EMBRACING THE MAYHEM

As Lady Gaga releases her first album in five years, OK! looks back at her glittering career

- KENZI DEVINE

After making her mark on Hollywood, showcasing her powerhouse vocals to new audiences in the 2018 film A Star Is Born, it's clear that Lady Gaga knows how to craft a hit movie as well as a chart-topping album. Her new album, Mayhem, which is looking set to be her fifth UK Nol album out of the seven she has released, sees the singer return to her roots, echoing the pure pop vocals of early songs such as Poker Face and Bad Romance.

"As a woman in music, we're often told that someone else made us who we are or somehow it didn't come from us, that we were made that way. But this is who I am," she told Entertainment Weekly of the new release, which is her first solo studio album in five years.

Rising to fame in 2008 with her chart-topping debut album, The Fame, the singer - whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - quickly made a name for herself. With a stage moniker derived from the Queen hit Radio Ga Ga, it didn't take long for it to stick. And it wasn't just her powerful vocals or catchy name that did it, as the singer has become just as well-known for her quirky fashion sense. Aside from the iconic meat dress she wore at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga has also rocked a fire bra which saw actual sparks flying from her chest - a dress made of hair, another frock made of plastic bubbles and a disco ball ensemble, to name but a few. And the 38-year-old says authenticity in her fashion choices is something she's always felt strongly about.

"When I moved to Hollywood and was playing my music for Interscope for the first time, they had conversations about, 'What's your look going to be?"" she told The New York Times. "And you're thinking, 'It's going to be me. How are you going to dress? Well, I'm going to wear what I usually wear when I'm onstage.' They introduce you to start thinking about it as a business as opposed to a performance."