October 10, 2018
Lady Gaga, the Hollywood star, has arrived!
Unlike Ally, the shy, insecure singer she plays opposite Bradley Cooper in A Star is Born, Gaga, 32, born Stefani Germanotta, always felt she was destined for greatness.
PEOPLE’s new cover story goes inside her often-difficult journey to success — and to happiness. “What intrigued me about Ally is she was nothing like I was when I started,” Gaga recently told PEOPLE. “When I wanted to become a singer and decided that I was going to really hit the pavement and try to make it, I really believed in myself. I was intrigued by her vulnerability.”
Lady Gagas Emotional Journey from Bullied Teen to Pop Star to Hollywoods Newest Leading Lady
Back in 2008, when hit singles “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” off her blockbuster debut album The Fame made her a household name, few were aware Gaga’s struggle to get there.
“I was bullied and made fun of for having big dreams,” she later recalled of her years at the elite private Catholic school she attended. Being an outcast took its toll, causing her to act out.
“I was a such a bad kid… a f—ing nightmare,” she explained.
Lady Gagas Emotional Journey from Bullied Teen to Pop Star to Hollywoods Newest Leading Lady
Dropping out of New York University in 2005, Gaga made a deal with her dad that if things didn’t work out for her music career, she’d go back. She swiftly landed a record deal — and then lost it within a year.
At the time, “it ruined her life,” says friend Brendan Jay Sullivan, who met her in the early 2000s and wrote the 2013 memoir Rivington Was Ours: Lady Gaga, the Lower East Side, and the Prime of Our Lives.
Her dad didn’t force her to return to school, and she continued to take her music and performance art to any stage that would have her.
But “she was not being taken seriously,” Sullivan says. “We heard people say, ‘You’re not pretty enough for a pop star.’ And not behind her back either—to her face.”
That all changed once she became Gaga, a name based on the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga.”
Lady Gagas Emotional Journey from Bullied Teen to Pop Star to Hollywoods Newest Leading Lady
Her first producer and later boyfriend, Rob Fusari, who witnessed the creative transformation, says that when he first heard her sing, “it was like watching electricity bouncing off the walls.”
To play Ally, Gaga recently told PEOPLE she had to go “back further into my childhood, into my high school years.”
“That’s where I went . . . to be vulnerable, to be my authentic self,” she said.
A Star Is Born is in theaters now.
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SkyPixel 9th Annual Photo & Video Contest Winners Announced
Mar 19, 2024
Competition Receives a Record Number of Submissions that Highlight the Power of Innovation SHENZHEN, China, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyPixel, one of the world's most popular online communities for aerial photography and videography, today announces the winners of the SkyPixel 9th Annual Photo & Video Contest. Co-organized with DJI, this year's competition attracted over 130,000 submissions – a 100% increase from the previous year. The contest welcomed submissions from across the creator community, which includes professionals, aerial enthusiasts, and creative newcomers, showcasing their personal histories through the art of visual innovation. A Contest Shaped by You The SkyPixel Annual Photo & Video Contest is a testament to the power of innovation led imagery, honoring stories that shape the art of image capture both on solid ground and amidst the clouds. SkyPixel has cultivated a community-driven platform that reflects the dreams and aspirations of creators worldwide, and the annual competition has been a conduit for people who love image creation to express themselves as it authentically reflects the desires and aspirations of creators worldwide. Industry-Leading Judges The 9th Annual Photo & Video Contest was assessed by a Judging Panel of incredible professionals in the industry. In photography, seasoned experts include Wen Huang, a World Press Photo judge and Senior Editor, and Anne Farrar, Assistant Photography Chief Editor at National Geographic, Nan Li, the Photo Director of Southern Weekly, and Daniel Kordan, a renowned landscape photographer. In the video category, the judges include Michael Fitzmaurice, the Aerial Director of Photography of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," and Xiaoshi Zhao, known for his award-winning work on "Forever Enthralled." Bing Xi, a prominent figure in the Chinese TVC industry, and celebrated filmmaker Brandon Li round out the panel. After careful deliberation, the panel proudly presents the final winners for the year. 9th Annual Best Work Prize – Video: "Haines Alaska Through the Eyes of Luke Bredar" by Luke Bredar This year's video judging panel, which includes award-winning Cinematographers and Directors of Photography, chose Luke Bredar's video, "Haines Alaska Through the Eyes of Luke Bredar." This short film mixes heart-pounding action shots of a skier racing down a snowy mountaintop landscapes with breathtaking shots of Alaska's mountainous, winter terrain. Luke Bredar details the thought process behind the short film, "The motivation behind creating this video was to evoke themes of otherworldliness, objective risk, the interplay between risk and the essence of human spirit, solitude, impermanence, self-sufficiency, and the journey of incomplete wandering intertwined with heartbreak." This short film is an epic story made in collaboration with Matchstick Productions. Bredar explains how he pursues a better visual presentation through his creative process "I think to myself. How would my child self want to see this filmed? And I almost always get a clear vision in response. There are a myriad of challenges shooting aerial cinematography in mountain environments, but they are all ...Full story available on Benzinga.com
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