Lady Gaga is dominating the charts and, from the looks of it, the world like no one since, well, Madonna. But Gaga has been accused of being a “Madonna rip-off,” stealing ideas from the queen of pop. Although many parallels can be justly made, Gaga has said that Madonna is one of her idols and she loves paying homage to Madge’s look, music and videos.
A glance at the two pop icons’ careers shows that while the women are similar in many ways, Gaga has established herself (like Madonna) as a talented original artist and a legend in the making.
Check out more comparisons of Madonna and Lady Gaga at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo2RcQr42BY
| Madonna |
Lady Gaga |
| Background |
- Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone on Aug. 16, 1958, in Bay City, Mich., to an Italian-American family
- Raised Catholic, attended Catholic schools
- Moved to New York City, joined the Alvin Ailey dance troupe
- Formed a band with former boyfriend Stephen Bray, who co-wrote most of Madonna’s early songs
- First single “Everybody” became a dance club hit in 1982
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- Born Stefani Germanotta on March 28, 1986, in Manhattan to an Italian-American family
- Raised Catholic, attended Catholic school
- Attended New York University to study music and art
- Dating rock musician/bar owner Luc Carl, who many of her songs are about
- First single “Just Dance” became an international club and radio hit in 2008
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| Musical Accolades |
 Hundreds of nominations and awards, including Billboard, MTV and American Music awards- First Grammy in 1998, 15 years after her debut album
- Golden Globe acting award for Evita
- Collaborated in songwriting with Bjork, Lenny Kravitz and BabyFace
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 Numerous awards include first Grammy in 2010, only two years after her debut release- Beat Madonna for Best Dance Recording Grammy Award in 2010
- Wrote songs for Britney Spears, The Pussycat Dolls and Adam Lambert
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| Live Performance |
 Eight concert tours, including seven world tours- Simulates masturbation, uses Christian iconography and extensive choreography
- 2006’s Confessions tour became the highest grossing musical tour in history
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 Two world tours - Uses avant-garde choreography and costumes, including mirror ball and dominatrix-type outfits
- Sold out every city of current Monster Ball tour
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| Fashion |
- Wore bustier and rosary beads, creating an international fashion trend
- Debuted her iconic cone bra, designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier, in the Blonde Ambition tour
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- Describes her outlandish fashion as “walking art”
- Debuted her hoof-like shoes, designed by Alexander McQueen, in her “Bad Romance” video
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| Controversy |
 “Like A Prayer” video caused Pepsi to cancel its sponsorship of her tour and ad campaign- Threatened with arrest outside of her 1990 concert in Toronto for lewd onstage sexual acts.
- Her X-rated book Sex and the “Justify My Love” video included lesbian sex scenes, full frontal male nudity and sadomasochistic imagery
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 Caused an uproar with her “Alejandro” video, with critics saying she copied Madonna and used religious iconography in bad taste- Rumors that she is a hermaphrodite were squashed when she spread her legs while nude in her “Telephone” video
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| Activism |
- Global warming, AIDS and women’s rights
- Formed Raising Malawi, which provides children and caregivers with food, clothing, shelter and education
- Donated $250,000 to Haiti earthquake relief
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 Women’s and children’s issues - Teamed with Cyndi Lauper to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS
- Donated more than $500,000 in proceeds from her Jan. 24 concert to the Haiti earthquake relief
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