Love her or hate her, but you just can't ignore her. Stefani Germanotta is the biggest phenomenon in music since Madonna. Just ask her 15 million Twitter fans! Even I – a hard core, rock 'n' roll girl who refuses to sully her iPod with Lady Gaga songs – am a grudging admirer. Of her fashion sense. I like how she inverts the rules. I ADMIRE HER INSOUCIANCE TOWARDS THE REGULAR – PARTICULARLY AT A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE ALMOST AFRAID TO BE DIFFERENT.

In his wonderful article, the editor of The Word, Mark Ellen, explains her appeal. "Gaga crawling from a crashed subway carriage in the Monster Ball wearing a nun's cowl, a zombie claw and a transparent sheet with sticking plasters on her nipples, now that – unless you're enormously unlucky – won't strike any great personal chord.

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