skipped linseed: Celebrity of the Year Finalist #2: Lady Gaga!

We're down to the final two.

With the remaining moments of 2011 ticking down by the day (there are only two left!), THG has been ranking the most newsworthy celebrities of the past year.

Starting at #10 with Lindsay Lohan, the countdown moved on to Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, viral video stars, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. All worthy peeps.

Pretty much everyone in the British Royal Family came in at #4, followed by the winner himself, Charlie Sheen, at #3. Which brings us to COTY finalist #2 ...

... Ms. Lady Gaga!

Yes, Lady Gaga knows how to use shock value and outrageous antics to get attention, but she's so much more than a flash in the pan. The 25-year-old is an artiste, a powerhouse performer and a pop cultural sensation, through and through.

Can anyone really dispute that after the 2011 she's had?

With the release of her epic album Born This Way, and the premiere of its title track at the Grammy Awards, which featured her hatching from an egg on stage, Gaga put the planet on notice that she's just getting started as her generation's pop icon.

Lady Gaga characterized BTW as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress." Fans and critics agreed she is taking music to the "next level."

An advocate for self-acceptance regardless of race or sexual orientation, her music is known for not only its catchy beats, but for its artistic and cultural references.

Subsequent singles "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory" continued to push the envelope, receiving criticism for some concepts but acclaim for her overall delivery and range.

Later in the year, "You and I" and "Marry the Night" gained recognition for their elaborate music videos, not to mention introspective looks inside the mind of Gaga.

That alone is an impressive list, but it's not even half the story with the girl born Stefani Germanotta who went on to become the hardest working woman in showbiz.

Hardly a day goes by without her shutting it down with monster live efforts, collaborating with new artists, dreaming up new ideas ... or chatting with fans on Twitter.

A self-proclaimed student of fame, she always has her finger on the pulse of pop culture, and has become a living, breathing, one-woman Internet meme in a sense.

Take a bow, Lady Gaga. Here's a look at some of her MANY performances from the past year, which has been one we'll always remember for how exciting she made it: