Hometown Superstar Lady Gaga Beats Out Steve Jobs For Top 2011 AP Honors
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Move over, Steve Jobs.
Lady Gaga has been voted The Associated Press Entertainer of the Year.
Lady Gaga narrowly edged out the late Apple founder Steve Jobs by three votes. Her year was dominated by the release of her second studio album, "Born This Way.''
Born and raised in the Big Apple, Gaga is often paying homage to and making appearances in New York City. Most recently, she opened 'Gaga's Workshop' at Barneys New York.
There were 135 ballots submitted by U.S. news organizations that make up the AP's membership. Editors and broadcasters were asked to cast their ballots for who had the most influence on entertainment and culture in 2011.
Previous winners of the AP Entertainer of the Year include Betty White, Taylor Swift, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.
Many others received numerous votes, including Swift, Charlie Sheen, Adele and the cast of "Harry Potter."
But it was Lady Gaga whose eminence in 2011 stood out most to voters. While accepting the best pop vocal album Grammy for her previous disc, "The Fame Monster,'' earlier this year, she said stardom was an adjustment for her.
"When I wrote `Born This Way,' I imagined (Whitney Houston) was singing it because I wasn't secure enough in myself to imagine I was a superstar," she said.
When the album was released in May, 1.1 million copies sold in the first week, partly aided by a dramatic discount from Amazon, which sold it for 99 cents.
But it was an industry-shattering moment because an extraordinary 60 percent of sales in the first week were digital downloads. Altogether, it outsold the next 42 albums on the Billboard chart combined. As of October, worldwide sales had surpassed 8 million copies.
"One of my greatest artworks is the art of fame," the 25-year-old told "60 Minutes" earlier this year. "I'm a master of the art of fame."
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, is prepping for a "Born This Way'' tour.
Her "Monster Ball Tour" was still going strong earlier this year, which went a long way toward making her, according to Forbes, the highest grossing female musician in 2011. The magazine, which compiled pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, said Lady Gaga earned $90 million.
