Lady Gaga broke out in 2008, and since then her career has spanned music, film and TV. She’s an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, among other plaudits. And she’s an envelope-pushing fashion icon (remember that meat dress?). But what are her best songs? Scroll down to see how we rank the greatest hits of her career so far. Do you agree with our choice for number-one? And do you think we unjustly left out any classics? Let us know in the comments.
Her breakthrough hit was “Just Dance” in 2008. That pop hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was certified nine-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It also earned her her first Grammy nomination: Best Dance Recording. But it was far from her last.
To date, Gaga has won 11 Grammys out of 27 nominations. And she achieved a rare feat of being nominated for Album of the Year for three consecutive years: for “The Fame” (2010), “The Fame Monster” (2011) and “Born This Way” (2012). She hasn’t won that top contest, though. She has also made a big impact at the MTV Video Music Awards, where “Bad Romance” won seven times in 2010 including Video of the Year; it’s the second most awarded video of all time, behind only Peter Gabriel‘s “Sledgehammer.”
She transitioned to acting too. That’s usually a risky proposition for a recording artist, but it paid off for Gaga. In 2016 she won a Golden Globe for Best Movie/Limited Actress for “American Horror Story: Hotel.” But her biggest success was yet to come. When she co-starred in a 2018 remake of the classic musical “A Star is Born,” she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and won Best Original Song for “Shallow,” her duet with co-star Bradley Cooper.
All of that before the age of 35. Check out our list of her best songs below, and let us know what you think.
26. “Dance in the Dark” (2010)
Album: “The Fame Monster”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Fernando Garibay
Accolades: Reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.
25. “Marry the Night” (2011)
Album: “Born This Way”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Fernando Garibay
Accolades: Reached number-29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it number-one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
24. “Perfect Illusion” (2016)
Album: “Joanne”
Songwriters: Kevin Parker, Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Michael Tucker
Accolades: Reached number-one in Belgium, Greece, France and Finland, and it peaked at number-15 on the US Hot 100.
23. “911”
Album: “Chromatica”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Madeon, Justin Tranter
Accolades: It was a top-10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
22. “Applause” (2013)
Album: “Artpop”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Paul “DJ White Shadow” Blair, Dino Zisis, Nick Monson , Martin Bresso, Nicolas Mercier, Julien Arias, William Grigahcine
Accolades: Hit number-four on the Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Songs and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts. It was certified four-times platinum.
21. “Stupid Love” (2020)
Album: “Chromatica”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Max Martin, Martin Joseph Leonard Bresso, Ely Weisfeld
Accolades: Debuted at number-five on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
20. “You and I” (2011)
Album: “Born This Way”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga
Accolades: Reached number-six on the Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance in 2012
19. “The Lady is a Tramp” with Tony Bennett (2011)
Album: “Duets II”
Songwriters: Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
Accolades: Reached number-one on Billboard’s Jazz Digital Songs chart.
18. “I’ll Never Love Again” (2019)
Album: “A Star is Born”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, Aaron Raitiere
Accolades: Won a Grammy in 2020 for Best Visual Media Song and was certified platinum.
17. “Always Remember Us This Way” (2018)
Album: “A Star is Born”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna
Accolades: Certified platinum in the US and earned a 2020 Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.
16. “Joanne” (2017)
Album: “Joanne”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson
Accolades: Won a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance in 2019.
15. “LoveGame” (2009)
Album: “The Fame”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Nadir Khayat
Accolades: A triple-platinum hit that reached number-five on the Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Songs chart.
14. “Til It Happens to You” (2015)
Album: Featured in the film “The Hunting Ground”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Diane Warren
Accolades: Earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and also won Warren an Emmy Award. It was additionally nominated for Best Visual Media Song at the 2016 Grammys.
13. “Holy Mc Hand” (2022)
Album: “Top Gun: Maverick (Music from the Motion Picture)”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, BloodPop
Accolades: It earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, plus a Grammy nomination for Best Visual Media Song and Gold Derby Music Award noms for Record and Song of the Year.
12. “Rain on Me” with Ariana Grande (2020)
Album: “Chromatica”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Nija Charles, Rami Yacoub, Michael Tucker, Martin Bresso, Alexander Ridha, Matthew Burns
Accolades: Debuted at number-one on the Hot 100 and earned seven MTV Video Music Award nominations including Video of the Year. It was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys.
11. “Alejandro” (2010)
Album: “The Fame Monster”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Nadir Khayat
Accolades: Reached number-five on the Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Songs chart.
10. “Telephone” featuring Beyonce (2010)
Album: “The Fame Monster”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin, Beyoncé Knowles
Accolades: Won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration.
9. “Judas” (2011)
Album: “Born This Way”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Nadir Khayat
Accolades: A number-one hit on the Dance Club Songs chart and an MTV Video Music Award nominee for choreography and art direction.
8. “Million Reasons” (2016)
Album: “Joanne”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey, Mark Ronson
Accolades: Reached number-four on the Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.
7. “Paparazzi” (2009)
Album: “The Fame”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Rob Fusari
Accolades: Earned five MTV Video Music Award nominations, winning for its special effects and art direction.
6. “Just Dance” featuring Colby O’Donis (2008)
Album: “The Fame”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Nadir “RedOne” Khayat, Aliaune “Akon” Thiam
Accolades: Her breakthrough hit reached number-one on the Hot 100, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording and has been certified nine-times platinum.
5. “The Edge of Glory” (2011)
Album: “Born This Way”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Paul Blair
Accolades: Reached number-three on the Hot 100, was certified four-times platinum and earned a People’s Choice Award nomination in 2012.
4. “Poker Face” (2008)
Album: “The Fame”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Nadir Khayat
Accolades: Reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, was certified diamond (10-times platinum or more), earned Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won Best Dance Recording, and won Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards.
3. “Born This Way” (2011)
Album: “Born This Way”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Jeppe Laursen
Accolades: A six-times platinum number-one hit on the Hot 100, won Best Female Video and Best Video with a Message at the MTV Video Music Awards.
2. “Shallow” with Bradley Cooper (2018)
Album: “A Star is Born”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, Mark Ronson
Accolades: Won Oscar, Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Original Song, also won two Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Visual Media Song. At the Grammys, it was also up for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
1. “Bad Romance” (2009)
Album: “The Fame Monster”
Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Nadir Khayat
Accolades: Won Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Music Video. The famous video, which has been viewed more than one billion times on YouTube, also swept the VMAs, claiming seven awards including Video of the Year. That makes “Bad Romance” the second most awarded video in VMA history, behind only Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” which won nine times in 1987.
