Who doesn’t know Lady Gaga? She is so popular that not knowing her is like you’re living in an uncivilized world. Though she may look like she’s the singer-songwriter that easily came to stardom, it was not an easy journey for her. Like many singers, she started out in a band with some friends from NYU – the Stefani Germanotta Band or SGBand that was taken from her name (she was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta).

She was scouted for music producer Rob Fusari who was looking for a female vocalist then. According to him, Stefani’s vocal range was comparable to Freddie Mercury, the lead vocalist of Queen. According to rumors, every time she walked into his office he would be singing Radio Ga Ga and it was from this that they were able to coin the stage name Lady Gaga. She was signed to Def Jam back in 2006 with an agreement to release an album after nine months, but the label dropped her after only three months. When she came home she became fascinated with neo-burlesque, go-go dancing, and drugs. Meanwhile, Fusari continued to work on their songs and sent these to Vincent Herbert, who immediately signed Gaga to his label. He is being credited by the artist as the one who discovered her.

Her break came from her debut album The Fame that had her first two singles, Just Dance and Pokerface. These songs became number one on various music charts worldwide. She embarked on a tour to promote her album. Afterwards she released an extended version of the first album – The Fame Monster. This extended version had three new songs that became hit: Bad Romance, Alejandro, and Telephone. She also embarked on a tour to promote the said album. Her recent album also gave rise to new hit songs Born This Way, Judas, and The Edge of Glory.

The road to success indeed is not a smooth one. Despite the rejection she experienced at the beginning, she did stop pursuing her dream. Not only does she influence the world through her music but also through involvement with LGBT activism and different humanitarian causes. Now the world is gaga for her.