15 Reasons Why Lady Gaga Has Overshadowed Madonna

In all of pop culture history, we have never seen two more talented and controversial female singers as Lady Gaga and Madonna. Both women have entertained, shocked, and charmed us through the years, and they are beloved by fans of all ages. They have a lot in common with one another as well as some differences in the way that they approach their music and their life. One of the commonalities that they share is the ability to translate their art successfully into song, dance, and video. One of the things they don't have in common is the way they approach their art. While they're both pretty controversial, they have chosen to tackle different topics of controversy in terms of what they care about the most. Fans appreciate their honesty, and even those that have issues with these ladies have to agree that both ladies stay true to their message They are not afraid to risk failure, try new things, and are originals in every sense of the word. Many people believe that Lady Gaga is the new reigning queen of pop. Madonna still has a lot of significant things to say and to many Gen Xers she is still the best, but then there are Lady Gaga's “little monsters" who think that she's the best. Here are 15 reasons why Lady Gaga has overshadowed Madonna.

15 She Plays Her Own Instruments

Lady Gaga has said in the past that although Madonna is a gifted singer and performer who has inspired many women to pursue their dreams, she and Madonna are very different because Lady Gaga plays her own instruments and can play along during concerts, too. She is trained in piano and guitar. She feels this has given her music an even more personal edge, and of course when you can accompany yourself when you're singing, it makes the whole process that much more intense. There is nothing wrong with a band accompanying a singer, but it gives Lady Gaga that extra edge for sure. She has also written songs for other artists and has collaborated on a lot of different musical styles with other performers. Her vocal range is incredible, too. She can sing classical, pop, and rock without missing a beat.

14 She Writes All Her Own Music

Lady Gaga amazes fans as she has said that she writes ALL of her own music. This is not easy for an artist to do. They are so busy putting albums together and recording in the studio and dealing with everything that they have to do (from social media to travel plans to more) that they often leave the writing to others to allow things to move along more quickly. Again, there is nothing wrong if an artist does not write some or all of their own music. What works for one artist definitely doesn't work for another. But in this day and age when people are so suspicious of the music industry and worried about lip synching and genuine singing on stage or in concerts, it's pretty awesome when an artist can write their own songs. Fans also relate to Gaga's youth and approachability. She is not afraid to put herself out there and make a statement every day with her music.

13 She Produces Her Own Music

Lady Gaga loves to be a part of every part of the production of her music. She has a huge role in what comes out as finished product and does not answer to many others. Her fans love this as they see a young woman in control of her life, her music, and it gives them hope for their own future. They see that they can get it together and truly turn their life around. Lady Gaga has also openly shared her pain with the world; to her assault, her struggle with anorexia/bulimia and depression, as well as what helped her turn her life around for the better. She also talked about being attacked at the age of nineteen and she wrote a song called “Till It Happens To You" for the powerful documentary The Hunting Ground. Fans can connect with her authenticity as she gives them no choice but to see inside her. She is not afraid to reveal her feelings.

12 She Talks About Helping The Underdog

Since she shares her own experiences growing up, both positive and negative, Lady Gaga wants to reach out and help other young people struggling with the same pain, anxiety, and feelings of being lost that she herself has experienced. She wants fans to know they are not alone and they never will be. There is someone out there who can relate, listen compassionately and share their pain while helping them move through it at their own pace. Lady Gaga is still working on the pain she experienced from being assaulted when she was nineteen, so she knows when someone tells you you will be fine, that it is not true. Wounds take time to heal and in her music she is not afraid to explore that and show her feelings. She agrees that when people feel less alone they will make positive choices and move in a better direction in their life.

11 She's Super Independent

Madonna and Lady Gaga both are fiercely independent and have a great independent spirit, both in the way they choose to live their life, represent themselves publicly, and in their music. However, it's safe to say that millennials today understand Lady Gaga's message more clearly as in many ways it is their message, too. When you're in the same generation as an artist, you can definitely understand them better and relate to them as well. Many music lovers today do enjoy Madonna's music, but as Lady Gaga is still relatively new to the scene and lots of people still want to hear more from her. Madonna is an icon, of course, and she's not going away anytime soon, but Lady Gaga seems to have that same incredible staying power. She's still relatively new to the music scene so people are excited to see what she does next.

10 She's Down To Earth And Approachable

Another reason Lady Gaga is awesome is due to her very approachable and down to earth nature when she meets and talks to her fans. She does not see them as a “them” and while obviously taking precaution with security and all of that, she never misses a chance to engage with the people that support and love her. In the past, there were complaints that Madonna kept a polite distance from her fans due to security reasons. Many fans were hurt by this, although they understood why she did this and knew Madonna meant no harm. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is not afraid to talk and bond with her fans in person. This makes her endearing to them, and they appreciate how approachable she is. She even found ways to turns followers into bigger fans and help people who run their own sites get more followers. She's all about giving back to the people.

9 She Ended Her So-Called Feud With Madonna

Who could forget what Lady Gaga said on social media after Madonna's acceptance speech at the Billboard Music Awards? Lady Gaga was so moved by the Material Girl's talk about believing in yourself and her dream as well as the difficulty of being a woman in Hollywood with the misogyny, gender inequality, and discrimination that exists. Madonna went on to thank fans for giving her a chance even in this environment to speak out and bring her message forward. She talked about the challenges that she faced while she climbed the road to stardom and how it was a pretty scary world. Lady Gaga thanked Madonna for being an inspiration to her and all women that came after her to not be afraid to live their own dream. It takes a lot of courage to speak your mind and follow your passion and that is what Madonna did.

