H.263 is a video compression standard originally designed as a low-bitrate compressed format for videoconferencing. It was developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) in a project ending in 1995/1996 as one member of the H.26x family of video coding standards in the domain of the ITU-T.

H.263 has since found many applications on the internet: much Flash Video content (as used on sites such as YouTube, Google Video, MySpace, etc.) used to be encoded in Sorenson Spark format (an incomplete implementation of H.263), though many sites now use VP6 or H.264 encoding. The original version of the RealVideo codec was based on H.263 up until the release of RealVideo 8.

H.263 is a required video codec in ETSI 3GPP technical specifications for IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Transparent end-to-end Packet-switched Streaming Service (PSS). In 3GPP specifications, H.263 video is usually used in 3GP container format.

The codec was first designed to be utilized in H.324 based systems (PSTN and other circuit-switched network videoconferencing and videotelephony), but has since also found use in H.323 (RTP/IP-based videoconferencing), H.320 (ISDN-based videoconferencing), RTSP (streaming media) and SIP (Internet conferencing) solutions.

H.263 was developed as an evolutionary improvement based on experience from H.261, the previous ITU-T standard for video compression, and the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 standards. Its first version was completed in 1995 and provided a suitable replacement for H.261 at all bitrates. It was further enhanced in projects known as H.263v2 (also known as H.263+ or H.263 1998), MPEG-4 Part 2 and H.263v3 (also known as H.263++ or H.263 2000). MPEG-4 Part 2 is H.263 compatible in the sense that a basic H.263 bitstream is correctly decoded by an MPEG-4 Video decoder.

The next enhanced codec developed by ITU-T VCEG (in partnership with MPEG) after H.263 is the H.264 standard, also known as AVC and MPEG-4 part 10. As H.264 provides a significant improvement in capability beyond H.263, the H.263 standard is now considered a legacy design. Most new videoconferencing products now include H.264 as well as H.263 and H.261 capabilities.

Versions

Since the original ratification of H.263 in March 1996 (approving a document that was produced in November 1995), there have been two subsequent additions which improved on the original codec by additional optional annexes (extensions). For example, the H.263v2 added a deblocking filter via Annex J.

The original H.263 specified the following annexes:

Annex A - Inverse transform accuracy specification

Annex B - Hypothetical Reference Decoder

Annex C - Considerations for Multipoint

Annex D - Unrestricted Motion Vector mode

Annex E - Syntax-based Arithmetic Coding mode

Annex F - Advanced Prediction mode

Annex G - PB-frames mode

Annex H - Forward Error Correction for coded video signal

In March 1997, an informative Annex I describing Error Tracking — an encoding technique for providing improved robustness to data losses and errors, was approved to provide information for the aid of implementers having an interest in such techniques.

H.263v2 (H.263+)

H.263v2 (also known as ''H.263+'', or as ''the 1998 version of H.263'') is the informal name of the second edition of the ITU-T H.263 international video coding standard. It retained the entire technical content of the original version of the standard, but enhanced H.263 capabilities by adding several annexes which can substantially improve encoding efficiency and provide other capabilities (such as enhanced robustness against data loss in the transmission channel). The H.263+ project was ratified by the ITU in February 1998. It added the following Annexes:

Annex I - Advanced INTRA Coding mode

Annex J - Deblocking Filter mode

Annex K - Slice Structured mode

Annex L - Supplemental Enhancement Information Specification

Annex M - Improved PB-frames mode

Annex N - Reference Picture Selection mode

Annex O - Temporal, SNR, and Spatial Scalability mode

Annex P - Reference picture resampling

Annex Q - Reduced-Resolution Update mode (see implementors' guide correction as noted below)

Annex R - Independent Segment Decoding mode

Annex S - Alternative INTER VLC mode

Annex T - Modified Quantization mode

Annex X - Profiles and levels definition

H.263v2 also added support for flexible customized picture formats and custom picture clock frequencies. Previously the only picture formats supported in H.263 had been Sub-QCIF, QCIF, CIF, 4CIF, and 16CIF, and the only picture clock frequency had been 30000/1001 (approximately 29.97) clock ticks per second.

H.263v2 specified a set of recommended modes in an informative appendix (Appendix II, since deprecated):

!	!Level 1	!Level 2	!Level 3
! Advanced INTRA Coding
! Deblocking Filter
! Supplemental Enhancement Information (Full-Frame Freeze Only)
! Modified Quantization
! Unrestricted Motion Vectors
! Slice Structured Mode
! Reference Picture Resampling (Implicit Factor-of-4 Mode Only)
! Advanced Prediction
! Improved PB-frames
! Independent Segment Decoding
! Alternate INTER VLC
!	!Level 1	!Level 2	!Level 3

H.263v3 (H.263++) and Annex X

The definition of H.263v3 (also known as H.263++ or as the 2000 version of H.263) consisted of the addition of three additional annexes. These annexes and an additional annex that specified profiles (approved the following year) were originally published as separate documents from the main body of the standard itself. The additional annexes specified are:

Annex U - Enhanced reference picture selection mode

Annex V - Data-partitioned slice mode

Annex W - Additional supplemental enhancement information specification

Annex X (originally specified in 2001) - Profiles and levels definition

The prior informative Appendix II (recommended optional enhancement) was obsoleted by the creation of the normative Annex X.

In June 2001, another informative appendix (Appendix III, Examples for H.263 encoder/decoder implementations) was approved. It describes techniques for encoding and for error/loss concealment by decoders.

In January 2005, a unified H.263 specification document was produced (with the exception of Appendix III, which remains as a separately-published document).

In August 2005, an implementors guide was approved to correct a small error in the seldom-used Annex Q reduced-resolution update mode.

Applications

In countries without software patents, H.263 video can be legally encoded and decoded with the free LGPL-licensed libavcodec library (part of the FFmpeg project) which is used by programs such as ffdshow, VLC media player and MPlayer.

