Stefani Germanotta

Before she was Lady Gaga, she was Stefani Germanotta. Most of her music doesn’t do much for me, and the cult of celebrity that swirls around her has gotten really old really fast. That said, however, this video made me realize that the woman behind Lady Gaga is actually a gifted musician, and clearly savvy enough to leverage all the elements required to rise to superstardom. I don’t care for the music she’s producing these days, but I appreciate a woman with that much drive and ambition. She seems quite aware of how to use the fame machine to her advantage, and I think she may yet see the kind of success that Madonna has had in her career. Neither her music nor her fashion choices particularly inspire me, but watching her manipulate the system is fun. I just hope she’s strong enough to endure the time when the fame machine wants to chew her up and spit her out.