Real meaning behind Lady Gaga alter-ego and why she ditched unique birth name
Lady Gaga has been the reigning queen of pop for over a decade now, but many fans still don't know the true meaning behind her unique stage name and why she ditched her birth name
Lady Gaga has got everyone's attention at the moment. Not only did she headline at Coachella festival, she's also released a new album and fans are scrambling to see her on tour.
We can't stop listening to her new tracks – 'Abracadabra,' 'Disease,' and 'Garden of Eden' – and to celebrate Gaga's huge success, we've been reading up on her career journey.
It turns out, there's some trivia people are only just learning about the star. They've been interested to learn how she got her stage name.
She was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta but later embraced the moniker Lady Gaga.
While there's some debate over the exact story, it's thought that the name was born out of an autocorrect mishap by her ex-partner and music producer, Rob Fusari.
He reportedly began calling her 'Gaga' after she reminded him of the 1984 Queen song 'Radio Gaga'.
Later, when he tried to text 'Radio Gaga,' autocorrect changed it to 'Lady Gaga'. Since then, she's adopted the name with pride, and in a 2010 tell-all, she revealed her desire to "reinvent" herself.
In that interview, she reportedly stated: "So I said, 'What about Lady Gaga?' because Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations."
So why not stick with her distinctive real name? Gaga grew up in a strict Catholic household and started playing piano at age four.
She attended the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University but dropped out to focus on her music career.
Early in her career, she performed in small clubs and as a songwriter for other artists. But people initially didn't get her vision – and picked on her for standing out from the crowd.
When she finally realised it was her differences that made her special, the true persona was born. She left her old life behind and fully embraced being herself.
She said: "I've always been Gaga... I suppressed all those eccentricities about myself so I could fit in. Once I was free, I was able to be myself."
Being herself has paid off – she's won 14 Grammy Awards and sold an estimated 170 million records worldwide. It's seriously impressive!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Zara McDermott poses with Louis Tomlinson's sister at Glastonbury Festival
Zara McDermott is at her first Glastonbury Festival - but some fans think she's giving off the 'wrong vibe' as one said 'this ain't Coachella' Zara McDermott certainly looks like she's enjoying her first ever Glastonbury. The 28-year-old is at the festival with new boyfriend Louis Tomlinson. The Love Island and Made In Chelsea star turned BBC documentary maker posed for a series of snaps showing her and One Direction's Louis, 33, were there with Louis' influencer sister Lottie, 26, and her fiance Lewis Burton. But snaps posted to her own Instagram account got a bit of backlash from fans who said they were 'the opposite of what Glastonbury is about'. Posing in an Adidas tracksuit and matching trainers, Zara sat on the floor in the snaps that looked more like a sports ad than a candid festival photo. She captioned the post: 'First Glasto.' It led one follower to ask: "Are you sitting in a foot path?" Another wrote: "This is the opposite of what Glastonbury is about. Sorry Zara wrong vibe." Agreeing, a third said: "I came to say the same, she has absolutely no idea, I have actual 2nd hand embarrassment!" as a fourth commented: "This ain't Coachella." In other snaps, it looked like Zara's relationship with Louis - who she started dating earlier this year just weeks after her split from boyfriend of five years Sam Thompson - is definitely hotting up. She's now met his family and posed for pics with his little sister Lottie, suggesting she's already got her seal of approval. But Zara and Louis were careful not to pose for any photos together and the new couple are yet to make their relationship Instagram official. And it's emerged the pair aren't even camping together at Glasto - with glam Zara preferring to stay off site instead while Louis parties with his mates. He's reportedly even put up a tent that's just for booze. A source told the Mirror: "Louis is determined to make it a weekend to remember and has planned everything with military like precision - including making sure enough booze is available. He has his own tent - and one just for the drinks." "Everyone is saying it's a nice break for him and Zara, but it's a great way also for Zara to meet his mates. It will definitely be a boozy one and not a particularly romantic one," the source added. Zara and Louis were first linked in March this year when they were pictured on a date in Suffolk. Since then, they've been seen in Los Angeles together and Zara was recently seen supporting Louis in Costa Rica. But they have gone as far as to slightly appear in each other's social media photos as they shared matching photos from a Stereophonics concert on their Instagram stories. Zara then appeared to 'soft launch' their romance on Instagram when she posted a photo of her breakfast, featuring a view of Louis' tattooed arm in the background of the photo.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Bain: The K-pop star who came out to the world on stage
