No one can accuse a singer who titles her first solo record The Fame of hiding her motives, and as an exercise designed to make a pop star out of the woman previously known as Stefani Joanne Germanotta, it succeeds perfectly. There is plenty more to Germanotta than the super-stylised, cosmetically reworked face she presents to the world. For all the Paris Hilton-esque bimbo role-playing, Lady GaGa is a product of New York’s knowing downtown art/dance scene. So it’s no surprise to find that The Fame is a witty take on contemporary pop values, at times cruelly sarcastic ("Paparazzi" blatantly flirts with the same snappers who drove Britney over the brink). It’s as shameless as Pussycat Dolls (she has already penned tunes for them), as crass and kiddie-friendly as anything Black-Eyed Peas might concoct, and as generation-defying as her obvious inspiration Madonna. In short, The Fame is built to sell, and tunes like the chart-topping single "Just Dance", the amusingly stupid "Boys Boys Boys" (supposedly a tribute to Motley Crue’s equally dumb "Girls Girls Girls") and the brutal materialism of "Money Honey", "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" and the title track seduce the ear rather than impress the intellect. Smarter than it first appears, The Fame might be the start of a long and interesting career or it could prove to be a flash in the pan, but it’s easy to tell why it sells. --Steve Jelbert