Born This Way

 Birth Name Stefani Joanna Angelina Germanotta  Born March 28, 1986  Parents to Parents Cynthia and Joseph Germanotta residents of Yonkers, New York

 Began studying the piano at the age of Four.  At the age of 11, she was accepted to the Juilliard School in Manhattan but instead chose to attend Convent of the Scared Heart  In the eighth grade, She found the way to meet boys was to get involved with theatre and by auditioning for musicals the Sacred Heart’s brother school, Regis High School.  She constantly landed the lead role such as Adelaide in Guys and Doll and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  She gives credit to her early life in theatre for a lot of the inspiration to her craft today.

 First New York night club appearances started at the age of 14.  Donned the title Lady Gaga, inspired The Queen song Radio Ga-Ga.  This façade allowed Stefani to become something a “little more overdramatic, spoiled and brassy, but she was also a nice girl (not to say a good girl)”.  She view herself at a ‘Theatre chick’ that started to express herself though music and songwriting, inspired deeply by classic rock and more specifically Queen, The Beatles and Pink Floyd.

 Granted admission to the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at 17, She was one of only 20 to receive the honor of early admission.  Later dropped out of school to focus on her music and songwriting  Her father made a deal with her to pay her rest for a year with the circumstances that if her music career failed, she would reenroll at Tisch.  "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen”

 Briefly signing to record label Def Jam Records in 2005 but was dropped just after a few months.  This sent Stefani back into the night clubs and venues on New York’s Lower East Side.  Collaborated with several up and coming rock bands.

 At the age of 20, Gaga was discovered at a burlesque show called ‘Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue’ by singer/songwriter Akon.  He was very impressed by her talents and quickly signed the performer to Interscope Records subsidiary Kon Live.

 In 2007, Lady Gaga worked on her debut album The Fame.  First single “Just Dance”  Nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2008 but lost to Def Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”  Reached number one on the Billboard Pop Charts but not until January  “Poker Face” was the second single from The Fame.  Both songs were produced by Akon’s affiliate RedOne, who co-wrote most of Lady Gaga’s first album

 The major success of The Fame grew into 2009 and spawned a EP of the album: The Fame Monster.  Ablum title and track listing exploits the darker side of fame, A constant theme throughout her music.  Fame Kills tour with Kanya West cancled due to his comments at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.  Monster Ball Tour took its place.

 The Monster Ball Tour held over 200 performances all over the world within a 18 month period  Grossing over $227.4 million and drew in 2.5 million people, making it one of the highest grossing concerts of all time.  At the end of the tour, HBO filmed the final shows to air as a television special titled Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden  Mostly featured songs from The Fame Monster but also included a handful of songs for Gaga’s third major release Born This Way

 Born This Way that was released in May of  Characterized it as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress".  Born This Way features the title song “Born This Way” along with “Judus” and “Hair”.  This album has much more of an almost religious tone that was meant to be in inspiration to people of all walks of life.

 Devout following of fans called Little Monsters.  Encouraged to ‘Put up their claws and show teeth’ to the things that challenge them.  Huge fan base within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered community, especially with her single “Born This Way”.  Teamed up with several charities that help the gay youth, such as The Trevor Project, and has a focus on gay teen suicide and homelessness.

 The Haus of Gaga is her production team behind her styles and design concepts for her concerts.  Raw Meat Dress at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.  Born This Way egg she incubated in on the red carpet at the 2011 Grammy’s

 Gaga tries to keep her personal life out of the limelight but has been connect to several men over the last few years.  Gone on to say that she considers herself married to her little monster and to her craft.  Her parents play a major role in her life, making time for family dinner whenever she is in her home town of New York. The song “Edge of Glory” for Born This Way is a tribute to their everlasting love.  Attributes a lot of her life to the city in which she grew up in, New York City. She makes reference to NYC in many of her songs and gives credit to the city to making her the star that she is today.

 Bad Romance is from Lady Gaga’s second album The Fame Monster. The song, much like the rest of the rest of her catalogue, would be categorized in the pop genre with a heavy bass line intended to give it a dance anthem feel.  Feel victim to an uncompleted version being leaked on to the World Wide Web to become pummeled by critics. It wasn’t until Lady Gaga tweeted that the one making its way into homes currently was nothing like the one that would make it onto the album.  The finished version made debuted at her friend, Alexarder McQueen’s, fashion show at Fashion Week in Paris, October of The song went on to sell over 9 million singles and was ranked 9 th best song of 2009 by Rolling Stone.  The real acclaim came when the single won Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy’s

