BLUE BELLE Lady GaGa's ambition is boundless.

Photograph: Warwick Saint

Lady GaGa
If Lady GaGa didn’t exist, an aspiring celebutard would have to invent her. Fortunately, former LES club kid Stefania Germanotta did exactly that: Having donned a pop-art persona that simultaneously satirizes and romanticizes life in the fab lane, she not only embodies our celeb-obsessed times—she’s en route to stardom herself. GaGa had one of summer’s hottest nightlife anthems (“Just Dance”); has penned songs for Britney Spears’s and the Pussycat Dolls’ new albums; and most fittingly, appeared on the simulated reality show The Hills. So does she plan to fake it till she makes it?

“I truthfully am exactly who GaGa is,” insists the performer, 22, calling from Los Angeles while trying on outfits for her opening stint on the New Kids on the Block reunion tour. “I’m just really fascinated with pop culture, fashion, media and how Americans are so obsessed with celebrities. And when I started writing songs, I realized that was my gift—to write about celebrity and fame.”

It’s a gift that keeps on giving throughout her electrifying debut, The Fame (Interscope). On shiny, aerobic-pop gems like “Money Honey” and “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” GaGa flaunts her material-girl status and gets her flash on with relentlessly infectious energy. Best of all is the Gwen Stefani–esque “Paparazzi,” a cheeky paean to the paps, inspired by Lindsay, Paris and Nicole’s DUI busts a few years ago. “Did you see how these girls took these mug shots?” GaGa asks with a laugh. “They were giving you fashion and the pop-pose look. I saw them and said, ‘There’s really an art to fame.’ ”

While not yet goin’ Lohan, GaGa has practically perfected that art herself. Not only does she put on divaworthy multimedia performances, but she also truly seems to believe her own hype, constantly bragging about her innovations and comparing herself to legends like Bowie and Madonna. “But the difference between Madonna and I,” she adds matter-of-factly, “is that she reinvents herself from album to album, whereas I reinvent myself every two weeks.”

Hyperbole aside, it’s hard to deny GaGa is making a mark on the pop world. Just last month at MTV’s Video Music Awards, Christina Aguilera seemed particularly, uh, inspired by the younger diva’s fashion and choreography. “Oh my goodness, honey! You’re really going in on me!” says GaGa, laughing. “I don’t want to say she copied me and I don’t believe she did,” she demurs. “If anything, I was excited to see a big superstar doing something different.” The same, of course, could be said about GaGa.—JD

Lady GaGa opens for New Kids on the Block at Madison Square Garden Mon 27 and plays Highline Ballroom Tue 28; The Fame is out Tue 28.

Check out videos from Lady Gaga for "Just Dance" and "Beautiful Dirty Rich" on youtube

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