Lady Gaga narrowly edged out late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs for the Associated Press’ Entertainer of the Year prize.
Lady Gaga has been named Entertainer of the Year by the Associated Press.
There were 135 ballots submitted by U.S. news organizations that make up the AP’s membership. Editors and broadcasters were asked to cast their ballots for the entertainer who had the most influence on entertainment and culture over the past 12 months.
The winner? Mother Monster, as the pop star is affectionately known by her legion of devoted fans.
Gaga narrowly edged out late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs by just three votes.
It’s another year of big wins for the “LoveGame” songstress, who recently topped Forbes magazine’s list of the highest-earning women in music for 2011.
AP members point to Gaga’s “polarizing” effect on popular culture as well as the chart-topping success of her Born This Way LP as evidence of her worthiness.
The disc sold over 1 million copies in its first week of release last May. Additionally, her wildly-successful Monster Ball tour grossed $1.3 million a night.
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Over the past year, Gaga’s earned more than double the gross income of other female pop stars, thanks to her best-selling tour and endorsement deals with Polaroid, Virgin Mobile, Monster Cable and PlentyofFish.com.
The native New Yorker even inspired a holiday display at Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square in NYC.
“She gets people talking,” Greg Retsinas, digital director of Santa Rosa’s Press Democrat, explains.
“She’s a polarizing figure not just in music and fashion but in pop culture and society. In a recent week, I heard her referenced personally by my 9-year-old daughter, a prominent local CFO and an airline pilot, all glowingly.”
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“One of my greatest artworks is the art of fame,” the Grammy winner told 60 Minutes earlier this year. “I’m a master of the art of fame.”
Previous AP Entertainer of the Year honorees include Betty White, Taylor Swift, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.
Of course, one group’s Entertainer of the Year is the bane of another’s existence.
Little Monsters may beg to differ, but Billboard magazine readers have voted Lady Gaga the most overrated artist of the year. She beat out the likes of Britney Spears and Justin Bieber for the title, scooping 30% of the vote.
Don’t look now, Billboard readers, but Gaga isn’t likely to leave our sight anytime soon. She’ll be performing live in New York City’s Times Square as a featured headliner on Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest’s annual ABC special, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
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