Talk:Lady Gaga

Audio file

@SNUGGUMS: I noticed you have reverted my edit where I included a recording of Lady Gaga singing in her infobox. As far as I am aware, it is common practice to include a recording of a person's voice on biographic articles if such a recording is available (for example: Albert Einstein, Barack Obama, Jimmy Wales, and hundreds of other examples at [1]) since a person's voice is useful biographical information. If you have a problem with the fact that it is a recording of her singing and not in regular speaking, then feel free to find such a (Free Content) recording and upload it to Commons. ―Howard • 🌽³³ 12:17, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

I haven't seen it used nearly as often as images or even signatures, though for the record, I regardless wouldn't recommend it for those linked pages either. Singing tends to be 30-second maximum samples that might get used in song or album articles when not featured in a bio, and are you sure your additon is even free of copyright? It would help to keep WP:Non-free content criteria in mind and I'm still not sure how this could be "useful biographical information". SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 12:26, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

@SNUGGUMS: With this rational, I'm guessing there is thousands of articles you need to remove audio samples from, matter of fact I've created and posted many myself. Extremely poor rational in my opinion, however this particular sample is too long, right around 30 seconds is normal. - FlightTime (open channel) 13:15, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

I am sure my addition is free of copyright since it was taken from this video, which is a US Federal govt work, and is thus in the public domain. The reason audio recordings aren't as common as images or signatures is because finding Free Content recordings of individuals is difficult. It's easier for anyone to take a quick photograph or an autograph of someone than it is to have them stand and speak into a microphone for even a minute. The only reason audio of songs in Wikipedia articles are generally restricted to around 30 seconds is due to Fair Use copyright restrictions, which limit the amount the audio of a copyrighted song can appear on Wikipedia. Works of older music which have entered the public domain are often shown in full. (eg. Symphony No. 9, Rhapsody in Blue, The Entertainer)

As far as I am aware, it has been common practice to include people's voices in their Wikipedia articles since 2013, so there appears to be unspoken consensus that a person's voice is useful biographical information. I do not mean that this practice is an established guideline or rule written in any help page on Wikipedia, but it should still be noted that I am not the only person who thinks that a person's voice is useful in their article. However, if you believe that people's voices should not be included across all articles, then it may be prudent to start this discussion elsewhere so that we may have a more general and consistent policy regarding voice recordings across all biographical articles. ―Howard • 🌽³³ 13:07, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

With non-free samples, there at least tend to be captions discussing the audio and relevance. You still haven't elaborated on what benefit(s) this gives from what I can tell. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 17:10, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

In my opinion, the benefit of having her voice in this article is that it directly demonstrates her singing voice. Since she is a singer by occupation, I believe it is relevant to people who are trying to learn about her singing style that we have a sample of her singing. It's a bit like having an article about a famous painter without showing a single painting they've made. A reference for those unfamiliar would be helpful in this case, and I am not aware of any other free content recordings of her singing. ―Howard • 🌽³³ 17:27, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 27 July 2024

In the last line of the career section the edit about Gaga’s eighth album being announced is incorrect. At the end of the HBO special for the Chromatica Ball it’s teases LG7. Could the change be made to teased her 7th studio album. Her projects for films and with Tony are their own category of albums. 65.79.130.31 (talk) 21:46, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

 Not done we shouldn't downplay how the albums with Tony Bennett count towards her totals, so eighth is in fact correct, and don't treat a vague description in teasers as indicators of an album count (especially when that's not even a formal name for whatever she releases next). SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 04:18, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 July 2024

Please add this in her personal life or something but this is official.

source: https://people.com/lady-gaga-engaged-michael-polansky-8628832 122.55.235.123 (talk) 07:34, 29 July 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. JTP ^{(talk • contribs)} 23:21, 29 July 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 August 2024

She has sold 124 million records. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists 2A00:6020:A51F:2B00:20F7:76A6:745E:D4C1 (talk) 00:57, 5 August 2024 (UTC)

Gaga’s upcoming studio album - seventh or eighth?

