Lady Gaga: Kraljica popa

by Emily Herbert, Manja Šegrt

U samo godinu dana Lady Gaga je od nepozanate pjevačice koja je svoju karijeru gradila na koncertima poput alternativne Lolapalooze postala jedna od najvećih pop ikona koje je svijet ikada vidio. Njezina kontroverzna osobnost, modne ekstravagancije, nevjerojatni koncerti i hitovi koji obilježavaju vrhove top-ljestvica, u svijetu estrade i šoubiznisa napravili su pravu revoluciju.

U knjizi "Lady Gaga : Kraljica popa", Emily Herbert zagrebala je ispod zvjezdane površine i tračeva da bi napisala biografiju mlade Stefani Germanotte, samozvane "čudne djevojke" koja se transformirala u najpopularniju osobu desetljeća i modnu ikonu 21. stoljeća.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Music

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2010

Reviews

[5rovsvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kako se bliži izdavanje novog albuma Lady Gage rešio sam da se vratim na njen početak karijere i podsetim se tih prvih koraka. Prošlo je više od decenije, a ona i dalje privlači veliku pažnju, no dosta se toga promenilo.
🎤
Mogao bih pisati dva dana o njoj i da ne napišem sve što bih imao na umu, ali ću se truditi da ne pišem ništa. Činjenica je da je u mojim tinejdžerskim danima ona bila jedna od mojih omiljenih poznatih ličnosti. Voleo sam tu njenu uvrnutost, ekscentričnost, nagon za šokiranjem na koji god način može, kao i te vizuelne transformacije gotovo iz dana u dan. Dopadalo mi se što je imala tu slobodu da to čini i da joj je veoma zabavno u svemu tome.
🎤
Ova knjiga se vraća na sam početak i pre nego što je postala poznata. Bavi se njenim školovanjem i počecima u Njujorku, dok je rasla u tamošnjim klubovima. Ovo je jedinstvena zbirka i njenih izjava, ali i pojava nje u javnosti. Lep način da se isprati njena karijera do pojave Bad romance pesme.
🎤
Činjenica je da je nekima gotivna, neki je vole, neki je nepodnose, verujem da većina ima neko mišljenje o njoj. Ali u tim prvim mesecima se pokazala izuzetno pametnom i promišljatom i disciplinovanom, a sve sa željom da ostvari svoje snove i uspe u svojoj nameri. Moram da priznam da mi je ponovno čitanje ove biografije bilo i motivišuće da se bacim na neke stvari koje već neko vreme priželjkujem da uradim.
🎤
Nema se ovde šta puno polemisati o knjizi. To je jedna biografija, više tečna priča koja je zbirka njenih izjava, pojavljivanja u medijima, šta je sve radila i kako se razvijala njena karijera sa komentarima autorice. Sve u svemu, lep način da se podsetimo sada već tako dalekog početka njene karijere.
🎤
I zaboravio sam kako se gotovo svakodnevno pojavljivala u najotkačenijim kombinacijama, pa pričala kako je to ona i ne razdvaja scenu od vanscenskog života. Čitalac može malo da se zapita šta se desilo u međuvremenu, pa je sad možemo videti i u običnim odevnim kombinacijama. Ima tu dosta nekih sitnica na koje sam zaboravio a o kojima se može razmišljati sa ove distance na mnogo načina.
🎤
Ukoliko pratite njen rad ili jednostavno volite da čujete i njenu muziku, zanima me da li imate i kakva očekivanja imate od nadolazećeg albuma. Za mene će ARTPOP biti zauvek omiljen album i bojim se da nikad neće moći da ga neki drugi album skine sa tog mesta, ma o kom izvođaču pričali. To mi je jedan od retkih albuma gde mi se sve pesme dopadaju.

