14 DAY TRIAL // Before Lady Gaga was Gaga, she was Stefani Germanotta, an artist trying to make a name for herself while also having to deal with her shyness, her former manager reveals for People magazine.
Bob Leone says he first met Stefani when she was 13 or 14 years old and so incredibly and painfully shy she could hardly muster the courage to go up on stage and perform.
“She was painfully shy – very different from who she is now,” Leone recalls. “She came to the open mics with her mother twice before she built up the courage to go onstage.”
However, though very reserved and shy, Stefani had a lot of potential and Leone saw that on the spot. He worked with her for several years, he says.
As the former manager puts it, the singer had all the makings of a pop star. Plus, she also wrote her own lyrics and could play various instruments, which were clearly an advantage.
“She was prodigy-like. She was clearly a very good songwriter and keyboard player,” Leone says.
In 2006, Stefani began to transform herself into Gaga, which was utterly fascinating to watch, especially because of the effect it had on others.
“It was a very important six months because going into it, she was Stefani, and she was still writing pop music. By the end of that six month period, she was officially Lady Gaga,” Leone says.
“She blew everyone away,” Leone says of one time when Gaga performed at an artists’ showcasing.
“Nobody talked about anything after that show but Lady Gaga. She bantered with the audience and was very funny. I never noticed that sense of humor when she was Stefani,” the former manager explains.
Even back then, though still at the beginning of her amazing journey, Gaga had no doubt about where she wanted to arrive.
“Whenever someone asked her, ‘what is your goal?’ she would always give the same two-word answer: ‘world domination.’ [Now] she’s got it!” her former manager says with a laugh.
As we also informed you yesterday, Gaga is now putting the finishing touches to her new album, “Born This Way,” which Sir Elton John described as absolutely “amazing.” It’s coming out early next year.