Telephone director hails gaga as the new madonna

The man behind some of Madonna's most iconic videos has hailed Lady Gaga as the next Queen of Pop, after noticing the similarities between the pop pair while filming the singer's epic new video for Telephone.

Jonas Akerlund directed GaGa's racy new promo, which features Beyonce and lasts a staggering nine-and-a-half minutes.

And the Swedish filmmaker, who worked with the Material Girl on her Ray of Light and Music videos, couldn't believe how alike Madonna and the Poker Face hitmaker are.

He tells MTV.com, "I really don't like to compare the artists that I work with, because they are all so unique and so different. One thing for sure is that GaGa is a true artist. She's really a huge talent, and she's such a hard worker. That makes me think of Madonna, because Madonna is always such a hard worker, more than anybody else.

"She's (Madonna) always very creative. She always goes back to creativity. She has so much politics around and all these stupid rumours and gossip and all that, and some artists manage to stay above that. So, in that sense, I'm fine with comparing (Gaga and Madonna), but then again, they're so different.

"I also have 12 years with Madonna and I have two videos with GaGa; it's the future to tell, but I think that GaGa has all the potential and all the tools and all the brain to take her creativity as far she wants to. But she's great."

GaGa recently insisted she was ready to revolutionise the pop charts, the same way Madonna did in the 1980s.