Opening with a 'bam' - or perhaps 'pop' is more apt - Just Dance, the first track on Lady Gaga's glam rock-inspired The Fame, is catchy and fresh. Its rhythm makes it near-impossible not to tap your fingers and wriggle your toes, even when you're sitting at your desk behind a mind-numbing computer screen. It's the kind of tune that makes you want to turn the volume all the way up.

Lady Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, learned to play the piano by ear when she was four. By the age of 13 she had her first piano ballad under her belt. She started playing open mic nights in New York clubs when she was just 14, and she was signed to a record label the time she was 20.

The talented 22-year-old is responsible for the lyrics, melodies and most of the synth work on her debut album. But it's not just her musical skills that have catapulted her to fame - Lady Gaga knows how to show off a sequin or two, and her performances often border on controversy, involving hairspray fireballs, bikinis and hotpants.