Brand Lady Gaga

Brand Lady Gaga: Storytelling in the Context of Music Stardom offers a close reading of Lady Gaga's branding.

Nelligan uses discourse and textual analyses to examine Gaga's media interviews, product marketing, live performances, films and documentaries, songs, albums, and music videos, and she teases out the many narratives that shape Gaga's public image. These include: Gaga's relationship with her fans and the Monster collective; individual agency and neoliberalism in the marketing of Haus Laboratories; mental health and well-being and Gaga's work with the Born This Way Foundation; LGBTIQ rights and social activism; creative agency and Gaga's merging of pop music, couture fashion, and performance art; family relationships and Gaga's connection to her late aunt, Joanne. These themes provide the basis for what Nelligan argues is Gaga's central brand narrative of authenticity. The book contributes to ongoing debates on persona and image construction in popular music studies and provides insight into the political economy of stardom in 21st century pop music.