Name	Paparazzi
Cover	Lady gaga paparazzi.jpg
Alt	Two greyscale images of a blond woman with short bob cut hair. She wears a shiny black metallic dress with a bloated skirt. The images are taken like police mugshots, with the woman holding her name tag to her chest. In one image she bites her right hand, while in the other she ruffles her hair. The top and the bottom of the image are lined by a thick layer of pink paint. On the bottom, the words "Lady Gaga" and "Paparazzi" are written in flowing white and green colors.
Artist	Lady Gaga
Album	The Fame
Released	July 5, 2009
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	150 Studios(Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey)
Genre	Synthpop, electropop
Length	3:29
Label	Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope, Cherrytree
Writer	Robert Fusari, Stefani Germanotta
Producer	Rob Fusari
Last single	"Chillin"(2009)
This single	"Paparazzi"(2009)
Next single	"Bad Romance"(2009)

"Paparazzi" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, released as the final single from her debut album, The Fame. Written by Rob Fusari and Gaga, the song was the album's third single in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy, the fourth in Canada and the United States and the fifth in Australia, New Zealand and France. It was released on July 6, 2009 in the United Kingdom and four days later in Australia. Initially, "LoveGame" had been planned as the third single release in the United Kingdom, but it was decided that "Paparazzi" would be released instead because of the potentially controversial lyrics and music video of "LoveGame". The song was written by Gaga to portray her struggles with her quest for fame. It is an up-tempo dance song whose lyrics describe a stalker following somebody to grab attention and fame.

"Paparazzi" has been critically acclaimed for its fun-filled, club-friendly nature. The accompanying music video shows Gaga as a doomed starlet, hounded by photographers, who is almost killed by her boyfriend. It shows her survival, comeback, revenge on her boyfriend, and experiences on the way to fame. The song reached the top ten of the official charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland and United Kingdom, while reaching number one in Germany and the Czech Republic. In the United States it has reached six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Gaga performed the song live at The Fame Ball Tour, where it was the opening song, the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects awards, and on Saturday Night Live in October 2009. As a Rapunzel-like character, she also performed it on The Monster Ball Tour. On the second leg of the tour Gaga performed the song alongside a giant anglerfish who attempted to devour her, but was killed after her leotard shoots sparks into the monster.

Writing and inspiration

When Ron Slomowicz from About.com referred to different interpretations of the single, Gaga responded:

Well I'm so glad there are a few different interpretations, that was the idea. The song is about a few different things – it's about my struggles, do I want fame or do I want love? It's also about wooing the paparazzi to fall in love with me. It's about the media whoring, if you will, watching ersatzes make fools of themselves to their station. It's a love song for the cameras, but it's also a love song about fame or love – can you have both, or can you only have one?

To the Australian Daily Telegraph, Gaga explained that the song was also about struggling to balance success and love. Bill Lamb from About.com concurred that "the song is a tribute of sorts to the symbiotic but ultimately fake and 'plastic' relationship between stars and their trailing paparazzi [...] who, for better or worse, are there to document and, in a sense, create the stardom." It is set in common time, and Gaga's vocal range spans from a low-note of G₃ to the high-note of E₅. The song follows in the chord progression of Cm–A–C–N–C.

Critical reception

.|alt=A blond woman singing on a stage. She is surrounded up to her waist by vertical metallic plates which have angular glasses attached on them. The woman is looking to the right and holds her head high. Her left hand holds a microphone to her mouth and her right hand is held up. The stage is covered by dense synthetic fog, a fog machines visible on the right. A man with a synthesizer is visible on the left of the woman.]]

The song has been critically acclaimed by music critics. Jill Menze of Billboard, while reviewing The Fame Ball Tour, complimented Gaga's vocals on the song by saying, "The fame-obsessed ballad 'Paparazzi' showed how adept she can be with her range." Alexis Petridis of The Guardian said that, "You may quickly tire of hearing the album's theme constantly reiterated, but the tune of 'Paparazzi' takes up residence in your brain and refuses to budge." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, called the song clever and said that it "functions simultaneously as glorious pop trash and a wicked parody of it." Ben Norman of About.com said that the song was one of his favorite three of the album and that it was amazing. Priya Elan of The Times thought that "even the trio of songs that provides the core of the album's celebrity theme ('Paparazzi', 'Beautiful Dirty Rich' and the title track) don't ruminate on the addictive inanity of fame, choosing instead to observe passively." Bill Lamb from About.com felt that the song was Gaga's top artistic achievement. He went on to list the symbiotic star and paparazzi relationship, the emotion behind the words and music, and the insistent vocals by Gaga as the pros of the song.

