'Lady Gaga' as a stage name

[Yaaaas Gaga 661]

What were your thoughts when you first saw 'Lady Gaga' as a stage name?

I remember listening to the 30 second preview of Just Dance on iTunes in probably January 2009 and really liking the song, but I vividly remember saying to my Dad how stupid I thought 'Lady Gaga' was as a stage name and that no one with that name would ever go on to achieve mainstream success.

How wrong I was and who would've thought that 'Lady Gaga' would one day became a stage name that just rolls off the tongue. I don't even question it anymore as it just sounds so right and is actually a very fitting stage name for the type of performer Gaga is.

[NATAH 35,849]

4 minutes ago, Yaaaas Gaga said:

I vividly remember saying to my Dad how stupid I thought 'Lady Gaga' was as a stage name and that no one with that name would ever go on to achieve mainstream success.

[Ladle Ghoulash 12,886]

Understanding it's roots in Queen's love of pop radio (a la Radio Gaga), Freddie Mercury's theatricality, and the allusion to the drag title 'Lady,' I honestly think it suits her perfectly.

[Massive Monster 4,537]

Actually I've wanted to do a similar thread !

It's hard to remember how I felt about the name but I do remember that it was when I watched her live performances and she was a constant hot topic on a gay forum/website I read that I started to pay attention (in 2009) and the Fame Monster sealed the deal I bought it straight away.

The name itself now that I think about it sounds like a rapper's name 

But she owns it and it has become synonymous with her own brand. 

[heygurlhi 3,200]

i thought what a wierd way by the radio person to say britney whos new song just dance just played 

[mamo 16,162]

Lady Gaga is possibly the best stage name for an artist ever. It's literally genius imo. 

At the beginning of her career the Gaga part made sense but as she's grown and evolved, it perfectly encapsulates who she is an artist/performer. The classical/jazz/musical theatre side representing the 'Lady' and the pop/avant-garde/mother monster queen representing the 'Gaga'. 

I don't think any other artist has a stage name that pretty much summarises who they literally are? Her mind truly amazes me. 

[bionic 39,375]

i physically hate the sound of 'gaga' as a word so its lowkey torture that the name exists, the name is popular, and that its the name of one of my faves  

[GagasEnigma4 776]

1 minute ago, mamo said:

Lady Gaga is possibly the best stage name for an artist ever. It's literally genius imo. 

At the beginning of her career the Gaga part made sense but as she's grown and evolved, it perfectly encapsulates who she is an artist/performer. The classical/jazz/musical theatre side representing the 'Lady' and the pop/avant-garde/mother monster queen representing the 'Gaga'. 

I don't think any other artist has a stage name that pretty much summarises who they literally are? Her mind truly amazes me. 

Agreed 💯💯💯 with every word you said! It encapsulates her incredible versatility as an artist. Put pictures together from even the same year (ex: 2022) where we had JazzGa and ChromaticaGa back to back. Many people would not believe they are the same person. Hell, take all her eras and line up pics next to each other and its hard to believe it is the same person. Gaga is truly a chameleon who succeeds in all genres she does

[Catnikko 12,662]

47 minutes ago, Yaaaas Gaga said:

What were your thoughts when you first saw 'Lady Gaga' as a stage name?

I remember listening to the 30 second preview of Just Dance on iTunes in probably January 2009 and really liking the song, but I vividly remember saying to my Dad how stupid I thought 'Lady Gaga' was as a stage name and that no one with that name would ever go on to achieve mainstream success.

How wrong I was and who would've thought that 'Lady Gaga' would one day became a stage name that just rolls off the tongue. I don't even question it anymore as it just sounds so right and is actually a very fitting stage name for the type of performer Gaga is.

You weren't wrong, in Jan 2009 it was 'Lady GaGa' 

[Space Cowboy 11,670]

14 minutes ago, mamo said:

Lady Gaga is possibly the best stage name for an artist ever. It's literally genius imo. 

At the beginning of her career the Gaga part made sense but as she's grown and evolved, it perfectly encapsulates who she is an artist/performer. The classical/jazz/musical theatre side representing the 'Lady' and the pop/avant-garde/mother monster queen representing the 'Gaga'. 

I don't think any other artist has a stage name that pretty much summarises who they literally are? Her mind truly amazes me. 

You said it perfectly.

[SevenWonder 3,201]

I wasn't a Gaga stan until ARTPOP, but I always thought her name was genius. From the first moment I heard it.

It's almost ugly, nonsensical, how it rolls off the tongue and I think that was sorta the point. Plus the Queen reference is fantastic and made it known that she's an artist who knows her music history and revels in that knowledge. 

[julz 3,845]

It's as if she's a real superhero, with a very fitting name.

On the other hand, "Gaga" means stupid or idiot in Filipino language and in a way a curse word, so that definitely made me check her out 

 

whenever i see other popular artists with "Lady" in their stage name, like Lady Antebellum...i get a little mad, like Gaga is the only deserving one 

...and I kinda think calling Rihanna "Riri" came up bec of Gaga 

[MOT 2,248]

I only became aware of 'Lady Gaga' with Poker Face. I would have done some eyerolling at her name, and I remember thinking at the time that her hook was that she was a Madonna parody. Then I forgot about her for 10 years until ASIB, and then I fell down the rabbit hole.

An unusual name is only unusual until you get to know the person behind it, and then you become unthinking about it, like you would be about a pair of shoes that were stiff at first and now they're just part of you.

[hieronymus 8,937]

I felt the same way about "Bob the Drag Queen" when she was highly speculated to be on s8 after s7 finished 

but yeah, I remember seeing her on the 2008 miss universe pageant and thinking she was a kylie minogue and roisin murphy knockoff with a stupid name.

[Galvon 1,857]

Actually the word Gaga use remind me of the way babies say ''goo goo gaga'' etc. At the time she came out, I didn't know the meanings of the word, or the Queen song it was a inspired by.

Madonna also said the name sounds like babyfood, in their SNL sketch.

I've always loved the name though