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When Lady Gaga first emerged onto the scene with her 2008 hit \u201cJust Dance,\u201d it was immediately clear that she wasn’t just another pop star\u2014she was a cultural disruptor in the making. Her rise was marked by chart-dominating anthems and innovative fashion choices, but it was her boundary-breaking visuals that truly set the tone for her status as a pop icon in the making. From the start, Lady Gaga’s unique artistry<\/a> was best encapsulated through her music videos that were mini pop operas in their own right, complete with avant-garde fashion, campy theatrics, and game-changing choreography. Whether she was strutting in McQueen or spinning full-on cinematic universes, Gaga turned the music video into her own theatrical playground.<\/p>\n From the instantly iconic \u201cBad Romance” music video to her \u201cTelephone” short film with Beyonc\u00e9 to her most recent collab with Tim Burton for \u201cThe Dead Dance,\u201d<\/a> Gaga’s videography is a masterclass in how to fuse pop stardom with high art. Ahead, a look back at the singer’s most iconic music videos of all time that are always worth re-watching.<\/p>\n An early hit, this was the music video that helped establish Lady Gaga as an avant-garde artist, especially with its unique outfit choices: the bleach blonde bangs, the bow made out of her own hair, and that metallic disco mask. And emerging from a pool in a leotard between two regal Great Danes is one of the greatest music video entrances we’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n With over 1.9 billion views to date, \u201cBad Romance\u201d is Gaga’s most viewed music video on YouTube, and it’s obvious why. It boasts an iconic dance sequence (which we all tried to mimic at least once) and an incredible wardrobe by Alexander McQueen, featuring those one-of-a-kind armadillo shoes that Gaga helped make famous.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n This 7-minute feature is more a mini movie rather than a music video, starring True Blood’s Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd. It features an elaborate performance about love and revenge in a luxurious mansion, but her use of crutches and a wheelchair as props caused an outcry by the disabled community. Gaga later defended<\/a> the decision, saying it was a metaphor of what artists will do to \u201cfame-whore themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Gaga gives an underground tribute to New York City as she and her crew dance through subways and parking garages clad in denim, leather, and studs. The video is directed by Joseph Kahn<\/a>, who’s also worked with Taylor Swift and Britney Spears for her \u201cToxic\u201d video. Similarly, Gaga rolls around in nearly-nude sparkles here, too.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n “Alejandro\u201d was highly criticized for being anti-religious and overtly sexual, but it’s the controversial (and bizarre) aspects that make it hard to forget. If you look closely, you’ll find some Madonna influences, which some read as a complete rip-off<\/a>, especially with the machine gun bra meant to resemble Madge’s cone bustier. Despite its controversial imagery, director Stephen Klein said<\/a> the video is about \u201ca woman’s desire to resurrect a dead love, and who cannot face the brutality of her present situation.\u201d<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n What happens when you put two queens together on a hit song? You get an epic nine and a half minute music video with unforgettable costumes, a dance routine that everyone wants to learn, and a badass plot that rivals Orange Is the New Black. Gaga and Beyonc\u00e9 make the perfect duo in this vid.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Written by Gaga herself and directed by fashion photographer Nick Knight, the video for this self-empowering song takes an extraterrestrial note with a kaleidoscopic alien birth at the intro that only Mother Monster could’ve thought of. \u201cZombie boy\u201d model Rick Genest and some very sharp prosthetic cheekbones also make an appearance.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Set on a foggy city sidewalk and fire escape, this is one of Gaga’s more minimalistic videos. She appears alone with legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons from the E Street Band, and dances solo as he plays on a stoop. Unfortunately, Clemons passed away shortly after the video was released. But when he was still suffering from his stroke a few days prior, Gaga gathered her fans to pay a tribute to the musician through tweets and videos.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n The singer continues her penchant for multi-narrative videos with this one, which guest stars her former fianc\u00e9, Taylor Kinney, as her love interest. She plays a disheveled diva on a dirt road, a ghost bride, a mermaid in a bathtub, a barefoot beauty in a cornfield, and her own male suitor, just to name a few.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Gaga directed this music video herself for a more \u201cautobiographical\u201d take on her music, she told Vanity Fair<\/a> in 2011. The scenes recount her struggles as an artist, including the moment she was dropped by her first record label, Island Def Jam. Fun fact: the nurses in the psychiatric ward scene are wearing Calvin Klein uniforms and Saint Laurent shoes.