The Born This Way Ball

I was at the Born This Way Ball in Helsinki 27.8.2012. Gaga's third show in Finland was in Helsinki Arena (Hartwall Arena) which has 11 000 seats. It was sold out in that day and on the second it was pretty much full too. This was the first time I bought my ticket from official ticket supplier, since at the Fame Ball and at the Monster Ball I didn't get the tickets early enough. Now I was queueing in front of the ticket sales place from early morning, so I got mine. The tickets ran out in four minutes, and a floor ticket cost me 100 € ($140), which is the same price I paid for the two last Gaga show tickets, but them I bought from internet auction so their price was doubled there. I don't like the expensive ticket costs, which are only growing higher every time. There were still some more expensive tickets (140€), but I don't know what's the point of buying them, since I already got floor ticket (best place) with forty euros less!
At the morning of Monday when the concert was my mother drove me to Espoo (a city next to Helsinki, where the concert was) to an electronics store to buy some stuff. Since I couldn't find any other place to buy LED light I had to go there. I bought LEDs for my Alejandro Crown and when I got back home I installed them to the crown in a hurry. It still took me five hours to get everything ready. I have never mae anything with LEDs so I had to do with half an hour of electricity training. It went well, although I burned one LED, so instead of ten, I then used eight lights. Anyway the crown turned out really great and it got many looks at the concert.

Some liked it hot, and me likes too!

I arrived to the arena some two hours before the gates opened. I was sad since I thought I was too late, that I couldn't get to the Mosnter Pit anymore, because there were a long queue already. Some people started at six o'clock at the mornign, which is crazy, they had to wait 12 hours before even getting inside. They only let people to queue from 8 at morning onwards at the arena area, but people waited on some bridege before that. I don't like queueing at all, it don't prove anything about fan-ness, and I was really greatly reliefed and happy when I asked from a security woman could I still fit in Mosnter Pit. She responded that there were still 18 places left so I went to the end of the line. There came some other people to fill the line soon, so I was just at the right time at the right place. For once. Which was weird, was that many people didn't even know what the Monster Pit was, since they asked from security what that line was were I was standing, they told that it was a Monster Pit line, and told that it would be an auiditorium whic would be pretty crowded. Then some people didn't want to come there, I wonder if they regretted their desicion, when they finally figured out where the Monster Pit really was. At the middle of the stage!

Queueing for the Monster Pit, all those people are going elsewhere than the Pit

At the queue there were some reporters looking around for a story. They found me of course since I was wearing Alejandro Robe and Crown and those could be hard to miss. Not many people were dressed very much Gagastyle, I ahd to most outrageous outfit there, most of them who had something ,wore denim vests with "Born This Way" on their backs. Then there were skulls painted on people's faces, and a few Judas costumes. And leather jackets. Anyway a reporter and a photographer from Hufvudstadsbladet, HBL, "capital city news" in Swedish, the biggest Swedish newspaper in Finland (maybe the only one too, I'm not sure) cought me. They took some questions and photographs. I answered in English, since the reporter didn't speak Finnish and I wasn't in the mood of talking Swedish. I got into the newspaper article and my picture was shown in the web version of the article, but not in the print version. Very nice anyway.

Photo of me from HBL newspaper web article

Then I saw a familiar headpiece amongst the queuers. That was my Blue Telephone Hat which one girl was wearing. She had recreated it using my tutorial as help. It was a nice costume. It's always nice to teach people.

Familiar looking Blue Telephone Hat there

I got to the Monster Pit, which was absolutely fantastic place to watch the concert, but I didn't get to the very first line. That was because when I came inside the arena building, some reporter and camera crew stopped me for a quick interview. That took five minutes which was the reason I didn't get to the first line, or second, or third in the Monster Pit. The reporter asked me some questions in Finnish, the cameraman was an outlander, and they made the interview from Skype News. Weird enough, later at home I couldn't find anything about Skype News from internet.

Skype News interviewed me, now you see the Crown with lights on

The concert started with Lady Starlights weird performance, this time she was a mummy. Then played The Darkness, glam rock band from Great Britain. I'm not a fan of them, so that's for that. Finally, an hour late, like usual, Gaga started, and the starting was extraordinarily amazing! That was the most unexpected and awesome starting I've seen! Gaga rode to the stage on a horse (or was it a black unicorn, I couldn't see). First I though that the horse was real, but it wasn't really. It was just so well made and the dancers carried it around while Gaga was riding it. Some viewers thought the whole time that it was a real animal. Gaga's dancers followed in a military style parade carrying flags of G.O.A.T. The animatronic head of Gaga floating in the air and telling the Manifesto of Mother Mosnter was incredible too, creepy and fantastic. Of course I loved the whole castle on the stage, as well as the meatgrinders at Poker Face and the rotating cloth rack with some of Gaga's famous costumes at Fashion of His Love.

The set list was:

Act I

1. Space (intro)
2. Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)
3. Operation: Kill the Bitch (interlude)
4. Government Hooker
5. Birth (interlude)
6. Born This Way
7. Black Jesus † Amen Fashion
8. Emerging (interlude)
9. Bloody Mary
10. Mother G.O.A.T. Manifesto I (interlude)
11. Bad Romance
12. G.O.A.T Briefing (interlude)
13. Judas

Act II

1. Fashion of His Love
2. Just Dance
3. LoveGame
4. Telephone

Act III

1. Mother G.O.A.T. Manifesto II (interlude)
2. Heavy Metal Lover
3. Speech
4. Bad Kids
5. Hair (acoustic)
6. Princess Die (acoustic)
7. Yoü and I (acoustic)
8. Electric Chapel

Act IV

1. Interlude
2. Americano
3. Poker Face
4. Alejandro
5. Paparazzi

Act V

1. Scheiße
2. The Edge of Glory (acoustic + album)
3. Marry the Night

Sadly many older songs were dropped out due to capacity issues, much more material from Born This Way album was present. I would have liked to hear Dance in the Dark, Beautiful, Dirty, Rich, The Fame, Boys Boys Boys, Money Honey, So Happy I Could Die, Monster and Teeth, which were in Monster Ball, but were dropped out now. Also I would have liked different order with the songs more, now Bad Romance, which was last in Monster Ball, and which is Gaga's best song, came way too early at the concert, in the end of the first act. Luckily Poker Face-Alejandro-Paparazzi combo was saved for the second last act.

