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

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the album's lyrical content and Gaga's musicianship and vocal ability, which have been compared to fellow pop singers such as Gwen Stefani. The album was a commercial success, topping the charts in different countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Switzerland. In the United States, it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, while topping the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 100 non-consecutive weeks. The Fame has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/ STE-fə-nee jurr-mə-NAH-tə; born March 28, 1986), 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 was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 2007. During her employment 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 The Fame Ball Tour, she followed the album with The Fame Monster (2009), which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". The album's success 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, including "Born This Way", "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory". Besides her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes and LGBT activism.

The Script are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Based in London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic, the band released their eponymous debut album in August 2008, featuring the hit songs "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" and "Breakeven". The album debuted at number one in Ireland and the UK. Their second album, Science & Faith, was released in September 2010, and contains the hit songs "For the First Time" and "Nothing". The album debuted at number one in Ireland and the UK, and number three on the US Billboard 200.

Their music has been featured in many video games and many popular television programs including 90210, Ghost Whisperer, The Hills, Waterloo Road, EastEnders, Made in Chelsea and The Vampire Diaries. Frontman Danny O'Donoghue is also a coach on The Voice UK.

Danny O'Donoghue and Mark Sheehan met in a club in The Liberties area of Dublin, Ireland near the Guinness brewery, gravitating to each other through a shared liking of music, and in particular a love of R & B music (Rhythm and Blues). "At that time, MTV only came on in Dublin after midnight, it was the fuzzy channel, and for my generation urban culture was just a wave through us all," explains Sheehan. "It wasn't about gangs and guns; it was fashion and fun, singing and dancing."

Naturi Cora Maria Naughton (born May 20, 1984) is an American singer, rapper, and actress best known for formerly being one-third of the R&B trio 3LW, and the starring role of Denise in the remake of Fame. Naughton now stars on the hit Lifetime TV series The Client List as Kendra.

Naughton was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Brenda, a part-time paralegal, and Ezra Naughton, a retired accountant. Her musical talent first emerged at the age of five years old, when she joined her church choir at New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, NJ. She attended St. Joseph's Catholic school, and later attended Immaculate Conception high school in Montclair, NJ. It was soon after that time Naturi was discovered. She has sung the national anthem at various events in New Jersey and attended Seton Hall University.

In 1999, at age 15, Naughton joined Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams to form the group 3LW. Their first single, "No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)", was released in the fall of 2000. "No More" was a success and was followed by the second single, "Playas Gon' Play" in early 2001. The group's debut album, 3LW, was released on December 5, 2000. The album went platinum, selling 1.3 million copies in the US. In the summer of 2001, the group went on the MTV TRL tour along with Destiny's Child, Dream, Nelly, Eve, and Jessica Simpson.

Collins Pennie (born June 20, 1985) is an American actor, singer and dancer.

Pennie was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He lived in several different foster homes until the age of 15 when he moved out on his own.

In 2004, he debuted as Jimmy Gordon on the crime drama Law & Order. After taking a photo of himself to the Ford Modeling Agency, he was given a contract. Collins also starred in Beyonce's 2011 "Run The World (Girls)" video.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, Pennie made his television debut on the long running NBC crime-drama Law & Order. He has since starred on other television shows such as Without a Trace, and currently plays Marcus Leeds in the hospital drama Hawthorne.

Pennie has appeared in Half Nelson (2007), the 2008 version of Prom Night, and the musical Fame, an adaptation of the 1980 [cult-classic]. In 2010, he was the lead role in Stomp the Yard 2. In 2011, he appeared in the film In Time, starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.

In the summer of 2010, Pennie appeared in Rent with actors Neil Patrick Harris and Wayne Brady in a three-day limited engagement at the Hollywood Bowl.