Style & Influences

Lady Gaga has been influenced by glam rock musicians such as David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson. John Dingwall of Daily Record wrote: “Gaga says she has been inspired by Madonna and the late Michael Jackson, but her number one inspiration has been Freddie Mercury.” The Queen song “Radio Ga Ga” inspired her stage name. She commented: “I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called Radio Gaga. That’s why I love the name… Freddie was unique – one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music.” Madonna told Rolling Stone that she sees “herself in Lady Gaga.” In response to the comparisons between herself and Madonna, Lady Gaga stated: “I don’t want to sound presumptuous, but I’ve made it my goal to revolutionise pop music. The last revolution was launched by Madonna 25 years ago.” Artist Andy Warhol, poet Rainer Maria Rilke, fashion icon/actress/singer Grace Jones, and fashion as a whole, have all been cited as inspirations as well. She has often been likened to Blondie singer Debbie Harry.

Lady Gaga’s vocals have drawn frequent comparison to Madonna and Gwen Stefani, while the structure of her music is said to be reminiscent of classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. In reviewing her debut album The Fame, The Sunday Times asserted “in combining music, fashion, art and technology, Lady Gaga evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa Hollaback Girl, Kylie [Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now." Similarly, The Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman commented that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in her girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Baby A. Gil of The Philippine Star asserted that her voice is "just right for the mix of dance and rock that she does." As an artist, Alexis Petridis of The Boston Globe commented that although she lacks originality, "pop music doesn't have to be blindingly original or clever to work: it needs tunes, and Lady Gaga is fantastically good at tunes." Though her lyrics are said to lack intellectual stimulation, "she does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace."

Lady Gaga wearing a plastic bubble dress while performing a concert on The Fame Ball Tour.Lady Gaga has stated that she is "very into fashion" and that it is "everything" to her. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." She said that: "When I'm writing music, I'm thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It's all about everything altogether—performance art, pop performance art, fashion. For me, it's everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. I want to bring that back. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us." Columnist Trish Crawford of The Star commented, "Fashion is her calling card, a way to stand out as unique in a very crowded field." She has her own creative production team called the Haus of Gaga, which she handles personally. The team creates many of her clothes, stage props, and hairdos. She has six known tattoos, among them a peace symbol which was inspired by the late John Lennon who The Guardian stated was her "hero," and a curling German script on her left arm which quotes the poet Rainer Maria Rilke:

In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write?
—Rainer Maria Rilke

Lady Gaga described Rilke as her "favorite philosopher," commenting that his "philosophy of solitude" spoke to her. In response to Lady Gaga saying that she considers Donatella Versace her muse, Melissa Magsaysay of Los Angeles Times commented, "Gaga's aversion to wearing a top and bottom at the same time ... swigging champagne and being fanned by oily men in Speedos is very Donatella-esque." Toward the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Lady Gaga and recording artist Christina Aguilera, noting similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Aguilera later said she was "completely unaware of Gaga" and "didn't know if it was a man or a woman." Afterward, Lady Gaga released a statement in which she welcomed the comparisons due to the attention providing useful publicity. She said, "She's such a huge star and if anything I should send her flowers, because a lot of people in America didn't know who I was until that whole thing happened. It really put me on the map in a way." Lady Gaga is a natural brunette, however she had cited a reason for bleaching her hair blonde was that she was often mistaken for Amy Winehouse.

Lady Gaga delivers a speech at the National Equality March, October 11, 2009.Lady Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a rising gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase."[85] She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of her debut studio album, The Fame, saying, “I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team.” One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song “Just Dance.” In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song “Poker Face” was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying “The fact that I’m into women, they’re all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They’re like, ‘I don’t need to have a threesome. I’m happy with just you’.” When she appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May 2009, she praised DeGeneres for being “an inspiration for women and for the gay community”. She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009 National Equality March rally on the national mall was “the single most important event of her career.” As she exited, she left with an exultant “Bless God and bless the gays,” similar to her 2009 MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech for Best New Artist a month earlier.