Finally my video of the concert:

Supporters and Enemies of Gaga

There are many more or less significant people who are supporters of Gaga, who have worked with Her or are fans of Hers. There are also many people who are offended by Gaga because they like to be offended about aeveryhting and many not-so-famous-(anymore)-people who claim without any proof that She stole their style or something. In this list I have compiled some of them who has at least some importance (perhaps). Some names remain controversial since they may have been supporters of Gaga before, but then turned their jackets ignobly, and for some people just can't be sure are their behavior on behalf of or against Gaga.
Gaga's supporters in green, Gaga's enemies in red and Gaga's former supporters, who became turncoats are in green and strikethrough.

Rob Fusari, producer of many great Gaga songs, like Paparazzi, and had an affair with Her, but later sued Gaga in hope to get his hands into the millions.
Speedy, a model, Gaga's one time boyfriend
Lüc Carl, a bartender from Nebraska, inspiration of most Gaga's love songs, Her on-and-off boyfriend, currently off, who treated Her badly
Taylor Kinney, an actor and Gaga's current boyfriend who told that Stefani has gone too far with the whole "Gaga-thing".
Joseph Kahn, director of Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) and Lovegame music videos, who was supposed to direct also The Edge of Glory, but because of artistic disagreements, left the project and caused that the video wasn't finished properly.
Elton John, singer, father of a child whos godmother Gaga is.
Beyoncé Knowles, Gaga made a single and music video with them.
Pussycat Dolls, a band which Gaga has wrote songs to and performed as a warm up, but they didn't understand Her.
New Kids on the Block, a band which Gaga has wrote songs to and performed as a warm up, but they didn't understand Her.
Semi Precious Weapons a band to which Gaga performed as a warm up and which performed as a warm up for Gaga later, also both have appeared in music videos of each other.
The Darkness a band which performed as a warm up for Gaga.
Lady Starlight, a DJ and go-go dancer, one of Gaga's best friends, who has had a show together with Gaga for a long time.
Marilyn Manson, singer who fell in love with Gaga and has made a remix single with Her.
Brian May, guitarist of the band Queen, who suggested Gaga in the band to replace the late Freddie Mercury. Instead they chose...
Adam Lambert, singer who recorded a song Gaga has written, but was later thrown out of Gaga's Birthday party, since he rampaged drunk and broke things.
Perez Hilton, talentless but persistent climber, who helped Gaga to get famous in the gay community.
Bill Clinton, former president of the United States of America, who had Gaga to perform in his birthday party.
Barack Obama, current president of the United States of America who said it's an honor to him to warm up Lady Gaga.
Cyndi Lauper, singer who made the Viva Glam MAC campaign against aids with Gaga.
Ellen DeGeneres, tv-personality, who loves to have Gaga on her show.
Oprah Winfrey, tv-personality, who has had Gaga on her show.
Barbara Broccoli, Dana Wilson Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, current producers of the James Bond films, who are big Gaga fans and would like to have Her perform a Bond theme song.
Bradley Manning, Wikileaks informant, former military person and current political prisoner, who used Gaga music to help him spy.
Quentin Tarantino, movie director who is Gagas friend and who offered the Pussy Wagon from his Kill Bill movie for use in Telephone music video.
Robert Rodriguez, movie director who made a film Machete Kills, in which Lady Gaga acts as La Chameleón.
Skrillex, musician who has remixed Gaga's songs.
Giorgia Armani has designed clothes for Gaga.
Karl Lagerfeld has designed clothers for Gaga.
Late Alexander McQueen, was Gaga's favorite fashion designer and Her supporter.
Christina Aguilera, singer who didn't know if Gaga was a man or a woman, thus causing a certain malicious debate.
Madonna, singer who was an inspiration to Gaga and they both respected each other, but later Madonna suggested that Gaga ripped of her song(s).
Nina Hagen, German punk singer who can't stand Gaga, and claims she's blasphemous.
Nicky Minaj, singer who stole Gaga's style and can't stand people comparing them.
Katy Perry, singer who stole Gaga's style.
Rihanna, singer who stole Gaga's style.
Grace Jones, singer who claims Gaga stole her style.
Roisin Murphy, singer who claims Gaga stole her style.
Bai Ling, actress who claims Gaga stole her style.
Lil Kim, rapper who claims Gaga stole her style.
Timbaland, producer who claims Gaga stole his style (?!?)
Alex Stebbins, actress who claims Gaga stole her boyfriend, which She actually did, 'cos She can, Lüc Carl was that.
Bette Midler, singer who claims Gaga stole her mermaid-in-a-wheelchair style.
Rebecca Francescatti, musician who claims Gaga stole her song.
David Guetta, musician who claimed that he could have made Born This Way album better.
Disabled people, who claim Gaga offended them performing in a wheelchair (!)
Retarded people, who claim Gaga offended them by using the word retarded (!)
PETA, which is against Gaga using fur and meat dress.
Conspiracy theorists, who claim Gaga is part of Illuminati (!)
The catholic church, which claims Gaga to be blasphemous.
Indonesian jihadists, who wants to kill Gaga (!?!)
Hu Jintao, Chinese president who claims the western countries are invading China with Gaga's music.
Yana Morgana, mother who claims that Gaga stole the style and the soul of her daughter Lina Morgana, a singer to whom Gaga wrote a song and who committed suicide at the age of 19.
Justin Bieber, corporate media mascot, who don't understand Gaga and Her art at all.
Selena Gomez, girlfriend of the previous, who mocked Gaga and Her art.
Eminem, rapper, who mocked Gaga in his lyrics, and reportedly will be ruining a song called Street Lights in Gaga's next album, ARTPOP (!)
Die Antwoord, South African rap band which made fun of Gaga, mocked Her art, and refused to perform as an opening act for Her.