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, I'm a Lady Gaga fan, but this book was choppily put together by piecing interviews and such together. The book informed me of a lot and gave me some good background into Lady Gaga's life, but the interview pieces really screwed up the flow of the book. Overall, I would never re-read this for the writing and wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you are a fan of Lady Gaga. Then you can say you read it.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Gaga's music has been played a lot in my house. I love her music. This book was a great insight to this strange and very talented woman. It goes from her childhood through her Bad Romance single and meeting the Queen of England. It was nice to see what the story is behind why Lady Gaga does and why she dresses the way she does. She is truely an amazing artist that I hope will be around for a long time, and since she writes her own music it makes her all the more unique!

[Dovile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly interesting book. I’ve never been a fan of Lady Gaga but I enjoy biographies so gave it a try.
Nicely written and analysed both in personal and professional lives. One thing was bit baaah: you could feel the author being too much on her side, so most of a story is too much of unicorns and rainbows:)

[Julia Batchelder]

I love Lady Gaga!!!!

[Trippe Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago I unexpectedly found out that someone was also a fan of Lady Gaga. After blasting some of our favorite Gaga hits, that person credited “Lady Gaga Behind the Fame” to being the reason they admired her as an artist and performer. It has been on my list since, and I am happy that I read it.

The story follows a young Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta and her transformation into one of the most well known pop stars today. It was a fascinating read, and it definitely built even more respect for such a well rounded artist.

I give this book 2.5 stars because it reads like a tabloid magazine from 2010. This made the story exhausting and repetitive. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the details and context for many of the infamous outfits and raunchy interviews during that time. If you love pop music and art, this is the read for you.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently rediscovered this biography on my shelf that I got as a gift years ago when was a mega-fan of Lady Gaga (considerably, I confess I still am), however I never really quite got into a habit of reading until I grew out of the mega-fan phase. So for old times sake, I began to read the whole biography in one sitting.

There was nothing in this book that I didn't already know about the rise and success of Lady Gaga's early career, having been part of the 'little monster' fan-group during the period of time covered in this biography. However, it was quite refreshing and comfortingly nostalgic to 'live through' the experience of it again, and to be reminded why I was/continue to be a fan of the performer herself and the artistry behind the costume + controversy.

Unfortunately, there does seem to be an awful lot of 'waffling' present- the writer repeats a lot of quotes (which aren't always accurately put) and cliches more often than is necessary. She also occasionally involves too many samples of media reports than needed to illustrate a point or an effect.

All in all (speaking of waffling); If you're looking for a light, easy read and want to know more about the early stages of Gaga's career then you may find this biography informative. If you're a Lady Gaga fan looking for a little bit of 'The Fame-early The Fame Monster era' nostalgia, then I'd recommend this for a quick read.

[Tobias · Rating 1 out of 5]

Herbert has produced what will no doubt be one of the many biographies about Lady Gaga that will appear over the course of her career. Spread over two hundred and sixty something pages, she recounts Lady Gaga's past twenty four years into an informative tome of biographical data, wordy description and scarily un-sourced sound bites from Gaga's various interviews over the last sixteen months or so.

As a fan, most of these quotes are familiar and doesn't really add to anything I didn't already know or haven't heard already, and it may be possible to say that Herbert spent many hours in front of her computer trawling the Internet in the name of "research", rather than going to New York and trying to infiltrate the Haus of Gaga.

As a biography, Herbert seems totally in awe of her subject whereas a biographer's duty is to remain objective - this is not the case here. The cut and paste nature of this biography gives us a product that appears to be hastily put together in order to be sold quickly, and unfortunately it shows.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based solely on literary style(not on the fact that I like Lady Gaga), this book was mediocre. The author repeats herself many, many times making this short read a bit of a snoozefest. The book is packed with plenty of pictures which doesn't make up for, but certainly distracts from the repetitiveness.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you're a gaga fan it tells you what you already know. and seeing as she's a relatively new talent, there isn't much to know. focused on her life in the spotlight; her eccentricity and talent. gives little background on her life before fame came knocking. it gives you a good snippet but nothing fantastic. i also didn't really enjoy the writer's style and her lack of originality.

[Elle B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Put it down less than 1/2 way through. Not going to bother to finish it.

I am quite a fan of Lady Gaga and her music, but the trajectory of "born with great musical talent into wealth in NYC, private schooled, did a bit of drugs but nothing bad happened, became a superstar" - doesn't make for particularly enthralling reading.

