Lady Gaga: the transformation of the pop diva and the path to the Oscar
Experimentalism is one of the key reasons for the growth of civilization.
This is what the ancient Greek philosopher Aristippus of Cyrene noted in one of his guidelines.
This principle is clearly reflected in the life and work of Lady Gaga, whose career path is based on the constant pursuit of new and innovative ideas. The pop diva’s early images often became the subject of widespread debate, but despite controversial comments about her style, the artist was never afraid to take risks.
Career and early years of creative work
At the beginning of her creative career, Gaga’s songs did not have much success among the general public and famous producers: she had to write songs for other artists. The debut album The Fame became a real breakthrough — the single Just Dance from that very same album topped many countries’ music charts. The singer began to be called the “new Madonna.” The subsequent records The Fame Monster and Born This Way finally secured Lady Gaga’s status as a star with her very own unusual and provocative style.
Lady Gaga’s extravagance has always been associated with the outfits dating back to the early days of her creative journey. During that time, she regularly surprised the public with her fashion appearances. However, these days, she rather prefers glamorous looks in the style of old Hollywood.
Gaga’s unusual style, as the singer herself admits, is a way of defense with which she tries to get rid of the surrounding negativity:
“For me, fashion and art and music have always been a form of armor. I just kept creating more and more fantasies to escape into, new skins to shed. And every time I shed a skin, it was like taking a shower when you’re dirty: getting rid of, washing off, shedding all of the bad, and becoming something new,” Lady Gaga says in an interview with Vogue magazine.
Over time, Gaga’s images became more laconic: their simplicity, in a certain sense, made the artist more open to others. From the previous article, you already know that the ability to communicate openly with people is a way to change your life for the better. It was this skill that allowed Lady Gaga to get rid of the need to use the “protective armor” that the singer spoke about earlier. However, she still reminds the public from time to time of her own “roots” and periodically goes out in shocking outfits. The singer says about her style and creativity:
“I have my unique existence, just as everyone else does, and at the end of the day, it’s our humanity that connects us — our bodies and our biology. That’s what breeds compassion and empathy, and those are the things that I care the most about. Kindness!”
Lady Gaga in the movies
In parallel with her singing career, Lady Gaga made her film debut. True, it was not entirely successful: for her role in the film Machete Kills she was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. But Gaga didn’t give up. And in 2019, another film role brought her well-deserved recognition.
Gaga won an Oscar for the song Shallow in Bradley Cooper’s musical drama “A Star Is Born”, where she also played the lead role. Having abandoned extravagant images and bright makeup, in the film Lady Gaga appeared to the world completely different — simple and natural. The actress considers her work in the film her most serious artistic experience.
In turn, the film’s director called Gaga’s role a real revelation: “She said right from the beginning that there would be a bargain: “I’m gonna rely on you to get a performance that’s honest out of me, and I’m gonna make sure you that turn into a musician.” In the end, the film turned out amazing. I’m just so glad that God gave her the talent that she has.”
The path to this award required a lot of effort. Lady Gaga took acting lessons for ten years to fulfill her dream.
The next serious work in cinema was the role of Patrizia Reggiani in the film the “House of Gucci”. The actress was so imbued with the image of the main character that during preparation for a year and a half she did not leave the character and constantly spoke with an accent.
At the moment, Lady Gaga continues her journey in cinema. And in the fall she will once again return to the big screens in the film “Joker: Folie à Deux”, where she will play the role of Harley Quinn.
“It felt like she wanted to separate her stage role as a singer from her character in the film. She didn’t answer to the name Gaga. And at some point, she stopped responding to her real name, Stephanie,” says the film’s cinematographer Lawrence Sher.
How Lady Gaga changed the music industry
The singer successfully combines stylistic and musical elements of the past with her own ideas. A number of contemporary artists speak about Gaga’s influence on their work.
During her music career, the singer has sold more than 170 million records and won 13 Grammy awards. She was included in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful women. And relatively recently she was appointed co-chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
What do you think of Lady Gaga’s creativity and personality? Has your opinion of her changed after reading the article?
Finally, the Aristippus Code community team would like to acknowledge how Lady Gaga perfectly represents the spirit of experimentalism that Aristippus spoke about in his guidelines. By the way, we talked in detail about how experiments allow you to achieve great results in one of our previous articles, “Is there room for experimentation in your life?”.
