Life is still a ball for Lady Gaga. The trend-setting Mother Monster of pop last wowed her fans in Tacoma on Aug. 21, 2010, during her Monster Ball tour. On Monday, she’s bringing her Born This Way Ball tour to the Tacoma Dome, the first U.S. stop on the tour. (It kicks off today in Vancouver, B.C.)
Born Stefani Germanotta, the 26-year-old singer shot to stardom in 2008 with the release of her “The Fame” album featuring hits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face.”
Gaga breeds loyalty among her fans for her blend of chart-topping hits, trend-setting fashion and style, and a fearless voice on humanitarian issues — particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
To prepare you for the show (or the morning-after conversation), here are 10 reasons to go gaga over Gaga.
1. Gaga was fourth on Forbes’ 2012 list of highest paid celebs under 30, raking in $52 million. That represents a drop from her No. 1 slot in 2011 at $90 million — because of a gap in touring. And it was in 2011 when …
2. “Born This Way” made history by blowing onto U.S. pop charts with more than 1.1 million albums sold in the first week, the best debut sales figure since 2005. That led to inevitable comparisons to “Express Yourself,” which was on 1990’s “Like a Prayer,” and to a feud with …
3. Madonna. At a September 2012 Atlantic City show, Madge dedicated a song to Gaga with this backhanded compliment: “Imitation is the highest form of flattery. But one day, very soon, we’re going to be on stage together. Just you wait. You think I’m kidding? I love Lady Gaga.” Gaga has wisely taken the high road, making Madonna look even more desperate and washed up than she already is. Besides music, the two singers also have eye-popping fashion in common.
4. As the tour begins tonight in Canada, we don’t know what Gaga will be wearing, but past fashion choices have ranged from a bubble dress to the infamous ensemble made of raw meat that she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. (She later had the dress jerked.) The other fashion question: What size will the outfits be?
5. “Weight gain” and “fat” are the top two Gaga Google search results. Clearly, Gaga’s extra poundage seems to have caught the world’s attention. She says her extra 30 pounds are not headline news and she doesn’t care about it. Acceptance of body image is one of the basic tenets of her Born This Way Foundation. Maybe that’s why in December …
6. Gaga announced that photographer Terry Richardson will be making a documentary film about her life and the production of her fourth album, “Artpop.” Gaga has said she has written 50 songs for the album, which will be released this year. But the film won’t mark the debut of her acting skills. That comes this year with …
7. Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete Kills” feature film. It’s the follow-up to 2010’s “Machete” – a grindhouse-style film featuring the world’s most unattractive movie star: Danny Trejo. No word yet on Gaga’s character but she is named La Chameleón. Even that film won’t technically be her first …
8. Along with Justin Bieber and others, Gaga made a cameo on the Alien Big Board in the latest “Men in Black” installment. The Will Smith movie franchise has a tradition of portraying real-life celebrities as aliens under surveillance by the Men in Black. It is an alternative explanation for her popularity and multiple names …
9. Like any modern pop or rap star, Germanotta/Gaga has a legal name, stage name and a nickname: Mother Monster. (Her fans are Little Monsters.) Therefore it only seemed natural when in October Duke University announced that …
10. Gaga was honored with the name of a new genus of ferns. Nineteen species of ferns will carry the name Gaga. Members of the new genus bear a distinct DNA sequence spelling GAGA, have fluid definitions of gender and bear a resemblance to Gaga’s costumes. Two of the ferns will be called Gaga germanotta and Gaga monstraparva (“monster-little”).
Craig Sailor: 253-597-8541
craig.sailor@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/getout
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.