References

External links

The ITU-T specification for H.263

IETF AVT Working Group - Group that reviews codec packetizations for RTP

* RFC 4629 - RTP Payload Format for ITU-T Rec. H.263 Video

* RFC 2429 - RTP Payload Format for the 1998 Version of ITU-T Rec. H.263 Video (H.263+) (Obsolete, upgraded spec in RFC 4629)

* RFC 2190 - RTP Payload Format for H.263 Video Streams (Historic)

H.263 - MultimediaWiki

Intel Integrated Performance Primitives

H.263 implementation in vic (source code available)

Category:Video codecs Category:ITU-T recommendations Category:Open formats closed by software patents Category:Videotelephony

be-x-old:H.263 bg:H.263 de:H.263 es:H.263 fr:H.263 ko:H.263 it:H.263 ja:H.263 pl:H.263 ro:H.263 ru:H.263 fi:H.263 uk:H.263 yo:H.263 zh:H.263

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
Name	Lady Gaga
Alt	Portrait of Lady Gaga
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Birth date	March 28, 1986
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman, activist
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Website	}}

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (; born March 28, 1986), 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", "The Edge of Glory", and "Marry The Night". 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.

Biography

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City to parents Cynthia (née Bissett) and Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur. Descending from Italian and more distant French-Canadian roots, Gaga is the elder of two children. Her sister, Natali, a fashion student, was born in 1992. Despite her seemingly affluent upbringing in the family home in Manhattan's Upper West Side, Gaga has stressed that she did not come from a wealthy background, stating 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."

From the age of 11, Gaga – who was raised Roman Catholic – attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure": "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 at 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.

Left-handed Gaga began playing the piano at the age of 4, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13, and started to perform at open mike nights by the age of 14. Her passion for musical theatre brought her lead roles in high school productions, including Adelaide in ''Guys and Dolls'' and Philia in ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. She also appeared in a very small role as a mischievous classmate in the television drama series ''The Sopranos'' in a 2001 episode titled "The Telltale Moozadell" in addition to unsuccessfully auditioning for parts in New York shows. When her time at the Convent of the Sacred Heart came to an end, her mother encouraged her to apply for the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. After gaining early admission at 17, she eventually lived in an NYU dorm on 11th Street.

CAP21 prepared her for her future career focus in "music, art, sex and celebrity" where, in addition to sharpening her songwriting skills, she composed essays and analytical papers on art, religion, social issues and politics, including a thesis on pop artists Spencer Tunick and Damien Hirst. With CAP21, she also tried out for and won auditions, including the part of an unsuspecting diner customer where MTV's ''Boiling Points'', a prank reality television show, was being filmed. Notwithstanding these achievements, she 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 to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll at Tisch if unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she remembers.

2005–07: Career beginnings

Settled in a small apartment on Rivington Street towards the summer of 2005, Gaga recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel, for an audio book accompanying the children's book ''The Portal in the Park'', by Cricket Casey. She also began a band called the Stefani Germanotta Band (SGBand) with some friends from NYU – guitarist Calvin Pia, bassist Eli Silverman, drummer Alex Beckham and booking manager Frank Fredericks – in September of that year. The band played a mixture of songs: some self-penned alongside classic rock numbers like Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er". Playing in bars like the Greenwich Village's The Bitter End and the Lower East Side's the Mercury Lounge, the band developed a small fan base and caught the eye of music producer Joe Vulpis. Soon after arranging time in Vulpis' studio in the months that followed, SGBand were selling their extended plays ''Words'' and ''Red and Blue'' at gigs around New York while becoming a local fixture of the downtown Lower East Side club scene.

SGBand reached their career peak at the 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame New Songwriters Showcase at The Cutting Room in June where Wendy Starland, a singer and model, appeared as a talent scout for music producer Rob Fusari. Starland informed Fusari – who was searching for a female singer to front a new band – of Gaga's ability and contacted her. With SGBand disbanded, Gaga traveled daily to New Jersey to work on songs she had written and compose new material with the music producer. While in collaboration, Fusari compared some of her vocal harmonies to those of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen. It was Fusari who helped create the moniker Gaga after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Gaga was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga." He explained, "Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song" and that the text message was the result of a predictive text glitch that changed "radio" to "lady". She texted back, "That's it," and declared, "Don't ever call me Stefani again." ''The New York Post'', however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting.

Although the musical relationship between Fusari and Gaga was unsuccessful at first, the pair soon set up a company titled Team Lovechild in which they recorded and produced electropop tracks and sent them to music industry bosses. Joshua Sarubin, the head of A&R; at Def Jam Recordings, responded positively and vied for the record company to take a chance on her "unusual and provocative" performance. After having his boss Antonio "L.A." Reid in agreement, Gaga was signed to Def Jam in September 2006 with the intention of having an album ready in nine months. However, she was dropped by the label after only three months – an unfortunate period of her life that would later inspire her treatment for the music video for her 2011 single "Marry the Night". Devastated, Gaga returned to the solace of the family home for Christmas and the nightlife culture of the Lower East Side.

She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini in addition to experimenting with drugs. Her father, however, did not understand the reason behind her drug intake and could not look at her for several months. "I was onstage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking that had covered it, lighting hairsprays on fire, go-go dancing to Black Sabbath and singing songs about oral sex. The kids would scream and cheer and then we'd all go grab a beer. It represented freedom to me. I went to a Catholic school but it was on the New York underground that I found myself." It was then when she became romantically involved with a heavy metal drummer in a relationship and break-up she likened to the musical film ''Grease'': "I was his Sandy, and he was my Danny, and I just broke." He later became an inspiration behind some of her later songs.

During this time, she met performance artist Lady Starlight, who helped mold her on-stage persona. Starlight explained that, upon their first meeting, Gaga wanted to perform with her to songs she had recorded with Fusari. Like SGBand, the pair soon began performing at many of the downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall. Their live performance art piece was known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue" and, billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. Soon after, the two were invited to play at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival in August that year. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews. Having initially focused on avant-garde electronic dance music, Gaga had found her musical niche when she began to incorporate pop melodies and the glam rock of David Bowie and Queen into her music.

While Gaga and Starlight were busy performing, producer Rob Fusari continued to work on the songs he had created with Gaga. Fusari sent these songs 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. Gaga later credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." Having already served as an apprentice songwriter under an internship at Famous Music Publishing, which was later acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Gaga subsequently struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV. As a result, she was hired to write songs for Britney Spears and labelmates New Kids on the Block, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.

