The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga

Originally The Fame Monster tracks were intended to be part of a re-release of Lady GaGa's first album, The Fame. Instead GaGa told fans that album could stand alone and did not need to be part of The Fame. The record is about the dark side of fame. Songs were written from GaGa's experiences within Hollywood during her first tour. GaGa told fans "While traveling the world for two years, I've encountered several monsters, each represented by a different song on the new record: my 'Fear of Sex Monster,' my 'Fear of Alcohol Monster,' my 'Fear of Love Monster,' my 'Fear of Death Monster,' my 'Fear of Loneliness Monster,' etc. -- I spent a lot of nights in Eastern Europe, and this album is a pop experimentation with industrial/Goth beats, 90's dance melodies, an obsession with the lyrical genius of 80's melancholic pop, and the runway. I wrote while watching muted fashion shows and I am compelled to say my music was scored for them." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fame_Monster 

Personally I can't find much enjoyment in GaGa's music. While many have compared her to Madonna with her outlandish costumes, poignant sexually charged lyrics, and pop tunes, I find Madonna's voice to be much better than GaGa's. However, generally GaGa's lyrics are interesting and her music videos are entertaining to watch. Many of the songs on The Fame Monster seemed to sound similar, though "Speechless" did have a much more rock ballad feel to it than pop dance song. Many teens find GaGa to be a powerful role model as she sings about sexual freedom and gay rights.   

Track Listing: 

• "Bad Romance"
• "Alejandro"
• "Monster"
• "Speechless"
• "Dance in the Dark"
• "Telephone (Featuring Beyonce)"
• "So Happy I Could Die"
• "Teeth"                        

Artist: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. She is officially the most powerful female celebrity in the world, having overtaken said title from Oprah Winfrey on May 19 2011. After performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and later enrolling at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of rapper Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, The Fame Monster (2009), its follow-up, produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release on May 23, 2011 after the arrival of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way", which achieved the number-one spot in countries worldwide and was the fastest-selling single in iTunes history, selling one million copies in five days.

Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie, Elton John and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Amy Winehouse, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including five Grammy Awards, among twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide. Billboard named her both the Artist of the Year in 2010 and the top selling artist of 2010; ranking her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world. Forbes has placed her on a number of its annual lists, including recently the number one spot on their annual list of the 100 most powerful celebrities, the Forbes Celebrity 100. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga

Age: 16+

Challenge Issues:  

• Explicit Lyrics

Gaga sings about sex and does use some explicit lyrics. It is not the center or main focus point of the music. Her CDs are popular and she is a many times over award winner. It's important to include her CDs in any collection which wishes to be relevant to teens.

Why I Included This Album: No one can deny that Lady GaGa has taken the world by storm. Nowhere is this more true than with the teen population. Popular CDs like this will see high circulation rates at libraries as teens listen for the first time or share with friends. With GaGa's newest CD coming out in just a few days many teens may want to revisit her older CDs.

Streamline/Interscope/KonLive/Cherrytree, 2010, ASIN: B0034KHFM4