Hey everyone!

First, I would like to take care of some logistics.  This post is much different than the other two posts.  Music: The Heart and Soul is a blog about music education and about music in general as well.  Starting from now on, this blog will not only post about music education in the country, but also also about music now, then, and in the future.  So just a heads up!  It’s a new direction that I think will be beneficial to the blog.  Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say, have a wonderful New Year ! 

Lady Gaga is On “The Edge of Glory”

“Well, that’s your opinion, isn’t it? And I’m not about to waste my time trying to change it.”
― Lady Gaga

Whether you think she is talented, insane, ronchy or simply brilliant…that is really for you to decide.

(Video credit  by Youtube)

Lady Gaga Performs for Canal+ on the Croisette – 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival

CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 11:  Singer Lady Gaga Performs for Canal+ on the Croisette during the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 11, 2011 in Cannes, France.  (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

 Lady Gaga has taken the world by storm.  Whether it’s her vocal performance, energy, or her memorable performances, surely all of us have heard of this celebrity.  But where did all of this fame rise from?  If we turn back the clock 26 years, we can see just how this star was born.  Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born in NYC and had a low income family working to make ends meet.  She attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, which was a private all girls institution and then later on was accepted into the high caliber Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.  For awhile, she performed with the SGBand (Stefani Germanotta Band) with some fellow NYU students in local bars.  Later on, SGBand disbanded and Stefani was discovered by Rob Fusari, the famous music producer.  He compared her vocals to Queen’s Freddie Mercury.  After trying to come up with a stage name, Rob thought that “Radio Ga Ga” would be appropriate because it was one of Queen’s songs.  However, Rob texted Stefani ”lady gaga”…the text was a glitch that was supposed to read “radio” instead of “lady” and thus she was coined Lady Gaga.  Yet, this information was proven inaccurate according to The New York Post which claimed that she received her name after a marketing meeting.  She was then signed to Def Jam Recordings in hopes of completing an album in 9 months, but then unfortunately she was dropped just 3 months and so began her rough patch of life that would later be the inspiration of the songwriting of “Marry The Night”.  She experimented with drugs and go-go danced at bars…it was indeed a rough patch.  Then, she met music artist Lady Starlight and the two performed at Lollapalooza in 2007.  Soon after, she was hired from Interscope Records.  She was also hired from Sony/ATV Music Publishing to write songs for artists, like Fergie, the Pussycat Dolls, and even Britney Spears.  The famous artist Akon realized Gaga’s potential and then eventually Gaga was signed with famous music producer and songwriter, RedOne.  In collaboration with RedOne, she made the hot and popular singles of “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”.  From that point on, her 2008 album The Fame and her 2009 The Fame Monster albums received outstanding success with 1 Grammy nomination for “Just Dance”, 2 Grammy nominations for “Poker Face” and one win for Best Dance Recording.  In addition, she has earned many Billboard Hot 100s in the top 10 with “Alejandro”  and many others.  In 2011, Born This Way was an incredible feat with 1.108 million copies of the album sold in the U.S. WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK.  (All info above paraphrase from Wikipedia’s  ”Lady Gaga” article).  From my experience, still even to this day Born This Way songs come up on the radio very frequently. 

In a way, Lady Gaga is standing on the height of her fame, if you will, “the edge of glory”.  The media always is watching her and she gains attention from her provocative and racy dance routines and unique outlandish clothing styles.  In an interview with 60 Minutes Gaga tells CNN’s Anderson Cooper about her outfits, “there is always some sort of a story or concept that I am telling”.  One of the most controversial outfits was her “meat dress” at the 2010 MTV awards…because she was accompanied with several discharged gay service men and it was a commentary on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Her ideology behind her clothing is this: “At part of my mastering of the art of fame, part of it is getting people to pay attention to what you want them to pay attention to and not pay attention to things you don’t want them to pay attention to”.  Her clothing gets the public eye to focus on her career instead of her personal life.  Gaga has thousands of acclaimed fans, “Little Monsters” she calls them, that all are in support of her ideas that you should shine just the way you are–don’t let anyone else control what you believe in.  She supports the LGBT community and has contributed to the fight against HIV and AIDS with Cyndi Lauper by endorsing Viva Glam lipstick and raised $1.5 million for the cause.  (All info above paraphrase from 60 Minutes Lady Gaga interview and Wikipedia’s  ”Lady Gaga” article).

So what does this mean?  I believe that Lady Gaga is one of the most influential icons of the music industry in the 21st century…and here is why. 

• She directs their attention on her work, outfits, and character rather than her personal life
• She goes on interviews and seems to never miss a beat (from the 7 interviews that I have seen)
• Gaga only shares and knows what will inspire and help her fan base. 
• Lady Gaga is unique, her voice is so recognizable that it’s almost impossible to mistake her for another artist.

Think about it.  Lady Gaga whether you like her or are in deep disgust with her…she always has the attention of the public eye.  I believe that Gaga plays her cards right with a true poker face.  If the music industry were a game of chess, Lady Gaga would surely be the queen.

Thank you for reading.  Leave comments below and vote in the poll below too!

~*Music: The Heart and Soul*~

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.