She is quite brilliant. She attended an exclusive private Catholic school in NYC on scholarship and was selected for various future genius-type programs in the City. She didn't finish high school because she was admitted early to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Legend has it that she wrote a 30 page paper on pop culture for a class while she was pursuing a record contract. She realized she could turn her intellect into a blueprint for success in the music industry and so she did.
Her music isn't my taste; there would be something wrong with one of us if it was. I prefer this:
YouTube - Lady Gaga - My Muffintop - Poker Face Parody-YouTube.mov to the real thing. But to say she doesn't have talent is wrong.