Lady Gaga gets real about ageism in pop music

Lady Gaga isn't up for a genre switch even if it means continuing to make pop music in her late thirties.

The 14-time Grammy-winning pop star, 38, addressed ageism in the pop music industry during her acceptance speech for the 2025 iHeartRadio Innovator Award held Monday.

"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," Gaga began.

"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 award-winning singer-songwriter then shared her two cents on innovation, explaining it 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," the Born This Way songstress added.

Gaga then shared her own recipe to stay motivated in producing music that's true to her taste.

"Tonight I think of my grandmothers, fiercely brilliant Italian-American women who reinvented their destinies with nothing but strength, dreams, and determination," she said. "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 extended tributes to her inspirations, including David Bowie, Grace Jones, Carole King, Elton John, Lady Starlight, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, Cher, and her friend Tony Bennett as she wrapped up her speech.

Gaga also earned nominations at the ceremony in the best collaboration and best music video categories for her Grammy-winning song with Bruno Mars, Die with a Smile, as well as favourite on screen for the Gaga Chromatica Ball film.

Meanwhile, Gaga's latest album Mayhem, released on March 7, debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart.