Behind the extravagant outfits and outlandish makeup is a woman quite normal with colossal talent. That is the side of Gaga that many from Montgomery and around the world got to embrace on MTV’s Lady Gaga: Inside the outside. As a young girl, Stefani Germanotta (Gaga) began tapping on the keys of a piano she could barely reach. Her parents saw the interest and got her piano lessons— from a stripper. Gaga joked that she would ask her teacher why her nails were so long. The teacher told her that she’d understand one day. Showing her long nails, Lady Gaga says now she does understand. Gaga began playing classical music such as Mozart and Bach. Her father promised that if she’d learn Bruce Springsteen’s, “Thunder Road” he’d buy her a piano. She learned it well.
Gaga would spend hours in front of a mirror wearing her mother’s pearls. She would pretend to be Whitney Houston in the Bodyguard. In these moments, she could be anyone she wanted to be. Gaga was first discovered at a boutique. She began taking voice lessons from Don Lawrence. He gave her words that changed her life: “Have you ever thought about writing music? I think you would be good at writing songs.” At age 13, Gaga wrote her first song, “To Love Again.”
Gaga grew up four blocks from the Lincoln Center, where she’d watch people gather to see a performance or opera. Gaga became more rebellious as a way to understand the Lower East Side of New York and a different culture. She wanted “to get deeper into New York.” Gaga began go-go dancing and waitressing in order to pay for her lifestyle.
Gaga’s first show was an hour and a half set. No one knew her or cared. After the performances, people would approach to tell her that she had pipes or that they had liked her songs. She soon met Lady Starlight and soon after Stefani officially became Lady Gaga. Gaga and Starlight would get into trouble with rebellious and unforgettable antics. During a show, hundreds of people were peering inside to listen, as they took pictures. Her dad came in and wouldn’t speak to her for weeks after. He later understood why she did it.
Lady Gaga bridges technology, fashion, and pop-culture into one performance. She’s never backed down, despite her many critics. Gaga’s biggest surprise from the fame is her “relationship with fans.” It has changed her life. The fans were the “instruments” she couldn’t learn. When her first record deal was dropped, Gaga recalls lying on her grandmother’s couch and watching Beyonce in a Destiny’s Child video. She wanted that. Gaga was able to define her own beauty and individuality.
Things were not always happy for her. She recalls being bullied. A group of boys picked her up and put her in the trash, as everyone laughed and made fun of her. Bullying affected her “deeply.”
Heritage is important to Gaga. Her family is “traditional” in the family sense. On Sundays her family makes gravy and pasta. Her late aunt Joanne was important to her family. In her first album cover, Gaga printed her aunt’s poetry. Gaga feels that she lives through her. Gaga became emotional telling of the dream of her family. She says now her family has a greater purpose. She has to continue the legacy for her family and dad.
Lady Gaga says that her leather jacket is her “Dorothy shoes.” She wrote, “Marry the Night” about New York. She says “the tan of New York never goes away.” After gaining fame, she missed the city and friends. She was “haunted by the past.” She went back and knocked on people’s doors in Brooklyn. She and a friend rode on their bikes around the old streets. She says, “When you travel so much the world becomes smaller.” Riding her bike, Henry, it reminds her of how big the world is. She says her security team gets mad and wants to know where she is. She asks, “What’s the worst that can happen? Someone asks, are you Gaga?” She replies “yes,” while waving and dinging the bell on her bike.
Everyone can learn something from Gaga. It doesn’t matter where you come from; it’s all about where you’re going. Lady Gaga topped Forbes’ Annual Celebrity 100 list, displacing Oprah Winfrey as the most powerful celebrity. For more information visit: MTV.com or purchase her music on iTunes.
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