Four months ago, when Lady Gaga was fresh off the release of the video for “Bad Romance,” I penned a piece calling her more powerful than Anna Wintour. Quite a few called foul, claiming that her influence was by no means as strong. But, fast forward to today and the general public has anointed the ever-provocative performer as the ‘most influential’ figure in the world in a recent Time Magazine poll. Not only has Gaga come out on top above the First Lady, whose sartorial influence is by no means minuscule (she ranked a respectable #14), but over Snooki (who came in strong at #16) too. Further down on the roster is Gaga’s “Telephone” partner in crime, Beyoncé (#19). And, as far as fashion industry alumnae, Marc Jacobs barely broke into the top 100 at #99; meanwhile, Anna Wintour has ranked a relatively shameful #122. Granted, this is the general public voting, not an informed or at all credible grouping of cultural scholars (which may explain why Jeff Bridges beat out both Hillary Clinton and Nicolas Sarkozy for a spot at #3). That said, the masses have spoken: Lady Gaga’s influence is as potent as ever.
