Akon I Can Retire Thanks to Lady Gaga

R&B singer Akon says he can retire early thanks to Lady Gaga, who was signed to his Interscope Records imprint, KonLive, after being dropped by another label.

"She's pretty much retired me," Akon told the Associated Press. She was definitely a blessing. She came at the right moment. I'm glad I believed in her, boy. That goes to show you, if you believe in something strong enough, it will pay off. I was like 'Yo, I want to sign that right there. She needs to be under my umbrella.' Jimmy [Iovine, Interscope's founder] was like 'Yeah, whatever you want. Take her. Let's get it done.' And she just blossomed into a super megastar, man."

Gaga, who has become almost as well-known for her activism as she has her music, paid tribute to recently deceased designer Alexander McQueen with a performance at Tuesday night's Brit Awards. McQueen designed a number of Gaga's stage costumes.