Gaga has referred to the album several times as her seventh studio album. Referring to it as her eighth alongside articles that repeatedly call it "LG7" aka her seventh is confusing for readers. Her albums with Tony Bennett are collaborative albums consisting of covers of classic jazz tunes. Her next album will be her seventh studio album. It is unclear how her albums are labelled in her recording contract or internally so the point of reference should be the artist themselves in my opinion. Sweetcheeks123 (talk) 04:37, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Genre doesn't negate overall count and neither does containing covers. The albums with Tony still count and I refuse to pretend otherwise. As for the informal "LG7" thing, see what I wrote in a previous thread. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 04:52, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

I guess it will become clearer when the album is released and the artist and both the media refer to it as her seventh studio album... Sweetcheeks123 (talk) 13:20, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Bold of you to assume all journalists would use the same number. I've seen many instances of articles giving wrong album counts for other artists, so this wouldn't be the first case where anybody does that, but we can't say for certain how many will later get it right. Regardless, don't treat informal descriptions as surefire indications. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 17:07, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

I'll add my edit summary here in case we need to refer to it in the future. 'Gaga released five solo studio album (TFM is classified as EP) and two with Bennett, making this her eighth studio album despite Gaga referring to it as 'LG7', we're not saying we know better than Gaga which album this is, but rather that she follows a different system of classifying her albums, please respect the system we use here on Wikipedia and don't change it to 'her seventh studio album.' To add to it, I believe that contractually this is Gaga's seventh release with Interscope in terms of records she's obligated to make for them which includes TFM, and that would explain why she refers to the upcoming album as LG7, but that does not mean we should discount her records with Tony Bennett. ArturSik (talk) 13:04, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Lady Gaga and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

Went to edit this in but my account isn't allowed:

"Gaga went through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, along with the eminent mathematicians Terence Tao and Lenhard Ng, Meta founder Mark Zuckerburg, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin."

Then I would have changed further references to Lady Gaga using "She" and "Gaga" in keeping with the alternating style of the paragraph.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/537152a (paragraph 6) RelativeMass (talk) 06:54, 19 August 2024 (UTC)

+ NYU as alma mater to infobox?

Although not a graduate, Gaga spent almost two years there and "...studied music there and improved her songwriting skills...". See, Bill Gates GA article - he left Harvard after two years, but Harvard is listed in his alma_mater infobox. Quaerens-veritatem (talk) 02:43, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

That would give a false impression she graduated/got a degree, and this is why Harvard shouldn't be listed for Bill Gates under the field either (though at the time of this writing, his infobox actually lists that under "education" instead with a notice of dropping out). It's better saved for those who actually finish their studies at the place or minimally get an associate's degree (perhaps before transferring elsewhere to get a bachelor's). SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 05:11, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

As with Gates the infobox could list NYU with '(did not graduate)' and under 'education' although 'alma_mater' seems better - '..."a university that one once attended". She was there long enough to write a thesis and spent a relevant and formative time there as a youth developing her music and songwriting. Convent of the Sacred Heart is listed in the infobox under 'education' but it doesn't appear to have the effect of the NYU education. As an Ivy Leaguer, I am no big fan of NYU and agree usually not to include, but when it's the formative education she had, why not? What are the concrete reasons for no inclusion? Quaerens-veritatem (talk) 05:37, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Sorry to complicate this thread, but should Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute she attended for ten years be included under education, also? Quaerens-veritatem (talk) 05:57, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Calling something an alma mater is using the term rather loosely when one drops out, though for the record, I'm not sure Sacred Heart or Strasberg are worth adding either regardless of graduation status. It therefore is misleading to describe her as an alumnus of NYU. Another thing to consider is how WP:INFOBOXPURPOSE says "The less information that an infobox contains, the more effectively it serves its purpose, allowing readers to identify key facts at a glance". Gaga's education doesn't sound like a key fact, and either way is nowhere near important as her music career or even acting roles. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 11:16, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Singer-songwriter link