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, making her his "franchise player." As 2007 came to a close, 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", a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's "Girls, Girls, Girls" and AC/DC's "T.N.T.". Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album; making the chart-topping singles "Just Dance", "Poker Face" and "LoveGame" together. Gaga also joined the roster of Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint established by producer and songwriter Martin Kierszenbaum, after co-writing four songs with Kierszenbaum including the singles "Christmas Tree" and "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)". Despite her secure record deal, she admitted that there was fear about her being too "racy", "dance-orientated" and "underground" for the mainstream market. She responded, "My name is Lady Gaga, I've been on the music scene for years, and I'm telling you, this is what's next."

2008–10: ''The Fame'' and ''The Fame Monster''

By 2008, Gaga had relocated to Los Angeles, where she worked extensively with her record label to complete her debut album in addition to setting up her own creative team – modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory – Haus of Gaga. Intensive work continued on the album, combining genres "from Def Leppard drums and hand claps to metal drums on urban tracks" while drawing inspiration from 1980s synthpop and incorporating dance music with clear hooks. ''The Fame'', described as an exploration of her obsession with fame and the intricacies of a rich and famous lifestyle, was first released on August 19, 2008, preceded by lead single "Just Dance" four months earlier. Due to radio play being slow, Gaga supported the releases by performing in the backwaters of Malta and Vietnam in addition to small gay clubs around the United States. She was also billed as a supporting artist on the North American leg of New Kids on the Block's reunion concert tour.

A sleeper hit, "Just Dance" hit the summit of the charts in six countries – Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – in January 2009. The Grammy Award-nominated song provoked the instant success of ''The Fame''. Receiving positive reviews from contemporary critics who commended Gaga's ability to discover a melodious hook and compared her vocal abilities to those of Gwen Stefani, the album went to number-one in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland while appearing in the top-five in Australia, the United States and fifteen other countries. On ''Billboard'''s Dance/Electronic Albums chart, it stayed at the top spot 106 non-consecutive weeks. Since its release, ''The Fame'' has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Gaga achieved an even greater unexpected success when "Poker Face", another sleeper hit, reached number-one in almost all major music markets in the world including the United Kingdom and the United States in early 2009. The follow-up single won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, while ''The Fame'' was nominated for Album of the Year and won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album. Gaga was the recipient of many other honors in 2009 including the accumulation of 3 of 9 MTV Video Music Awards nominations – she won Best New Artist while the video for her single "Paparazzi" gained the awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects – and ''Billboard'' magazine's Rising Star award. In addition to being an opening act on the Pussycat Dolls' Doll Domination Tour during the first half of 2009 on their legs in Europe and Oceania, she also embarked on her own six-month critically appreciated worldwide concert tour The Fame Ball Tour which ran from March to September 2009.

While she traveled the world on tour, she wrote ''The Fame Monster'', a collection of eight songs, which was released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience, 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. It made Gaga 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 and accrued the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance while its accompanying music video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video at the 53rd Grammy Awards 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, received a more 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 ideas and dark nature but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her alleged use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they made Gaga the first artist 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 nominations; the album won for Best Pop Vocal Album and earned her a second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year at the 53rd annual awards ceremony.

The success of the album allowed Gaga to start her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of ''The Fame Monster'' and months after having finished The Fame Ball Tour. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished tour ran for over one and a half years and, according to ''Billboard'', grossed $227.4 million, making it one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time and the highest-grossing for a debut headlining artist. Concerts performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a HBO television special titled ''Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden''. The special accrued one of its five Emmy Award nominations and has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Gaga also performed songs from the album at international events such as 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.

Other performances may have included her participation in Michael Jackson's This Is It concert series at London's O2 Arena. "I was actually asked to open for Michael on his tour," she stated. "We were going to open for him at the O2 and we were working on making it happen. I believe there was some talk about us, lots of the openers, doing duets with Michael on stage." A realized collaboration with Polaroid started in January 2010. Excited about combining the company with the digital era, Gaga was named Chief Creative Officer for a line of imaging products for the international optic company with the intent of creating fashion, technology and photography products.

Despite a successful debut, Mermaid Music LLC – her production team – was sued in March 2010 by past producer Rob Fusari who claimed 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. Five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed both the lawsuit and a countersuit by Gaga. In addition to such strife, Gaga has been tested borderline positive for lupus, but claims not to be affected by the symptoms. The revelations caused considerable dismay amongst her fans, leading to Gaga addressing the matter in an interview with Larry King, saying she hopes to avoid symptoms by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

2011–present: ''Born This Way''

Gaga's second studio album and third major release ''Born This Way'' was released on May 23, 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" and referred to as an album "about what what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid", she stated. 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 is taking music to the "next level". Its arrival followed the release of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way" on February 11, 2011, which was performed live for the first time at the 53rd Grammy Awards two days after its release. The song, dealing with self-acceptance regardless of race or sexual orientation, debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the 19th number-one debut and the 1,000th number-one single in the history of the charts, while selling more than 3 million digital copies in the United States by October 2011. A music video was released for the song, showing Gaga giving birth to a new race amidst surrealistic images; critics noted artistic and cultural references and praised its concept. Gaga lent her vocals elsewhere, pairing with Elton John to record an original duet for the animated feature film ''Gnomeo & Juliet''. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", was released on February 11, 2011, without Gaga's vocals. The duet version was only featured in the film.

Two other singles, "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory", as well as a promotional single, "Hair", were eventually released before the album. The music video for "Judas", in which Gaga portrays Mary Magdalene, and Biblical figures such as Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot are also featured, was criticized for its religious references; the video, nonetheless, received acclaim for its overall delivery and praise from others who claimed that there was nothing offensive about it. "Judas" additionally peaked within the top ten in several major musical markets. "The Edge of Glory" was intended as a promotional single; nevertheless, due to commercial success in digital outlets, the song was released as a single to critical appreciation, accompanied by a music video. Gaga also undertook a job as a fashion columnist for ''V'', where she wrote about her creative process, her studying of the world of pop culture, and her ability to tune into the evolution of pop-culture meme. Upon release, ''Born This Way'' sold 1.108 million copies in its first week in the United States, debuting atop the ''Billboard'' 200, and topping the charts in more than 20 other countries. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its range of different styles as well as her vocals. Later, Lady Gaga went to Sydney to promote ''Born This Way'' with a one-of-a-kind concert at the Sydney Town Hall on July 13, 2011.

