Friday 27 January 2012

Lady Gaga


                                                            LADY GAGA





    Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and by the end of 2007, was signed with Streamline Records. Employed as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution.

    Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro" and allowed her to embark on the eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which later became one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Her most recent album Born This Way (2011) topped the charts of most major markets and generated more international chart-topping singles that include "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Beside her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

   Influenced by such acts as David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Queen, Lady Gaga is well-recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré contributions to the music industry through fashion, performance and music videos. She has sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time and her singles some of the best-selling worldwide. Her achievements include four Guinness World Records, five Grammy Awards and thirteen MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard magazine's Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), is regularly placed on lists composed by Forbes magazine, and was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

                                                                      Discography:

                                                                 THE FAME
                                                                           (2008)

   The Fame is the debut studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008 through Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different producers, primarily RedOne, Martin Kierszenbaum and Rob Fusari. Musically, The Fame is a dance-pop and synthpop album that has influences of pop music from the 1980s. Lyrically, the album visualizes Gaga's love of fame in general whilst also dealing with subjects such as love, sex, money, drugs and sexual identity. Promotion was primarily through The Fame Ball Tour and multiple television appearances. The Fame was included as a bonus disc on the deluxe edition of the EP, The Fame Monster (2009).

   The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the album's lyrical content and Gaga's musicianship and vocal ability, which have been compared to fellow pop singers such as Gwen Stefani. However, others criticized its use of formula. The album was a commercial success, topping the charts in different countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Switzerland. In the United States, it reached number 2 on the Billboard 200, while topping the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.

   The first two singles from The Fame, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", were an international success, topping the charts in several countries worldwide, including the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. While its third single, "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)", experienced less commercial success, the next two singles, "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi", were a commercial success as well, charting within the top ten of more than ten countries worldwide. "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" was released in the form of a promotional single. The Fame has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated for a total of six Grammy Awards at the 52nd Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album and the Best Dance Recording for the single "Poker Face".It also won Best International Album at the 2010 BRIT Awards.

                                                THE FAME MONSTER
                                                                           (2009)

   The Fame Monster is the third EP and second major release by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on November 18, 2009 through Interscope Records. Initially planned to be included on a re-release of Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, she announced that the eight tracks would be included on a standalone release, saying that she thought the re-release was too expensive and that the albums were each conceptually different, describing them as Yin and yang respectively. A Super Deluxe edition of The Fame Monster including The Fame and additional merchandise, including a lock of her wig, was released on December 15, 2009.

   Musically, The Fame Monster is a pop album influenced by a number of genres, prominently the disco, glam rock and synthpop music of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as industrial and Gothic music. The album was also inspired by fashion shows and runways. According to Gaga, the album deals with the darker side of fame, including love, sex, alcohol and more. Lyrically, they are expressed through a monster metaphor. The cover artwork was done by Hedi Slimane and has a Gothic theme, as described by Gaga herself. The artwork was originally declined by her record company, however, Gaga convinced them to go through with it.

   The Fame Monster received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the EP's production, as well as Gaga's musicianship. However, criticism was directed toward its lyrical content. In some countries, the album charted with The Fame, and topped the charts in multiple nations, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, and Switzerland. In the United States, it reached number five on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

   Its lead single, "Bad Romance", was a commercial success, topping the charts in more than twenty countries worldwide, while reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The next two singles, "Telephone" and "Alejandro" were successful as well, reaching the top ten in multiple countries worldwide. "Dance in the Dark" was only released as a single in select territories, but received moderate success in some countries, and receiving a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 53rd Grammy Awards. "Speechless" and "Monster" charted in multiple countries as well, despite not being released as singles. The Fame Monster has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated in a total of six categories at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Pop Vocal Album.


                                                        BORN THIS WAY
                                                                          (2011)

   Born This Way is the second studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga, which was released on May 23, 2011, by Interscope Records. The album is a follow-up to her internationally-successful albums The Fame (2008) and The Fame Monster (2009). As co-producer of every track on the album, Gaga collaborated with numerous producers, including RedOne and Fernando Garibay, with whom she had previously collaborated, and newcomers such as DJ Snake, DJ White Shadow, Jeppe Laursen, Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Clinton Sparks. She also included artists like E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons and Queen guitarist Brian May on tracks from the album.

   The music of Born This Way stems from the synthpop, dance-pop and electro-rock-oriented styles of her previous albums, yet it incorporates different forms of instrumentation which have not been used on her previous releases. It also incorporates a broader range of several musical genres like opera, heavy metal, disco and rock and roll while its lyrical topics include sexuality, religion, freedom, feminism, and individualism. Despite dividing opinion amongst some religious and conservative commentators, the album was well-received by music critics; points of acclaim went to the varying musical styles in the album and Gaga's vocals. Additionally, several publications included the album in their year-end critic lists. Born This Way received three Grammy Award nominations, including her third consecutive nomination for Album of the Year.

   Born This Way debuted in the top five spots in every major market, including the Billboard 200. In the United States, Born This Way sold 1.108 million copies in its first week – the largest first week album sales in five years; an estimated 440,000 copies were sold on Amazon in two days of its first week at a price of 99 cents. The album's four singles – "Born This Way", "Judas", "The Edge of Glory", and "You and I" – went on to chart in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. "Born This Way" became the fastest-selling single in iTunes history and the promotional track "Hair" charted in sixteen countries. Gaga has performed songs from the album on different occasions, including at prominent award ceremonies including the 53rd Grammy Awards and the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as in other events and television appearances. As of October 2011, worldwide sales of the album have exceeded 8 million copies.

And now listen to some awesome stuff from Lady Gaga:


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