Six years ago today, Lady Gaga released her début, epochal album, The Fame. The dance-pop album was released on 19th August in 2008 and instantly shot Gaga to pop royalty.
The album’s lead single, ‘Just Dance’, which features Colby O’Donis, reached number one in both the US and UK amongst many other countries and was the track that put Lady Gaga on the map, still remaining one of Gaga’s most iconic tracks. The accompanying video does see a slightly tamer Gaga than we expect now, but still marks the artist as extremely game-changing in its context, as well as featuring disco balls which remained to be a vital image to The Fame movement.
Following from ‘Just Dance’ came one of Gaga’s most well-known songs to date: ‘Poker Face’. One of the most pivotal tracks of the 21st century, the song has now sold over seven million paid digital downloads in the US and made Gaga the first artist in history to surpass the six million mark in paid downloads with only two tracks. The song became the UK’s biggest-selling track of 2009 and hit number one in many other countries, including Australia, Canada and France.
The album also spawned the single ‘Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)’ – the least commercially-successful single from the album – as well as both ‘LoveGame’ and ‘Paparazzi’.
Lady Gaga followed The Fame with The Fame Monster; a reissue of her début. The reissue consisted of eight brand new tracks on the first disc with 2008’s The Fame on the second disc. In some areas, The Fame Monster was released as a stand-alone EP. From The Fame Monster, Gaga rose to an iconic status with the singles ‘Bad Romance’, ‘Telephone’ and ‘Alejandro’.
To support The Fame, Gaga conducted a world tour entitled The Fame Ball Tour, to then later pursue another tour in support of The Fame Monster, suitably titled The Monster Ball Tour. The global musician has since extended The Fame‘s iconic status through the creation of her unisex Fame perfume which was released back in 2012. The perfume has a sweet scent but is a dark liquid, showcasing Gaga’s exploration of the complex nature of fame which she has explored throughout her career.
Revisit Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ below which will forever hold an important part in pop music history.