She continued her musical endeavors, releasing "You and I" and "Marry the Night" as succeeding singles from ''Born This Way'', as well as recording songs with veteran artists like Cher and Tony Bennett. The song recorded with Bennett is a jazz version of "The Lady Is a Tramp", while Gaga described her duet with Cher as a "massive" and "beautiful" track, which she "wrote a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason." On August 28, at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga won two awards out of four nominations, and attended the event dressed as Jo Calderone, her male alter-ego. For the 2012 edition of the ''Guinness World Records'', Gaga was listed for Most Followers on Twitter, with over 13 million followers, and "Poker Face" was listed for Most Weeks on US Digital Hot Songs, with 83 weeks. Gaga continued her live appearances, and performed at the celebration of former US president Bill Clinton's 65th Birthday alongside Bono, Stevie Wonder and Usher, among others. She wore a blond wig as a nod to the famous performance of Marilyn Monroe for John F. Kennedy and changed the lyrics to her song "You and I" specifically for the performance. Later on, Gaga won four awards out of six nominations in the main categories at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards in November, for Best Female, Biggest Fans, Best Song and Best Video; the latter two with "Born This Way". On November 14, 2011, Gaga and her choreographer and creative director Laurieann Gibson parted ways, after working together for four years. Gibson's assistant Richard Jackson replaced her as Lady Gaga's choreographer.

Gaga released her fourth extended play ''A Very Gaga Holiday'' on November 22, and followed an appearance in her Thanksgiving Day television special entitled ''A Very Gaga Thanksgiving''. The television special was critically acclaimed and attained 5.749 million American viewers upon original airing. The accompanying tour for ''Born This Way'' was materializing, and at the same time Gaga started writing songs for a new record. She further explained to MTV News that she and Garibay were working on the follow-up album to ''Born This Way'' and stated that it was "beginning to flourish".

Artistry

Influences

Gaga's parents, who exposed her to artists like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Elton John, had significant influence on her childhood and, presently, still do. "I am a real family girl. When it comes to love and loyalty, I am very old-fashioned. And I am quite down-to-earth for such an eccentric person," she insists. "I'm quite traditional in the family sense. I've always been that way." According to Gaga, Joanne Germanotta – her aunt who died of lupus aged 19 – lives on through her and inspires all of her music and art. Joanne's date of death is tattooed on Gaga's body and, despite dying 12 years before her birth, Gaga commented, "I really believe I have two hearts. I think I actually carry two souls in my body, and that I'm living out the rest of her life and her goodness – she died a virgin, she died never having experienced all these things that we all get to love and experience in our lives." Another spiritual influence on Gaga has been the Indian physician, public speaker and writer Deepak Chopra. Labeling him a "true inspiration", she stated that "he's always reminded me to work in a life of service to my fans and to fulfill my vision and my destiny" in addition to thinking about Chopra when it comes to her work as a musician: "I want so much for it to go beyond the music for my fans."

Musically, Gaga takes influence from numerous musicians from dance-pop singers like Madonna and Michael Jackson to glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen whilst employing the theatrics of artists like Andy Warhol and of her musical theatre roots in performance. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name: "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," she commented. Gaga receives regular comparisons to recording artist Madonna who admits that she sees herself reflected in Gaga. In response to the comparisons, Gaga stated, "I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I've made it my goal to revolutionize pop music. The last revolution was launched by Madonna 25 years ago" in addition to commenting that "there is really no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan personally and professionally." Like Madonna, Gaga has continued to reinvent herself and, over the years of her career, has drawn musical inspiration from a diverse mix of artists including Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie singer Debbie Harry, Scissor Sisters, Prince, Marilyn Manson and Yoko Ono.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence and has been stylistically compared to English eccentrics Leigh Bowery and Isabella Blow and to American recording artist Cher. She commented that "as a child, she somehow absorbed Cher's out-there fashion sense and made it her own." She has considered Donatella Versace her muse and the late British fashion designer and close friend Alexander McQueen as an inspiration, admitting that "I miss Lee every time I get dressed" while channeling him in some of her work. Modeled on Andy Warhol's Factory, Gaga has her own creative production team, which she handles personally, called the Haus of Gaga, who create many of her clothes, stage props, and hairdos. Her adoration of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." "When I'm writing music, I'm thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It's all about everything altogether—performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it's everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us." The Global Language Monitor named "Lady Gaga" as the Top Fashion Buzzword with her trademark "no pants" a close third. ''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."

Musical and performance style

Continually experimenting with new musical ideas and images, Gaga's musical and performance style is the subject of much analysis and scrutiny from critics. She professes that she is "liberating" herself by constantly reinventing her sound and image, insisting that she has been drawn to such a practice since her childhood. Vocally, Gaga possesses the range of a contralto and exhibits "overwhelming expression, instinctive vocal phrasing, '80s rock reminiscent chest belts and animalistic vocal ticks" while being able to move through 2.4 octaves. Refusing to lip sync, Gaga – whose range is frequently compared to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani – has manipulated her vocal style over the course of her career yet considers ''Born This Way'' (2011) "much more vocally up to par with what I've always been capable of." In summation of her voice, ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote, "There's an immense emotional intelligence behind the way she uses her voice. Almost never does she overwhelm a song with her vocal ability, recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung power."

Although her early lyrics have been criticized for lacking intellectual stimulation, "[Gaga] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." She admits that her songwriting has been misinterpreted; her friend and blogger Perez Hilton articulated her message in a clearer way: "you write really deep intelligent lyrics with shallow concepts." Gaga opined, "Perez is very intelligent and clearly listened to my record from beginning to end, and he is correct." "I love songwriting. It's so funny – I will just jam around in my underwear or I could be washing my dishes. I wrote several songs just at the piano," she confesses. Gaga believes that "all good music can be played at a piano and still sound like a hit." She has covered a wide variety of topics in her songs: while ''The Fame'' (2008) meditates on the lust for stardom, ''The Fame Monster'' (2009) expresses fame's dark side through monster metaphors. ''Born This Way'' (2011) is sung in English, French, German and Spanish and includes common themes in Gaga's controversial songwriting like love, sex, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation, sexuality, freedom and individualism.

The structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. Her debut album ''The Fame'' (2008) provoked ''The Sunday Times'' to assert "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, [Gaga] evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now" and a critic from ''The Boston Globe'' to comment that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." 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." The follow-up ''The Fame Monster'' (2009), saw Gaga's taste for pastiche, drawing on "Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q" while ''Born This Way'' (2011) also draws on the records of her childhood and still has the "electro-sleaze beats and Eurodisco chorus chants" of its predecessor but includes genres as diverse as opera, heavy metal, disco, and rock and roll. "There isn't a subtle moment on the album, but even at its nuttiest, the music is full of wide-awake emotional details," wrote ''Rolling Stone'', who concluded: "The more excessive Gaga gets, the more honest she sounds."

Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; 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 on tour in 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. Her unconventionality continued at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards when she performed in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, and delivered a lovesick monologue before a performance of her song "Yoü and I". Chris Rock has defended her flamboyant and 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?"

Public image

While ''Rolling Stone'' named Gaga the "Queen of Pop" in 2011, public reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, self-esteem booster for her fans, trailblazer and fashion icon who breathes new life into the industry is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews and critics have pointed out her unique place in pop music, the need for new movements in popular culture, the attention Gaga brings to modern social issues, and the inherently subjective nature of her art. In view of her influence on modern culture and her rise to global fame, sociologist Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina has organized a course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" since the spring of 2011 with the objective of unravelling "some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga."

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." Lady Gaga is a natural brunette; she bleached her hair blonde because she was often mistaken for Amy Winehouse. She has nine tattoos on the left side of her body (her father has banned etchings on her right): a unicorn head with a ribbon wrapped around its horn that says "Born This Way"; a small heart with "dad" written inside it; several white roses; a treble clef; three daises; "Tokyo Love" with a little heart; "Little Monsters" written in cursive; a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon, who she stated was her hero; and a curling German script on her left arm quoting the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, her favorite writer, commenting that his "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her. Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Lady Gaga and recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Aguilera stated that she was "completely unaware of [Gaga]" and "didn't know if it [was] a man or a woman." Lady Gaga released a statement in which she welcomed the comparisons due to the attention providing useful publicity, saying, "She's such a huge star and if anything I should send her flowers, because a lot of people in America didn't know who I was until that whole thing happened. It really put me on the map in a way."

When interviewed by Barbara Walters for her annual ABC News special ''10 Most Fascinating People'' in 2009, 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." In addition to Aguilera's statement, 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 Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Lady 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. Nonetheless, Gaga was named one of Vogue.com UK's Best Dressed people of 2010 while her stylist, Dazed & Confused creative director Nicola Formichetti, won the Fashion Creator of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards.

Part of the reasoning for Gaga's Best Dressed achievement was her attire worn to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards: a dress 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", received divided opinions – evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Lady Gaga 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. In addition to this unconventionality, in a question posed about the necessary procedure to attach the prosthetics to give the appearance of recent horn-like ridges on her cheekbones, temples, and shoulders, Gaga responded, "They're not prosthetics, they're my bones." She also clarified that they were not the result of plastic surgery, believing such surgery to only be the modern byproduct of fame-induced insecurity to which she does not subscribe. The interviewer's further probing brought Gaga to the conclusion that they are an artistic representation of her inner inspirational light and part of the "performance piece" that is her musical persona: an inevitability of her becoming who she now is. When Gaga briefly met with US president Barack Obama at a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser, he described the interaction as "intimidating" as she was dressed in 16-inch heels making her undoubtedly the tallest woman in the room.

Gaga often refers to her fans as "Little Monsters" and in dedication, has had that inscription tattooed on "the arm that holds my mic." Her treatment of her "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. To some, this dichotomy contravenes the concept of outsider culture. Camille Paglia in her 2010 cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" in ''The Sunday Times'' asserts thatGaga "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." Writing for ''The Guardian'', Kitty Empire opined that the dichotomy "...allows the viewer to have a 'transgressive' experience without being required to think. At [her performance's] core, though, is the idea that Gaga is at one with the freaks and outcasts. The Monster Ball is where we can all be free. This is arrant nonsense, as the scads of people buying Gaga's cunningly commercial music are not limited to the niche worlds of drag queens and hip night creatures from which she draws her inspiration. But Gaga seems sincere."

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has also contributed to various charities and humanitarian works. In 2011, she launched her own non-profit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on youth empowerment and issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring, and career development. "My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation," Gaga said in a statement about the foundation, which takes its name from the eponymous 2011 single and album. "Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment." The foundation will work with a number of partners, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

For natural disasters, Gaga has also helped various relief efforts. Although declining an invitation to appear on the single "We Are the World 25" to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she donated the proceeds of her January 24, 2010 concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall to the country's reconstruction relief fund. All profits from her official online store on that day were also donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund. Hours after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, Gaga tweeted a message and a link to Japan Prayer Bracelets. All revenue from a bracelet she designed in conjunction with the company was donated to relief efforts. As of March 29, 2011, the bracelets raised $1.5 million. However, attorney Alyson Oliver filed a lawsuit against Gaga in Detroit in June 2011, noting that the bracelet was subject to a sales tax and an extra $3.99 shipping charge was added to the price. She also believed that not all proceeds from the bracelets would go to the relief efforts, demanding a public accounting of the campaign and refunds for people who had bought the bracelet. Lady Gaga's spokesperson called the lawsuit "meritless" and "misleading". On June 25, 2011, Gaga performed at MTV Japan's charity show in Makuhari Messe, which benefited the Japanese Red Cross.

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." The sales of Gaga-endorsed Viva Glam lipstick and lipgloss have raised more than $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS.

With the performance of the bilingual song "Americano" from her second studio album ''Born This Way'' (2011), Gaga jumped into the debate surrounding SB 1070, Arizona's immigration law. She premiered the tune for the first time on the Guadalajara, Mexico stop of her Monster Ball tour telling the local press that she could not "stand by many of the unjust immigration laws" in the United States.

LGBT advocacy

Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a 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'." When she appeared as a guest on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in May 2009, she praised DeGeneres for being "an inspiration for women and for the gay community". 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," similar to her 2009 MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech for Best New Artist a month earlier. At the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, held the same weekend as 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.

