Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, more commonly known as Lady Gaga, hit the music landscape in 2008 and tore the roof off popular culture. Now she is a performer, songwriter, and actress. As her latest project, playing the role of Harley Quinn in the sequel to The Joker movie is released, we look back at the three tracks that have defined her career.
Poker Face
Before Gaga became a household name, she had already had an illustrious career in the music industry. She had signed and had a contract cancelled by the famous Def Jam Recordings as part of a girl group. She had then undertaken a burlesque tour, done recordings for children’s books, and then started as a songwriter for artists like Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls. She then retreated to form her Haus of Gaga, the production team that would create everything from her albums to stage shows and attire.
Just Dance was her first single and though it hit number one, it was Poker Face that would come to define her. It took the camp of glam rock, fusing Bowie and T Rex aesthetics with a modern dance backing. Across all this was a playful lyric, dropping poker-laden innuendos aimed at an imaginary protagonist. All of this arrived just at the dawn of online casino culture. The top online casinos had just begun to get competitive, offering introductory offers and welcoming a new breed of casual players to the game. Gaga’s song tapped into this, and the message of winning big caught the imagination of many starting to play online as well as those just looking for a great dance tune.
Bad Romance
Poker Face and the tracks from Gaga’s first album were the sound of an artist establishing herself. Yet the second album, The Fame Monster, was the sound of someone who had well and truly arrived.
It was dance floor, but it was weird and out there. Stabbing synth lines and stripped-back vocal hooks merged to create a track that contained more earworms than many other artists can muster in a whole career, never mind one song. A staple of her live performance, even most die-hard Gaga fans have it as their defining track.
Shallow
By 2018 Gaga had attained most of her career goals. A hit record maker and actress, it made sense that she would become more ambitious. Shallow was the lead track from the 2018 musical, A Star is Born. In a duet with Bradley Cooper, the pair would write and produce most of the music for the movie, also singing the tracks live.
It marked a milestone for Gaga, showing a much more reflective side to her character. Gone was the disco sheen and dance floor fillers, and instead was a deep analogy for love and all its trappings, while also being about the blossoming of the main character as she achieved her full potential.
There are many other Gaga classics and you probably have your favourites. Don’t be afraid to revisit these and remember why you loved this fantastic artist in the first place.