Life’s A Ball For Lady GaGa

Prior to kicking off her U.S. and Canadian jaunt, the singer will make a month-long run through the U.K. and Europe with The Pussycat Dolls, beginning with a Jan. 18 show at Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Center and wrapping Feb. 19 at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin.

The Fame Ball tour, which also features The White Tie Affair and Chester French, gets rolling March 12 at House of Blues in San Diego and runs through early April.

Fans get the chance to “Just Dance” with GaGa and company at venues including Mezzanine in San Francisco (March 14), Gothic Theatre near Denver (March 21), Element Bar in Toronto (March 26), Webster Hall in New York City (March 31), Toad’s Place of Richmond in Virginia (April 3) and Revolution in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (April 8).

In May, the singer will head Down Under for a handful of stops, including Auckland, New Zealand and Boondall, Sydney, Melbourne, Hindmarsh and Perth in Australia.

Lady GaGa told Pollstar she engineered her rise to the top of the charts a little differently from most artists.

“In the very beginning, we kind of decided that you don’t really need to depend on Top 40 radio and TV to break a record anymore,” GaGa said. “It’s so much bigger than just being about the radio now, because kids are looking elsewhere for good music.”

Her plan included blitzing clubs, a strong online presence and frequent video blogging on her Web site.

Of course there were a couple of things that happened by sheer luck, including catching the attention of Britney Spears.

“She happened to just hear the music,” she said. “She was at the studio and they played it for her and she loved it and wanted to record it.

“That’s almost the way I prefer it, because it’s more organic and real. It’s not, ‘I want Lady GaGa to write my record.’ It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with really loving a song. At the end of the day, as a writer, yeah I’ve written for some really cool people, but I still have a lot to prove.”

Her songwriting skills, coupled with her other talents, were proof enough for New Kids on the Block, who asked her to open for them on their long-awaited reunion tour last year.

“It all started when I wrote a song [‘Red One’] with Donnie [Wahlberg] that they did with New Edition on the latest album,” GaGa explained. “I also sang on a song called ‘Big Girl Now.’

“So I was working with them and we all got to know each other. They really loved my work and they said, ‘We think you should be on tour with us.’ They talked to the label and they agreed.”

Although some critics might dismiss her as a flash in the pan, GaGa says it’s been a long, hard climb to get where she is and she’s earned it.

“Even though the move from clubs to bigger venues happened quickly, it didn’t really because I’ve been playing in clubs since I was 15. I’ve been working and rehearsing and practicing and preparing for this moment for seven years.

“It’s funny, when people ask me if I’m nervous, I’m like, ‘Fuck no! I’ve been waiting my whole life to have 15,000 people that know my record.’ Now is not the time to be nervous.”