Lady Gaga is now officially an icon! Mother Monster was honored with the first-ever Contemporary Icon Award for "attaining an iconic status in pop culture" at the 2015 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards in New York on Thursday.

"It could be said that this honor was created with Lady Gaga in mind. She has enjoyed monumental popularity on the charts, on radio, TV and the Internet, not to mention the continuous press coverage she has generated," Songwriters Hall of Fame President Linda Moran said. "She is a consistent hit maker who has surprised everyone by proving to be as adept with the great standards as she is with her own songs."

"This has to be my favorite award I've ever gotten," Gaga told fans on Instagram. "I still remember dragging my keyboard up the of my walk up to play songwriter showcases and apply to be in songwriting forums where I could play my music for other artists and we'd critique each other. I was 15 then. I'm 29 now. In my head this is how I planned it, following all the roads I thought were right. But I'm not sure I thought about what I'd do if I never made it. Cuz I'd forever be trying."

At the Gala, Lady Gaga sang Linda Perry's "What's Up," in front of celebrity guests such as Toby Keith, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Buble, Zac Brown and Perry herself. Watch below...