Lady Gaga has had an astonishing career. Since breaking onto the pop music scene with her distinct style in 2008, she has evolved through eras of rock and country music, a swing collaboration with Tony Bennett, and transitioned into film with the smash hit A Star is Born. The film, thanks in part to Heather Parry and the team at Live Nation, was a massive box office victory and even secured Gaga a coveted nomination for Best Actress at the 2019 Academy Awards. Beyond her on-screen accomplishments, here are some of Lady Gaga’s biggest musical hits, according to the Billboard charts.
Just Dance
Gaga’s first hit has persevered as her biggest hit to date. “Just Dance” launched her from the festival circuit to number one, and while she had been on the music scene for years, this massive leap made her appear to be something of an overnight sensation. Prior to “Just Dance,” much of her music had been ironically deemed too dance-oriented. Gaga insisted that this style of music was going to be the next big thing, and she appears to have been correct.
Poker Face
“Poker Face” was the second single off of Gaga’s debut album, The Fame. While “Just Dance” spent a bit more time on top of the charts, “Poker Face” was the top-selling single of the year. It moved a whopping 9.8 million copies. “Poker Face” also went on to win Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards. The underlying lyrics of the song actually contained a bit more drama than the pop finishes would suggest, and many have speculated about the true meanings of the song.
Bad Romance
“Bad Romance” followed these two singles and cemented Lady Gaga as an inescapable force in pop music. This single actually came from an expanded version of her album The Fame, this time entitled The Fame Monster. This song and its accompanying video exploded. The music video was the most-watched YouTube video of the year.
Born This Way
“Born This Way” was the lead single off of her second studio album. Gaga has said in interviews that the song took only ten minutes to write and seemed to have just appeared to her. She also points to this song as one that she would be glad to be remembered for if her career would to be boiled down to just one song. Its expressive themes of acceptance and joy landed well with audiences and has remained one of her biggest hits to date.
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