Gaga attended the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards accompanied by four service members of the United States Armed Forces (Mike Almy, David Hall, Katie Miller and Stacy Vasquez), all of whom, under the United States military's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, had been prohibited from serving openly because of their sexuality. In addition, Gaga wore a dress fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal to the awards ceremony. Gaga wished that the dress, more widely known as the "meat dress", was interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community adding that "If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones." She later released three videos on YouTube videos urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to overturn the policy. In late September 2010 she spoke at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's "4the14K" Rally in Deering Oaks Park in Portland, Maine. The name of the rally signified the number – an estimated 14,000 – of service members discharged under the DADT policy at the time. During her remarks, she urged members of the U.S. Senate (and in particular, moderate Republican Senators from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins) to vote in favor of legislation that would repeal the DADT policy. Following this event, editors of ''The Advocate'' commented that she had become "the real fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians, one that Barack Obama had promised to be.

Gaga appeared at Europride, a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, held in Rome in June 2011. In a nearly twenty-minute speech, she criticized the intolerant state of gay rights in many European countries and described homosexuals as "revolutionaries of love" before performing acoustic renderings of "Born This Way" and "The Edge of Glory" in front of thousands at the Circus Maximus. She stated that "Today and every day we fight for freedom. We fight for justice. We beckon for compassion, understanding and above all we want full equality now". Gaga revealed that she is often questioned why she dedicates herself to "gayspeak" and "how gay" she is, to which, she told the audience: "Why is this question, why is this issue so important? My answer is: I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place." She then joked: "On a gay scale from 1 to 10, I'm a Judy Garland fucking 42."

Discography

''The Fame'' (2008)

''The Fame Monster'' (2009)

''Born This Way'' (2011)

Filmography

''Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden'' (2011)

''A Very Gaga Thanksgiving'' (2011)

Concert tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga (2009–10) (canceled)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lady Gaga

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

Monster Anthems (2011) by Robert Christgau

External links

Slide show ''Vanity Fair''

Category:1986 births Category:American contraltos Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American performance artists Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Androgyny Category:Bisexual musicians Category:Brit Award winners Category:Echo winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT Christians Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists Category:Living people Category:People from Manhattan Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:Singers from New York City Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Synthpop musicians Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:Wonky Pop acts

af:Lady Gaga als:Lady Gaga ar:ليدي غاغا an:Lady Gaga frp:Lady Gaga ast:Lady Gaga az:Ledi Qaqa zh-min-nan:Lady Gaga be:Lady Gaga be-x-old:Lady Gaga bg:Лейди Гага bs:Lady Gaga br:Lady Gaga ca:Lady Gaga ceb:Lady Gaga cs:Lady Gaga co:Lady Gaga cy:Lady Gaga da:Lady Gaga de:Lady Gaga dz:Lady Gaga et:Lady Gaga el:Lady Gaga es:Lady Gaga eo:Lady Gaga eu:Lady Gaga fa:لیدی گاگا fo:Lady Gaga fr:Lady Gaga fy:Lady Gaga ga:Lady Gaga gd:Lady Gaga gl:Lady Gaga gan:蕾蒂嘉嘉 glk:لیدی گاگا ko:레이디 가가 hy:Լեդի Գագա hi:लेडी गागा hr:Lady Gaga io:Lady Gaga ig:Lady Gaga ilo:Lady Gaga id:Lady Gaga ik:Lady Gaga is:Lady Gaga it:Lady Gaga he:ליידי גאגא jv:Lady Gaga kn:ಲೇಡಿ ಗಾಗಾ ka:ლედი გაგა csb:Lady GaGa sw:Lady Gaga ku:Lady Gaga mrj:Lady Gaga la:Lady Gaga lv:Lady Gaga lb:Lady Gaga lt:Lady GaGa li:Lady GaGa hu:Lady Gaga mk:Лејди Гага mg:Lady Gaga mt:Lady Gaga mi:Lady Gaga mr:लेडी गागा xmf:ლედი გაგა arz:ليدى جاجا mzn:لیدی گاگا ms:Lady Gaga mwl:Lady Gaga mn:Лэди Гага my:လေဒီဂါဂါ nah:Lady Gaga na:Lady GaGa nl:Lady Gaga ne:लद्य् गग new:लद्य् गग ja:レディー・ガガ nap:Lady Gaga no:Lady Gaga nn:Lady Gaga nrm:Lady Gaga nov:Lady Gaga mhr:Lady Gaga pap:Lady Gaga nds:Lady Gaga pl:Lady Gaga pt:Lady Gaga ro:Lady Gaga ru:Леди Гага se:Lady Gaga sq:Lady Gaga si:ලේඩි ගාගා simple:Lady Gaga sk:Lady Gaga sl:Lady Gaga szl:Lady GaGa sr:Леди Гага sh:Lady Gaga su:Lady Gaga fi:Lady Gaga sv:Lady Gaga tl:Lady Gaga ta:லேடி காகா th:เลดี้ กาก้า tr:Lady Gaga tw:Lady GaGa uk:Lady Gaga vi:Lady Gaga vo:Lady Gaga vls:Lady Gaga yi:ליידי גאגא yo:Lady Gaga zh-yue:Lady Gaga bat-smg:Lady Gaga zh:女神卡卡

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Master Saleem
background	solo_singer
birth name	Saleem Shah koti
alias	Saleem Shahzada
birth date	July 13, 1980
origin	Shahkot, Jalandhar
instrument	Vocalist, harmonium
genre	Sufi, Folk, Bollywood
occupation	Musician
years active	1990-present
website	SaleemOnline.com
notable instruments	}}

Master Saleem (; born July 13, 1980) sometimes referred as ''Saleem Shahzada (Salim Shahzada)'' is an Indian singer from Punjab, known for his work as a playback singer in Bollywood films, like ''Heyy Babyy'' (2007), ''Dostana'' and ''Love Aaj Kal'' (2009). He has also released private albums, of Punjabi Music, Religious and Sufi music.

Early life and training

He was born Saleem Shahkoti (Saleem Shahzada), in Shahkot, near Jalandhar, Punjab He is the son of the famous Sufi singer Ustad Pooran Shah Koti, who was also the guru of folk singers, Hans Raj Hans, Jasbir Jassi and Sabar Koti. At the age of six Saleem also became his disciple and started learning singing.

