Lady Gaga has offered some insight into what has shaped her into becoming the artist she is today, hinting at past "traumatic events", but refusing to elaborate further for fear her experiences would be "twisted and turned" by the media.

The controversial singer opened up to rock journalist Neil Strauss who has included a snippet of their conversation in his new book Everyone Loves You When You Are Dead, and RadarOnline.com can bring you an exclusive interview with the author.

"I asked her if she'd been through a traumatic experience when she was younger and she said yes, that it was when she was in New York and it was so terrible that she'd blocked it out," Strauss told RadarOnline.com.