Artistry

Influences

Musicians such as Madonna and David Bowie have influenced Gaga.

Gaga grew up listening to artists such as Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder,
Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Christina
Aguilera and Blondie,[255][256][257] who have all influenced her music.[258][259] Gaga's musical inspiration
varies from dance-pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson to glam rock artists such as
David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, as well as the theatrics of the pop artist Andy Warhol and her
own performance roots in musical theater.[31][260] She has been compared to Madonna, who has said
that she sees herself reflected in Gaga.[261] Gaga says that she wants to revolutionize pop music as
Madonna has.[262] Gaga has also cited heavy metal bands as an influence, specifically Iron
Maiden, Black Sabbath and Marilyn Manson.[263][264][265][266] She credits Beyoncé as a key inspiration to
pursue a musical career.[267]
Gaga was inspired by her mother to be interested in fashion, which she now says is a major
influence and integrated with her music.[18][268] Stylistically, Gaga has been compared to Leigh
Bowery, Isabella Blow, and Cher;[269][270] she once commented that as a child, she absorbed Cher's
fashion sense and made it her own.[270] Gaga became friends with British fashion designer Alexander
McQueen shortly before his suicide in 2010, and became known for wearing his designs, particularly
his towering armadillo shoes.[93][271] She considers fashion designer Donatella Versace her muse;
Versace has called Lady Gaga "the fresh Donatella".[272][273] Gaga has also been influenced
by Princess Diana, whom she has admired since her childhood.[274]
Gaga has called the Indian alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra a "true inspiration",[275] and
has also quoted Indian leader Osho's book Creativity on Twitter. Gaga says she was influenced by
Osho's work in valuing rebellion through creativity and equality.[276]

Musical style and themes

Critics have analyzed and scrutinized Gaga's musical and performance style, as she has
experimented with new ideas and images throughout her career. She says the continual reinvention
is "liberating" herself, which she has been drawn to since childhood.[277] Gaga is a contralto, with
a range spanning from B♭2 to B5.[278][279][280] She has changed her vocal style regularly, and
considers Born This Way "much more vocally up to par with what I've always been capable
of".[281][282] In summing up her voice, Entertainment Weekly wrote: "There's an immense emotional
intelligence behind the way she uses her voice. Almost never does she overwhelm a song with her
vocal ability, recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung power."[283]
Gaga's songs have been called "depthless" by writer Camille Paglia in The Sunday Times,[284] but
according to Evan Sawdey of PopMatters, she "does manage to get you moving and grooving at an
almost effortless pace".[285] Gaga believes that "all good music can be played on a piano and still
sound like a hit".[286] Simon Reynolds wrote in 2010, "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash,
except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed
with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B-ish beats."[287]
Gaga's songs have covered a wide variety of concepts; The Fame discusses the lust for stardom,
while the follow-up The Fame Monster expresses fame's dark side through monster metaphors. The
Fame is an electropop and dance-pop album that has influences of 1980s pop and
1990s Europop,[288] whereas The Fame Monster displays Gaga's taste for pastiche, drawing on
"Seventies arena glam, perky ABBA disco, and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q".[289] Born This
Way has lyrics in English, French, German, and Spanish and features themes common to Gaga's
controversial songwriting such as sex, love, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation, sexuality,
freedom, and individualism.[290] The album explores new genres, such as electronic
rock and techno.[291]
The themes in Artpop revolve around Gaga's personal views of fame, love, sex, feminism, self-
empowerment, overcoming addiction, and reactions to media
scrutiny.[292] Billboard describes Artpop as "coherently channeling R&B, techno, disco and rock
music".[293] With Cheek to Cheek, Gaga dabbled in the jazz genre.[294] Joanne, exploring the genres of
country, funk, pop, dance, rock, electronic music and folk, was influenced by her personal
life.[295] The A Star Is Born soundtrack contains elements of blues rock, country and bubblegum
pop.[208] Billboard says its lyrics are about wanting change, its struggle, love, romance, and bonding,
describing the music as "timeless, emotional, gritty and earnest. They sound like songs written by
artists who, quite frankly, are supremely messed up but hit to the core of the
listener."[296] On Chromatica, Gaga returned to her dance-pop roots, and discussed her struggles with
mental health.[297] Her second album with Tony Bennett, Love for Sale, consists of a tribute to Cole
Porter.[298]

Videos and stage

Gaga during a "blood soaked" performance in 2010

Featuring constant costume changes and provocative visuals, Gaga's music videos are often
described as short films.[299] The video for "Telephone" earned Gaga the Guinness World Record for
Most Product Placement in a Video.[300] According to author Curtis Fogel, she
explores bondage and sadomasochism and highlights prevalent feminist themes. The main themes
of her music videos are sex, violence, and power. She calls herself "a little bit of a feminist" and
asserts that she is "sexually empowering women".[301] Billboard ranked her sixth on its list of "The 100
Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time" in 2020, stating that "the name 'Lady Gaga' will forever be
synonymous with culture-shifting music videos."[302]
Gaga has called herself a perfectionist when it comes to her elaborate shows.[303] Her performances
have been described as "highly entertaining and innovative";[304] the blood-spurting performance of
"Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV
News.[305] She continued the blood-soaked theme during The Monster Ball Tour, causing protests in
England from family groups and fans in the aftermath of the Cumbria shootings, in which a taxi driver
had killed 12 people, then himself.[306] At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga appeared
in drag as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, and delivered a lovesick monologue before a
performance of her song "Yoü and I".[307] As Gaga's choreographer and creative director, Laurieann
Gibson provided material for her shows and videos for four years before she was replaced by her
assistant Richard Jackson in 2014.[308]
In an October 2018 article for Billboard, Rebecca Schiller traced back Gaga's videography from "Just
Dance" to the release of A Star Is Born. Schiller noted how, following the Artpop era, Gaga's
stripped-down approach to music was reflected in the clips for the singles from Joanne, taking the
example of the music video of lead single "Perfect Illusion" where the singer "[ditched] the elaborate
outfits for shorts and a tee-shirt as she performed the song at a desert party". It continued with her
performances in the film as well as her stage persona.[309]