1986–2004: Early life
Stefani Germanotta was born in New York City on March 28, 1986, the eldest child of Joseph Germanotta, an Italian American internet entrepreneur, and Cynthia Bissett.[6][7] She learned to play piano from the age of four, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13 and began performing at open mike nights by age 14.[8] At the age of 11, Germanotta attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side,[9][10] but has stressed that she does not come from a wealthy background, saying that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything — my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."[11] An avid thespian in high school musicals, Germanotta portrayed lead roles as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.[12] She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure" as she told in an interview, "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak."[13][14] Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate.[15] Referring to her "expressive, free spirit", Gaga told Elle magazine "I'm left-handed!"[16]
At age 17, Germanotta gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts on August 23, 2003 and lived in a NYU dorm on 11th Street. There she studied music and improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion, social issues and politics.[8][17] Germanotta felt that she was more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said. By the second semester of her sophomore year, she withdrew from the school to focus on her musical career.[18] Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll for Tisch if she was unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she said.[12]
2005–07: Career beginnings
Germanotta had initially signed with Def Jam Recordings at the age of 19, although she was dropped by the label after only three months.[19] Shortly after, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed.[20] The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys",[20] a mash-up inspired by Mötley Crüe's "Girls, Girls, Girls" and AC/DC's "T.N.T."[21] She moved into an apartment on the Lower East Side and recorded a couple of songs with hip-hop singer Grandmaster Melle Mel for an audio book accompanying the children's book The Portal in the Park by Cricket Casey.[22] She also started the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU. They recorded an EP of their ballads at a studio underneath a liquor store in New Jersey, becoming a local fixture at the downtown Lower East Side club scene.[12] She began experimenting with drugs soon after, while performing at neo-burlesque shows.[9] Her father did not understand the reason behind her drug intake and could not look at her for several months.[9][21] Music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her write some of her earlier songs, compared her vocal style to that of Freddie Mercury. Fusari helped create the moniker Gaga, after the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". Germanotta was in the process of trying to come up with a stage name when she received a text message from Fusari that read "Lady Gaga."[23]He explained,
Every day, when Stef came to the studio, instead of saying hello, I would start singing 'Radio Ga Ga'. That was her entrance song. [Lady Gaga] was actually a glitch; I typed 'Radio Ga Ga' in a text and it did an autocorrect so somehow 'Radio' got changed to 'Lady'. She texted me back, "That's it." After that day, she was Lady Gaga. She’s like, "Don't ever call me Stefani again."[23]
She was known thereafter as Lady Gaga.[21] The New York Post, however, has reported that this story is incorrect, and that the name resulted from a marketing meeting.[15] Throughout 2007, Gaga collaborated with performance artist Lady Starlight, who helped create her onstage fashions.[24] The pair began playing gigs at downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall, with their live performance art piece known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue."[25][26] Billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", their act was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts.[27][28] In August 2007, Gaga and Starlight were invited to play at the American Lollapalooza music festival.[29] The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.[8][25] Having initially focused on avant-garde andelectronic dance music, Gaga found her musical niche when she began to incorporate pop melodies and the vintage glam rock of David Bowie and Queen into her music.[30]
Fusari sent the songs he produced with Gaga to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert.[31] Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007.[32] She credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going".[31] Having already served as an apprentice songwriter under an internship at Famous Music Publishing, which was later acquired by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Gaga subsequently struck a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV.[33] As a result, she was hired to write songs for Britney Spears and labelmates New Kids on the Block,Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.[33] While Gaga was writing at Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio.[34] He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution[19] and later called her his "franchise player."[35] Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the studio for a week on her debut album,[33] spawning the future singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face." She also joined the roster of Cherrytree Records, an Interscope imprint established by producer and songwriter Martin Kierszenbaum, after co-writing four songs with Kierszenbaum including the single "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)."[33]
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