8 She Wants To Do More For Rising Musicians

Lady Gaga has even further plans to help burgeoning stars as her fame continues to grow. She is doing what she can now on social media to help inspire, encourage, heal, and bring joy to people, especially people who feel marginalized. She has plans to do more for people who are trying to get into the music industry and that's pretty amazing. She wants them to be in a better place to achieve their dream of making a life that helps them be happy, joyful and doing what they most want to do: bringing their music and vision to the world. She has spoken about the joys of giving back when one has so much oneself. Her reasoning is that this will help others pay it forward in the future. This is a beautiful message from a beautiful lady. How could anyone possibly argue with that?! You just can't. You have to love her for this.

7 She Pushes The Envelope Even More

Madonna has always pushed the envelope in her music, films, and the other artistic endeavors that she has been a part of. People have loved her for it and had been amazed by it. Lady Gaga also pushes the envelope, but she seems to go even further. A perfect example was the artist who fake vomited on Lady Gaga during a performance to illustrate the damages caused by anorexia and other eating disorders. Some thought this went too far and even seemed to be endorsing eating disorders and negative female body image, but Lady Gaga wanted to make a controversial statement and that is what she did. There was also her meat dress a few years ago that had people talking. This is certainly more controversial than a lot of things other artists have done. She continues to shock, gross-out, and confuse people with many of her videos which are sometimes difficult to understand, but whatever one can say, it is art done her way and her unique voice. Love it or hate it, it is her unique brand!

6 She Doesn't Try To Be Controversial But Follows Her Heart

Some haters have said that Lady Gaga does controversial things just for the sake of being controversial or sells out, but it's the exact opposite. Yes, she has shocking images and ideas, but Lady Gaga herself has admitted that all her albums, songs, and videos are simply about where she is at that point in her life and the message she wants to bring to people. She is not trying to get super wealthy and become a mega star. That has fortunately happened, but it happened while she was being true to the particular message that that album was explaining to the world. Her albums are her self-evolution, as with all artists it usually is. However, with Lady Gaga it may be a little more intense as she really delves in the personal while putting it in societal context- in other words, her issues on body image, depression, assault as she experienced them in her life within a broad societal lens.

5 She's Super True To Herself

She is who she says that she is. What she writes about, she lives. She has openly written songs about her own struggles, whether in her personal life or in her family life and said how she wants others to see she is just like them, another normal person with daily struggles. Money and fame definitely help her live a more luxurious life, but fame can't shelter a person from never struggling ever again or experiencing anything tough. The fact that Lady Gaga explores these things candidly in music, in interviews and in real life that makes fans find her so approachable and easy to commiserate with. Fame changes people, but Lady Gaga still seems as approachable and down to earth as she was at the start of her fame. She's like the confidential mother, sister, or friend next door to her “little monsters” and they love her for it.

4 She Doesn't Care About Haters

As mentioned, Lady Gaga just does her own thing and doesn't care if other haters don't find her controversial enough (or think that she's too controversial, on the other hand). The important thing is that she likes who she is and what projects she's involved in. She is open, honest, and discusses what is on the horizon, but she also is not afraid to stray away from what people expect and to do her own thing. This is why she can face herself in the mirror. She knows she is living a life of integrity and honesty with herself. This is always reflected in her music and it's something that her fans absolutely love about her. She only does what she believes in and if the album is not as commercially successful as she'd hoped which happened with one of her albums, she stands by it as she wrote and put that out from the heart.

3 She Showed Her Acting Talent With Her Hilarious Madonna SNL Skit

Who can't see Lady Gaga acting in movies after her stint with Madonna on SNL? Come on. That was funny, well put together and the two had great chemistry. It mostly showed the ironic and humorous side of Lady Gaga who is not afraid to parody herself, laughing at her caricature in the media with none other than the great Madonna. Their act was great as it showcased the bizarre and so-called “feud” between the women who many still don't know the status of, and showed how Lady Gaga was rising above all of it. It is a good lesson to all of us to rise above petty differences, stresses, artistic differences or any other annoyances. Life is too short. If one cannot put out a famous humorous video, go and kick back with a few friends, some beers, and just remember that life is about taking chance and living a little sometimes.

2 She Doesn't Want To Be Compared To Anyone Else

That famous interview where Lady Gaga asked not to be compared to Madonna has gone down as one of the major times Lady Gaga threw shade Madonna's way. But did she really do that? She went on to say that Madonna is a nice lady and has accomplished a lot, but that she and Madonna are different artists who have different ways of seeing the world and writing about it. They are always compared most likely due to their Italian-American background, losing their mothers at young ages, and both being from the same area. It makes sense, but despite these similarities, there are a lot of things both women do differently. This was a disservice to label them this way and almost looked as if it was made to cause controversy. She did a favor to Madonna as well who has her own fan base, musical mission, and message, and does not need to be compared either but rather valued for her own individuality too.

1 She Is Social Media Savvy

Finally, Lady Gaga's unique way of reaching fans through social media and the clever way that she gets more followers and helps fans while supporting the causes that she believes in something to love. Other artists, while close with fans, don't seem to have that same connection, have not named their fans with a very distinct nickname, and don't know how to run their social media accounts the way that Lady Gaga does. She has a lot of input as to what is put out there and knows how to connect with fans on a deeper level. This is what make people love her so much. The way she speaks directly and familiarly with her fans as if over a cup of coffee in her kitchen is also endearing and shows her sweet side. It is an interesting message for sure. We would definitely love to share a cup of coffee with Lady Gaga!