Pop singer Lady Gaga announced yesterday via her official Web site that following her extensive Monster Ball tour, which wraps up later this year, she will be retiring from the music scene indefinitely.

The shock of the announcement certainly caught the music industry off-guard, with the question lingering on many people’s minds as to why such a promising and unique talent as Gaga would suddenly give up her worldwide fame for a life of obscurity.
“I’m hanging up my disco stick and putting the pants back on,” the “Telephone” singer is quoted as writing on her Haus of Gaga blog, confirming the imminent retirement of her Lady Gaga persona. “The added stress of keeping the steam behind Gaga going was too much for me; I just want to enjoy the life I once lived as Stefani Germanotta,” Gaga wrote.

This added stress became increasingly public as the press caught onto Gaga’s recent meltdowns during her ongoing Monster Ball tour. Media outlet X21 was the first to break news of the deteriorating songstress, as it uploaded a video earlier this month to YouTube of the singer panting the lyrics to “Bad Romance” while lying on the ground during a show in Australia. With the stress building for Gaga, so was the demand to outdo herself.

“The pop masterpiece of my latest record The Fame Monster is just too difficult to match with another album so I hope my little monsters will be satisfied with my last single release for ‘Alejandro.'” It became clear that the avant-garde artist would soon reach her peak, but no one expected it would be this soon. Despite the shocking news, the star still notes her optimism for the future.

“Maybe during my newfound time off, I can finally accomplish my dream of being a contestant on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ or becoming Simon Cowell’s replacement on ‘American Idol.'”

As long as Gaga, or Germanotta as she once again calls herself, steers clear of any VH1 reality series involving losing weight or battling drug addictions, it’s highly probable that her “little monsters” will stick behind the former singer in support of whatever she may decide to do down the road.