To dream of becoming a big shot superstar in the singing industry is no easy feat. The road ahead of you will not be easy and perseverance is the key to achieving your dreams. Even the most successful singers of the generation had to start somewhere. Amidst struggling greatly in life, such as living in poverty, facing discrimination, and belittled because of social status, these dreamers strive to make their way to the top. Real success can only be achieved with firm determination and hard work towards your passion.
If you want inspiration, you came to the right place. This article will inspire you to dream big and draw motivation from one of the industry’s most successful singers.
Lady Gaga’s Inspirational Story
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga, is a great international pop star musician. She was born on March 28, 1986, in Yonkers, New York City. Her mother’s name is Cynthia, and his father is Joseph Germanotta. The inspiration for her name Lady Gaga came from the Queen song Radio Ga-ga.
Lady Gaga was a child prodigy, where she learned to play the piano at the age of four. She joined an all-girls Catholic school where she was known as an industrious student. However, she was bullied over trivial things like her rabbit teeth and big nose. The bullying caused her insecurity, depression, and anxiety and she eventually isolated herself and found comfort in music. She learned to sing and studied her father’s classic rock albums. From then on, she considered music as her everything.
College Traumatic Experience
Her college life wasn’t any better. Bullying followed her and she even had a worse experience. It started when Lady Gaga won every lead in the school shows and would be mocked by jealous girls. They would call her “the Germ” and downgrading words such as “dirty.” Regardless, the girl remained kind.
At the tender age of 17, she graduated and enrolled in the Collaborative Arts Project 21, where her singing talent nurtured all the while working as a waitress and a singer and pianist at a downtown cabaret club. Her life was all well until she was raped at the age of 19 by a man 20 years older than her.
She kept it all and even blamed herself for the sexual assault. By sophomore year, she dropped out of school and focused on healing herself with the help of music.
Lady Gaga’s Big Break
In 2001, Lady Gaga got her role as a high-school student on an episode of The Sopranos. She got back to singing and formed a band called Stefani Germanotta Band with her NYU friends, where they record ballads underneath a liquor store.
Her talent was seen by a scout Wendy Starland who proclaimed that she will change Stefani’s life. She was introduced to music producer Rob Fusari, who at that time, wasn’t impressed with Lady Gaga’s physical appearance. But his perspective changed when she started showcasing her talent in singing and in the piano. Rob Fusari, fascinated, called her the “Female John Lennon” with the “oddest talent.”
From then on, Lady Gaga traveled to New Jersey with Rob Fusari, and together, they started to compose electro-pop tracks to send out to industry executives. Fusari pushed Lady Gaga to dress and act like a sexy dance star.
Struggle with her Identity
Stefani was invited to join Island Def Jam after they liked the recording tracks sent by Fusari. She was 20 years old when Island Def Jam signed her on. But the thing is, they were trying to mold Stefani into a mainstream pop start, not an artist, but a puppet instead. Stefani, with all her might, would do the exact opposite of what her label wanted her to do and after 3 months, they dropped her.
Because of the events, Stefani was depressed and she couldn’t talk to her producer Rob Fusari. But she realized that the record deal doesn’t make her an artist, she could be an artist herself. So she experimented with fashion and style and eventually, performed at the Lollapalooza music festival with Lady Starlight, who helped define her onstage persona.
At 21 years old, Rob Fusari introduce Lady Gaga to her new producer RedOne, and she signed with Streamline Records where she was hired to write songs for Fergie, Britney Spears, and Pussycat Dolls. But it wasn’t an easy journey either. Due to the pressuring environment of the entertainment industry, Lady Gaga started taking diet pills and limiting her meal to once a day so she could lose weight and the label asked her to dye her hair blonde, to fit the pop star look at the time.
Finding Success
Lady Gaga got her inspiration from Madonna, Cher, and drag queens. She learned to perform in bigger stages and re-invented herself. After her realization, she started receiving acting roles and offers for collaboration from other artists. Year after year, she would release album after album, and eventually charted number one and became the “most downloaded female act of the year” in the US.
In 2012, Lady Gaga suffered from a hip injury during her Born This Way tour. She was healing for six months, and she reflected on her life. She works with her new album with her goal to make sense of the chaos in her past.
The new album shed created marked the latest Lady Gaga. She became an artist that is passionate, emotional, theatrical, and colorful. She inspired people by sharing her past traumas and how she battled depression and a chronic pain condition called fibromyalgia.
Now, Lady Gaga is an inspiration to everyone. She has become a strong advocate of the LGBT Community, a survivor of sexual assault, and sufferers of chronic illness. She even created her own charity to support mental disorders, appropriately called the Born This Way Foundation.
Lady Gaga has inspired all people with her life story. She was one of the most successful artists who had setbacks on her road to stardom. Despite the challenges in her life, she remained motivated to become one of the famous singers that she is today!
