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In case you missed it, the past week in entertainment has been about all things Gaga .
Stefani Germanotta hit our shores and, predictably, we all went mad for the queen of kook. At least, some of us did. Others just got mad.
If there's one thing I've learnt from the past seven days, it's that Lady Gaga is a particularly polarising individual. People love her. Or hate her.
And for some reason, presumably because I'm an entertainment reporter and therefore some sort of expert on the matter (right or wrong as that may be...), everyone wants to know what I think of her.
So here it is - my official stance on Lady Gaga.
I think the woman is a genius.
I admit I wasn't always a fan of the eccentric singer. When her album first came out two years ago, I only gave it three stars. I figured she was just another disposable pop star parading around in her underpants and making mediocre, auto-tuned electro pop.
A former colleague interviewed her in the US - before her album had come out and anyone knew her name - and regaled me with tales of this mad, wig-wearing blonde who insisted she was going to take over the world. We laughed and thought little more of it.
And then I saw Germanotta perform live last May, opening for the Pussycat Dolls. She was already more of a draw card than the headline act by then but I still hadn't joined the Gaga bandwagon.
Forty-five minutes later, I had. In her brief opening set, Gaga proved she had more musical talent than most of the bands who have graced Vector Arena's stage.
She can take an electro dance number and break it down to an acoustic ballad. She can turn rock pop numbers into cabaret show tunes. She writes her own music, plays her own music and - most importantly of all - actually understands music.
Gaga is capable of far more than you hear on the radio - but she knows what will make the playlists. She knows how to write a pop song and make a hit single.
There's a formula for writing perfect pop and Gaga cracked it early on.
But if her musical ability is impressive, it's nothing compared to her media management skills, which are a phenomenon to behold.
Ask yourself this: What do you know about Lady Gaga's personal life?
Sweet bugger all, right? Yet not a day goes by that she isn't in the headlines for some outrageous new outfit or curious quote.
Thousands of column inches have been dedicated to the singer, yet reveal next to nothing about her.
She deliberately contradicts herself to keep people guessing. She brings her own tea cups to radio interviews and walks down snow-covered streets with no pants on.
She makes such a spectacle of herself that you only end up talking about that day's antics - and never realise you know nothing concrete about her.
But the thing I like most about Lady Gaga is that she never shies away from the attention. Like so many pop stars before her, she set herself the goal of becoming famous. And she achieved it.
But unlike most of the others, she doesn't try to have incognito days. She doesn't storm through airports and cover her face. Or surround herself with an entourage of security guards to keep her fans at bay.
She got exactly what she wanted and she doesn't complain about it. Which is the most refreshing thing about her.
Pants or no pants, that's what makes Lady Gaga really stand out.
Read more of Joanna Hunkin's blogs.
