Lady Gaga

During the early days of her career, Gaga was addicted to drugs and alcohol, which also became a cause of serious worry for her father.

Gaga was one among the 25 singers who was a part of the ‘We are the World 25’ initiative to raise funds for the victims of the 2010 earthquake which shattered Haiti.

Gaga was born to Joseph Anthony Germanotta Jr and Cynthia Louise, in Manhattan, on March 28, 1986. She was originally christened Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, by her parents.

Stefani was admitted to a Roman-Catholic institution named ‘Convent of the Sacred Heart’ when she was eleven years old. Apparently, the girl was a good student who excelled both in Academics as well as extra-curricular activities.

Her first tryst with music at the age of four, when she was introduced to the piano. When she was barely thirteen years old, Stefani had even penned her first ballad tailored for the piano.

She moved to the renowned ‘New York University’s ‘Tisch School for The Arts’ after graduating from school, since the institution encouraged music by offering training classes in musical theatre. However, she discontinued her studies just a year after joining the institution.

After taking a sabbatical from college in 2005, Stefani decided to try her luck to get a break in the music industry. She first collaborated with American hip-hop artiste Melvin Grover on an audio book project aimed at children.

She even formed a band named ‘SG Band’ the same year, for which she joined hands with a few friends like Alex Beckmann and Eli Silvermann, who were also students of the ‘New York University’.

The band started making waves in New York, after it started performing at various nightclubs around the city, such as the ‘Mercury Lounge’ and ‘The Bitter End’. Their gigs earned ‘SG Band’ quite a few fans and they soon grabbed the attention of a music producer named Joe Vulpis, with whom the band worked for a brief period in 2005.

The band’s talent was noticed by a musician named Wendy Starland in 2006. This man even introduced Stefani to a music producer named Rob Fusari at around the same time. Rob wanted to form a new band altogether with a lead female vocalist.

She started shuttling between New York and New Jersey quite often from then on, in a bid to record new songs which she had written for Fusari. Apparently, its Rob who gave her the name Gaga, inspired by the famous song ‘Radio Ga ga’.

Although her first single was quite a head-turner, the track which made Gaga a household name was ‘Poker Face’ from her debut album ‘The Fame’. The popularity of the song is said to have sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide. It also won the prestigious ‘Grammy’ as well as a couple of other awards.