I usually don’t pay much attention to the “musicians” at the top of the Billboard charts nowadays since, well, most of ‘em ain’t musicians but lukewarm retreads from American Idol or Sing Your Ass off or one of those brain dead but here to stay reality shows. It’s been rather hard, however, to totally dismiss Lady Gaga. A quick glance at a photo of her in an outfit made from Kermit the Frog dolls makes you do a double take even if you've never heard her music. Britney didn’t even wear something that wacky that when she was batshit crazy. Hell, Madonna didn’t do that during her most outrageous reinventions. So I did a little fact-checking on La Gaga out of curiosity. It seems Lady Gaga, aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (she’s Italian, like Madonna), is more than what meets the eye. No, I'm talking about those hermaphrodite rumors, either.
Before recording her first album, Lady Gaga:
*was a staff songwriter for Interscope Records and Akon’s Konvict Record Label. She wrote songs for the Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears, among others
*sang in Lower East Side clubs with a performance artist named Lady Starlight
*attended New York University
Not the usual mass-manufactured pop bimbo the music industry has hoisted upon us this decade. Only time will tell if Lady G’s songs eventually concern themselves with more arcane references than “a disco stick” On Saturday Night Live last week, she managed to wear a gyroscope and heels, play piano and belt out a ballad. Girls can play "dress up" and be real musicians, too. You can do both. Now this is the fully-rounded role model younger women pursuing a mainstream music career should emulate. Well, except for the Kermit the Frog costume.
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