Career

At the age of 10, he gave his first public performance at the opening ceremony of Bathinda Doordarshan (TV station), with his song, ''Charkhe Di Ghook'', and thus earned the name Master Saleem. Soon he started appearing on TV shows like, ''Jhilmil Taare''.

Saleem's first album, ''Charkhe Di Ghook'', was released when he was 10 years old. It was released on the label ''Sur Taal'', created by his father's friend, Majnider Singh Goli, and went on to become a hit. This led to several Punjabi music and religious albums and live shows. His song ''Dhol Jagiro Da'' also became a huge hit and giving him wide popularity. In the late 1990s, however as he was growing his voice started changing, which lessened his popularity. He made his comeback in 2000, with a hit ''Aj Hona Deedar Mahi da'', which he sang at a New Year's programme at Doordarshan channel, and later released albums dedicated to Goddess Durga including, ''Mela Maiya Da'' (2004), ''Aj Hai Jagrata'', ''Meri Maiya'' and ''Darshan Kar Lao''.

Around 2005, singer Jasbir Jassi introduced him to music director Sandeep Chowta, who subsequently called him to Delhi to record single ''Sajni'' in Sony Music album ''Teri Sajni''.

Eventually Shankar Mahadevan, of the music trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, heard his performances at a ''jagaran'' at the Devi Talaab Mandir, Jalandhar, being aired at a religious TV channel, and thus Saleem made his debut as playback singer with single "Mast Kalandar" from the film ''Heyy Babyy'' (2007) under their music direction. The song was a hit and launched his Bollywood career. This was followed by most well-known singles including "Tashan Mein" from the film ''Tashan'' and ''Maa Da Ladla'' from the film ''Dostana'' (2008), and ''Aahun Aahun'' in ''Love Aaj Kal'' (2009). and in 2010 some of his hit songs have been "Humka Peeni Hai" from "Dabangg and "Shakira" in "No Problem and "Chamki Jawani" in Yamla Pagla Deewana. In 2011 one of his first hits was "Rola Pe Gaya" in Patiala House

Filmography

Discography

Music albums

1990 : Charkhe Di Ghook (CTC)

2003 : Jadon Da Saada Dil Tuttia (SAGA)

2004 : Ik Zindri (Speed Records)

2007 : Salaam (Speed Records), released as Tere Bin (Kamlee Records) in the UK

2010 : Jind Mahi(Speed Records)

Tracks on Compilations

2009 : ''Sajni'', Teri Sajni (Sony BMG)

2010 : ''Nach Ke Vikha'', Jhanjar Chanak Payee (Speed Records)

2011 : ''Tu Hi Tu'', Star Plus Anthem

Devotional albums

2007 : Aaj Hai Jagrata (T-Series)

2009 : Guru Ravidass Ji Di Bani (T-Series)

2010 : Maa Meharan Kardi (T-Series)

2010 : Shiv Bhole Bhandari (T-Series)

2010 : Singh Jaikare Bolde (T-Series)

Singles

References

External links

Master Saleem, Official Website

Master Saleem, Official Facebook

Master Saleem, Official Youtube

BUSINESS MANAGER: Geena Dosanjh Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian folk singers Category:Indian playback singers Category:Indian singers Category:People from Jalandhar Category:Performers of Hindu music Category:Punjabi-language singers Category:Indian Hindus

ur:ماسٹر سلیم

Coordinates	12°2′36″N77°1′42″N
name	Feroz Khan
birth date	September 25, 1939
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l	eng&cid8280043;]
birth place	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
death place	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
years active	1960–2007
spouse	Sundari (1965–1985)
children	Fardeen Khan Laila Khan
occupation	Actor, Editor, Producer, Director
filmfareawards	Best Debut: ''Didi'' (1960)
death date	April 27, 2009
religion	Muslim }}

Feroz Khan (Hindi: फ़िरोज़ ख़ान, Urdu: فیروزخان September 25, 1939 – 27 April 2009) was an Indian actor, film editor, producer and director in the Hindi film industry. For his flamboyant style, with cowboyish swagger and cigar toting persona which revolutionised the style quotient of the otherwise conventional Filmi hero, he is known as the Clint Eastwood of the East and a style icon in the industry.

He appeared in over 50 films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and became one of India's best-loved heroes with his role in the 1980 hit film ''Qurbani'', which he also directed. Khan followed this multi-disciplinary achievement by directing more successful films like ''Dayavan'' (1988) and ''Janbaaz'' (1986). He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for ''Aadmi Aur Insaan'' in 1970, and was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

Early life

Feroz Khan was born in Bangalore on September 25, 1939. His father was Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli, an Afghan hailing from the Ghazni province of Afghanistan, and his mother was of Persian ancestry. He was educated in Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore and St. Germain's Boys High School, Bangalore. His brothers are Sanjay Khan (Abbas Khan), Shahrukh Shah Ali Khan, Sameer Khan and Akbar Khan (director). He has a sister Dilshad Bibi. After his schooling in Bangalore, he arrived in Mumbai where he made his debut as second lead in ''Didi'' in 1960.

Career

Through the early 1960s and 1970s, he made low-budget thrillers opposite starlets. In 1962, he appeared in an English-language film titled ''Tarzan Goes to India'' opposite Simi Garewal. His first big hit was in 1965, with Phani Majumdar's ''Oonche Log'', where he was pitted against screen idols Raaj Kumar and Ashok Kumar; he gave a notable sensitive performance. Again, in the same year, he played a sacrificing lover in the mushy musical ''Arzoo'', starring Sadhana. With this, Khan earned his entry into A-list second leads. With the film ''Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1969), Khan won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He appeared alongside his real-life brother Sanjay Khan in the hit films ''Upaasna'' (1967), ''Mela'' (1971), and ''Nagin'' (1976).

He turned into a successful producer and director in 1971 so as to improve his career opportunities as a leading man with his first directorial film ''Apradh'', which was the first Indian movie showing auto racing in Germany; Mumtaaz was his co-star. He produced, directed, and starred in the 1975 film ''Dharmatma'', which was the first Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan and was also his first blockbuster hit as producer, director, and star and marked appearance of actress Hema Malini in a glamorous avatar. This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film ''The Godfather''.