Evan Sawdey of PopMatters said that both "Paparazzi" and the earlier single "Poker Face" are comparable with the musical styles of first single "Just Dance" but added that "never once does it feel like Gaga is deliberately repeating herself; instead, her faults only come from covering territory that she’s obviously not prepared for." Freedom du Lac of The Washington Post said that even though Gaga turns somewhat serious while disapprovingly singing "Paparazzi", the song comes across as flat and faceless as well as vapid. Erika Howard of the New Times Broward-Palm Beach called it the most telling track from the album. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said that "'Paparazzi' is a love letter from camera to subject but stops short of admitting that the affection runs both ways. Any notion that Lady Gaga is sketching an elaborate stunt is stopped cold at the lyric sheet, a perverse flaunting of simplicity that betrays no cynicism whatsoever." Pitchfork Media ranked 'Paparazzi' number 83 on their list of 2009's 100 best tracks.

Chart performance

, Stockholm, Sweden on August 2009.|upright|alt=A blond woman standing on a stage, from her left. Her hair is in curls and she wears a shiny mask on her face. She wears a silvery tutu like dress with a triangular piece attached on her chest. The woman stretches her glove wearing arms to the front. Behind her, a number of vertical rectangular structures are visible on which geometric patterned glasses are attached. The rest of the stage is filled with mechanical fog.]] In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at position seventy-four on the issue dated September 12, 2009. It reached a peak of six, becoming her fourth consecutive top-ten song on the chart. With the song, Gaga joined Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, and Fergie as the only women this decade to collect four Hot 100 top-tens from a debut album. It also reached the top of Billboard's Pop Songs chart, thus making Gaga the first artist in the seventeen year history of Pop Songs chart to have her first four singles from a debut album reach the top of the chart. The song also topped the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It has sold 2.776 million paid digital downloads in United States according to Nielsen Soundscan. "Paparazzi" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number ninety-two and moved up to fifty seven the following week becoming the weeks greatest digital gainer. The song has reached a peak of three on the chart.

"Paparazzi" debuted on the official Australian Singles Chart at number seventy-three on the issue dated June 1, 2009 and leaped to twenty-seven the next week. The song has peaked at number two, giving Gaga her fourth top five single in Australia. The song was certified two-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 140,000 copies. In New Zealand, "Paparazzi" debuted at number twenty-three on the issue of June 22, 2009 and reached a peak of five. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) after fourteen weeks on the chart, shipping over 7,500 copies.

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number ninety-nine in February 2009 due to digital downloads after the release of The Fame. It reached number thirteen for the issue dated June 21, 2009 after jumping from forty-three to this position from the last week. The next week the song further climbed to eight and ultimately peaked at four. and has peaked at number four. "Paparazzi" reached number one in Germany, making it her second chart-topper there. The song also debuted on the Dutch Top 40 at number twenty-seven on the issue dated July 18, 2009. It has peaked at number four on its sixth week on the chart. In Italy, the song debuted at number nineteen and then climbed to number three, becoming Gaga's second top three there. Gaga told MTV that she had finished shooting "[..] my video for 'Paparazzi,' which I really am very pleased with the way that turned out. It's like a short film." In an interview with The Canadian Press on May 26, 2009, Gaga cited her video as "the most amazing creative work that [she's] put together so far." She went on to describe the idea behind the video and the message it gives as,

"It has a real, genuine, powerful message about fame-whoring and death and the demise of the celebrity, and what that does to young people. The video explores ideas about sort of hyperbolic situations that people will go to in order to be famous. Most specifically, pornography and murder. These are some of the major themes in the video.

Synopsis

The music video is an eight minute mini-movie starring Gaga and Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård as her boyfriend. It features a murderous plot line involving a doomed starlet who is constantly followed by photographers. As the dancers gyrate around her, she starts walking down the carpet with the help of a pair of crutches while wearing a metallic bustier and a matching helmet. The metallic outfit is a reference to the film "Metropolis". These scenes are interspersed with scenes of dead models lying around the mansion. We later learn that the dead housekeeper is actually the very same one that brings Lady Gaga and her "boyfriend" their coffee/tea, implying Gaga killed her next (and maybe the other girls?). The video continues through the intermediate bridge with Gaga wearing a dress made up of film strips and a towering feathered Mohawk headdress.

