Lady+Gaga+(Stefani+Germanotta)

=**Lady Gaga** = = = **Jessica Ofray**

Lady Gaga is one of today's biggest theatrical dance-pop sensations. She was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City to Italian American parents. Her music ability started at the age of four when she learned to play the piano by ear. By the age of thirteen she had written her first piano ballad. Lady Gaga went to high school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and stood out from her classmates with her unique and eccentric style. At the age of 17, she was one of twenty students in the world to get an early admission to Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. There she improved her writing skills by composing papers that focused on art, religion, politics, and social issues. After her second year at New York University, Lady Gaga dropped out in order to pursue her musical career. By the time she was twenty Lady Gaga was first signed with Def Jam Recordings but moved to a joint deal with labels Steamline Records and Kon Live Distribution. The stage name Lady Gaga was created after the Queen song “Radio Gaga”. Her musical influences are said to come from glam rockers David Bowie, Queen, and Madonna. Lady Gaga has sold over ten million albums, over thirty-five million singles worldwide to date, and has had five consecutive number one singles. Lady Gaga is known for her out of this world costumes, extravagant performances, and her enticing videos. Her main hits include “Just Dance”, “Poker Face”, “Love Games”, “Bad Romance”, and “Telephone.” She has just broken the record on YouTube for video views from a single channel, which now stands at over a billion. Her music is so versatile that she has a huge range of different kinds of fans.
 * Biography**

The Big Five model represents the most common trait approaches that can capture personality. It is more research-driven than theory based so actual data needs to be collected for results. The personality traits that make up the Big Five are extroversion (energetic and sociable), agreeableness (cooperative and trusting), conscientiousness (cautious and organized), neuroticism (tense and moody), and openness (imaginative and original). Lady Gaga exemplifies four out of five of the Big Five personality traits. By her stage persona it is obvious to see that Lady Gaga is not a shy person. From her skimpy costumes, to the topics of her videos, she is not afraid of having the world know who she is. She fits in the category of extroversion perfectly. People who are extroverted love being the center of attention and having the spotlight on them. As an over the top performer, Lady Gaga proves that she has high energy and is enthusiastic about her music career. While growing up she felt that she had to suppress her wild ideas and mold into the norm that surrounded her. But now that she has the opportunity to showcase herself, she is going all out. Lady Gaga is seen to be high on agreeableness because of the love and dedication she has for her fans. She has a following of so many people from many different walks of life but she does not judge any of them. From different interviews, Lady Gaga has made it clear that she wants her fans to trust her and the message she sends out to them. She is trying to pave the way for people to finally accept who they really are and to be proud of it. With her music, Lady Gaga wants her audience to know how much of herself is for them. In this side of her personality, Lady Gaga cares about what other people are going through. Through her musical art she is allowing people into her world and letting them realize that their world is just as cool. One of Lady Gaga’s personality traits is less obvious than the others. The general public might not believe that Lady Gaga could actually be conscientiousness. It is evident that Lady Gaga knows what she is doing with her life; she has her plan to take over the world laid out. She would not be as successful as she is now if she just winged her music career. The steps of her reign are formulated ahead of time. Conscientiousness people tend to be responsible and dependable. In the music business Lady Gaga has had to prove that she can be counted on and that she is a professional. She has learned that in her position she has to behave in the highest manner and be careful of which lines she crosses. Lady Gaga does not partake in any reckless behavior because it would affect her booming career. Lady Gaga would not be the mega star she is today if her personality traits did not include openness. She is the model for everything that has to do with being acceptable to experience, culture, and intellect. Through her intricate videos, Lady Gaga pulls influences from everywhere imaginable. She views this world with an open mind and gives new and different things a chance because she was able to get that chance. Lady Gaga is so keen on accepting and using new ideas because at one point in her life she did not have the approval of people. She is the great artist that she is because she is original, no one in the music business has as much openness as she does and is not afraid to use it.
 * Perspective 1 – Contemporary Trait Approach: The Big Five**

Self regulation is the process in which people control their own achievements and actions. They set goals for themselves and then reward themselves when the goals are accomplished. People also understand that they need to have some control over their environment if they want to achieve any of their goals. In order for Lady Gaga to have become who she is today, she had to have had some self regulation as she was trying to kick off her career. When she was younger she set her goals up to be in the music business early by learning to play an instrument. She knew if she wanted to stand out and be noticed she had to have an edge on everyone else. She also comprehended that in order to make it she had to change her surroundings. She could not keep living the life of parties and drugs since it would only end up destroying her. Lady Gaga took hold of that situation and changed it around so it would benefit her stronger love for music. Lady Gaga had the goal of being an original that took over the world and she made it happen. Letting her life influence her decision making helped put her on top. She did not sit around and let fate come around when it wanted, she gave it a huge nudge and fast forward her destiny. Lady Gaga understood that her success would not happen overnight so she took the necessary steps to make it happen for herself. She controlled the situation by never giving up and exposing herself through different music outlets. Lady Gaga was patient with her process and when something did turn out right, she rewarded herself by building on her stage persona more. She believed in self improvement and not letting anything get in the way of her hard work.
 * Perspective 2 - Cognitive and Social-Cognitive Aspects of** **Personality – Self Regulation Process**

Lady Gaga is something that is just her own. Before she tries to please everyone else she makes sure she is doing what she feels comfortable with and that it is something she loves. That realization that she needs to be happy before she can make anyone else happy is what has made her so successful. She is able to have millions of fans because she understands the fact that people need to find their happiness and run with it. Lady Gaga’s different personality aspects have all come together to create this performer that is pushing boundaries and opening the minds of the population. She has the perfect balance in her personality to make her that creative performer she needs to be in order to stand and continue to lead the pack of her competition. Her way of thinking is so out of this world that it works for her. She is introducing so many different aspects of life that people are going crazy for it. Lady Gaga is the only one who has the right personality to make all of this happen. “And, now, I’m just trying to change the world one sequin at a time.” – Lady Gaga
 * Discussion**
 * References**

http://www.ladygaga.com/default.aspx http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/Lady-GaGa/biography/ http://www.contactmusic.com/info/lady_gaga http://www.metrolyrics.com/lady-gaga-biography.html http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/65127/ http:// www.starpulse.com/Music/Lady_Gaga/Biography/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga 

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