The list is not complete and the names are not in any particular order.

Born This Way Ball concert review in Helsingin Sanomat

Gaga paid a tit for tat 

The new superstar of pop teases with the religion, sex and violence in the imagery, just like Madonna.

Published: 8.29.2012 in the Culture section of the paper 

Mikko Aaltonen

Lady Gaga was photographed last week in Tallinn. It wasn't allowed to photograph the concert so the photo is taken from a building next to it.

Lady Gaga is, as her paragon and current rival Madonna, fixated up to her ears to religious symbolism, sexual imagery and manifestations of violence and their different combinations.
 Immediately at the second scene of Gaga's third concert in Finland included simulated sex after which Gaga shot her parter of the act. After this, she moved to birth new life out of giant, inflatable woman's lower body, on which was projected a face for a moment, which seemed quite like Madonna.
Lady Gaga paid back with interest the Gaga-mockery which her "big sister" performed two weeks ago at her Olympic stadium show.

The major differencies between the queen of pop and the crown princess were highlighted at the show's musical offering, and  in Gaga's even more close interact with her fans.
 As a talented interpreter Gaga did not rely on backing tapes, instead sang most of the songs live. She also accompanied herself with electric piano on a solo number, which offered a taste of the upcoming album, The Artpop: built on a simple melody, Princess Die was not over-energetic dance pop, but a beautiful ballad.

Unlike most superstars, Lady Gaga climbed down to the "audience level" on a number of occasions of her show. For example, she sat down on the edge of the stage and took up stuff fans in the front row throwed her.
From a wallet flown in her lap, she grabbed a credit card, slipped it into a pocket of her biker-vest and said she was going to go shopping, a moment later bursting into a hysterical make-up dripping laughter: "I don't need your money, I just want your soul and your love!"
 We were in the heart of role model and brand building: go over to your audience, do not turn yourself into something unrecognizable.

For the fashion freaks the show offered such a load of eye candy that it would be enough to digest even if the show had been performed mute. If she wanted Gaga would have a chance to spring up the careers of even a couple of local designers during one concert by only flashing in their clothing, but reportedly on Born This Way tour the star has been seen mainly in Giorgio Armani's creations.
These were in their fantasticality in the league of their own: during the Bloody Mary song Gaga appeared like a mutant dropped from space and wrapped in haute couture, in Government Hooker like a giant insects.

It would be interesting to see how Stefani Germanotta could match the conditions of a concert without profusely dispensed sexual provocation. Would it drift a product called Lady Gaga into an identity crisis?
Probably not, because merely in musical gifts and acting skills Gaga has more than enough to spare. Because she's soon made two world tours every couple of years based on the same spiritual essence of imagery and megalomania, the question is: what next?
 A third as pompous and underlining provocative world tour would be repeating herself, and would begin to brittle the power and glamor of the Gaga-fantasy character.

The song Electric Chapel, played with a rock band between glowing crosses showed that it could be natural for Gaga to do a rock band tour. In her case, it would not be conservative, but surprising, and after all the role-play and props it would be a truly bold move. But above all, it would be something which Madonna would hardly ever dare to go.

Born This Way Ball konserttiarvostelu Helsingin Sanomissa

Gaga maksoi potut pottuina 
 

Popin uusi supertähti leikittelee Madonnan tavoin uskonnon, seksin ja väkivallan kuvastolla.

Julkaistu: 29.8.2012  lehdessä osastolla Kulttuuri

 

Mikko Aaltonen

Lady Gaga kuvattiin viime viikolla Tallinnassa. Konserttia ei saanut kuvata, joten kuva on otettu vieressä olevasta rakennuksesta. Kuva: KARLI SAUL SCANPIX


Lady Gaga on esikuvansa ja nykyisen kilpailijansa Madonnan tavoin fiksoitunut korviaan myöten uskonnollisen symboliikan, seksuaalisen kuvaston ja väkivallan ilmenemismuotojen erilaisiin yhdistelmiin.
Heti Gagan kolmannen Suomen-konsertin toisessa kohtauksessa simuloitiin seksiä, jonka jälkeen Gaga ampui aktin toisen osapuolen. Tämän jälkeen hän siirtyi synnyttämään uutta elämää jättimäisestä, puhallettavasta naisen alavartalosta, johon heijastuivat hetkeksi kasvot, jotka näyttivät aivan Madonnalta.
Lady Gaga maksoi ”isosiskon” kaksi viikkoa sitten olympiastadionilla nähdessä show’ssa syytämät Gaga-pilkat takaisin korkojen kera.

Popin kuningattaren ja ensimmäisen perintöprinsessan suurimmat erot puolestaan korostuivat show’n musiikillisessa annissa sekä Gagan entistäkin tiiviimmässä vuorovaikutussuhteessa faneihin.
Kyvykkäänä tulkitsijana Gaga ei tukeutunut taustanauhoihin, vaan lauloi livenä suurimman osan kappaleista. Hän myös säesti sähköpianolla itseään soolonumerossa, joka tarjosi esimakua tulevalta The Artpop -albumilta: simppelin melodian varaan rakennettu Princess Die ei ollut ylienergistä tanssipoppia, vaan kaunis balladi.