[rani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like Lady Gaga has tooken over my lfe cause i <3 her so much!
I can't remember the concept of this book so fasssssssst!

[Andre · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Gaga, but this book felt like a waste of time. Seems more like a collection of tabloid articles than a biography.

[Kelsea Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

New found respect for Lady Gaga. Definitely want to read more about her.

[Kylie Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interested in lady gaga from the start so it was great to find out a bit more about her. The book has scope to be written a little better as it just feels repetitive in places and bitty

[Claire Lancaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good insight of Lady Gaga’s rise to fame. It isn’t the most interesting biography I’ve read but any fans of her will enjoy this.

[Edward Maroncha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully told story.

[Lizzy w · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty in detail , I’ve always loved Gaga and funnily enough I just got tickets to the chromatica ball!!!!!!!!!😍💖🥰🤗

[Jeff Shelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this ain't the definitive Gagagraphy.

[Carol Sandford · Rating 4 out of 5]

good interesting read. love her music

[Pooch Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady GaGa may be outrageously dressed and her performances may shock and awe. Whether you enjoy her or not, keep in mind that she is both an artist and a fan of art. This book completely changed the way I see Mother Monster as an artist. Everything she does, says, and wears seems to have some sort of underlying meaning, symbolism, or inside joke, all of which adds depth to her work. Her teacup, videos, stage antics, costumes, the fact that she can sing and dance while in heels and not miss a note... She is so involved in her work that it reminds me of Michael Jackson's passion for his work. This book was written pre-Monster Ball, so I found it to be an excellent source of background information on a star who was still rising.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really inspiring to me. Emily Herbert conveys Gaga in the biography as a truly amazing person which most would agree on, aka, her little monsters! She is amazing and it was interesting to read about her background - how she was brought up, what her parents were like, what she had been through with bullying, how she over come it, not forgetting her song meanings! Why she chose the lyrics etc. Another particular thing which stood out for me too was her fashion sense, it is a major priority to be spoken about in something which involves Gaga! Over all the book is genuine and shows the reader what she has been through to become the person she is now.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this biography about Lady Gaga because I felt it was one of the best books that really tell you about Stefani Germanotta and her life as a catholic student. This bio was very well written and just the pictures alone are great. This doesn't go very in to detail in her love story and doesn't really go into detail how she goes from being the catholic student to a pop star. It also says a lot of her quotes and parts of interviews. This biography focuses a lot on how shes a work aholic. Great book to learn a little more about lady gaga.

[Blue Mountains Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

want to know more about this performer? Driven to sing/dance/perform from a young age, it is no wonder that Lady Gaga became a sensation by her mid 20s. She chose her performance name in honour of Freddie Mercury and Queen, is an accomplished song-writer (wrote some songs for Britney Spears and other artists) and from a strict Italian background…all makes for a great read!

[Viky S. Deneault · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't feel like you can get much more information about Lady Gaga's life by reading this book. What I mean by that is that you can get most if not all the information in this book on the internet and the author added a few pictures in the middle. A quick read I would recomend for people who have no clue about where Lady Gaga comes from.

[Candace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame bio that basically rehashes what little is known about Lady Gaga and her rise to fame. Style more than a bit breathless and gushing. This is best suited to the reader who just has to know whatever there is to know about Stefani Germanotta.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this biography of lady gaga and would recommend it to and lady gaga fans. It really gets under the skin of lady gaga and I learnt a lot of things about her that I didn't know. Well worth a read

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and detailed about Gaga's life. Lady Gaga's life has always interested me, especially how she became famous. The Fame is what made Gaga famous and where she is now. This book is something I would recommend to other fans of Lady Gaga.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat informative. It definitely feels as if the author is a fan. It's written like a fan who found some background on her and wrote this book. Not the best biography I've read. It did stir up some of my Gaga enthusiasm.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book. i have always admired her talent but could never understand her fashion sense. But this at the Academy Awards the song she sang about abuse blew my mind and the song won.