When January dawned, if you were aware of MTV's Woman of the Year, Lady Gaga, at all, it was likely because you spent a lot of time in dank dance clubes and had started hearing her first single "Just Dance."

But within months, the most outrageous pop estrela since madonna had us all transfixed with her signature mix of dark disco, futuristic fashion and provocative stage shows. Gaga became an instant global celebrity seemingly overnight, but it's hard to remember someone who has taken to the spotlight as quickly and as effectively as the former bar singer born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.


She wowed us with her virtual death at the VMAs, did it again at the AMAs with a bizarre, bottle-smashing piece of performance art and raised mais than eyebrows with the provocative video for the first single from her recent The Fame Monster EP, "Bad Romance."

In between, she went from opening for the Pussycat bonecas to collaborating with fellow buzz act Wale, reaching out to her fervent gay following often, hooking up with Beyoncé, getting props from madonna and ending the ano with the over-the-top Monster Ball tour.

Add in a hookup with Adam Lambert, a visit with the queen of England and a Billboard record for becoming the first artist in the 17-year history of the Pop Songs chart to land four #1 singles from a debut, and you have a pretty good ano for Ms. Gaga.