Toisin kuin useimmat supertähdet, Lady Gaga laskeutui show’ssaan useaan otteeseen ”yleisönsä tasolle”. Hän esimerkiksi istahti lavan reunalle ja otti vastaan fanien eturivistä heittämää tavaraa.
Syliinsä lentäneestä lompakosta hän nappasi luottokortin, sujautti sen biker-liiviensä taskuun ja totesi lähtevänsä shoppailemaan, purskahtaakseen hetkeä myöhemmin meikit valuen hysteeriseen huutoon: ”en minä teidän rahojanne tarvitse, haluan vain sielunne ja rakkautenne!”
Oltiin roolimallin ja brändinrakennuksen ytimessä: mene yleisösi luokse, älä korota itseäsi tunnistamattomaksi.

Muotifriikeille show tarjosi sellaisen lastin silmäkarkkia, että sulateltavaa riittäisi vaikka show olisi esitetty mykkänä. Gagalla olisi halutessaan mahdollisuus ponkaista yhden konsertin aikana vaikka parinkin paikallisen suunnittelijan ura lentoon pelkästään vilahtamalla näiden vaatteissa, mutta tiettävästi Born This Way -kiertueella tähden päällä on nähty lähinnä Giorgio Armanin luomuksia.
Nämä olivatkin mielikuvituksellisuudessaan aivan omaa luokkaansa: Bloody Mary -kappaleen aikana Gaga näytti avaruudesta tipahtaneelta, haute coutureen kätkeytyneeltä mutantilta, Government Hookerissa jättimäiseltä hyönteiseltä.

Olisi kiinnostavaa nähdä, kuinka Stefani Germanotta pärjäisi konserttiolosuhteissa ilman ylenpalttisesti annosteltua seksuaalista provosointia. Ajautuisiko tuote nimeltä Lady Gaga identiteettikriisiin?
Todennäköisesti ei, sillä pelkästään musiikillisissa lahjoissa ja näyttelijänkyvyissä Gagalla löytyy vaikka muille jakaa. Koska hän on kohta vetänyt parin vuoden välein kaksi maailmankiertuetta pohjimmiltaan samanhenkisellä kuvastolla ja suuruudenhulluudella, kysymys kuuluu: mitä seuraavaksi?
Kolmas yhtä pompöösi ja alleviivaavan provokatorinen maailmankiertue olisi itsensä toistamista ja alkaisi hapertaa Gaga-mielikuvitushahmon tehoa ja tenhoa.

Hehkuvien ristien keskellä Electric Chapel -kappaleen aikana bändin kanssa esitetty rokkituokio osoitti, että Gagalle voisi olla luontevaa tehdä rockbändi-kiertue. Hänen tapauksessaan se ei olisi vanhoillista vaan yllättävää, ja kaikkien rooli- ja lavasteleikkien jälkeen myös aidosti rohkea veto. Mutta ennen kaikkea se olisi jotain, mihin Madonna tuskin koskaan rohkenisi.

My interview in Hufvudstadsbladet

Photo: Cata Portin. Sire Sasa came to the stadium in his self-made clothes. Behind him to the right is Frida Höglund who hoped to see her brother inside the area.

Photo: Cata Portin. Anni Heikkinen (left) and Ronja Heiniemi from Oulu aimed to come at the very front of the concert.

Devoted Gaga fans filled the Helsinki Arena

Outside the stadium Lady Gaga fans started to gather early on Monday. Two visitors from afar who were also early in the site are Anni Heikkinen and Ronja Heiniemi, both dressed in matching outfits to match the star's extravagant fashion style.

Henrik O. Jansson
Published:
27.8.2012 19.28
Updated:
28.8.2012 12.51

– I arrived at eight o'clock from the night train from Oulu, and she met me at the train, says Ronja Heiniemi.

– We will be at the Monster Pit, says Anni Heikkinen, and refers to the part of the stadium where the audience is at its closest to the artist, in the middle of the stage show.
There may only be a few hundred allowed in it, and it helps of course if you are dedicated and have dressed appropriately like the two friends are. Anni Heikkinen has a black leather vest with the text "Heavy Metal Lover" on the back, black-colored front of otherwise blond hair and studded leather gloves. Ronja Heiniemi has a necklace of metal beads that shines throughout the body and shiny metal crosses hanging from the ears.

Lady Gaga has not released any new albums or singles since Marry the Night came from the album Born this Way last year.

– But we hope she plays something from the upcoming record, says Anni Heikkinen.
The name of it is Artpop and it will be released next year accordig to the plan. Lady Gaga has visited Finland twice before, in 2009 and 2010. Both times were Sire Sasa from Helsinki in the audience. He stands expectantly outside the stadium with a black crown on his head and dressed in ankle-length white robe with red edges that form a cross on the front. Just like his idol, it is a stage name he uses.

– I make my own costumes too. For this crown I have used maybe fifteen hours, and eight for this coat, he says. Moreover, he does his own videos to the idol's honor, and uploads them on the net.
While many are dressed, few have gone as far as Sire Sasa in their efforts. Just behind him in the queue is Frida Höglund from Espoo. In comparison, her black bow in her hair is rather modest.

– I'm a fan, but not extremely big one. Edge of Glory is my favorite Gaga-song, but the more fervent things are maybe a little too mainstream, she says.

