How Lady Gaga built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress renowned for her constant image reinventions and versatility. She is a highly influential figure in popular music, known for pushing boundaries and experimenting with various genres and styles throughout her career. Her impact extends beyond music into fashion and popular culture, solidifying her status as a cultural icon.
In 2000, Lady Gaga made a background appearance in the music video for AC/DC's song "Stiff Upper Lip".
In 2001, Lady Gaga appeared in a small background role as a high-school student in an episode of The Sopranos titled "The Telltale Moozadell".
In 2005, Lady Gaga recorded two songs with rapper Melle Mel for an audio book and formed a band called the SGBand with friends from NYU, performing in New York's Lower East Side club scene.
In 2005, Lady Gaga withdrew from NYU to focus on her music career. She also appeared on MTV's "Boiling Points", a prank reality television show, as an unsuspecting diner customer that year.
In 2021, Lady Gaga released a limited edition of Rosé Vintage 2005 Dom Pérignon bottles to benefit the Born This Way Foundation, with the release year of the rose being in 2005.
In September 2006, Lady Gaga was signed to Def Jam Recordings after talent scout Wendy Starland recommended her to producer Rob Fusari.
In November 2007, Lady Gaga signed with Streamline Records, an Interscope imprint, and also struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, leading to songwriting opportunities for other artists.
In 2007, Lady Gaga and Lady Starlight performed at the Lollapalooza music festival as part of their "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue".
In 2007, Lady Gaga collaborated with RedOne on her debut album and signed with Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint.
In 2007, Lady Gaga signed with Interscope Records, marking a significant step in her early career.
In May 2008, Lady Gaga had one of her first televised performances at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBTQ television network Logo.
On August 19, 2008, Lady Gaga's debut album, "The Fame", was released, reaching number one in several countries.
In 2008, Lady Gaga released her debut album, "The Fame", achieving global recognition.
In August 2009, remixed versions of the singles from The Fame were included on Hitmixes.
Lady Gaga's worldwide The Fame Ball Tour ran until September 2009.
In November 2009, Lady Gaga began her second worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour.
On November 18, 2009, Lady Gaga released "The Fame Monster" as a standalone EP.
In 2009, Billboard named Lady Gaga "the Greatest Pop Star of 2009", highlighting her rapid rise to fame and innovative approach to pop music.
In 2009, Lady Gaga reissued her debut album as "The Fame Monster", which included successful singles.
In 2009, Lady Gaga spoke at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., demonstrating her support for the LGBTQ rights movement.
In 2009, Lady Gaga's blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping".
In January 2010, Lady Gaga partnered with Polaroid as their creative director and announced a suite of photo-capture products called Grey Label.
In January 2010, after declining an invitation to appear on the single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", Lady Gaga donated the proceeds of her Radio City Music Hall concert and profits from her online store to Haiti's reconstruction relief fund, collecting $500,000.
In April 2010, the video for "Bad Romance" became the most watched on YouTube.
In September 2010, Lady Gaga spoke at a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's rally in Portland, Maine, advocating for LGBTQ rights. Following this event, The Advocate recognized her as a "fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100, topping the list in 2011.
In 2010, Lady Gaga performed at the Brit Awards and released The Remix. The Fame and The Fame Monster together have sold more than 15 million copies, with The Fame Monster being 2010's second bestselling album.
In 2010, Lady Gaga was named Billboard's Artist of the Year, recognizing her impact on the music industry.
In February 2011, Lady Gaga released "Born This Way", the lead single from her album of the same name. The song broke records on iTunes and debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
In May 2011, Lady Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour concluded, grossing $227.4 million and becoming the highest-grossing tour for a debut headlining artist.
On May 23, 2011, Lady Gaga's album 'Born This Way' was released, debuting atop the Billboard 200 chart with 1.1 million copies sold in its first week.
In June 2011, Lady Gaga appeared at Europride in Rome, where she criticized the state of gay rights in Europe and called gay people "revolutionaries of love".
In June 2011, Lady Gaga performed at MTV Japan's charity show in Makuhari Messe, which benefited the Japanese Red Cross.
According to Forbes, in 2011, Lady Gaga was the world's highest-paid female musician and the most powerful celebrity.
According to Guinness World Records, from 2011 to 2013, Lady Gaga was the most followed person on Twitter.
At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga appeared in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, and delivered a lovesick monologue before performing "You and I".
