Trivia Friday: Did you know that Lady Gaga taught herself how to play piano by ear?

Lady Gaga showed a strong passion in music since she was little. At age four, she had taught herself to play piano by ear. At the age of 11, she was accepted to the Juilliard School in Manhattan, but instead attended a private Catholic school in the city. By 13 she had written her first song, by 14 she had begun performing at open mic nights.

Lady GaGa, who was born Joanne Stefani Germanotta on March 28, 1986 in New York City, used to sing along her mini plastic tape recorder to Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper's hits. There was also a point in her childhood where she turned to sounds performed by The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

A few years later, Gaga was granted early admission to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts—she was one of only 20 students in the world to receive the honor of early acceptance. While there, she studied music and worked on her songwriting skills. She later withdrew from school to find creative inspiration. To make ends meet, she took three jobs, including a stint as a gogo dancer, while she honed her performance-art act.

Lady Gaga's debut single, "Just Dance," was released to radio in early 2008, and received both popular and commercial acclaim. The song was then nominated for a Grammy Award (for best dance recording) in 2008. The song lost to Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," but this didn't keep Gaga from reaching No. 1 on the mainstream pop charts in January 2009. The second single off of The Fame, "Poker Face," earned Gaga even more success.