Lady Gaga: The Next Madonna Of Music Brands?

At last night's Grammy Awards, the performer who opened the show – alongside Elton John – is being touted as not just a talented young artist, but also as the next cultural movement in the music industry.

This past year, Lady Gaga took the music industry by storm with an album that spawned four Number 1 hits. She also led digital music in 2009 with sales of more than 15 million downloads.

But the real story isn't even her music, which she writes – it's her entire act. The 23-year old, born Stefani Germanotta, wears offbeat costumes and is known for her "visual theatrics." Alice Cooper, himself one of music's more outrageous personalities, calls Lady Gaga "very vaudevillian." And it's that flamboyant, but accessible and intriguing style of entertainment that Lady Gaga is using to connect with both fans and brands.

Lady Gaga does something else exceedingly well – she leverages her personal brand via digital media to the hilt. She is a sensation on YouTube, has had over 320 million plays on MySpace, and is an iTunes superstar. What's more, Lady Gaga is a commercial property – she works with Estee Lauder and recently signed a deal to become "creative director" of a line of her own products produced by Polaroid – a legacy brand looking to once again make youth gaga over instant photography.

Lady Gaga is such a unique performer that The Wall Street Journal gushes, "She could be the next Madonna."

Only time will tell. In ten years, will we still be listening to Lady Gaga's music and brand endorsements?