 0:00-Intro: The intro begins with vocals with an elongated “oh” before a synthesized hum come in underneath. Soon after, The lyrics “caught in a bad romance” come in. The elongated “oh’s” and “caught in a bad romance” repeat themselves, this is setting up the story of the song.  0:17: The intro continues with a with a major synthesized hum dropping out and just a synthesized beat as the lyrics “Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah- ah!/Roma-roma-mamaa!/Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!/Want your bad romance” repeats itself twice. On the second time, the beat gets heavier, sustaining the major rhythm line for the rest of the song. This pattern is duplicated several times though the song.  0:33 First Verses: The beat lightens up a bit but still is very prevalent. The melody patterns are set up within this first verse that the second and, to an extent, the third verse will follow. The use of some of the lyrics become almost a part of the rhythm, for example the lyrics “La- La-Love” are right with tempo, you might even think they were a part of the synthesized sound.  1:07 Bridge: The beat pattern changes to a lighter sound and the vocals become almost whispered. The melody changes as well to a lighter tone. I think this gives a greater variety to the song.  1:14 First Chorus: The first chorus sets up the way all the chorus’s will be repeated throughout the song. The beat and melody patterns return to what they were before the bridge. The beat also crescendos into an almost stomping rhythm. This is a very dramatic change from the bridge. The elongated “oh’s” make a return, adding to the synthesized sounds.  1:46 “Rah-Ra” bridge: The melody changes again, reintroducing the “Rah-Ra” lines that were introduced in the intro. Tones become a little darker. Also the stamping beat makes a return here. Many recycled elements make a return in what I’m calling the “Rah-Ra” bridge.

 1:54 Second Verse: All the same changes and elements as in the first verse make a return here. This is one element found in a lot of Lady Gaga’s music. Some of the lyrics used here to make a difference include the rhythmic use of the lyrics “Design/mine” and “Stick/Sick”. I think it gives a better flow to the stanza in this song. Also, the return of the “La-La-Love” as seen in the first verse.  2:27 Bridge: The bridge here is almost identical to the one earlier in the song with the exception of “I’m a freak, baby” almost yelled over the lyrics towards the end of the section.  2:35 Second Chorus: The second chorus is identical to the first chorus: rhythms, melodies and all.  3:08 “Rah-Ra” Bridge: This “Rah-Ra” bridge is identical to the first one.  3:23 Walk Walk Fashion Verse: The Melody changes dramatically, along with the rhythm and beat. Everything slows down extensively and turns more into a walking tempo the melody also gives background to what now becomes a musical fashion show. You can hear the runway models strutting their stuff on the cat walk with the beat and the lyrics match that with “Walk Walk Fashion Baby”. This repeats itself once then moves on to the next section.  3:39 Retard Verse: The melody and rhythm retards into a slow moving verse. The lyrics are new but echo the feeling of the song. It’s almost like watching the slow-motion parts of The Matrix.

 4:12 A cappella: The underlying music drops out for just 2 seconds but makes a powerful statement putting all focus on the lyrics “Want your bad romance”  4:15 Last Chorus: The last chorus becomes a little more violent with the beat, Almost like a heavy stomping motion is happening. The melody and rhythms are the same that are found in the preceding chorus. Lyrics are the same but sang in more violent fashion, almost yelling.  4:45 A cappella “Rah-Ra’s”: We get one more set of Rah-Ra’s but all the music has dropped out for the remainder of the song. There are some melodic tendencies with the reverb they use on the vocals.  4:54 End of Song

 Featured on Lady Gaga’s first major album The Fame. This is one of her slower song, again with a heavy bass line.  The song is almost a ballad type, chronicling the struggle to balance fame and a personal life.  The music video portrays a struggling starlet who is relentlessly hounded by photographers and is betrayed by her boyfriend. This music video has a message of strength, revenge and other experiences of the way to fame.  The music video won 2 MTV music video awards at the 2009 ceremony for Best Art Direction and Best Special effects. There is no official word, but the song and music video is believed to be a diary type song, telling the story of Lady Gaga’s rise to fame.

 0:00 Intro: The sound of this Lady Gaga song is a lot different then what she is more commonly known for. There is a heavy bass and beat to the rhythm but is not so “dancy”, it’s more of a smooth flowing sound but interrupted with musical camera flashes used to create the feeling of being subjected by the paparazzi. They use some cleaver musical tricks to achieve this. The base melody is set up in the intro with a flowing melody and the bouncy beat, it almost sounds like there is a three tier teat the rhythm stays pretty consistent through the song with a few exceptions.  0:09 First Verse: The verse really sets up the vocal tones for the remainder on the song. Vocals are sung in a much lower register that most of Lady Gaga’s other songs and they stay that way throughout the song. The melody and rhythms continues as the same from the intro with the continual beats sounding like the occasional camera flash used for atmospheric qualities.  0:41 First Chorus: The rhythm pick up a little bit but nothing to substantial. Vocals become a little more aggressive but not necessarily loud. Lady Gaga does some rhythmic pacing with the lyrics “Pa-Pa-Paparazzi”. The first three syllables become more a part of the rhythm then a part of the vocals.  1:15 Musical interlude: Heavy use us synthesized sounds to create a musical break in between the first chorus and the next verse.  1:24 Second Verse: The second verse is the same melody and rhythm as in the first. The use of rhyming lyrics help create as easy flow to the verse. For example “Set/Cigarettes” and “Cry/Pie”.

