Lady Gaga’s stiletto-shaped imprint on the world deserves more recognition.
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Lets time travel backward to the year 2008. The world is in the middle of an economic recession, teenage vampires are all the rage and Gaga made her debut with her first studio album, “The Fame.” Life was complicated, but who could complain when your two sources of enjoyment were Edward Cullen’s glittering skin and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face?”
Fourteen years later, we’re still obsessing over Gaga’s influence on the music industry as she continues to sell out tickets for her Chromatica Ball and fill stadiums with her surreal vocals.
She takes inspiration from David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Madonna. If that's not a recipe for a legend in the industry, I'm not sure what is.
Since “The Fame,” Gaga has proven little weakness in her musical capabilities, having one of the most diverse catalogs of music genres to date. From classic dance-pop in “The Fame,” “The Fame Monster,” “Born This Way,” and “Artpop” to a soft-rock country sound in “Joanne” and house music influence in “Chromatica,” she truly has an album for everybody.
She’s also no stranger to a ballad with songs like “Brown Eyes” and “Speechless” and was praised for her vocals in her 2014 jazz album, “Cheek to Cheek” alongside jazz-enthusiast Tony Bennett.
Gaga’s songs share themes that are not only relatable for the average mature listener but rather risque in the subject matter. From the struggles of mental health and drugs in “911, sexual freedom in “Love Game,” to self-liberation in “Born This Way,” Gaga has utilized her platform as one of the most influential and recognizable artists of our generation to convey strong messages in her music that major record labels would often never even let leave the front porch.
Gaga has become a muse to many queer-identifying people as someone who stands out in society but continues to live unapologetically herself.
She has successfully created a safe space for the LGBTQ community to live freely in a lifetime where 70 countries criminalize homosexuality. Simply going to a Gaga concert, like the Chromatica ball, you’ll see Gaga’s ongoing messaging of self-acceptance and liberation in the audience as fans freely dawn prideful smiles and embellished outfits that could easily get them victimized in another venue or setting.
I mean, good luck wearing a mesh crop-top and assless japs anywhere else than a Gaga concert.
In 2012, Gaga co-founded the Born This Way Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports and validates the well-being of today’s youth, alongside her mother Cynthia Germanotta. Her activism and message of self-love are very much on brand for the artist. She has become a hero for the LGBTQ community in her support and outspokenness for the community over the last decade.
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Aside from being a multitalented musician and activist, she’s also an incredible actress. Speaking of vampires, Gaga played one in the fifth season of “American Horror Story” which left the world scratching their heads on exactly what the meat-dress-wearing musician can’t do.
We also can’t forget her tear-jerking performance in “A Star is Born,” alongside Bradley Cooper. The iconic role continued the legacy of industry greats, Judy Garland and Bette Midler, that shared that role before her and also earned Gaga eight Oscar nominations and one win for “Best Original Song" for “Shallow.”
Needless to say, there was most certainly nothing shallow about that performance.
Gaga also dawned an Italian accent as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, in the 2021 biographical crime drama, “House of Gucci.”
Aside from Gaga’s impressive resume, she’s probably best known by many for her ever-evolving style that’s gained notoriety on the red carpet. Whether she's causing mayhem with an outfit made out of my meat, a red latex dress paired with showstopping eye makeup to meet the Queen of England or even a simple little black dress, Gaga never fails to make a statement.
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Only Gaga would think of making a performance out of fashion as exemplified through her entrance on the 2019 Met Gala red carpet where she had three outfit changes or when she showed up in an egg for the 2011 Grammys.
Gaga is an enigma in the industry and despite only having a little over a decade to become a household name, she continues to turn heads wherever she goes, and we love her for it.
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