Lady Gaga, or Stefani Germanotta, which is her real name, is from New York and has sold an estimated 65 million records, of which about 13 million are albums.
On Monday, almost both Monday's as Tuesday's concert were sold out, which means that about 20,000 people will see The Born This Way Ball tour, which it's called, before Gaga pulls ahead with her court to Stockholm and Copenhagen. The tour, which began earlier this year is supposed to last all the way in 2014.

Min intervju i Hufvudstadsbladet

Foto: Cata Portin. Sire Sasa kom till arenan i sina egenhändigt konstruerade kläder. Bakom honom till höger står Frida Höglund som hoppades träffa sin bror inne på området.

Foto: Cata Portin. Anni Heikkinen (tv) och Ronja Heiniemi från Uleåborg siktade på att få komma allra längst fram på konserten.

Hängivna Gaga-fans fyllde Helsingforsarenan

Utanför arenan började Lady Gagas fans samlas redan tidigt på måndagen. Två långväga besökare som också var tidigt på plats är Anni Heikkinen och Ronja Heiniemi, båda uppklädda i passande utstyrsel för att matcha stjärnans extravaganta klädstil.

 

Henrik O. Jansson
Publicerad:
27.8.2012 19.28
Uppdaterad:
28.8.2012 12.51

– Jag kom klockan åtta från med nattåget från Uleåborg, och hon mötte mig vid tåget, säger Ronja Heiniemi.

– Vi kommer att stå i Monster Pit, säger Anni Heikkinen, och syftar på den del av arenan där publiken kommer som allra närmast artisten, mitt i själva scenshowen.
Dit får bara några hundra utvalda komma, och det hjälper förstås om man är hängiven och har klätt sig passande som de båda vännerna. Anni Heikkinen har en svart skinnväst med texten "Heavy Metal Lover" på ryggen, svartfärgad lugg i annars blont hårsvall och avklippta nitade läderhandskar. Ronja Heiniemi har ett halsband av metallpärlor som strålar ut över hela överkroppen och i öronen hänger blanka kors av metall.

Lady Gaga har inte släppt något nytt album eller singlar sedan Marry the Night kom från plattan Born this Way förra året.

– Men vi hoppas att hon spelar något från den kommande skivan, säger Anni Heikkinen.
Namnet på den blir Artpop och den släpps under nästa år enligt planen. Lady Gaga har besökt Finland två gånger tidigare, under 2009 och 2010. Båda de gångerna fanns Sire Sasa från Helsingfors i publiken. Han står förväntansfull utanför arenan med en svart krona på huvudet och iförd fotsid vit kåpa med röda bårder som formar ett kors på framsidan. Precis som sin idol är det ett artistnamn han använder.

– Jag gör mina egna kostymer också. Den här kronan har jag lagt kanske femton timmar på, och åtta på rocken, säger han. Dessutom gör han egna videor till idolens ära och lägger ut på nätet.
Även om många är utklädda är det få som har gått så långt som Sire Sasa i sina ansträngningar. Strax bakom honom i kön står Frida Höglund från Esbo. I jämförelse är hennes svarta rosett i håret ganska blygsam.

– Jag är ett fan, men inte extremt stort. Edge of Glory är min favoritlåt, och de mest inbitna tycker kanske den är lite för mainstream, säger hon.

Lady Gaga, eller Stefani Germanotta som hon egentligen heter, kommer från New York och har sålt uppskattningsvis 65 miljoner skivor, av vilka cirka 13 miljoner är album.
På måndagen var det så gott som slutsålt till såväl måndagens som tisdagens konserter, vilket betyder att ungefär 20 000 personer kommer att ha sett The Born this Way Ball som turnén kallas när Gaga drar vidare med sitt hov mot Stockholm och Köpenhamn. Turnén som började tidigare i år är tänkt att pågå ända in under 2014.

Two problems with Little Monsters.com

Little monsters are thieves! Not all of course, but many young, ignorant and selfish people at LittleMonsters.com, who dare to call themselves Little Monsters are stealing others work. I hate when I make some art, use much time, talent and effort into it, then some people copy it and post it as their own in that site! They might even get more views and likes than the original artist and the final nail to the coffin is that Gaga has commented to my poster on someone else's profile!
I ask all of you, stop stealing others work, no excuses! If you can't do anything on your own, that doesn't give you a permission to steal others work. If you steal, you are a miserable wretched pitiful jerk and full of crap.

The other thing which is wrong with the site, is the gay users! They post gay porn pictures every day to full the site. It's not a porn site, I don't want to see a naked or half naked male body ever again on that site! There should definitely be some sort of ccensorship or moderator for the posts before their publishing.

If these two things don't get better in reasonable time, I will quit posting anything to the site!

Lady Gaga in a Film

Lady Gaga will finally perform in a film. I've waited this for so long! She will appear in Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills-movie, which is a sequel to his Machete-film.
Gaga will play La Chameleón, who appears to be a femme fatale of the film (aren't they all in Rodriguez's films?)

That's just a right kind of movie for Her. She can be sexy and dangerous and over the top at the same time! I love Rodriguez's movies, as well as Tarantino's. They are friends and made several movies together and Quentin and Gaga are also friends. Quentin supposed to Gaga that She could use his Pussy Wagon in Telephone. And they did. Also Tarantino is interested in Gaga playing a part in (possible) Kill Bill part 3. She would play a murderer for sure. I'd love to see that too.
Also I'm still waiting them to cast Gaga in some Bond movie, as the Bond girl, and the singer of the theme song of course. Bond bosses love Gaga, so that can happen someday. Apparently Skyfall is ready and the song made (?), so maybe the next Bond (24), which will happen probably in 2014.

P.S.
And Gaga made a tiny cameo in Men in Black 3 too! She played an alien in one of the 60's scenes, but I'm not actually sure who She is in the crowd.

