Lady Gaga's 'The Fame Monster' turns 15 this year—here's why it's still so iconic

Lady Gaga's most iconic era? We think so! 

It's been 16 years since Lady Gaga burst onto the scene in 2008 with her breakthrough single "Just Dance." But while The Fame gave Gaga her first batch of hits, 2009's expanded reissue The Fame Monster cemented the singer as a pop force to be reckoned with.

But what made the era so iconic?

The singles? The looks? The controversy? The star behind them?

Of course, it was all of the above.

Prior to The Fame Monster (which officially dropped on November 18, 2009), Gaga had snagged two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Just Dance and "Poker Face," as well as two more Top 10 hits in "Paparazzi" and "Love Game."

The "woah oh oh oh" heard around the world

Gaga opened the era with a song and music video that is now instantly recognizable around the globe.

"Bad Romance" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the music video has over 1.8 billion views on YouTube at the time of this writing (June 2024). Following the mainstream success of The Fame, Gaga was able to play with a bigger budget, crazier fashions, and choreography we couldn't take our eyes off of. Accusations of being in the Illuminati followed her wherever she went, and she wasn't afraid to stir up controversy with her unashamed embracing of the LGBTQ+ community in a time prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries across the globe.

And the music was just so damn good. Even your mom knows this song! Now that's impact.

The stan term "Monster" was officially coined

Gaga's intense fanbase is known as the "Little Monsters," and that name was cemented during this era. Not to mention it's the title of one of her most beloved b-sides on the album. She still performs the song to this day, having included it in on the setlist of her 2022 Chromatica Ball concert tour and the 2024 HBO documentary.

The Beyoncé feature

If the first single from this era wasn't enough of a game changer, the second single was downright scandalous.

"Telephone," featuring the one and only Beyoncé, is a relatively innocent pop song lyrically, but Gaga took time in the music video to address that widespread media rumor mill accusing her of having a penis. The visual spectacle is an ICONIC nine-and-a-half short film where Beyoncé picks up Gaga from prison, hand-feeds her a honeybun, and then the two go on a killing spree in a diner before dancing over the carcasses in Americana regalia.

It doesn't get much more legendary than this.

Then there was "Alejandro"

Anyone named Alejandro can tell you that this song haunts them to this day. The album's third single and it's accompanying music video is one of Gaga's weirdest, queerest, and most controversial. Gaga dances alongside men holding machine guns while wearing fishnets and heels and, at one point, she swallows a rosary while wearing a nun's habit.

The Catholic League criticized the video for its use of religious imagery, even accusing Gaga of "playing a Madonna copy-cat" and fellow pop star Katy Perry tweeted, "Using blasphemy as entertainment is as cheap as a comedian telling fart jokes."

Show me your "Teeth"

This song also birthed one of our favorite memes featuring fellow pop star Rihanna, where she quite literally showed Gaga her teeth.

She left us "Speechless"

Even then, Gaga wasn't afraid to dabble in different genres and musical spaces. And throughout it all, Gaga has always put her artistry first. What's not to love?

Rewatching this performance, perhaps we should've seen Joanne coming.

Now feels like a good time to stream!

Lady Gaga, you will ALWAYS be famous!