Billboard’s Greatest Pop Star of 2009: Lady Gaga
Though the pop deck was stacked in 2009, with Beyoncé, Rihanna, P!nk, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and other artists enjoying the fruits of their creative labors through top-grossing tours and best-selling albums, Gaga stood out in a superlative pool as the talent who wrote her own map to pop stardom — one she’s stuck to ever since.