Reception

Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps compared the video with the music video of "November Rain." The scenes of the dead models were described as stomach turning while he complimented the video for "brimming with cinematic style [so] that it’s hard to take your eyes off it, though it will likely be labeled as a little self-indulgent." He also commented on the leaking of the video saying that it "warranted more than just a simple leak; it deserved a red carpet." Anna Pickard from The Guardian complimented the video saying that "quite a lot of work has gone into it". However, she opined that the video was too long. The video was nominated for five VMAs at the 2009 awards in the categories of Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Special Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Along with four other nominations for "Poker Face", she and Beyoncé were tied for most nominations this year. The video won the award for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. The music video for Gaga's single "Telephone" is a continuation of the "Paparazzi" music video, and is a short film as well. The video picks up right where "Paparazzi" left off; starting with Gaga in prison.

Live performances

Gaga performed "Paparazzi" live on the UK program, The Album Chart Show on February 14, 2009 as promotion for The Fame. The song was performed at Capital Radio 95.8 FM in an acoustic piano version on May 1, 2009. On June 26, 2009, Gaga performed the song at the Glastonbury Festival emerging from a silver case on stage. The song was a major part of Gaga’s performance in her first headlining Fame Ball tour as the opening number of the setlist. The show started with a video intro called "The Heart" where Gaga played an alternate persona called Candy Warhol. She wore a silver and black short skirt like a tutu and shaped like peplum on both sides. She was surrounded by her dancers holding plates which were encrusted with crystals and completely hid them. The stage was surrounded by mechanical fog and heavy lighting was being emitted from the background.

.|alt=A blond woman wearing a shiny black dress and her hair extended with long braids, stands on a stage. The braids fall on her left arm and continue down. Behind her, a number of twinkling lights are visible and the woman makes a gesture with her right hand.]] It was also performed at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance began with Gaga lying on the floor, on a set that was described as an ornate mansion. Gaga staggered across the stage and pirouetted behind a dancer in a lily-white wheelchair. She made her way to a white grand piano which she played by placing one foot up on the keyboard. Once again, she staggered across the stage, with theatrical blood dripping from her ribcage. She collapsed on the stage wailing in agony as one of the dancers gently lifted her. Gaga then hung liflessly with one hand rising above her dancers and blood smeared on her face with a golden halo being projected on the screen behind her.

The song was performed by Gaga in a similar choreography at the thirty-fifth season of American comedy show Saturday Night Live. It was also present on the set list of Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour. She wore multiple donned braided extensions and was perched atop a railing. From each of her braids, a dancer was attached on the stage. A backdrop of stars were shown during the performance. During the European dates of The Monster Ball, Gaga changed the concept and the performance of the song. She wore an emerald green leotard, and was attacked by a giant, mechanical Angler fish who attempted to devour her, but is killed after her leotard shoots sparks into the monster.

Track listing

UK & Australian CD single # "Paparazzi" (Album Version) – 3:29 # "Paparazzi" (Filthy Dukes Remix) – 5:21

Canadian & Australian iTunes remix EP # "Paparazzi" (Stuart Price Remix) – 3:19 # "Paparazzi" (Moto Blanco Edit) – 4:05 # "Paparazzi" (Filthy Dukes Club Mix) – 5:21 # "Paparazzi" (James Carameta Tabloid Club Edit) – 4:27

UK & Ireland iTunes remix EP # "Paparazzi" – 3:27 # "Paparazzi" (Filthy Dukes Club Mix) – 5:21 # "Paparazzi" (Moto Blanco Edit) – 4:05 # "Paparazzi" (Stuart Price Remix) – 3:19 # "Paparazzi" (Yuksek Remix) – 4:47

US iTunes Remix EP # "Paparazzi" (Demolition Crew Remix) – 3:55 # "Paparazzi" (Moto Blanco Edit) – 4:05 # "Paparazzi" (Stuart Price Remix) – 3:19 # "Paparazzi" (Filthy Dukes Club Mix) – 5:21