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Telephone music video art analysis

Sire Sasa 2.24.2011

I made this art analysis for school work in an art history course. The purpose was to provide an analysis from a visual art work, film analysis was forbidden, but I used a loophole, the teacher did not remember to ban music video analysis.

Telephone (music video)
Lady Gaga

Object (any) is a work of art, if and only if, there is an artist, who consider it as a piece of art of his/her own. Lady Gaga says she is a performance artist, and a performance was allowed to make an analysis from. Music video analysis wasn't specifically prohibited.

  Explicit version of the video (Youtube account needed for viewing):

Censored version of the video:

Description

Authors: Lady Gaga (artist, screenwriter), Jonas Åkerlund (screenwriter and director of the video)
Name of art piece: Telephone
Release date: 3.11.2010
Sort of art piece: Music video
Measurements: Definition: 1080 × 720 p, aspect ratio: 16:9, length: 9 minutes 31 seconds
Signing: Lady Gaga
Location and owner of art piece: Youtube, LadyGagaVEVO

Form analysis

Forms: Realistic forms, as it is a video image, which reproduces reality relatively realisticly.

Colours: The work has very bright and glaring colors, pure and saturated blue, yellow and red shows a lot. Primary colors create a more convivial and warm atmosphere. The prison scene at the beginning is in cold green tint, which creates a cold and intimidating atmosphere. Los Angeles sky seems gray and a little cold. The general tone of the picture will change only in the middle of the video when Honey Bee releases Lady Gaga's from prison and pick her up in her bright-yellow-red toned car. Also, only at that point Gaga's hair color changes to bright yellow. The color scheme will change totally when they leave the prison,and enter the diner-cafe. Honey Bee has an all-yellow outfit and hat, Gaga in the kitchen has yellow hair, pink lipstick, blue eye shadow and a light blue hat. A moment later, Honey Bee also has a blue jacket, followed by both of the women dancing in American flag outfits. For videos primary colors, however, could be raised blue and yellow, such as  in the Swedish flag. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who is a Swede. His and Lady Gaga's previous cooperation video, Paparazzi, a mini-movie with a story to which Telephone-video is a continuation, is also blue-yellow toned.

Content analysis

Lots of people can be found in the video, 59 to be exact, the main characters, dancers, extras, stunts. In the video also appears one dog (Great Dane). Objects there are a countless number, product placement, intertextual references. Major ones to be mentioned are wide range of telephones: LG Mobile,two Trimphone-replicas in Gaga's telephone hat, three different colored fixed-line phones (green, white, red) used by Honey Bee, and the Pussy Wagon-named car, which is a reference to the Quentin Tarantino's movie Kill Bill with a female protagonist who drives the very same vehicle. In addition, the video shows a lot of food, including sandwiches, waffles and honey, eggs and bacon, etc. And, of course, worthy of special mention are the numerous extravagant outfits that we see particularly on Gaga, but also on Honey Bee.
Video starts with landscape pictures of Los Angeles. It is a cloudy day in the outskirts, a prison with barbed wire fences appear as soon as in the first picture. Lady Gaga is brought by two prison guards at "Prison for bitches"-female prison. She is wearing a prison-coloured, ie black and white striped dress with a high shoulder pads, as well as catlike sunglasses. The guard takes her sunglasses as they walk down a hallway with other prisoners shouting their insults. Lady Gaga is pushed into a prison cell where she is stripped down off her dress. The guards go out and close the cell door.

Lady Gaga is brought into the prison's excercise yard where the prisoners lift weights and wander around. Gaga is wrapped in thick chains, and she has her eyes covered with sunglasses made out of burning cigarettes. Se looks around and sits down on the table, next to her sits a manly looking woman and they kiss. Megaphone sounds an alert: "Lady Gaga, you have a call". Women continue their kissing, during which Gaga steals her partners mobile phone unnoticeably.

Inside the prison's inmates are gathered in a common space, where a dispute breaks out between two prisoners. They fight, and one kicks other in the stomach and she is left lying on the ground. The guards do not care about what has happened. The radio says: "Beyoncé on the line for Gaga" and a wall telephone rings. Lady Gaga, with spike studded leather jacket and soda cans in her hair walks to the phone and answer.
                 Then, the Telephone song starts, Gaga sings and dances and the video moves to the prison hallway, where she continues dancing and singing with four other prisoners, all in studded underwear. Gaga is also shown in jail cell wrapped up in "Crime scene do not cross" tape. Hse slits her tongue with flick knife and possibly send a text message with the stolen mobile phone.

"It's your lucky day, some idiot bailed you out," says the guard, gets up from her computer to open the prison door to Gaga. Lady Gaga is wearing a very wide-brimmed black hat, black and white dress and round sunglasses. The prison gate opens, she walks into a car, and on the way a guard says, "You'll be back, honey."  The car is Pussy Wagon and behind the wheel sits Beyoncé, Honey Bee. "You've nee a bad girl," she says, "a very very bad bad girl Gaga". Honey Bee takes a bite of honey bun, offers Gaga a piece too and throws the rest out of the car window onto the street. "M-mm, Honey Bee," Gaga says, and the car drives on.