In 2011, Forbes named Lady Gaga the world's highest-paid female musician with $90 million in earnings.
In 2011, Lady Gaga collaborated with Tony Bennett, Elton John, The Lonely Island, and Justin Timberlake. She also performed at the Sydney Town Hall and starred in a Thanksgiving television special.
In 2011, Lady Gaga released her second album, "Born This Way", which sold over one million copies in its first week and explored electronic rock and techno-pop.
In 2011, Lady Gaga was named the "Queen of Pop" in a ranking by Rolling Stone, based on record sales and social media metrics.
In 2011, lyrics of Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" were censored by Malaysian broadcaster AMP Radio Networks. The same year, the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China banned the publication of six of Gaga's songs from the album Born This Way on all Chinese music websites.
Lady Gaga released the single and album "Born This Way" in 2011.
In April 2012, Lady Gaga embarked on the Born This Way Ball tour, which was later cut short due to a labral tear in her right hip.
In July 2012, Lady Gaga co-founded the social networking service LittleMonsters.com, devoted to her fans.
In July 2012, the Born This Way Foundation partnered with Office Depot for a series of limited edition back-to-school products, with 25% of its sales going towards the foundation, for a guaranteed donation of $1 million.
In 2012, Lady Gaga appeared as an animated version of herself in an episode of 'The Simpsons' and launched her first fragrance, Lady Gaga Fame.
In 2012, Lady Gaga endorsed Barack Obama during the US presidential election, showing her support for his policies and leadership.
In 2012, Lady Gaga placed fourth on Billboard's list of the top moneymakers of 2011 with earnings of $25 million, which included sales from her album Born This Way and her Monster Ball Tour.
In 2012, Lady Gaga ranked fourth in VH1's Greatest Women in Music. She also became a feature of the temporary exhibition The Elevated: From the Pharaoh to Lady Gaga at the National Museum in Warsaw.
In October 2012, Yoko Ono gave Lady Gaga and four other activists the LennonOno Grant for Peace in Reykjavík, Iceland. Earlier in 2012, Gaga joined the campaign group Artists Against Fracking.
In early 2012, Lady Gaga started working on her third studio album, 'Artpop', during the Born This Way Ball tour, envisioning it as a reflection of "a night at the club".
In August 2013, Lady Gaga released "Applause", the lead single from her upcoming album Artpop.
On November 6, 2013, Lady Gaga's third studio album, Artpop, was released to mixed reviews.
In November 2013, Lady Gaga hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live and held her second Thanksgiving Day television special on ABC, titled Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular.
According to Guinness World Records, in 2013, Lady Gaga was the most famous celebrity.
In 2013, Lady Gaga released "Artpop", her third album, which was influenced by electronic dance music.
In 2013, Lady Gaga's album, The Fame, was listed as one of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All-Time, solidifying her impact on music and popularizing synth-pop in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
In March 2014, Lady Gaga held a seven-day concert residency at New York's Roseland Ballroom to commemorate its last performances before closure.
In March 2014, Lady Gaga released "G.U.Y." as the third single from her Artpop album.
By June 2014, Lady Gaga, along with her new manager Bobby Campbell, joined Artist Nation, the artist management division of Live Nation Entertainment.
As of July 2014, Lady Gaga's album Artpop had sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide.
In September 2014, Lady Gaga released 'Cheek to Cheek', a collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett, inspired by their friendship and Gaga's childhood fascination with jazz.
In December 2014, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett embarked on the Cheek to Cheek Tour, promoting their collaborative album.
According to Guinness World Records, in 2014, Lady Gaga was the most powerful popstar.
In 2014, Lady Gaga pursued jazz music and released the album "Cheek to Cheek" with Tony Bennett.
In 2014, Lady Gaga's album Artpop was released in China with conditions placed on the album artwork, and the song "Sexxx Dreams" was renamed to "X Dreams".
In 2014, Lady Gaga's choreographer and creative director Laurieann Gibson, who had been providing material for her shows and videos for four years, was replaced by her assistant Richard Jackson.
In August 2015, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett concluded the Cheek to Cheek Tour, which had been ongoing since December 2014.
In October 2015, Lady Gaga joined high school students, policy makers, and academic officials at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to discuss ways to recognize and channel emotions for positive outcomes.
In October 2015, Lady Gaga starred in American Horror Story: Hotel, the fifth season of the television anthology horror series, playing the role of a hotel owner named Elizabeth.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100, topping the list in 2011.
