AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa only recently realized the extent of her superstar status - after 5,000 fans surrounded a concert venue awaiting her departure. The "Poker Face" hitmaker has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, shifting 12 million copies of her debut album and selling out arenas around the world.

But the star insists she didn't consider herself a global phenomenon until she left a recent show and was astounded by the huge crowds who had waited for two hours for a glimpse of the singer. She tells Vanity Fair, "(I realized) about two weeks ago. I literally realized what had happened in my life. I almost wish it hadn't hit me so late. I wish it had hit me gradually."

"I don't remember what city it was but we left (the venue) and after the show there were 5,000 people standing on stairways and platforms leading to a train station - I couldn't even see how far back. The car drove out and I said, 'Stop the car', and I got out and walked out and the scream was so loud, it was a roar. I went over to the fence and signed as many autographs as I could without them pulling me through."

"More fans than ever had been waiting for me outside after the show - meaning two hours of the most visually intense (show), in the heat, standing, jumping and screaming for two hours and then (they) waited for me for two hours - 5,000 of them. It was insane."