Why is singer-songwriter linked in the lede? Other articles such as Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, Olivia Rodrigo, among others do not have the word linked. ScarletViolet tc 10:03, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

I agree. It's a fairly common term and doesn't need linking. FrB.TG (talk) 10:43, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

Draft for upcoming album

• Draft:Upcoming Lady Gaga album

---Another Believer _(Talk) 17:28, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

Short description wording

Hi @SNUGGUMS, is there a consensus that "actress" should be included in the short description? Well, I agree that her acting career is notable and lead-worthy. However, I don't think it's as notable as her music career. I mean, WP:SDESC (I know it isn't a policy or a guideline) states, "A short description is not a definition, and editors should not attempt to define the article's subject nor to summarise the lead." Thedarkknightli (talk) 23:03, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

Yes, Gaga's music is overall more famous, but her acting has been growing in prominence over the past decade. Something I've gone by is that if an occupation is worth mentioning in the first sentence, then chances are it's also suitable for the short description. It had been there for quite some time before you removed that. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 23:42, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

Well, I think it's fine to exclude "actress". WP:SDESC also states, "Because they are intended to be scanned quickly, longer, more specific descriptions can be less useful." Thedarkknightli (talk) 00:15, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Hi @FMSky, could you please take a look at this? Thanks in advance! Thedarkknightli (talk) 03:50, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

Personal life section

I added a "personal life" section yesterday, which is standard for a biography article. It included information about her various relationships (previously been scattered throughout the "career" section) and I added new content about her dating and her religion. I also subsumed her activism section under this, which is also standard for a personal life section.

Another editor (User:SNUGGUMS) summarily reverted all of these changes, including deleting all of the new content wholesale, while only citing that it's not necessary to include all of her dating relationships (which I sort of agree with, but so what). I undid that revert but I would like more input. natemup (talk) 15:57, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

The idea of having such a section here has already been brought up and rejected multiple times. As I've mentioned in prior threads, it's a risky idea when that would likely get bloated with excessive details. Not a chance worth taking here. Some pages might not attract much fancruft, gossip, or trivia for their sections (beats me why some get more overstuffed than others), but nevertheless I'm certain it would happen for Gaga. On another note, whenever she works professionally with a partner, writing about romantic involvement closer towards that can help avoid (or at least reduce) repetitive mentions of collaborations. For what it's worth, Ms. Germanotta certainly isn't the only case of someone not having a "personal life" split into a separate section on their Wikipedia bio page. Sometimes it's best to not have one. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 17:01, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

Upon what Wikipedia policy or recommendation do you base the idea that we should not add a standard biographical section because it, in the opinion of one editor, might become bloated in the future? (Isn't that the point of having other editors, who would restore balance?)

Moreover, you've given no explanation for deleting all of the new content, not just her relationships that you feel are not important.

(And do feel free to point me toward any RFCs or consensus that there should be no "personal life" section. I will do some digging in the meantime.) natemup (talk) 17:07, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

I now see that there have been at least two discussions from 6+ years ago—prior to Gaga's two most recent engagements—that had minimal participation and clearly came to no consensus. Feel free to offer any other concerns.

If you do feel that strongly about deleting the section, I think it's worth an RfC (not least because the feared bloat has apparently never actually occurred here). natemup (talk) 17:17, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

I have to agree with SNUGGUMS. I can understand the point of a ‘Personal life’ section when there’s more to write (e.g. Angelina Jolie#Personal life). But here you just made a list of her relationships. Let’s also not ignore the fact that the main section is named ‘Life and career’ so her relationships were hardly misplaced to begin with. And her religion is included in the ‘Early life’ sub section. Her religion in the section you created is also a perfect example of what SNUGGUMS said. Before we know it. Someone will add to it that she has an x number of dogs, an x number of tattoos and likes to eat eggs for breakfast. Trivia. In this article, the ‘Personal life’ section simply serves no purpose. ArturSik (talk) 18:19, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

As stated here multiple times, I added new information on her current religion. I was also preparing to add some on her chronic illnesses, which are also scattered throughout the rest of the article. Her current religion is currently included nowhere in the article, just that she was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school. And it seems manifestly POV to equate information on her religion with her number of dogs and tattoos. At no point, was there any meaningless trivia included in the personal life section I created. Just the information that was previously difficult to find because of its random locations.