In 2015, Lady Gaga ventured into acting and gained praise for her leading role in the miniseries "American Horror Story: Hotel".
In 2015, Time magazine noted that Lady Gaga had "practically invented the current era of pop music as spectacle", recognizing her influence on the performance and presentation of pop music.
In January 2016, Lady Gaga was guest editor for V fashion magazine's 99th issue, which featured 16 different covers.
In February 2016, Lady Gaga sang the US national anthem at Super Bowl 50, performed a David Bowie tribute at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, and sang "Til It Happens to You" at the 88th Academy Awards.
In May 2016, Lady Gaga and Elton John released the clothing and accessories line Love Bravery at Macy's. 25% of each purchase benefited the BTWF and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
In June 2016, Lady Gaga read the names of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting at a vigil in Los Angeles. Additionally, she signed Billboard's Open Letter on Gun Violence, advocating for universal background checks on gun buyers.
In September 2016, Lady Gaga released "Perfect Illusion", the lead single from her fifth album, Joanne.
On October 21, 2016, Lady Gaga's album 'Joanne' was released, becoming her fourth number one album on the Billboard 200.
In November 2016, Lady Gaga released "Million Reasons" as the second single from her album Joanne.
In 2016, Lady Gaga delved into soft rock with the album "Joanne".
Lady Gaga continued her leading role in the miniseries "American Horror Story: Hotel" through 2016, receiving praise for her performance.
On February 5, 2017, Lady Gaga performed as the headlining act during the Super Bowl LI halftime show, attracting 117.5 million viewers in the United States.
In June 2017, Lady Gaga partnered with Starbucks for a week with the "Cups of Kindness" campaign, where the company donated 25 cents from some of the beverages sold to the Born This Way Foundation.
In 2017, a study identified Lady Gaga's songs "Bad Romance", "Alejandro", and "Poker Face" as among the catchiest tracks, ranking number one, eight, and nine respectively.
In February 2018, Lady Gaga cancelled the last ten shows of the Joanne World Tour due to health issues, which grossed $95 million from 842,000 tickets sold overall.
In March 2018, Lady Gaga supported the March for Our Lives gun-control rally in Washington, D.C., and released a cover of Elton John's "Your Song" for his tribute album Revamp.
On September 27, 2018, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper released "Shallow" as the lead single from the 'A Star Is Born' soundtrack. The song topped charts in multiple countries including the US, UK, and Australia.
In October 2018, Rebecca Schiller traced back Lady Gaga's videography from "Just Dance" to the release of A Star Is Born in an article for Billboard. Schiller noted that following the Artpop era, Gaga's stripped-down approach to music was reflected in the clips for the singles from Joanne, such as the music video of lead single "Perfect Illusion."
In December 2018, Lady Gaga's concert residency, Lady Gaga Enigma + Jazz & Piano, opened at the MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas with the Enigma show, focusing on theatricality and Gaga's biggest hits.
As of 2018, Lady Gaga had estimated sales of 170 million records, making her one of the world's bestselling music artists.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100, topping the list in 2011.
In 2018, Lady Gaga condemned the Trump administration's efforts to change the legal definition of sex to exclude transgender Americans, and spread the #WontBeErased campaign.
In 2018, Lady Gaga gained praise for her leading role in the film "A Star Is Born".
In 2018, Lady Gaga's piano version of the title track from her album 'Joanne' won a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance.
On World Kindness Day in 2018, Lady Gaga partnered with the Born This Way Foundation to bring food and relief to a Red Cross shelter for people who have been forced to evacuate homes due to the California wildfires.
In January 2019, the Jazz & Piano show, part of Lady Gaga's Las Vegas residency, Lady Gaga Enigma + Jazz & Piano, opened, featuring tracks from the Great American Songbook and stripped-down versions of Gaga's songs.
In March 2019, Lady Gaga penned a letter to supporters of the Born This Way Foundation, announcing the launch of a new pilot program for a teen mental health first aid project with the National Council for Behavioral Health, and revealed her personal struggles with mental health.
As of June 2019, the 'A Star Is Born' soundtrack, featuring Lady Gaga, had sold over six million copies worldwide. The album had already won four Grammy Awards and a BAFTA Award.
In September 2019, Lady Gaga launched her vegan makeup line, Haus Laboratories, exclusively on Amazon, consisting of 40 products, including liquid eyeliners, lip glosses and face mask stickers.
