The Fame by Lady Gaga
The Fame is the debut studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008 through Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different producers, primarily RedOne, Martin Kierszenbaum and Rob Fusari. Musically, The Fame is a dance-pop and synthpop album that has influences of pop music from the 1980s. Lyrically, the album visualizes Gaga's love of fame in general whilst also dealing with subjects such as love, sex, money, drugs and sexual identity. Promotion was primarily through The Fame Ball Tour and multiple television appearances. The Fame was included as a bonus disc on the deluxe edition of the extended play, The Fame Monster (2009). The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the album's lyrical content and Gaga's musicianship and vocal ability, which have been compared to fellow pop singers such as Gwen Stefani. The album was a commercial success, topping the charts in different countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Switzerland. In the United States, it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, while topping the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 100 non-consecutive weeks. The Fame has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The first two singles from The Fame, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", gained international success, topping the charts in several countries worldwide, including the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. While its third single, "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)", experienced less commercial success, the next two singles, "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi", were a commercial success as well, charting within the top ten of more than ten countries worldwide. "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" was released in the form of a promotional single. The Fame has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated for a total of six Grammy Awards at the 52nd Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album and the Best Dance Recording for the single "Poker Face". It also won Best International Album at the 2010 BRIT Awards.
It would seem as if Lady Gaga just dropped—make that <i>danced</i>—from the disco heavens as a born-ready star on 2008’s <i>The Fame</i>. But before the artist born Stefani Germanotta was actually living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, she was getting ready for her close-up in the New York club scene. And you can really hear the blood, sweat and twirls through many a beer-splattered stage on <i>The Fame</i>. She lived it—and you feel it. That’s what makes <i>The Fame</i> such a self-manifesting statement—an album that chronicles the celebrity culture Gaga had yet to experience. When she sings about having “a little bit too much” on “Just Dance”—the album’s defining first single, featuring assists from singer Colby O’Donis, co-writer Akon and main <i>Fame</i> producer RedOne—she’s that party girl we’ve all been (and if you haven’t been there, she offers a blueprint for your free-bootied future). You can also hear the gritty groove of the downtown New York scene on debaucherous dance tracks such as “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich”, “Money Honey” and the disco-stick-riding “LoveGame”. Meanwhile, pop bops such as “Poker Face”—which followed “Just Dance” to the top of the charts—and “Paparazzi” reveal the lyrical and melodic beast behind the beat. <i>The Fame</i> was already a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning sensation when it was reissued as <i>The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition)</i> in 2009. But with Gaga having now fulfilled her diva destiny, she quickly proved her success was no fluke, continuing her string of hits with “Bad Romance”, “Alejandro” and “Telephone”. The latter pairs Gaga with Beyoncé—a pop-icon team-up equalled only by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer’s 1979 classic “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)”. A worldwide smash that would earn the singer her second consecutive Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, <i>The Fame Monster</i> left little doubt that the world had gone gaga for Gaga.
