Who is Lady Gaga?

Some people are naturally larger than life. Such is Lady Gaga (aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) who is a mere 24 years old. She oozes charisma. She has a presence which explains her rise to fame at such a young age.

Part of her meteoric rise to fame has to do with her ability to adapt to trends, make the most media attention and to set trends. She also has a knack of morphing herself as the need arise.

It's an understatement to say that Lady Gaga has a knack for drawing public attention. Publicity, good or bad, is ultimately good. It keeps you in the limelight. Lady Gaga is a master of using both the media and social networking to her advantage.

Many people have talent, but not everyone has a "presence". To say Lady Gaga has a presence is an understatement. Think of Madonna clad in outfits with pointed breasts. When you draw attention to yourself with out-of-the-box behavior, and you have the talent as well, you rise to the top of your field. Besides Madonna, consider Dennis Rodman, who donned a wedding gown, or Parez Hilton, Chelsea Lately, Lisa Lampanella or Prince. Love them or hate them, their antics, like Lady Gaga's, raises them to the top.

These people certainly have talent, but their quick rise to fame is as much a part the media attention they garner by their offbeat look or behavior as their talent. The coupling of the two, catapulted Lady Gaga into stardom. They have a presence. Lady Gaga certainly falls into this category.

The antics aside, unless Lady Gaga had the talent to back it up, she wouldn't be the sensation she is today. Lady Gaga has the music chops to back up her rise to fame. She started playing piano at four years old. Then there is the matter of paying dues. By age 5 she was already working the circuit, and she never stopped. A New York Native, she earned a spot at the New York University's School of the Arts.

She came up like many superstars, working hard, working the typical hard knock jobs like a diner and even as a go-go dancer. From early on, Lady Gaga knew what she wanted, and she went after it, putting in the hours. As time went on, she dropped out of college to focus on branding herself.

She went on to be signed by Def Jam Recordings, but was dropped. Again, that tenacious spirit kicked in and she morphed into the superstar she is today.

Lady Gaga hooked up with other artists, networked and eventually signed with Streamline Records. From there, she has been unstoppable, earning 6 Grammy nominations and heading up the top recording spots in multiple countries. Her second album, The Fame Monster ended up selling over 10 million albums and 35 million singles. Worldwide she has been nominated for 165 awards.

In addition to the outrageous behavior and look and talent, Lady Gaga is a shrewd business woman. She uses her keen knowledge of social media to keep her persona in the limelight. Given all of her talent, business sense, ability to connect with her fans and ability to set herself apart, Lady Gaga can't help but have a huge following.