Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, was born 36 years ago on this very day.

The American singer and songwriter began performing as a teenager and, prior to being catapulted to fame, she wrote songs for artistes such as The Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block and Fergie.

As we celebrate her 36th birthday, let us take a look at some of her records that deserve a spot on your playlist.

8. Just Dance

Just Dance, her first solo single, was released in 2008 on her debut album, The Fame. The upbeat track is one that talks about being at a party, getting drunk and dancing it off.

Just Dance took only two minutes to write. Gaga in an interview, explained the meaning behind the track.

“I was taken very quickly out of my party lifestyle. I wrote it instantly – like it flew out of my body… . If you’ve ever been so high that it’s, like, scary, the only way you can deal with it is not deal with it, so you just kind of dance through the intoxication,” she said.

7. Applause

The lead single from Artpop, Applause celebrates doing what one loves and embracing the thrill of the crowd.

In an interview, Gaga shed some light on Applause, noting that, with how long she has been working, she deserves her props.

“In my heart of hearts, as I was writing, I knew that if I asked [the fans] to cheer for me before I sang or if I alluded to the fact that they would cheer for me before I sang, they would do that all the time for me… before I even open my mouth, the fans start cheering for me. And so this exclamation, ‘Give me that thing that I love. Give it to me. I’m ready, start the music.’ I’m from New York. I’ve worked since I was a five-year-old to be a performer. All my life. I deserve to be here. I’m ready.”

6. Poker Face

The fourth track from her debut album, The Fame, Poker Face is about her personal experience with swinging both ways.

5. Paparazzi

Another track from her debut album, Gaga revealed that Paparazzi tells several stories which include trying to balance success and love, as well as having the media fall in love with who she is.

“The song is about a few different things – it’s about my struggles, do I want fame or do I want love? It’s also about wooing the paparazzi to fall in love with me… . It’s a love song for the cameras, but it’s also a love song about fame or love–can you have both, or can you only have one?”

4. Telephone

A track featuring pop sensation Beyonce, Telephone is the sequel to Papparazzi which was released a year earlier. Originally written for Britney Spears, Gaga explained that, even though Spears didn’t use it for her album, it was okay, for now she gets to perform it.

In this track, Gaga, who is harassed by her lover, explains that the song is about her fear of suffocation.

“Something that I have or fear is never being able to enjoy myself. ‘Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time,” she said.

Just a few years prior, Gaga was featured on Beyonce’s Videophone, which describes a flirt and the process of recording a sex tape on a mobile phone.

3. Born This Way

Born This Way chronicles self-love, self-liberation and accepting yourself no matter who you are or where you come from.

In this lead single, from the album of the same name, Gaga describes the track as her freedom record, adding, “It’s very literal. I said, ‘I want to write my freedom record. I want to write my this-is-who-the-f–k-I-am anthem,’ but I don’t want it to be hidden in poetic wizardry and metaphors.”

2. Shallow

Shallow is a record about jumping head first into love and not looking back. Featuring Bradley Cooper, Shallow comes from the soundtrack of the 2018 film, A Star is Born.

The multi-award winning movie tells the story of a musician who falls in love with a struggling artiste and pushes her to follow her dreams.

1. Bad Romance

The first track from Fear Of Love Monster, Bad Romance celebrates the lusty desire and passion that can be found in a romance novel.

In talking about the track, Gaga in an interview explained the song’s inspiration.

“I was in Russia, then Germany, and spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe. There is this amazing German house-techno music, so I wanted to make a pop experimental record. I kind of wanted to leave the ‘80s a little bit, so the chorus is a ’90s melody, which is what the inspiration was. There was certainly some whisky involved in the writing of the record. It’s about being in love with your best friend.”