Women discuss: "You sure you wanna do this, Honey Bee?", "What do you mean, am I sure?", "You know what they say, once you kill a cow, you've gotta make a burger," "You know Gaga, trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken","But you can still see the crack in that motherfuckers reflection". Then a notice from radio interrupts them and starts Telephone-song and Honey Bee sings her own verse. Lady Gaga takes photos with her Polaroid camera, one of the images is thrown out of the window, and the car brakes in front of a Diner. The plaque reads: "Diner: home style cooking".
                 Honey Bee walks into the diner in yellow dress and stetson. she sits down at the table where her boyfriend has been waiting for her. Their conversation appears in comic-subtitles: "Hi, honey", "Where have you been, B#?/7&?". The irritated man steps up from the table and walks over to a counter top. He is pushing past another man, who rises to his feet. However, he pushess him and says subtitled: "What the f **k is your problem?" While Honey Bee's boyfriend is dealing at the counter, she digs out a small bottle of poison and pours the blue contents of it in the mans coffee. On the way back, the man slaps a Japanese woman on the bottom, She says in subtitles "One Piece" and the man sits back on the table. The man snatch his coffee and coughs.In the diners kitchen Lady Gaga sings wearing a blue telephone hat, translucent white dress, and around her dancers in chefs garment carrying raw foods. At times we see Honey Bee in a motel room sitting on the bed next to a phone wearing a blue jacket. Image changes back into the kitchen and the text "Let's make a sandwich" appears on the screen. Gaga makes a sandwich and bite it. At the diner side Honey Bee's boyfriend continues coughing.In the kitchen Lady Gaga pours blue poison to a honey bottle and sprinkle white poison powder on the plates. During this, a logo for "Poison TV" appears as well as a "Cook'n'Kill" recipe: 1 ounce of rat poison, 1/2 ounces of a Meta-cyanide, 1/2 ounces of Fex-M3, and 1 cup of Tiberium. Shake and stir. Good luck!". Gaga walks into a dier side with white chef's hat tilted on her head and yellow telephone handset hairpiece on her one eye, carrying the plates. She serves to Honey Bee's boyfriend, who impatiently takes the honey pot and pour plenty of honey on his food. He eats greedily, coughs more and more, until he drops dead on his own plate. "I knew you'd take all my honey, you selfish mother******", Honey Bee says. Diners other customers eat their food, Gaga looks at the camera and says in German subs, one, two, three. People cought their food out and at number three, they all die in their tables.
                 After that, Gaga and Honey Bee dance in American-flag costumes on the floor with a number of dancers and the dead bodies around them. At times, Honey Bees motel room is shown, pand she is picking up the phone and hitting her head. Then the Pussy Wagon roars out of the diner yard, "Wroom" says a text. Then a cavalcade shows the car driving on the roads, and Gaga dancing in front of the Pussy Wagon, wearing leopard leotard outfit a hood, and a peaked cap.

Following TV news broadcast in which the newscaster says, "There's what appears to be a mass homicide. Police are on the search for two women, said to be fleen from the crime scene in Pussy Wagon". Pussy Wagon continues their journey, Gaga and Honey Bee dance behind the car wearing veils over stetsons, Gaga has light blue one, Honey Bee has black. While the police sirens roars, Gaga says to Honey Bee, who is driving: "We did it Honey Bee. Now let's go far far away from here". Honey Bee asks: "You promise we'll never come back?" "I promise" says Gaga, and the two shake hands. Pussy Wagon drive to the horizon and a police helicopters shadow follows it closely. In the screen appears a text: "To be continued ..." and the picture fades to black.

Interpretation

Interpretation of the content

Telephone-video contains a lot of symbolism and intertextual references. The music video is also a mini movie, which tells a story in a point of view of two strong females. They take the law into their own hands and revenge to the oppressing male society. The video is like a combination of Thelma and Louise as well as Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. The story continues from where the previous Paparazzi music video story ended, so it seems appropriate to explain briefly the events described which led to the Telephone video.

In Paparazzi video, Lady Gaga is with her boyfriend is a fanciful mansion in Sweden. Gaga's boyfriend carry her to the balcony, where they kiss, but he knows that paparazzis are following them, and he will probably get moneu from images the paparazzis can shoot of them. He prevents Gaga from leaving, so that paparazzi would get enough pictures, but this leads to a tussle and eventually the man throws Gaga off the balcony. Lady Gaga does not die, but heals, and eventually when recovered, she revenges to her deceitful boyfriend by mixing poison into his tea. The man dies and Gaga gets arrested.

From this continues the Telephone video, in which beginning Gaga is brought to prison. Her best friend, Honey Bee, however, pays Gaga her bails and she is to be released. Gaga and Honey Bee are strong female characters who can not tolerate themselves chained within the norms of male society. They travel with Pussy Wagon, a car that is a vehicle of the movie Kill Bills female main character, The Bride. The Bride wants to kill her husband, so did the Gaga, and now is Honey Bee's turn. Gaga and Honey Bee poison the latter's boyfriend, who is apparently a chauvinist pig in nature. At the same time, however, they accidentally kill all the customers in the diner. Gaga and Honey Bee are like Thelma and Louise, who stop at a roadside bar and kill a man, opposed to the society and try to escape from it by any means necessary. Both duo are driving away into the wilderness, but Gaga and Honey Bee will continue to continue their journey, even if the police are on their heels, while Thelma and Louise driove into a gorge in a desperate situation.

