Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a theatrical dance-pop performer whose debut single, the international chart-topping hit "Just Dance," established her as an up-and-coming superstar upon its release in 2008.

Born Stefani Germanotta on March 28, 1986, the Yonkers native 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 (she would later draw her stage name 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 started writing original material 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 an in-house 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" slowly gathered momentum throughout 2008's latter half.

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 larger hit, topping singles charts across the board with its combination of pop melodicism and club-worthy production.

Two additional tracks -- "LoveGame" and "Paparrazi" -- also cracked the Top Ten, and The Fame was still enjoying a spot on the Billboard Top 40 when its follow-up, The Fame Monster, appeared in November 2009.

Although originally planned as a bonus disc (to be packaged alongside The Fame in a deluxe edition of Lady Gaga's debut), The Fame Monster was quickly expanded to eight tracks, thus warranting its own release.

Meanwhile, the leadoff single "Bad Romance" became Gaga's fifth consecutive Top Ten single.

~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Lady Gaga says she feels just as at home in London when she performs as she does when she plays live in her native New York.

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Lady Gaga feels she has finally been accepted by her British fans.

The 'Bad Romance' singer - who is currently working her way across the UK with her 'Monster Ball Tour' - feels just as at home in London as she does in her native New York.

The flamboyant pop star - who played London's 02 Arena last weekend -said: "London is not always an easy crowd, and I remember because I used to open for so many people here. I always found solace when I went to the gay clubs because they were always wild and dancing, and they really loved and enjoyed me. But The O2 was something I've never experienced before."

The 23-year-old starlet - whose real name is Stefani Germanotta - said her fans were very important to her, and she wanted to protect those who were "troubled".

She said: "I look out into the audience and I hear them singing my music and supporting me and I want to do everything I can to protect them because some of them are really troubled and insecure."

Gaga - who began her tour in Manchester last month - had to redesign some of her set after several props were lost in transit from the US.

A source said: "Right up to the wire there was mad panic. Gaga lived up to her name when she arrived to find half of her costumes had not arrived and pieces of the set were missing. She has spent over a million pounds on this new stage show, so she was furious that everything wasn't in place."

'Poker Face' singer Lady Gaga believes a lot of her determination stems from comments an ex-boyfriend made, claiming she would never be a successful pop star.

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Lady Gaga's ex-boyfriend told her she would never be a pop star.

The 'Poker Face' singer has been determined to make a success of herself to spite a former lover, ever since he told her she was a terrible musician and would never be famous.

She told America's Cosmopolitan magazine: "I had a boyfriend who told me I'd never succeed, never be nominated for a Grammy, never have a hit song, and that he hoped I'd fail. I said to him, 'Someday, when we're not together, you won't be able to order a cup of coffee at the f***ing deli without hearing or seeing me.' "

The 23-year-old starlet has had enormous chart success since she launched her career last year.

As well as releasing several number one tracks, Lady Gaga - real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - has scooped numerous awards for her work, including a Grammy for her debut album 'The Fame' and another for her single 'Poker Face'.

Prior to this, Lady Gaga claims she put up with a lot of negative comments and only stuck at the music industry because of her unrealistic levels of ambition.

She said: "I ate s**t for so long, being told I didn't fit the mold and that I was 'too pop' or 'too theater'... I've always been delusionally ambitious to the point where people don't understand me."

'Bad Romance' singer Lady Gaga recently took an HIV test after panicking her behaviour on tour meant she ''forgot'' to look after her body.

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Lady Gaga took an HIV test after panicking about her behaviour on tour.

The 'Bad Romance' singer recently had a sexual health screening in New York because she "forgot" to look after her body properly when she was performing live shows for The Monster Ball Tour concerts.

She said: "I had an HIV test two days ago - and it's not because I'm taking off my clothes every night with a different man. When I'm on the road, I forget about taking care of my body. I don't go to the doctor as regularly as if I were in one place all the time. So I woke up and thought, 'Oh, I'm home in New York. I'm going to see my gyno and I'm getting an HIV test.' "

The 23-year-old star - who is believed to be dating her stylist and friend Matthew Williams - has made it her personal mission to make it "fashionable" for women to carry condoms and practise safe sex.

She told MarieClaire.com: "You put that condom in your purse and save your own f**king life. And don't call me in a week and cry. Because you know that infamous call from your girlfriend - 'Oh, my God, I got caught up, and I was afraid he wouldn't like me.' I mean, what year is it? It's scary, but I want it to be fashionable to be smart."

Lady Gaga recently blasted contradictory attitudes to sexuality which let men be more vocal about their conquests than women.

She said: "When a guy says, 'Oh I f**ked all these chicks this week', there's a high-five and giggling. But when a woman does it and it's publicised or she's open about her sexuality or she's free or liberated, it's 'Oh, she must have a d**k'. There's a threat."