She’s a global superstar with around 170 million records sold, yet the origins of Lady Gaga’s stage name remain a mystery to many.
Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga was encouraged by her mother to start playing the piano at the tender age of four in hopes of becoming a ‘cultured young woman’.
Her journey into music began in New York, US, where she took piano lessons and honed her ability to compose music by ear, a skill she favoured over reading sheet music. During her teenage years, she graced the stage at open mic nights and took on leading roles in school plays.
Lady Gaga’s artistic pursuits led her to a decade of studying method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute before delving into music studies at New York’s Collaborative Arts Project 21. Her big break came in 2008 after relocating to Los Angeles to put the finishing touches on her debut album, The Fame, with her record label.
The Fame soared to number one in multiple countries, including the UK, Ireland, Austria, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland, and made it to the top five in the US and Australia. Its hit singles, Just Dance and Poker Face, dominated charts in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia.
Since her rise to fame, fans across the globe have been intrigued by the story behind Lady Gaga’s unique name. Curiosity peaked when one Reddit user posed the question: “Did Gaga get the lady in her name from Lady Starlight?”
The origin of Lady Gaga’s name is attributed to Queen’s hit song Radio Ga Ga, according to the Grammy Awards. A statement explains: “Throw on the faux-royal title, and you’ve got a moniker that the world won’t soon forget.”
Discussing her stage name, one social media user commented: “Today I learned that Lady Gaga’s stage name came from Queen’s song ‘Radio Ga Ga’.”
The story goes that Rob Fusari sent a text message to Germanotta with the nickname ‘Radio Gaga’, but his phone’s autocorrect feature changed ‘Radio’ to ‘Lady’, and Germanotta was taken with it, thus ‘Lady Gaga’ was born.
However, some social media users expressed scepticism, with one saying: “My cell phone doesn’t try to correct radio to lady; I don’t even see how it would think that radio should be lady.”
Another user chimed in: “I could’ve sworn she said she got it because her then-boyfriend would sing Radio Gaga whenever she walked into the room/studio.”