Lady Gaga Buys Up Her Own Old Demos

Stefani Germanotta doesn’t exist anymore. That, at least, is what Lady Gaga and her team would like you to go on believing.

The wildly costumed performance artist-cum-pop star snatched up a seven-disc collection of unreleased demos recorded back before she was commissioning jewel-encrusted wheelchairs from Chanel. The demos, recorded with her ex-music manager Bob Leone, included a 2002 CD recording, a pair of 2005 recordings called “Stefani Germanotta” and “Stefani Germanotta Band,” two more discs featuring songs Gaga recorded in 2006 and a DVD of Lady Gaga’s 2006 “Order Sons of Italy in America” showcase performance. The bids for each disc were to have started at $1,000.

The auction, held by Gotta Have It! as part of a “Rock and Roll Pop Culture” event, already experienced some controversy when the F.B.I. seized a copy of John Lennon’s 1976 application for residence before it went to the block. Gaga purchased back her demos for an undisclosed amount. Leone said he’s “very happy to be an instrumental part in bringing the music created by Stefani Germanotta back to its rightful owner,” in a press release. –AMY LEE