"If you only believe that you're an artist when you have a big advance in your pocket and a single coming out, I would say that's quite soulless. You have to have a sense of your own greatness and your own ability from a very deep place inside you. I am the one with the litmus test in my hands of what people need to hear next"

In this quote, Lady Gaga is revealing her belief that being an artist is not practically achieving fame and success, but it is also about having a deep sense of self-regard and confidence in one's own abilities. She slams the concept that an artist is just verified by having a big advance and a hit single, stating that this frame of mind is "soulless." Instead, she stresses the value of having a strong sense of one's own greatness and skill, which comes from within. As an artist, Lady Gaga sees herself as the one who determines what people need to hear next, highlighting the power and duty that includes being an imaginative force in the world.