(Dec. 14) - So, Christina Aguilera doesn't know who Lady Gaga is, but "the gays" -- how she affectionately refers to her fan base -- do.

"I'm really free-spirited about love and sexuality, which I think is apparent in my music, and even the visuals, which are all very androgynous," she tells PopEater. "But the minute you say something about who you are, people think you're just playing the 'edgy card' and that's not what I want people to think of me as. I want them to think fashion, pop culture, avant-garde, fearless -- the girl who brought the straight boys into the gay club."

Mission: accomplished. The 22-year-old electro-popper is nearing full-fledged superstardom, becoming BFFs with famous gossip bloggers, and writing songs for dozens of other artists, including the Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears and New Kids on the Block (yes, really).

While she's often lauded the repraisal of pop stars writing their own songs, Gaga clearly has no problem helping out her fellow artists, as long as they inspire her. "I'm not really into artists who are like, 'Write me a hit!'" she says. Ironically, Gaga says she learns the most about herself when writing for other people.

"In my earlier days of writing for myself, I wanted songs to be more complex," she explains. "I thought they had to be for me to be taken seriously as an artist. But writing for other people, you get to learn things about yourself and take on their insecurities. Now I can appreciate and incorporate more simplicity in lyrics and melody."

Meanwhile, the burning question: what did she learn from collaborating NKOTB? Maybe that stonewashed denim overalls should never make a comeback.