Bain was halfway through his band's Los Angeles concert on a crisp April night when the music stopped. In an oversized fur coat and black sunglasses, the 24-year-old K-pop star told thousands of fans: "Before I start the next song - I want to share something with you guys."A brief pause and then: "I'm [expletive] proud to be part of the LGBTQ community!"The crowd erupted in applause and screams as Bain broke into Lady Gaga's pride anthem: "Just put your paws up, 'Cause you were born this way, baby". In that moment, as he came out to the world, he was not nervous, he tells the BBC in an interview at his studio in Seoul - rather, he had been trying to "sound cool". A handful of K-pop artists have come out as gay in recent years - but none as publicly as Bain. Even in 2025, that is a bold move in South Korea's entertainment industry, where stars are held to impossible standards. Admitting to even a heterosexual relationship is scandalous. "There were some people in the industry who knew [I was thinking of coming out] and warned me against it, saying it would be a risk," Bain says. "And of course I thought about the risk - that we might lose fans."But then I thought, society is changing… I might gain more than I might lose."That's the big question: has he thrown open the door to change in an industry that has become global but remains deeply rooted in a conservative South Korea? 'I thought I could just pretend' Bain, whose real name is Song Byeonghee, says he was in secondary school, about 12 years old, when he realised he was afterwards, he decided to become a K-pop trainee but he kept his sexuality a secret - he felt like being gay was "not allowed"."It wasn't something I questioned… I just thought I had no choice," he says. "There was no-one else [around me that was gay]. I thought I could just pretend and keep going." Wealthy, modern South Korea is still traditional in many ways. Powerful yet conservative churches often see homosexuality as a disability or sin. And same-sex marriage is not legally 2021, Bain made his debut as part of a six-member boyband, Just B. They have released several albums and have taken part in reality shows, earning a dedicated audience. But through it all, the years of hiding a part of himself took a toll on Bain. "I was so overwhelmed, I thought maybe I can't be an idol at all. I felt I'd been hiding so much. I decided to talk to Mom."That was about three years ago. His mother was the first person in his family to find out: "We talked for an hour, and I finally said, 'I like men more than women.' That's when she knew."Her reaction was difficult for him. "Honestly, she didn't like it - not at first. She said she thought I could overcome it, that maybe I'd someday like women. She felt sad... that I'd now face bad reactions from others. But [she] said, 'You're my son, so I love you, I support you, I love you.' It was mixed. I was sad, but in the end grateful she said she loves me." Then his team members and company began encouraging him to take the leap - and tell the this year the band began a world tour, and on the last stop of their US tour, Bain decided to come out on stage. Since then, the band has been thrust into the spotlight - with Bain giving countless interviews as he quickly became the new face of the Korean LGBTQ community."I feel like I've changed a lot since coming out. I feel more confident. When I meet someone new, I show who I am immediately," he says. "But I also feel sad that my identity is such a big deal now." Over time, he hopes, people will stop saying "oh, he's gay, but rather, oh, that's just who he is". The taboos in K-pop When South Korean actor Hong Seok-Cheon came out as gay in 2000, LGBTQ representation truly entered the country's mainstream. He was the first Korean celebrity to open up about his sexuality - and it came at a cost. He was dropped from TV shows and have certainly changed since then. A Pew survey from 2019 showed that the number of people who accepted homosexuality has risen to 44% from 25% in 2002. And yet, only a handful of other celebrities have come out. In 2018, Holland became the country's first openly gay K-pop artist and, in 2020, Jiae, a former member of girl group Wassup, came out as bisexual. Both have said they found it hard to sign with a record label as a announcement, however, has been celebrated by both fans and South Korea's LGBTQ community. "When someone like an idol comes out, it gives people like me a sense that we are not alone," says a 26-year-old Korean transgender woman, who does not want to be named."It brings comfort…makes me think, maybe I'm ok the way I am." Online too, a majority of the comments have been positive. One gay fan in a YouTube comment wrote how he was encouraged by Bain, after feeling "so much despair" over "the hateful comments" and discrimination."But thanks to Bain, I've found the courage to keep going." International fans have especially cheered him on: "After the initial shock, I started to cry," said Lia, a K-pop fan from the US who identifies as lesbian."Knowing that Korea still has some repression against LGBTQ people, the bravery and courage he displayed by coming out…[was] admirable."South Korea's cultural