US 'The Remixes' CD single # "Paparazzi" (Demolition Crew Remix) – 3:55 # "Paparazzi" (Moto Blanco Edit) – 4:05 # "Paparazzi" (Stuart Price Remix) – 3:19 # "Paparazzi" (Filthy Dukes Club Mix) – 5:21 # "Paparazzi" (James Camareta Tabloid Club Edit) – 4:27 # "Paparazzi" (Album Version) – 3:29 # "Paparazzi" (Instrumental Version) – 3:29

French and German iTunes Remix EP/Germany 'The Remixes' CD single # "Paparazzi" (Moto Blanco Edit) – 4:05 # "Paparazzi" (Moto Blanco Bostic Dub) – 6:42 # "Paparazzi" (Demolition Crew Remix) – 3:55 # "Paparazzi" (Stuart Price Remix) – 3:19 # "Paparazzi" (Filthy Dukes Club Mix) – 5:21 # "Paparazzi" (Yuksek Remix) – 4:47 # "Paparazzi" (James Camareta Tabloid Club Edit) – 4:27 # "Paparazzi" (Radio Edit) – 3:28

US iTunes Remix EP #2 # "Paparazzi" (Chew Fu Ghettohouse Radio Edit) – 3:39 # "Paparazzi" (Yuksek Remix) – 4:47 # "Paparazzi" (James Camareta Tabloid Club Edit) – 4:27

==Credits and personnel==

Songwriting – Lady Gaga, Rob Fusari

Production – Rob Fusari, Victor Korh (co-production)

Mixing – Robert Orton

Piano – Lady Gaga ,Rob Fusari

Synthesizer – Lady Gaga

Programming – Calvin "Sci-Fidelty" Gaines

Charts, certifications and procession

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (2009) !Peakposition |- |Australian Singles Chart |align="center"|7 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) |align="center"|18 |- |Canadian Hot 100 |align="center"|1 |- |Danish Singles Chart |align="center"|3 |- |Finnish Singles Chart |align="center"|6 |- |German Singles Chart |align="center"|1 |- |Hungarian Airplay Chart |align="center"|10 |- |Irish Singles Chart |align="center"|3 |- |New Zealand Singles Chart |align="center"|5 |- |Spanish Singles Chart |align="center"|4 |- |US Billboard Hot 100 |align="center"|1 |- |}

Decade-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Decade-end chart (2000–09) ! Position |- | Australian Singles Chart |align="center"|78 |- |}

Certifications

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Chart (2009) ! Peakposition |- | Australian Singles Chart |align="center"|12 |- |Austrian Singles Chart |align="center"|21 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) |align="center"|74 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) |align="center"|59 |- | Canadian Hot 100 |align="center"|18 |- |Dutch Top 40 |align="center"|31 |- |European Hot 100 Singles |align="center"|92 |- | German Singles Chart |align="center"|23 |- |Hungarian Airplay Chart |align="center"|49 |- |Italian Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|27 |- |Swiss Singles Chart |align="center"|29 |- |UK Singles Chart |align="center"|18 |- |US Billboard Hot 100 |align="center"|53 |- ! Chart (2010) ! Peakposition |- |European Hot 100 Singles |align="center"|45 |- | US Billboard Hot 100 |align="center"|64 |- | US Adult Contemporary |align="center"|38 |}

Chart procession and succession

;Award procession and succession

Release history

References

External links

Lady Gaga "Paparazzi" music video MTV

Category:2008 songs Category:2009 singles Category:Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:Billboard Pop Songs number-one singles Category:Lady Gaga songs Category:Music videos directed by Jonas Åkerlund Category:Number-one singles in Germany Category:Singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America Category:Songs written by Lady Gaga Category:Synthpop songs Category:Songs about the media

Name	Lady Gaga
Img alt	Portrait of a young, pale-skinned Caucasian female with blond hair
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born	March 28, 1986New York City, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, synthesizer, keytar
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Url

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, the follow-up EP The Fame Monster (2009), produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release in 2011.

Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style as a recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including two Grammy Awards, amongst twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide. Billboard named her as the Artist of the Year in 2010 and ranked her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world. Forbes also placed her at number seven on their annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Life and career

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City on March 28, 1986, the eldest child of Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur, and Cynthia (née Bissett). She learned to play piano from the age of four, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13 and began performing at open mike nights by age 14. Gaga was raised a Roman Catholic. At the age of 11, Gaga attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but has stressed that she does not come from a wealthy background, saying that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything – my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."