P.S. Using "Life and career" in lieu of a personal life section really isn't a thing on Wikipedia from what I know. Many have both, and "life and career" should be "Biography" anyway—with a personal life section thereafter. natemup (talk) 21:28, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

In addition to early life, her religious affiliation is mentioned under "LGBT advocacy" with a 2019 quote that was more recent than the 2016 link used for Catholicism. Each of the relationships Natemup introduced appear to have been low-profile upon further inspection, at least compared to Fusari and the fiancés, and either way my biggest qualm is that Daniel Horton was never confirmed by Gaga, him, or their representatives to begin with. With or without intending to, that inclusion violated WP:BLP and WP:NOTGOSSIP, confirming my suspicions that gossipy content would get added to a "personal life" section for her. The link used just went off rumors and speculation, making it an inadequate attribution for personal claims that involve living people, and we shouldn't take such claims about them at face value so easily unless minimally one involved party (which can include their reps) affirms they were ever more than friends (kissing photos don't always equate to an official romance either when those can potentially be one-day-only instances). FrB.TG has thankfully reverted that violation when restoring prior structure. As for an RFC, we don't need that when those tend to make things drag out for longer than necessary. This also is far from the only bio where "life and career" section contains romances without a "personal life" subsection contained in that. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 21:58, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

Harlequin

SNUGGUMS: Answering your question from the edit summary, my understanding is that a soundtrack album consists of music/songs used directly in a film. In Joker: Folie a Deux, songs were performed by Gaga and Phoenix live, similarly to ‘ASIB’ and those will be included on the soundtrack album due for release on Oct 4th. But ‘Harlequin’ are Gaga’s interpretations of those songs, and recorded independently from the film. For starters, Joaquin does not seem to be featured on any of them. Of course, there’s still very little information about the release, but it seems that Gaga wanted to put her own spin on the songs they performed in ‘Joker’ and recorded her own studio versions. Does that count as a soundtrack to the film? It’s releated to it/been inspired by it. But none of the songs seem to actually be part of it. ArturSik (talk) 21:44, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

If it's a track-by-track solo version of everything on the movie's main soundtrack with Joaquin, then that sounds akin to a cover album or perhaps a re-recording, but I don't believe the latter has been fully revealed yet so let's wait until that happens. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 21:51, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

The soundtrack tracklist leaked a couple of days ago and it’s only got some of the songs that ‘Harlequin’ has. Also, Harlequin has some new titles which are believed to be original songs, but again nothing confirmed yet. Regardless, even if all songs were covers wouldn’t that still be classified as a studio album? Her jazz albums consist of covers as well. ArturSik (talk) 21:59, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

‘Harlequin’ should be considered a mixtape. The Wikipedia description for a mixtape is "a mixtape often describes a self-produced or independently released album" and "the term has been applied to a number of releases published for profit in the 2010". The article continues with "released as holdovers or low-key releases between studio albums". Lady Gaga is promoting it as the LG6.5, something between the LG6 (Chromatica) and the LG7 (to be released). Furthermore, the album will be released on Lil Monsters' own record label. 2804:B48:194C:B100:899A:B7B3:4CA:4408 (talk) 23:06, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

I believe its concept will be similar to Prince's Batman album. But yes, we have little information about it yet. GagaNutella^talk 23:21, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

The record label used is irrelevant to overall count, and same goes for whether she produces the tracks. As for that tweet, it's from a fan account, so I'd take that with a grain of salt. Regardless, having all covers could potentially be a new studio album in itself. I just didn't think that would be the case when re-doing one's own songs from other releases (like Gaga did with Hitmixes being all remixes of previous songs). SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 01:26, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

