What Girl Group Almost Had Lady Gaga as a Member?

Lady Gaga‘s rise to fame is well-documented among little monsters. Her battle from Lower East Side obscurity to her short stint with Island Def Jam, before making it to the top of the pop food chain, is common knowledge.

But did you know that the Mother Monster was almost a member of the short-lived girl group No Secrets? She was hired by lawyer Steven Beer when she still went by her given name Stefani Germanotta and then promptly fired. But it turns out that her dismissal had nothing to do with her talent.

That type of rejection might crush an aspiring singer, but clearly, Gaga triumphed.

In an interview with WUSTL, the magazine of Washington University at St. Louis, of which he is an alum, Beer recalled finding Gaga when he worked in artist development, saying, “My industry colleagues like to remind me of my active involvement in the development and career launches of Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Aaron Carter and numerous other mainstream music artists.”

While he is now more focused in independent music, film and law, Beer clearly had an ear and eye for talent.

Beer hired Gaga for a spot in No Secrets when she was 16. He saw her star power. “I instantly knew from her audition that she had the talent and drive required to someday be a force in the business,” he said.

But it didn’t last long. Beer decided that he didn’t like the travel that came with the job of fostering and developing talent. He missed his family. As a result, he had to bow out of working with Gaga. He said, “I didn’t feel like management was something I could do well on a full-time basis, so I told Stefani and her dad — she wasn’t Gaga then — that I wouldn’t be able to continue to develop her.” And with that, Stefani Germanotta was dismissed for Beer’s roster in 2003.

While that kind of rejection is crippling for an ambitious and aspiring artist, especially since she was so close, and yet, so far, Gaga didn’t let it deter her. She dusted herself off and kept on going. We wonder if Beer is bummed that he walked away from a goldmine.

Interestingly enough, Beers partner Larry Rudolph chose to go the other way. He quit practicing law to manage Britney Spears full-time.

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