 1:57 Second Chorus: The second chorus stays the same as the first with no real noticeable differences.  2:30 Third Verse: This verse is heavy in the lyrics almost like a rap, I think it purpose was to give a little verity to a song that says on one level for the majority of its time. The beat has a major change, becoming faster and more prevalent than the rest of the song. Also, the melody get a little faster.  2:47 Chorus Retard: The chours repeats here but a slower, almost at half time, then its counterparts in the rest of the song. This only last for the first twp phrases. Heavy use of the synthesized sounds, almost creating a laser sound behind the lyrics.  3:05 Chorus continued: The melody and beat picks back up long with the vocals, for the last three phrases on the chorus to end out the vocals on the song.  3:21 There are a few bars of the fimilar melody and beat found previously in the tht fade out.

 The song is a freedom anthem, much like those of the 1990’s; think almost Cindi Lauper’s “True Colors” but more upbeat.  The song has become a staple within the LGBT community; probably due to the fact the lyrics are heavy on the gay empowerment side. For example “Don't be drag, just be a queen/Whether you're broke or evergreen” and “No matter gay, straight or bi/ Lesbian, transgendered life/ I'm on the right track, baby/ I was born to survive”  Not everyone fell in love with it right off the bat. Asian and Hispanic communities found offence with the lyrics "chola" and "orient".  The bigger controversy surrendering this track is some people believe it is a rip off of Madonna’s “Express Yourself”. While the two have similar rhythm patterns, lyrics and beats really don’t match up.

 0:00 Intro: This song starts out with just vocals with a reverb that give it its own melodic tone to it, shortly after, a low synthesized hum comes in, giving it a great bass line. This whole intro gives the song its industrial feel.  0:14 Musical Bridge: This bridge sets up the heavy beats that are found throughout the son. Also there are many synthesized elements to give it a futuristic feel at this point in the song.  0:27 First Verse: The story starts to be reviled here that this is a song about empowerment within yourself and knowing that you are a superstar. The melody turns form and industrial/futuristic feel to something brighter. The beat subsides throughout the lyrics so they can be understood. I enjoy the contrast of just a few seconds change, give great dynamics.  1:29 “Drag” Bridge: All the vocals, beat and melody take another sharp turn here becoming more tribal as the lyrics state “Don’t be a Drag, Just be a Queen” several time, over and over, with a heavy beat.  1:38 Second Verse: The second verse is set up very similar to the first with only some rhythmically changed lyrics to give it a little variation.

 2:07 Second Chorus: The second chorus is set up the same as its former, but at the end it does set up for a brief musical interlude.  2:39 Musical interlude: This musical interlude is brief but has a major role in setting up the next verse because that verse has a majorly different melody that needs just a few moments to make a smooth transition.  2:49 “List” Verse: The melody, rhythm and beat take another major change to become second to the lyrics, almost becoming a rap verse. The lyrics repeat some of the lyrics found earlier that are found in the “Drag” Bridge then goes on to list several item. At this point in the song, you start to notice a much brighter tone then the first of the song. This is a great evolution to the sound form being to end. This is a common theme found in many of Lady Gaga’s songs.  3:03 The beat again gets lighter along with the melody and the rap continues for the previous selection. She goes on to list several more items getting faster with each item.

 3:19 Third Chorus: The chorus repeats itself for a last time but with a brighter, more optimistic tone.  3:49 A cappella Section: The phrase “Born This Way” is repeated in a group of voices without any music underneath it, giving it a party feel to it. The beat is  4:05 Bridge: There is one last bridge of music to finish up the song. It’s a very light, synthesized section that has some elements found earlier in the song repeated but a much softer level. The song ends with a few bright synthesized cords that lead to its fade out.  4:20 End of song

 “Lady Gaga” Billboard Web Feb 18,  “Lady Gaga Biography” Biography.com Web Feb 18,  “Lady Gaga Lyrics” Elyrics.net Web Feb 18,  “Lady Gaga was surprisingly normal!” In Touch Magazine Web Feb18, ivelady_gaga_wa.php  Grigoriadis, Vanessa “Growing Up Gaga” New York Magazine Web Feb 18, 2012Vanessa  All images found in this presentation were found in various pubic domain websites.