An avid thespian in high school musicals, Gaga portrayed lead roles as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure" as she told in an interview, "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak." Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate. Referring to her "expressive, free spirit", Gaga told Elle magazine "I'm left-handed!"

At age 17, Gaga gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and lived in a NYU dorm on 11th Street. There she studied music and improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion, social issues and politics. Gaga felt that she was more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said. By the second semester of her sophomore year, she withdrew from the school to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll for Tisch if she was unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she said. Shortly after, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", She also started the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU. They recorded an extended play of their ballads at a studio underneath a liquor store in New Jersey, becoming a local fixture at the downtown Lower East Side club scene. Music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her write some of her earlier songs, compared some of her vocal harmonies to that of Freddie Mercury. He explained,

She was known thereafter as Lady Gaga. The pair began playing gigs at downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall, with their live performance art piece known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue." Billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", their act was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. In August 2007, Gaga and Starlight were invited to play at the American Lollapalooza music festival. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.

Fusari sent the songs he produced with Gaga to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert. Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007. She credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." While Gaga was writing at Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M; Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album The album peaked at number one in United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland, and the top-five in Australia, the United States and fifteen other countries. Worldwide, The Fame has sold over fourteen million copies. Its lead single "Just Dance" topped the charts in six countries – Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and later received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. The following single "Poker Face" was an even greater success, reaching number-one in almost all major music markets in the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. It won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards, over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The Fame was nominated for Album of the Year; it won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Although her first concert tour happened as an opening act for fellow Interscope pop group, the reformed New Kids on the Block, she ultimately headlined her own worldwide concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, which was critically appreciated and began in March 2009; culminating in September of that year. The cover of the annual "Hot 100" issue of Rolling Stone in May 2009 featured a semi-nude Gaga wearing only strategically placed plastic bubbles. She was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, winning the award for Best New Artist, while her single "Paparazzi" won two awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. In October, Gaga received Billboard magazine's Rising Star of 2009 award. She attended the Human Rights Campaign's "National Dinner" the same month, before marching in the National Equality March for the equal protection of LGBT people in all matters governed by US civil law in Washington, D.C.

|alt= Profile of a young blond woman. Her hair falls in waves up to her shoulders. She wears a purple leotard with visible sequins attached. Ample bosom, arm and leg are visible.]] Written over the course of 2008–09, The Fame Monster, a collection of eight songs, was released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience while she travelled the world, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Its first single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries, while reaching the top-two in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, Gaga became the first artist in digital history to have three singles (along with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance while its accompanying music video was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video. The album's second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number-one single while its accompanying music video, although controversial, was met mostly positive reception from contemporary critics: praising her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna." Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its idea and dark nature, but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they have made Gaga one of the first artists to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube. Musically, The Fame Monster has also received abundant success. Equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received, The Fame Monster garnered a total of six – among them Best Pop Vocal Album and her second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. The success of the album allowed Gaga to embark on her second headlining worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of The Fame Monster and months after having finished her first. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished concert tour will have ran for over one and a half years. Additionally, Gaga has performed other songs from the album at international events like the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.

Barbara Walters chose Gaga as one the "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" for her annual ABC News special. When interviewed by the journalist, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." Excited about bringing back Polaroid and "combining it with the digital era", Gaga was named Chief Creative Officer for a line of imaging products for the international optic company in January 2010 with the intent of creating fashion, technology and photography products. Her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, was sued in March by Rob Fusari; claiming that he was entitled to a 20% share of its earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, however, five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit. In April, Gaga was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the year. While giving an interview to The Times, Gaga hinted at having Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly referred to as lupus, which is a connective tissue disease. She later confirmed with Larry King that she does not have lupus but "the results were borderline positive".

2010–present: Born This Way

Gaga's second studio album and third major release Born This Way, whose title was announced during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, will be released on May 23, 2011. Its arrival will follow the release of its lead single on February 13, 2011. These dates were tweeted by Gaga at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, 2011. Described as "a marriage of electronic music with major [...] metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats", Born This Way will be Gaga's third release in three years. She stated, "It came so quickly. I've been working on [the album] for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day." With two tracks already confirmed by Gaga – one she has been performing during The Monster Ball Tour, she has referred to the album as "the greatest" of the decade about "what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid." Likening Born This Way to "bad kids going to church" that are "having fun on a high level", Gaga characterized her new music as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she will take music to the "next level."

