How I took Lady Gaga from secretary to megastar
Singer-songwriter Wendy Starland reveals how she put the leading lady in A Star Is Born on the road to chart-topping success after spotting her working behind a desk at a music publisher
land changed my life that night. Wendy was the angel that fulfilled my promise to my father one year before, on my 19th birthday. ‘Dad,’ I pleaded, ‘I hate college and want to drop out to become a rock star.’ He sternly replied, ‘You have one year to get a deal, and then you’re going back to school’.”
Starland will be watching Sunday’s Oscars in the hope that Gaga is named Best Actress for her role in A Star Is Born, a film which has special significance for her. “It brings back so many memories of watching the evolution of Stefani into the Lady Gaga as the world knows her today,” says Starland, who has worked with music greats including Moby, Billy Ray Cyrus and the Wu-Tang Clan, and has opened concerts for artists such as Sheryl Crow and Jack White.
“The film certainly contains elements of Lady Gaga’s own personal journey. Just like in the film, it was decided to dye her hair blonde. The paparazzi had mistaken Lady Gaga for Amy Winehouse, so we decided she should become a blonde. Her music evolved from something very organic into something much more pop with dancers.”
JUST as Gaga’s handlers in A Star Is Born debate whether her nose is too big for pop stardom, so in real life did Starland and Gaga’s record company discuss remoulding her looks – only to decide they preferred how she was born that way.
Gaga’s signature fashion style was also a project that Starland helped shape. “So many stars at the time were going for something that was sweet, pretty and perfect,” says Starland. “I wanted Gaga to get the attention she deserved without being compared to them. So, who dresses up in an avantgarde way? The gay nightclub community in New York City, where we were living.
“Gaga started dressing in a more flamboyant style. Her costumes were immediately embraced by that audience, so we also changed her name to reflect that. Who is one of the biggest gay icons? Freddie Mercury of Queen. What was their hit song? Radio Gaga. But she wasn’t a radio, she’s a lady, and so we came up with Lady Gaga.”
Most importantly, Starland helped Gaga find her signature musical style, pursuing dance music in 2006 when it wasn’t so popular.
“It was a courageous choice, and Gaga was either going to fly or fail,” says Starland. “She made sure her career took off like a rocket.”
With a best actress Oscar nomination, and performing her hit song Shallow from A Star Is Born at the Academy Awards, Lady Gaga’s rocketship career clearly is still in the ascendant.
And Gaga has never forgotten the debt of thanks she owes Starland. In her letter of recommendation Gaga wrote: “Without Wendy’s remarkable ears, hearing through my rough-around-the-edges college band, the eyes to see through 15lb I would lose over the next three months, and the heart to reveal to me one of her most credible contacts, I may never have become Lady Gaga. There’s no PhD needed to understand the magnitude of what this woman did for my life, and I simply cannot refuse her my infinite gratitude.”
She signed her letter: “Peace, Love, and Disco Dancing, Lady GaGa aka. Always just Stefani to Wendy.”