Lady Gaga admits it's 'insane' that she's considered 'old for a pop star' at 38 as she wins Innovator Award
Lady Gaga felt like ageism was at play when she was honoured with the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Lady Gaga declared she’s "just getting warmed up" as she accepted the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2025.
The 'Abracadabra' hitmaker had mixed feelings about receiving the prize and admitted it’s “insane” that, at the age of 38, she has been handed an award “honouring my entire career”.
She began her speech at the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater on Monday (17.03.25): "I don't know totally how to think about this because winning an award honouring my entire career at 38-years-old is a hard thing to get my head around.
"On the one hand, I feel like I've been doing this forever and on the other hand, I know I'm just getting started. So even though the world might consider a woman in her late thirties old for a pop star, which is insane, I promise that I'm just getting warmed up."
The ‘Born This Way’ singer – who shot to fame with her debut single ‘Just Dance’ in 2008 – explained how “writing [her] own rules” and staying true to herself has made her an innovator.
Gaga continued: “Innovation isn't about breaking rules; it's about writing your own and convincing the world they were theirs all along.
“Like showing up to the Grammys in an egg or creating an anthem that everyone told us was too controversial until it became undeniable. If I have learned anything in three decades I've been at this, it's that the most powerful innovation is your authenticity.”
Elsewhere, the ‘Poker Face’ hitmaker paid tribute to the “fiercely brilliant” women in her family.
She said: “Tonight I think of my grandmothers, fiercely brilliant Italian-American women who reinvented their destinies with nothing but strength, dreams and determination.
“They didn't invent technology or art; they invented possibility, shaping the future with nothing more than their minds. And those women, my ancestors, are the greatest women that I've ever known.”
Gaga also name-dropped Madonna, Grace Jones, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Sir Elton John, Lady Starlight, Duke Ellington, and Cher as her inspirations.
