Why So Gaga About Lady Gaga?

After millions of downloads, and over a billion views for her risqué videos, Lady Gaga is the new love-it-or-leave-it superstar. We hear the case for the glam-pop icon.

Stephani Germanotta was only four years old when she learned to play the piano. At thirteen she wrote her first song, and by nineteen she had a record deal and a new handle: "Lady Gaga."

Part go-go dancer, part diva, with outsized costumes and brazen sexuality, she’s been called the new Madonna. Maybe bigger.

But there are bigger themes. Believe in yourself, she says. Total girl-power. It feels like everyone is listening, watching, and singing along with Lady Gaga. And they’re hearing the message.

This hour, On Point: Going gaga over Lady Gaga.
>Guests:

Nancy Bauer, associate professor of philosophy at Tufts University. Her Op-Ed on Lady Gaga, "Lady Power," appeared in Sunday's New York Times.

Maura Johnston, music critic. She's written for The Daily Beast, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Gawker, and Awl.