Once you think you know everything about Lady Gaga, think again. She is an artist that has gone through more evolutions than most of her peers and subsequently has quirks to prove it. She is as mysterious as she is bold.
Videos by American Songwriter
You’d have to try pretty hard not to know at least a few things about Gaga, but we’d venture to guess (unless you’re a die-hard fan that leaves and breathes Gaga) that there are a few hidden facts about the pop singer that may have escaped you.
Read on to learn five things to know about Lady Gaga.
[RELATED: 7 Spellbinding Lyrics Written by Lady Gaga]
1. She got her middle name from her late Aunt, Joanne
In 2016, Lady Gaga released an album called Joanne. It was a shocking release from the dance-pop purveyor. Instead of her usual club-ready jams, she shared an album’s worth of Americana gems, with the title track being one of the most effective.
What inspired the album’s title? Lady Gaga’s late aunt, Joanne, from whom she also gets her middle name. Though her namesake passed away before Gaga was born, clearly continuing her legacy is still at the forefront of the pop diva’s mind.
2. She got her stage name from a Queen song
So we now know how she got her middle name, but do you know how she landed on her iconic stage name? The origin is simple: Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga.” The rockers released the anthem in 1984, but it is most famous from their performance at Live Aid the following year.
As the story goes, producer Robert Fusari said the singer reminded him of the famous Queen song and subsequently started calling her “Gaga.” Gaga then added the Lady in front of her name for an extra edge.
3. She had a role in the Sopranos at 15
Over the past few years, Gaga has cemented herself in the hyphenated title of actor-musician. She’s starred in Oscar-nominated features and cult classic TV shows, but as it turns out, she actually got her start on the screen well before she started wowing crowds with her off-the-wall musicality.
Gaga had a small role in The Sopranos at 15 years old. Check out her riveting performance as an extra, below.
4. She briefly went to NYU
Gaga was enrolled to study at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts at one point in time. The pop singer eventually dropped out, feeling she could teach herself more than the school could.
“I really felt New York was my teacher and that I needed to bite the bullet and go it alone,” Gaga once explained to Elle. “I wasn’t interested in going to frat parties and doing those sorts of collegiate things. I was really interested in the music scene and waitressing and cleaning toilets, or whatever the fuck it was I was doing.”
5. She was frequently mistaken for Amy Winehouse
Prior to becoming a household name, Gaga was often mistaken for another slightly hard-edged singer, Amy Winehouse. Though there are certainly worse artists to be compared to than the once-in-a-generation talent that Winehouse was, Gaga tried to distance herself by dying her hair bleach blonde.
“Actually the reason I dyed my hair blond is because I used to get Amy Winehouse all the time,” Gaga once explained. “I don’t mind being compared to Amy, but I wanted my own image.”
Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