footprint has been growing globally, and that has brought fans from everywhere, with their own perspectives and beliefs. They may well reshape the K-pop that will take time. And that is evident in the range of comments in response to Bain's announcement - disapproval to apathy. For one, the country has seen a rise in right-wing, often avowed anti-feminist beliefs in young men, who seem to oppose any challenge to traditional gender those roles remain strong in South Korea. The government and the church champion conventional family values, encouraging young people to marry and have children so they can boost birth rates, currently the lowest in the world. Given all that, it may not be a surprise that homosexuality is still a taboo, even in a global industry like K-pop. This is a world where even straight couples don't talk about their private lives, says critic Lim Hee-yun."K-pop has spent nearly 25 years avoiding the topic of sexuality [altogether]. Even heterosexual relationships are hidden to protect fan fantasies." Bain, he adds, has "challenged that silence in a symbolic and powerful way. I believe it marks a major moment". But he believes fans may have reacted very differently - "it might have been explosive" - if a member of a global boyband had come out as gay."Bain's case was significant, but his group isn't as famous [so] it didn't cause as much stir domestically," Mr Lim has certainly helped raise awareness, he agrees. "It's a slow process but we're seeing more public figures speaking up or content being created around these LGBTQ issues."But any immediate change in K-pop or the entertainment industry is unlikely, according to him. "It's not just a social issue - it's a market issue. Male idols usually have a much larger female fanbase… [and] if you find out your favourite male idol is gay, that can shatter the illusion that you could one day be the object of his affection," he says."So if they do [come out] they risk shaking the foundation their fandom is built on."Bain, however, says his decision would be worth it if even "one person in K-pop gains strength or interest" from it."I've spent so long pretending… I realised that because I came out, others felt safe to do so too."The day he came out, he recalls, several fans approached him, saying they were gay or lesbian, talking about their own identity. "They thanked me and I thought to myself 'I should have done this sooner'."
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
What time are Kneecap playing at Glastonbury today and can you watch it on BBC?
Today's performance by Kneecap at Glastonbury 2025 could prove to be one of the most controversial moments in the festival's history, with thousands hoping to tune in on TV to watch at home. In April this year, the rap group made pro-Palestine statements at Coachella causing critics like Sharon Osbourne to slam their set for 'promoting terrorist organisations or spreading hate'. Soon after, resurfaced footage of a 2024 Kneecap gig in London saw band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh charged with a terror offence after he allegedly displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah. Though the musician was released on bail, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was asked about the group potentially performing at Glastonbury, to which he replied: 'I don't think that's appropriate.' Amid mounting political pressure on the BBC, the corporation has allowed Kneecap to still perform at the festival, insisting that they do not 'ban artists'. But to find out what time the Irishmen will be playing and whether it is being shown on TV, read below. Last night it was revealed that the BBC is allowing the rap group to performat Glastonbury. Despite one of their performers being charged with a terror offence, the group will be performing on the West Holts Stage at 4pm today. Recently, the band has had various performances cancelled, including TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, Hurricane and Southside festivals in Germany, and the Eden Project in Cornwall. Earlier this week, the band opened up about their US visas getting revoked. 'Maybe visas get revoked, you're not allowed in America again, it's not ideal – but Jesus Christ, there's people being bombed from the f*****g skies, and people being starved to death,' Ó hAnnaidh told the Guardian. While the BBC has allowed Kneecap to perform, their live set will not be broadcast live. In an effort to 'meet out editorial guidelines', the BBC is taking pre-emptive measures to ensure no controversy is caused. More Trending The rap trio confirmed that the state broadcaster contacted them to say their performance would be available online on iPlayer from Saturday evening. This would allow the broadcaster to scrutinise the set for any language or imagery that might breach BBC guidelines. In a full statement, the BBC said: 'As the broadcast partner, the BBC will be bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers. 'Whilst the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: I'll be watching Kneecap's prime time Glastonbury set – they deserve to be there MORE: Glastonbury 2025 Saturday live: Neil Young makes dramatic Glastonbury U-turn MORE: Glastonbury viewers vent over 'hopeless' The 1975 set as one thing ruins it