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Delivering yet another iconic \u201cBorn This Way\u201d era music video, Gaga tapped The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus to star as Judas as she took on the role of Mary Magdalene in this modern take on the story of Judas betraying Jesus. In Gaga\u2019s version, the disciples are a biker gang (naturally) whose story ends at the \u201cElectric Chapel.\u201d There are McQueen and Mugler-clad looks, top-notch choreography, and the dramatic cinema Gaga had become synonymous with by this point in her career. Directed by Gaga and choreographer Laurie-Ann Gibson, \u201cJudas\u201d ended with a dramatic fate for the singer and another legendary video to add to her robust catalog.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n The introductory video to ARTPOP was a fitting reflection to the rest of the album, which represented Gaga’s new take on her music. The images don’t fall short of her usual strangeness and shock factor, but it seems a bit more elegant and artistic than her fans had seen prior. Some say<\/a> that she references famous moments in art history, with one example being the tribute to Botticelli’s \u201cBirth of Venus\u201d with the shell bra outfit.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Featuring the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the Hearst Castle as its stunning backdrop, the \u201cG.U.Y.\u201d music video is another Gaga-directed masterpiece. The nearly 12-minute-long video chronicles Gaga as an injured bird, a Greek goddess, and a crime boss of sorts in a storyline that\u2019s complete with A+ choreography, a band made up of Beverly Hills housewives (hello, Lisa Vanderpump, Yolanda Foster, and Kyle and Kim Richards), and an array of head-to-toe designer looks. What more could you ask for?<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n Perhaps her most moving and emotional music video to date, the song featured in The Hunting Ground documentary relays the story of sexual assault and abuse on college campuses. Gaga herself doesn’t star in the video, which instead features students on college campuses across the country. The clip is reminiscent of her emotional performance at the 2016 Oscars<\/a>, where real-life survivors joined her onstage.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n One of the few pop culture highlights of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic? The release of Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s music video for their collaborative song, \u201cRain on Me.\u201d The video from Gaga’s Chromatica era features the two pop stars having a good old-fashioned dance duel before hugging it out in the end.<\/span> It was exactly the kind of joyous poppy fun we all needed at the time.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n One thing about Gaga? She\u2019s going to give you a cinematic short film. The visuals for \u201c911\u201d served as the ultimate reminder of that during its 2020 release. Drawing inspiration from Sergei Parajanov\u2019s 1969 film The Color of Pomegranates, the video places Gaga in a surreal desert landscape in an array of over-the-top designer looks, from scenes draped in archival Alexander McQueen to ornate headdresses and jewel-encrusted costumes, as she reimagines the Armenian film through her own avant-garde lens.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n In \u201cDisease,\u201d Lady Gaga brings her spookiest and goriest antics to a picture-perfect suburban neighborhood. Directed by Tanu Muino, the video for the first single off her Mayhem album stages a blood-soaked showdown between multiple incarnations of Gaga, each battling for dominance in a twisted, horror film-inspired spectacle set against a deceptively pristine backdrop. It\u2019s quintessential Gaga in its finest form.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n When Gaga released the \u201cAbracadabra\u201d video off her latest album, Mayhem, everyone collectively declared \u201cOld Gaga is back!\u201d It was impossible not to note all the references to arguably her most iconic videos, like \u201cBad Romance\u201d and \u201cJudas.\u201d Theatrical group choreography? Check. Religious-inspired designer looks and headpieces? Check. A dramatic extended scream? Check. Gaga was so back.<\/p>\n See the original post on Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cPoker Face\u201d (2008)<\/h3>\n
\u201cBad Romance\u201d (2009)<\/h3>\n
\u201cPaparazzi\u201d (2009)<\/h3>\n
\u201cLoveGame\u201d (2009)<\/h3>\n
\u201cAlejandro\u201d (2010)<\/h3>\n
\u201cTelephone\u201d (2010)<\/h3>\n
\u201cBorn This Way\u201d (2011)<\/h3>\n
\u201cEdge of Glory\u201d (2011)<\/h3>\n
\u201cYo\u00fc and I\u201d (2011)<\/h3>\n
\u201cMarry the Night\u201d (2011)<\/h3>\n
\u201cJudas\u201d 2011<\/h3>\n
\u201cApplause\u201d (2013)<\/h3>\n
\u201cG.U.Y. (an Artpop Film)” (2014)<\/h3>\n
\u201cTil It Happens To You\u201d (2015)<\/h3>\n
\u201cRain On Me\u201d featuring Ariana Grande (2020)<\/h3>\n
\u201c911\u201d (2020)<\/h3>\n
\u201cDisease\u201d (2024)<\/h3>\n
\u201cAbracadabra\u201d (2025)<\/h3>\n
\u201cThe Dead Dance\u201d (2025)<\/h3>\n