The Fame Monster Songwriting Credits by Lady Gaga

The Fame Monster is the second studio album by Lady Gaga, released in November 2009 on Interscope/Streamline Records as an extension of The Fame, originally issued as a deluxe edition of that album before being certified as a standalone studio album, co-produced by RedOne, Space Cowboy, and Gaga herself, and the record that confirmed her commercial and artistic elevation beyond the debut's immediate success. Gaga wrote or co-wrote all eight tracks; the album's themes address fear, desire, loneliness, and the monstrous aspects of fame through a more musically aggressive and lyrically intense framework than The Fame's hedonistic celebration, with the monster metaphor deployed as both personal descriptor and connection to her 'Little Monsters' fanbase. 'Bad Romance', one of the defining pop songs of the era, with a hook construction that was widely cited as among the most technically sophisticated in contemporary chart pop, reached the top five in 31 countries and its music video (directed by Francis Lawrence) became the most-viewed YouTube video at the time of its release. 'Telephone' (featuring Beyoncé) and 'Alejandro' were the follow-up singles, both of which reached the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100. The Fame Monster has been certified five-times platinum in the United States and, taken alongside The Fame as a unified body of work, represents the most commercially and critically successful period of Gaga's recording career.