Lady Gaga named Billboard’s ‘Rising Star’

Lady Gaga was honoured as Billboards ‘Rising Star’ at the trade publication’s annual Women in Music event last week. She was honoured along with Beyonce on Friday, who was named ‘Woman of the Year’.The already famous Lady Gaga’s debut CD ‘The Fame’ sold over one million copies since its release last year. She has had two No.1 singles with ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face’. November 2009 will see Lady Gaga kicking off a joint tour with Kanye West.

A newbie in the music industry, Lady Gaga is first singer in a decade to top the Billboard charts with her first two singles. Her first single ‘Just Dance’ was No. 1 on the Hot 100 singles chart in January for three weeks. ‘Poker Face’, her second single is now in top spot, toppling Flo Rida’s ‘Right Round from the number one spot. Christina Aguilera was the last singer to achieve top spot on Billboard charts with her first two singles with ‘Genie in a Bottle’ and ‘What a Girl Wants’. Prior to that Mariah Carey and Tiffany have also had two number one singles consecutively.

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta rose to fame after Akon, upon hearing her sing, convinced Interscope Records chairman, Jimmy Iovine to sign her to a joint deal with the label and Akon’s Kon Live Distribution label. ‘The Fame’ released in August 2009 is in number one spots in four countries, topping the Billboard Top Electronics Albums chart in the US. ‘Just Dance’ was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards. She has sold over 20 million digital singles and 3 million albums worldwide, making her one of the biggest-selling artists of the year.