Intertextual references to popular culture from the video can be found in abundance. When Lady Gaga answers the phone in prison, she is wearing a leather jacket, which has logos of old punk bands as a tribute: "Doom", "Icons of Filth", "GISM Autonomy Anarchy" and "Dystopia". The jacket is completely covered with metal studs, which gives out the do-it-yourself mentality of punk, which Gaga too represents, at the beginning of her career, she made her own costumes. In the Poison TV-scene there is a  poison recipe, which contains rat poison as well as three imaginary poisons: a meta-cyanide is borrowed from the science fiction world of Dune, Fex-M3 from Star Wars Universe and Tiberium from Command & Conquer computer game series. Diner's Japanese woman's message of "One Piece" is a reference to Japanese anime series'. Pussy Wagon is, of course, from Kill Bill. Honey Bee's name is a reference to Honey Bunny, a character from Tarantino's other movie Pulp Fiction. Gaga uses a Polaroid camera, she was elected as the Creative Director of Polaroid. Virgin Mobile, in a mobile phone displayed, is Gaga's Monster Ball concert tour sponsor. Videos diner-café can also be seen in NCIS-crime series. At the beginning one of the prison guards is Ms. Mann, from the film Scary Movie. Honey Bee use the "Mickey Mouse sunglasses", the same which was used by Gaga in Paparazzi while murdering her boyfriend. Gaga's leopard leotard outfit is a reference to a Canadian artist Shania Twain's music video "That Don't Impress Me Much", in which she uses a similar outfit. In honor of Michael Jackson, Honey Bee uses a pseudo-militaristic blue jacket, which is a very Jackson-style with chain ornamented epaulettes, and Gaga also makes a Jacksonesque dance move at the door before going out of the prison.

The overall interpretation of the work

Lady Gaga wrote Telephone song to reflect her internal suffocation fear, that she should be left alone, but attempts to reach her all the time, for example with phone, make her fear. Song's lyrics tell about a woman who wants to celebrate at the club, but her boyfriend is constantly trying to contact her, so she can't be alone. Video tells the story of two strong women who don't want to submit to mens world with it's asphyxiating and intrusive rules, but rather take the law into their own hands regardless of the consequences.

Video continues the darl story of Paparazzi, and the entire The Fame Monster album, with the Telephone song in it, is dark themed, all the songs describe Lady Gaga's deepest fears, monster, as she calls them. Telephone reflects the anxiety, from which she got released by the song and the video. Gaga's debut album The Fame, images the rich life, The Fame Monster all the related fears. Lady Gaga wrote songs for The Fame album before she became famous, but when she got the fame, she no longer wanted to write about it.

Evaluation

Telephone-video is one of Lady Gaga's best works. She herself said before it was released, that the video will be better than Bad Romance, Gaga's previous single and video. In my opinion, and many other fan's and critic's view, the Telephone is not just above Bad Romance-videos level, but that is such an immensely stylish, stunning and epic that it may never be exceeded. Telephone is easily Gaga's second best video. Visual design is breathtakingly beautiful, bright colors, costumes, set design, all matches greatly with each other, creating a unique fairytale atmosphere, which I'd like to watch longer. Telephone is a long-form music video, as opposed to Bad Romance, and it tells a mini-movie story, which Paparazzi began, which still shall get a continuation in one of the next albums songs.In Telephone-video Lady Gaga shows great transforming abilities, as the previous Bad Romance video was an epic greyscale-toned video, only sometimes enhanced with a red-color images, while Telephone is more earthly, in a different way a fairytale-ish than Bad Romance, but still great entertainment.With her videos Lady Gaga has influenced greatly to contemporary art, other artists copy her styles and elements from her videos and try to be equally interesting and controversial personalities, though without success. Telephone video is hugely popular on Youtube, it is watched at present a total of more than 170 million times (134 million times a censored version and 36 million uncensored). It is one of the most watched Internet videos ever, but Bad Romance is still a lot more viewed with it's 450 million Youtube views.Telephone video was well received by critics and in 2010 it won MTV Video Music Award for best collaboration in music video (with Beyoncé), while Bad Romance captured awards from almost all the other categories in the gala.Fans gave great response to the video of course, and it gave birth to a number of imitations, but not all liked Telephone. Just as not all art can always be pleasing to everybody, each artist has lovers and haters, with varying amount. In this case, some parties spread rumors that Lady Gaga would be a member of Illuminati, a secret society, to conquer the world and corrupt or minds (actually the Illuminati was disbanded in 1700's, and it didn't even allow female members). Then they present synbols as "evidence", which they found in videos, such as Lady Gaga's often used "OK" hand gesture, through which she looks with one eye. They claim this to mean "All-Seeing Eye", as well as Gaga's kissed prisoner's shoulder tattoo, which is a picture of demon Beelzebub. Such theories crash, of course, to their own impossibility, and to the complete lack of real evidence.In my opinion, Telephone is the world's second best music video just after Bad Romance. In particular, I love the cheerful colors of the video as well as the costumes. I think the video will last a long time and it will far be a model for other artists who want to create something great. Telephone is not an ordinary music video, it is a mini-movie, it is a happening in pop culture, which was stiffened in it's old patterns before Lady Gaga came to fame. Telephone should not, and can not be passed, it is a part of modern pop culture's general education.

Sources:
Telephone-music video
Telephone: Behind the scenes-video
Wikipedia.com
Gagapedia.com
LadyGaga.com
Helia Phoenix, Lady Gaga: Just Dance: The Biography

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This feedback I got from my teacher:

Well, here it came, the first music video for judging. Music video does not fit the context of course, fine arts, especially movie-likeness move it more to the methods of film assessing, and then of course there is the musical side. Lady Gaga is an exception, because she really is close to the performance art genre, especially in her public appearances are often that (meat costumes, etc.). This is, however, a music video and a bit difficult to analyze as visual art.
It is still bravely attempted and experiment is interesting, and in some places it has been successful. In particular, "art piece's" color scheme, and other means of expression analysis is apt. The actual focus is, of course, in Lady Gaga's outfits and in the intertextual references, for example, towards popular and consumer culture. Also, all the major objects includes a variety of similar messages. They are also perceptively drawn for analysis from the flood of pictures.
In this form a music video is in my view, however, its own genre and has its style laws, that as visual art, even as modern art, evaluating it is too challenging. Nice try, however, and formally the analysis is done according to the guidelines. Rating 3 (on a scale of 1-5).