Lady Gaga insists she doesn't wear those outrageous, over-the-top getups merely for attention.
"I want to create a space for my fans where they can feel free, and they can celebrate," she says on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Friday (check your local listings). "I didn't fit in in high school, and I felt like a freak. So I like to create this atmosphere for my fans where they feel like they have a freak in me to hang out with, and they don't feel alone."
In high school, the Yonkers, N.Y., native, 23, says she felt like an outcast because she wanted to be like "Boy George." She adds that it "took a long time to be OK" with who she is.
"I want my fans to know that it's OK," she says. "Sometimes in life you don't always feel like a winner, but that doesn't mean you're not a winner."
She also reveals she penned her tune, "Speechless" for her dad, who just had open heart surgery.
"He had an aortic valve transplant," she says. "I was on the road, and I was having a lot of trouble missing my parents and wanting to be with my dad. So I wrote this song called 'Speechless' for him to sort of beg him to get this surgery, and it worked."
Lady Gaga says her papa is "doing better."