In 2019, Lady Gaga became the first woman to win an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Grammy Award in one year for her contributions to the A Star Is Born soundtrack.
In 2019, Lady Gaga was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
On February 28, 2020, Lady Gaga released "Stupid Love" as the lead single from her album Chromatica. It charted at number five in both the US and the UK.
In April 2020, Lady Gaga curated the televised benefit concert, One World: Together at Home, a collaboration with Global Citizen to benefit the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The special raised $127 million.
On May 29, 2020, Lady Gaga's sixth studio album, Chromatica, was released to positive reviews, debuting atop the US charts and in more than a dozen other territories.
In September 2020, Lady Gaga appeared in the video campaign for Valentino's Voce Viva fragrance, singing a stripped-down version of her Chromatica track "Sine from Above".
In September 2020, Lady Gaga released an anthology book, Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community, featuring stories about kindness, bravery, and resilience from young people collected by the Born This Way Foundation.
As of October 2020, Forbes estimated Lady Gaga's net worth at $150 million, reflecting her financial success.
As of 2020, six of Lady Gaga's singles appeared on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's annual Top 10 Global Singles chart, setting the record for the most entries by any female artist.
From 2010 to 2015 and 2018 to 2020, Lady Gaga was included on Forbes' Celebrity 100, topping the list in 2011.
In 2020, Lady Gaga returned to dance-pop with her album "Chromatica", which included the number-one single "Rain on Me".
In January 2021, Lady Gaga received the Yolanda Denise King High Ground Award from the King Center's Beloved Community Awards for her contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement.
On January 20, 2021, Lady Gaga sang the US national anthem during Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th President of the United States.
In April 2021, Lady Gaga partnered with Champagne brand Dom Pérignon, appearing in an advertisement shot by Nick Knight.
In November 2021, the television special 'One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga' was released on CBS, featuring select performances from the duo's August concerts at Radio City Music Hall.
On November 24, 2021, the biographical crime film 'House of Gucci', starring Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, was released to mixed reviews, though Gaga's performance was praised.
In 2021, Lady Gaga collaborated with the Champagne house Dom Pérignon to benefit the Born This Way Foundation, releasing a limited edition of Rosé Vintage 2005 bottles along with a sculpture designed by her, with profits donated to the foundation.
In 2021, Lady Gaga starred in "House of Gucci" and released "Love for Sale", her final collaborative album with Tony Bennett. She also revisited her early pop sound.
In July 2022, Lady Gaga embarked on The Chromatica Ball stadium tour.
As of 2022, Lady Gaga had grossed more than $689.5 million in revenue from concert tours and residencies with attendance of 6.3 million.
In 2022, 'Bloody Mary', a cut from Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' album, became a resurgent success and was released as a single.
In 2022, Chris Willman of Variety reviewed The Chromatica Ball, noting that Lady Gaga could have further played the authenticity card after the release of Joanne and A Star Is Born, but instead chose to keep herself weird.
In April 2023, Lady Gaga was appointed as co-chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities by President Joe Biden.
In 2023, Rolling Stone included Lady Gaga among the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, solidifying her reputation as a highly skilled vocalist.
On August 16, 2024, Lady Gaga released the single "Die with a Smile", a duet with Bruno Mars.
On September 27, 2024, Lady Gaga released a companion album to the film Joker: Folie à Deux, titled Harlequin. She and Polansky co-wrote four of its tracks.
In October 2024, Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Lady Gaga as Harleen "Lee" Quinzel, was released theatrically after premiering at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. While the film was a critical and commercial failure, Gaga's performance was better received.
On October 25, 2024, Lady Gaga released "Disease", the lead single from her upcoming album Mayhem. The single peaked at number seven in the UK.
Following Trump's win in the 2024 US presidential election, in which Gaga endorsed Kamala Harris, she voiced her support for the transgender community after his rollback of their protections.
In 2024, Lady Gaga placed fifth on Billboard's list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century, recognizing her sustained impact and contributions to pop music.
On February 3, 2025, Lady Gaga released "Abracadabra", the second single from her album Mayhem, which reached the top five in Germany and the UK.
On March 7, 2025, Lady Gaga's album Mayhem was released to critical acclaim and debuted at number one in the US.
In March 2025, Lady Gaga hosted Saturday Night Live for a second time.
In 2025, Lady Gaga released her album Mayhem, which contains the chart-topping single "Die with a Smile".
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