Emma Johnson profiles a larger-than-life Lady there is no avoiding

SHE has been described as one part Blondie and one part Madonna, swirled in a Scissor Sisters’ cocktail, and, while the jury’s out on whether she really is the saviour of pop music as we know it, there is no avoiding Lady GaGa.

With her peroxide blonde hair, outrageous outfits and penchant for speaking her mind, the songstress has been creating a stir in the music press for months, and has even been credited with creating the template for Christina Aguilera’s latest look.

She has already had number one hits in Australia and her native US, and on Sunday Lady GaGa proved the hype here when her debut single, Just Dance, topped the chart on downloads alone, knocking X Factor winner Alexandra Burke off her perch.

And the 22-year-old has wasted no time in speaking out about her reality show rival, sideswiping that she herself is no “talent show wannabe”.

Not the sort of tone you might expect of a former convent school girl educated at the same seat of learning as the Hilton sisters and Caroline Kennedy. But probably fitting for a former go-go dancer.

Growing up in Manhattan, Lady GaGa, whose real name is the rather more sophisticated Stefani Joanne Germanotta, fell in love with music as a little girl. Aged four, she could play piano by ear, and by 14 she was popping up at open mic nights in New York clubs.

At 17, she was given early admission to Tisch School of the Arts, at New York University, but by then she was already forging ahead with her music career.

Performing in clubs on the city’s Lower East Side, Lady GaGa – who cites David Bowie and Queen as influences and Donatella Versace as her fashion icon – became known for her wild, theatrical shows and “shock art”.

Typical performances involved being lowered onto the stage on a disco ball wearing just hot pants and a bikini top, and brandishing flaming cans of hairspray.

By the time she was 20, Lady GaGa had signed her first record deal and was penning tracks for other artists, including the Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears.

She says: “I did this the way you are supposed to. I played every club in New York City and I bombed in every club and then killed it in every club and I found myself as an artist. I learned how to survive as an artist, get real, and how to fail and then figure out who I was as singer and performer. And, I worked hard.