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, he was a leading Bollywood star, directing and starring in many of his films. He also starred in the Punjabi film ''Bhagat Dhanna Jat'' (1974). The 1980 film ''Qurbani'', with Zeenat Aman, was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track "Aap Jaisa Koi." In 1986, he directed and starred in ''Janbaaz'', a box-office hit, which some consider to be one of his best movies, featured an all-star cast and was possessed of great songs and excellent cinematography. In 1988, he directed and starred in ''Dayavan'', which was a remake of a South Indian film titled ''Nayagan''. After directing and starring in ''Yalgaar'' (1992), he took a long break from acting for 11 years.

He launched his son Fardeen Khan's career with the 1998 film ''Prem Aggan'', which, however, was a box-office bomb. In 2003, he made his acting comeback as well as produced and directed ''Janasheen'', which also starred his son Fardeen. He always used performing animals in his films—a chimpanzee and lion were used in ''Janasheen''—but People for Animals (PFA) Haryana chairman Naresh Kadyan moved a complaint in the court of law at Faridabad for animal cruelty and legal action as per law against the producer, director, and actor.

He starred alongside his son again in ''Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena'' (2005) and made his last film appearance in ''Welcome'' (2007).

Feroz Khan was ahead of his time in terms of his unmatchable style, which reflected in his movies and music. His movies like ''Qurbani'' and ''Dharmatma'' are cult favourites in Hindi cinema. Though he was not considered a superstar, he would remain immortal for several years to come.

In May 2006, Feroz Khan was blacklisted by then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf when he went there to promote his brother's film, ''Taj Mahal''. In an intelligence report submitted to Musharraf, he was said to have gotten drunk and insulted Pakistani singer and anchor Fakhr-e-Alam and criticizing the country saying:

"I am a proud Indian. India is a secular country. The Muslims there are making lot of progress unlike in Pakistan. Our President is a Muslim and our Prime Minister a Sikh. Pakistan was made in the name of Islam, but look how the Muslims are killing Muslims here."

Pakistan's high commission in India and the foreign and interior ministries were subsequently directed to deny Khan a visa in the future.

Personal life

Feroz Khan has a son named Fardeen Khan who is married to Natasha Madhwani, daughter of former Bollywood actress Mumtaz. He also has a daughter Laila Khan, who is married to Farhan Furniturewala. Laila was married to Rohit Rajpal, a national level tennis player but divorced him and married Furniturewala in 2010. Although Fardeen and Farhan had their differences and nearly came to blows at a nightclub with each other, Fardeen and Farhan sorted everything out and accepted each other later on.

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Best Debut Award: Didi(1960)

Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aadmi Aur Insaan (1970)

Filmfare Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for International Crook (1974)

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 Filmfare Nomination as Best Villain for Janasheen (2003)

Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008

"Pride of the industry" at the Max Stardust Awards 2009.

Filmography

''Didi'' (1960)

''Main Shadi Karne Chala'' (1962)

''Tarzan Goes to India'' (1962) ... Prince Raghu Kumar

''Bahurani'' (1963) ... Vikram

''Suhagan'' (1964) ... Shankar

''Char Dervesh'' (1964) ... Qamar Bhakt

''Teesra Kaun'' (1965)

''Oonche Log'' (1965) ... Rajnikant

''Ek Sapera Ek Lootera'' (1965) ... Mohan/Vijay Pratap Singh

''Arzoo'' (1965) ... Ramesh

''Tasveer'' (1966)

''Main Wohi Hoon'' (1966) ... Vijay

''Woh Koi Aur Hoga'' (1967)

''Raat Aur Din'' (1967) ... Dilip

''CID 909'' (1967)

''Aurat'' (1967)

''Aag'' (1967) ... Shanker

''Pyaasi Sham'' (1969) ... Ashok

''Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1969) ... Jai Kishan/J.K.

''Safar'' (1970) ... Shekhar Kapoor

''Mela'' (1971)

''Ek Paheli'' (1971) ... Sudhir

''Upaasna'' (1971)

''Apradh'' (1972) ... Ram Khana

''Kashmakash'' (1973)

''Kisan Aur Bhagwan'' (1974)

''Khhotte Sikkay'' (1974) ... Horseback rider

''Geeta Mera Naam'' (1974)

''Bhagat Dhanna Jatt'' (1974) ... Ramu

''Anjaan Raahen'' (1974) ... Anand

''International Crook'' (1974) ... SP Rajesh

''Rani Aur Lalpari'' (1975) ... Gulliver

''Kala Sona'' (1975) ... Rakesh

''Aa Jaa Sanam'' (1975) ... Dr. Satish

''Dharmatma'' (1975) .... Ranbir

''Sharafat Chod Di Maine'' (1976)

''Qabeela'' (1976)

''Shanker shambu'' (1976) ...Shambu

''Nagin'' (1976) ... Raj

''Jadu Tona'' (1977) ... Dr. Kailash

''Darinda'' (1977)

''Chunaoti'' (1980)

''Qurbani'' (1980) ... Rajesh Kumar/Kailash Nath

''Khoon Aur Paani'' (1981)

''Kachche Heere'' (1982) ... Nephew of Kamal Singh

''Janbaaz'' (1986) ... Inspector Rajesh Singh

''Dayavan'' (1988) ... Shankar Waghmare

''Meet Mere Man Ka'' (1991)

''Yalgaar'' (1992) ... Rajesh Ashwini Kumar

''Prem Agan'' (1998) ...

''Janasheen'' (2003) ... Saba Karim Shah

''Chitappa'' (2005) ... Raman

''Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena'' (2005) ... Jehangir Khan (Special Appearance)

''Om Shanti Om'' (2007) ... as himself (Special Appearance)

''Welcome'' (2007) ... Ranbir Dhanraj Xaka (RDX)

Death and Funeral

He succumbed to a battle with cancer on April 27, 2009. During his illness he returned to rest at his farmhouse in Bangalore.

He was laid to rest in his beloved Bangalore near to his mother's grave at Hosur Road Shia Kabristan with thousands in attendance included his close family, dear friends, and notable celebrities of Indian film industry. He was remembered for his larger than life presence, and excellence in cinema.

References

Category:1939 births Category:2009 deaths Category:Indian Shi'a Muslims Category:Indian Muslims Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian television actors Category:Indian television presenters Category:Indian people of Afghan descent Category:Indian people of Iranian descent

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