The soundtrack album article offers another definition by BBC: 'By convention, a soundtrack record can contain any kind of music including music "inspired by" but not actually appearing in the movie.' The album is generally associated with the film and not treated as Gaga's new studio album, being referred to as a 'companion album' to Joker. Based on this, can we assume it is a soundtrack of sorts? ArturSik (talk) 12:47, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

Request for comment on adding "Personal life" section

Should we add a "Personal life" section to reference her relationships, health struggles, activism, and religion? natemup (talk) 04:06, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

• Yes: The article currently has a "Life and career" section that includes only some of her romantic relationships and health struggles scattered throughout. Her current and specific religion (Catholicism), which has been reported on publicly, is not mentioned at all. Easy fix with a "Personal life" section.

natemup (talk) 04:08, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

• No it poses a risk that would do more bad than good, and you still show no concern for the points on bloating or duplications I brought up in a previous thread. Furthermore, when her most recent comments on religious affiliation (at least that I know of) are simply "Christian" as of 2019 and currently mentioned in the page, we can't simply assume a more specific mention of Catholicism from 2016 still applies. How do you know she still practices that particular division instead of being non-denominational, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox? I regardless will bring up again that the only relationships worth mentioning so far have already been implemented. We don't need low-profile or super brief involvements, especially without formal confirmation that there even was non-plantonic involvements. I'll take this moment to remind you that pieces speculating on individuals going beyond friendship are NOT a sufficient basis for inclusion per WP:BLP and WP:NOTGOSSIP. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 12:07, 26 September 2024 (UTC)
• Yes: There seems to be enough information for a section dedicated to personal life whether or not she is Catholic. CurryCity (talk) 15:57, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

Yes. Personal life is standard for this type of biography (compare her recent co-star Joaquin Phoenix). I appreciate @SNUGGUMS's concerns about bloating and trivia, but it does not seem that this common structure for WP:BLP creates that risk where it is used across Wikipedia, and nothing about this page suggests a greater risk here than any of the countless other pages on which it is used. To the specific reverted edit [2], the only added information was a current engagement, which does not seem to violate WP:NOTGOSSIP; noteably it leaves out many other less significant relationships mentioned in the supporting source. If future edits add bloat or trivia, by all means revert them. Carleas (talk) Carleas (talk) 14:59, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

• The violation of WP:NOTGOPSSIP actually was adding Daniel Horton without formal confirmation that they ever were more than friends, and all engagements were already implemented before it got restructured. You might be surprised how often "personal life" sections get filled with excess detail for other folks, and I remain convinced it would happen here again like it did with Natemup's imposition. could save ourselves such trouble by not having this split out. I've lots track of how often I see minor and/or speculated relationships added elsewhere. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 16:32, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

Proposing new infobox picture

I propose we change Lady Gaga's infobox picture to a more recent one. The current image is outdated, and selecting a newer photo would better represent her current appearance and ongoing career evolution. Additionally, it's preferable to use a picture where she's facing the camera, as this provides a more direct and engaging portrayal, allowing readers to better connect with her. Kirtap92 (talk) 13:21, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Gaga_by_Cameron_Smith_in_2023.jpg Kirtap92 (talk) 13:21, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

The reason I'm not a fan of this picture is because she's standing close to another person (Biden), which limits how wide we can crop it and even then you can still see his arm. The crop in my opinion is too close, which can be overwhelming. I tried to make another crop but like I said it was very difficult to come up with anything better as you can't ignore the fact that there's another person standing next to her. The current picture was taken only 2 years earlier, so I would not call it outdated. Gaga has not changed that much during that time, and the picture from the inauguration in my opinion better represents her as a public figure. ArturSik (talk) 13:31, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

To go with another image solely because it's newer would be an appeal to novelty, and as ArturSik notes, there haven't been any drastic changes over the past few years nor is a 2021 shot "outdated". A more important thing to consider is whether more recent photos are free of copyright. SNUGGUMS (talk / edits) 16:52, 26 September 2024 (UTC)