Oh La La

Wanna know a secret? I like Lady Gaga

At first, I really really didn't. I thought she was just another intoxicated sex driven pop star occasionally piggy backing on the hip hop scene. Her music had attracted impressive popularity long before I even knew what she looks like or had any idea of how outrageously theatrical her style is. In fact, if it weren't for her unusual persona I would still have absolutely no interest in her. Her music doesn't exactly fall first on a list of my preferred genres. I'm still not in love with Bad Romance, even though it topped the charts in eighteen countries and became number 2 in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand (is it just me or are those last two a little random?). But there's no denying that her musical style is just as unusual and intriguing as her fashion and performances.

I've heard radio interviews with her on my way to school. When I caught the first one I didn't even know who was speaking until half way through. I was so surprised by how grounded and normal she sounded answering questions about the start of her career, her inspirations and the future.

I was a little thrown off when I found out that she was named the Chief Creative Director for a line of Polaroid imaging products, but okay. In her video for Telephone there is some pretty clear Polaroid product placement.

Still waiting to see the effects of that one in straight up Polaroid marketing, but hopefully she'll start cropping up in ads for the newly resurrected instant film.

I was further reassured in my decision to go Gaga when Glee did their episode on her. If she's good enough for Glee then she's good enough for me.

Lady Gaga prides herself on being a hero for the freaks. She's shaking things up, not only in the music industry, but in contemporary pop culture as we know it. While her music isn't always right on par with my tastes, and although her focus tends to be overwhelmingly on sex, I respect her as an artist and admire her surprising success. So do yourself a favor and get to know Lady Gaga a little bit better before passing judgement. You can start by reading the highlights of her interview with Larry King.