Lending her vocal talent elsewhere, Gaga also paired with Elton John to record an original duet for the soundtrack to the forthcoming animated Disney feature film Gnomeo and Juliet. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", is scheduled for release in February 2011.

Musical style and influences

Gaga has been influenced by glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name, "Lady Gaga". She commented: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique – one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music."

Gaga's vocals have drawn frequent comparison to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani, while the structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. While reviewing her debut album The Fame, The Sunday Times asserted "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, Lady GaGa evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now." Similarly, The Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman commented that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Though her lyrics are said to lack intellectual stimulation, "[she] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B;-ish beats.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." Entertainment Weekly put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."

Critical reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, trailblazer and fashion icon is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews, Her role as a self-esteem booster for her fans is also lauded, as is her role in breathing life into the fashion industry. Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; in particular, the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme in The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and is "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in Manchester, England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Chris Rock later defended her flamboyant, provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," he said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?" She later returned to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards wearing a dress which was supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat—each fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. The dress, named Time magazine's Fashion Statement of 2010 and more widely known as the "meat dress", was made by Argentinian designer Franc Fernandez and received divided opinions—evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Gaga, however, later denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community.

Gaga's treatment of her fans as "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. Camille Paglia wrote a cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" on September 12, 2010, in The Sunday Times in which she asserts that Gaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those."

Public image

Contrary to her outré style, the New York Post described her early look as like "a refugee from Jersey Shore" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." She has another six known tattoos, among them a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon whom she stated was her hero, Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and fellow recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Comparisons continued into 2010 when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.

Gaga's influence on modern culture and society has provoked the University of South Carolina into offering a full-time course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" in the objective of unravelling "the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors".

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has enhanced her repertoire as a philanthropist who has contributed to various charities and humanitarianism works.

Although declining an invitation to record a benefit song, Gaga held a concert of The Monster Ball Tour following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and dedicated it to the country’s reconstruction relief fund. This concert, held at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, on January 24, 2010, donated any received revenue to the relief fund while, in addition, all profits from sales of products on Gaga’s official online store on that same day were donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund.

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS with the focus upon educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company’s campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick."

, October 11, 2009|alt=A blond woman speaking on a kiosk. She wears a white shirt and black glasses. Behind her, the balcony of a building is visible.]] Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a rising gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of The Fame, saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009, National Equality March rally on the national mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," At the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality. In September 2010, she spoke at a rally in favor of repealing the US military's Don't ask, don't tell policy, which prohibits lesbian, gay and bisexual people from serving openly, and released an online video urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to get the policy overturned. Editors of The Advocate commented that she had become the "fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians that future president Barack Obama had promised to be during his campaign.

Discography

The Fame (2008)

The Fame Monster (2009)

Born This Way (2011)

Tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

Awards and nominations

See also

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

External links

Year in Gaga: A Provocative 2010 — slideshow by Life magazine

Category:1986 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Singers from New York Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Wonky Pop acts

Name	Justin Bieber
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
Born	March 01, 1994
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion,
Genre	Pop, R&B; ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010.
Name	Bieber, Justin
Short description	Canadian singer
Date of birth	March 1, 1994
Place of birth	Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Stratford, Ontario Category:Canadian people of German descent

Name	Greyson Chance
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Greyson Michael Chance
Born	August 16, 1997Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. As of January 3, 2011, his cover for the song "Paparazzi" has a total viewership of over 36 million. He has two original compositions, "Stars", and "Broken Hearts", both posted on his YouTube channel which have over 4 and 6 million views respectively. His debut single, "Waiting Outside the Lines," was released in October 2010.
- style	"font-size:smaller;"
Style	"text-align:left;"| "Waiting Outside the Lines"
Style	"text-align:left;"| 2010
Style	"text-align:center;"| "Waiting Outside the Lines"
Style	"text-align:center;"| Sanaa Hamri
Style	"text-align:right;"|
Name	Chance, Greyson Michael
Short description	Singer-songwriter, gained fame on YouTube
Date of birth	August 16, 1997
Place of birth	Witchita Falls, Kansas

Category:1997 births Category:2010s singers Category:American male singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:American child singers Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:Internet memes Category:YouTube video producers Category:People from Oklahoma Category:People from Edmond, Oklahoma