full name: ??
Place of Origin: New York
Year the Act Began:
Musical Influences: Queen, David Bowie, etc.
Lady GaGa will be appearing at
Perez Hilton's Fourth of July Spectacular at Prive LA. To make table
reservations, call (702) 523-6002 or write to
tables@PriveLV.com.
Biography/History of
Lady GaGa
It's
no wonder that little girl from a good Italian New York family, turned
into the exhibitionist, multi-talented singer-songwriter with a flair
for theatrics that she is today: Lady GaGa.
"I was always an entertainer. I was a ham as a little girl and I'm a ham
today," says Lady GaGa, 22, who made a name for herself on the Lower
East Side club scene with the infectious dance-pop party song "Beautiful
Dirty Rich," and wild, theatrical, and often tongue-in-cheek "shock art"
performances where GaGa – who designs and makes many of her stage
outfits -- would strip down to her hand-crafted hot pants and bikini
top, light cans of hairspray on fire, and strike a pose as a disco ball
lowered from the ceiling to the orchestral sounds of A Clockwork Orange.
"I always loved rock and pop and theater. When I discovered
Queen and David Bowie is when it really
came together for me and I realized I could do all three," says GaGa,
who nicked her name from Queen's song "Radio Gaga" and who cites rock
star girlfriends, Peggy Bundy, and Donatella Versace as her fashion
icons. "I look at those artists as icons in art. It's not just about the
music. It's about the performance, the attitude, the look; it's
everything. And, that is where I live as an artist and that is what I
want to accomplish."
That goal might seem lofty, but consider the artist: GaGa is the girl
who at age 4 learned piano by ear. By age 13, she had written her first
piano ballad. At 14, she played open mike nights at clubs such as New
York's the Bitter End by night and was teased for her quirky, eccentric
style by her Convent of the Sacred Heart School (the Manhattan private
school Nicky and Paris Hilton
attended) classmates by day. At age 17, she became was one of 20 kids in
the world to get early admission to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.
Signed by her 20th birthday and writing songs for other artists (such as
the Pussycat Dolls, and has been
asked to write for a series of Interscope artists) before her debut
album was even released, Lady GaGa has earned the right to reach for the
sky.
"My goal as an artist is to funnel a pop record to a world in a very
interesting way," says GaGa, who wrote all of her lyrics, all of her
melodies, and played most of the synth work on her album, The Fame
(Streamline/Interscope/KonLive). "I almost want to trick people into
hanging with something that is really cool with a pop song. It's almost
like the spoonful of sugar and I'm the medicine."
On The Fame, it's as if GaGa took two parts dance-pop, one part
electro-pop, and one part rock with a splash of disco and burlesque and
generously poured it into the figurative martini glasses of the world in
an effort to get everyone drunk with her Fame. "The Fame is about how
anyone can feel famous," she explains. "Pop culture is art. It doesn't
make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all
over The Fame. But, it's a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to
the party. I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle."
The CD's opener and first single, "Just Dance," gets the dance floor
rocking with it's "fun, L.A., celebratory vibe." As for the equally
catchy, "Boys Boys Boys," Gaga doesn't mind wearing her influences on
her sleeve. "I wanted to write the female version of Motley Crue's
‘Girls Girls Girls,' but with my own twist. I wanted to write a pop song
that rockers would like."
"Beautiful Dirty Rich" sums up her time of self-discovery, living in the
Lower East Side and dabbling in drugs and the party scene. "That time,
and that song, was just me trying to figure things out," says GaGa.
"Once I grabbed the reigns of my artistry, I fell in love with that more
than I did with the party life." On first listen, "Paparazzi" might come
off as a love song to cameras, and in all honestly, GaGa jokes "on one
level it IS about wooing the paparazzi and wanting fame. But, it's not
to be taken completely seriously. It's about everyone's obsession with
that idea. But, it's also about wanting a guy to love you and the
struggle of whether you can have success or love or both."
GaGa shows her passion for love songs on such softer tracks as the
Queen-influenced "Brown Eyes" and the sweet kiss-off break-up song
"Nothing I can Say (eh eh)." "‘Brown Eyes' is the most vulnerable song
on the album," she explains. "‘Eh Eh' is my simple pop song about
finding someone new and breaking up with the old boyfriend."
For the new tour for this album, fans will be treated to a more polished
version of what they saw (and loved) at her critically acclaimed
Lollapalooza show in August 2007 and Winter Music Conference performance
in March 2008. "This new show is the couture version of my handmade
downtown performance of the past few years. It's more fine-tuned, but
some of my favorite elements to my past shows – the disco balls, hot
pants, sequin, and stilettos – will still be there. Just more fierce and
more of a conceptual show with a vision for pop performance art."
It's been a while since a new pop artist has made her way in the music
industry the old-fashioned/grass roots way by paying her dues with seedy
club gigs and self-promotion. This is one rising pop star who hasn't
been plucked from a model casting call, born into a famous family, won a
reality TV singing contest, or emerged from a teen cable TV sitcom. "I
did this the way you are supposed to. I played every club in New York
City and I bombed in every club and then killed it in every club and I
found myself as an artist. I learned how to survive as an artist, get
real, and how to fail and then figure out who I was as singer and
performer. And, I worked hard."
GaGa adds with a wink in her eye, "And, now, I'm just trying to change
the world one sequin at a time."
7/15/08: Lady Gaga rocked it!
The leading Disco Diva of the 21st Century wowed an audience of one
billion, performing her single "Just Dance" at the Miss Universe 2008
Pageant! Check out her blazing live performance and find out what others
had to say! Watch the video by
clicking here.
It's
no wonder that little girl from a good Italian New York family, turned
into the exhibitionist, multi-talented singer-songwriter with a flair
for theatrics that she is today: Lady GaGa.
