Five years ago, Lady Gaga did non exist. Then 19, Stefani Germanotta was waitressing and singing in dingy New York clubs. But she had bigger goals. "Don't ask me how or why," she sings in "The Fame," her debut album'southward title rail, which recalls the genesis of her career, "but I'm gonna make information technology happen."

Gaga broke through final twelvemonth as a global phenomenon, musing on "disco sticks," channeling Madonna's glitter-glam way, and cribbing daze-rock performance notes from Alice Cooper. Some critics say she'due south derivative. But Gaga has done something unprecedented, melding her inspirations with au courant dance pop and Web savvy to build a business concern empire notable for both the speed of its cosmos and the diversity of its platforms.

Now 24, she reigns over a make that spans music (ten million-plus albums sold), video (1 billion-plus Web views), blueprint (Monster headphones, Polaroid cameras), and marketing (HP, MAC Cosmetics). "No other artist commands the kind of attention that Gaga does," says Gabe McDonough, an exec at the ad agency DDB. "If she does something with your brand, information technology'southward like bam!–a million eyeballs."

It's hard to look abroad: Gaga is ubiquitous, largely considering she deftly exploits the Spider web. "Her persona is built for the online generation," says MAC head John Demsey, with whom she created a shade of Viva Glam lipstick that has raised $2.ii 1000000 for AIDS awareness. (It was Viva Glam's most successful launch ever.) Her cultish army of fans mimic her dance moves on YouTube, uploading 15,000-plus videos. They devour her musings on Twitter, where @ladygaga has 3.8 meg followers, and Facebook, where half-dozen.4 meg people accept declared themselves fans. To keep them engaged, she gives cheers in real time, tweeting in support of a Tennessee student sent home for wearing an I ♥ Lady Gay Gay T-shirt and posting a photograph of her tattoo that reads Little Monsters, her nickname for her fans. Her outlandish way sense seems tailor-fabricated for online slide shows; she was the most-Googled image of 2009.

While other pop tarts sell tabloids and Auto-Tune their voices, the Lady cultivates her brand with near-armed forces rigor. In 2008, she handpicked several friends to form a artistic squad that she calls Haus of Gaga. Together, they produce look-at-me fashions–a nude, bubble-covered bodysuit, a flame-shooting metal bustier–that define her concerts and her controversial videos, which drive a full 25% of the music site Vevo's traffic. "Bad Romance" alone has racked up some 200 million plays on YouTube; it'southward the site'due south No. 1 clip of all time.

Gaga'southward videos obviously promote herself, but they besides tout her partners' products, such as Monster's Heartbeats headphones and HP's Envy fifteen Beats Limited Edition laptop, which cameo in "Bad Romance." She features unaffiliated brands, such every bit Wonder Bread, using them for what she calls "a commentary on the kind of country that nosotros are." The references "really help her artistic statement," McDonough says. "Not having them would be like making a movie nearly hockey and not having ads on the boards."

Across serving its queen and mammon, the Gaga empire stresses social enterprise. "When we approach most artists, it's 'Here's what we want to do,' and nosotros're washed," says Ron Faris of Virgin Mobile, a sponsor of Gaga'southward U.S. tour. But she set weather: The linkup had to involve her fans and her causes. So Virgin created a shrine to the Little Monsters (ladyvirgin.com) and gave show tickets to those who did customs service, helping generate xxx,000 hours nationwide.

She has also wowed in the boardroom. When Polaroid CMO Jon Pollock met her to talk over teaming up, he says he expected "a chat about pinkish boas." Instead, she offered insights almost digital strategy and how to position Polaroid to reach her generation. Impressed, Pollock gave Gaga creative control of several products. "Her pattern, her experience, her mode of thinking all work at a dissimilar level."

The enthusiasm was common. Gaga proudly posted a photo of her "creative manager" business bill of fare–her showtime–and said, "I am so excited … to, equally my father puts it, finally accept a existent task."–Dan Macsai

For some people, fame kills it and becomes more than important than the music or the performance. Simply for me fame is similar rocket fuel. The more than my fans like what I'yard doing, the more I want to give dorsum to them. And my passion is so strong I can't sleep–I haven't slept for three days.

I'k already crazy. I'm a fearless person. I think information technology creeps upwardly on you. I don't think it can be stopped. If my destiny is to lose my mind because of fame, then that's my destiny. But my passion even so means more than anything.

I find on phase, I look out into the audience and at that place are coke cans bobbing upwardly and downward everywhere. I love the fact my fans have picked up on something I really merely did as scrap of fun and a annotate on consumerism. My one tip is to brand certain they are washed out properly!

yard already crazy. I'm a fearless person. I think it creeps upward on you. I don't think it can be stopped. If my destiny is to lose my mind considering of fame, then that's my destiny. But my passion withal means thou