 Fashion and music prodigy Lady Gaga rocked Fort Canning Park on Aug. 12, 2009. This “Love Game” player took her The Fame Ball Tour to Singapore, attended by around 10,000 enthusiastic Gagaists. “I heard a rumor that the show is going to be cancelled. It’s not true. We are over sold-out,” she Twittered as she landed in Changi. The long queue to enter the premise proved this statement. Hardcore fans, including young teenage girls, put on their sexiest costumes and bling-blinged their faces. The unorganized queue was no surprise to me, knowing that the concert was brought by the same LAMC Productions who arranged Diana Krall’s live acoustic performance in the same park last year amidst the noise of F1 race. After an over-extensive DJ Inquisitive opening performance, and a 30-minute pause without anything happening, Lady Gaga finally took over the stage wearing a futuristic off-shoulder piece, and skimpy skirt, belting out “Paparazzi”. Her chart-toppers “Love Game”, “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich”, and “Fame” came next, bringing the start of the night to unstoppable hysteria. Lady Gaga, born as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986, is no less a whiz in music. She wrote her first piano ballad at the age of thirteen, and started performing at the age of fourteen. She also wrote essays and dissertations on arts, religions, as well as sociopolitical issues. In 2007, she began writing songs for artists such as Akon, Fergie, Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, and New Kids on the Block. The theatrics of Lady Gaga heavily depend on her fashion statement – powered by a team that includes Nicola Formichetti, who is among the world’s premier fashion stylists. “When I’m writing music, I’m thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It’s all about everything altogether – performance art, pop performance art, fashion,” she confessed to Chris Harris from MTV.com. Her debut album The Fame, sold over 2.3 million copies worldwide, receiving praise from critics who compared her to the queen herself, Madonna. It digs deep into the innerside of both herself and her listeners, sharing the honest craving of being discovered, praised, worshipped, and even hunted by the paparazzi. However, “I don’t feel like I look like the other perfect little pop singers,” as she stated in Rolling Stones magazine. Adding to that, she claimed Madonna and Marilyn Manson as fans. Surely, it’s all part of the biz, and everybody laughs at the birth of a new pop queen. “Just Dance”, the first single of her first album, is a staple in clubs all around the world. It was no surprise then the song brought the first climax to the concert. The multitudes of fans waved colorful disco sticks as they jumped off the ground and recited the lyrics. The following number, “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)”, was opened with a confession: “I dedicated this song to all the boys that I dated at the same time.” The carefree song about a power girl who can dump a boyfriend without any clear reason was cheered as a statement of modern day dating scene. Lady Gaga then changed her costume to a plastic bubble outfit she wore on the Rolling Stone magazine’s annual Hot List, August 2009 issue. She displayed more of her musical genius by playing her transparent piano, filled with plastic bubbles. Following the tradition of glam rock, Lady Gaga not only used her two hands while performing the “Brown Eyes” ballad, but also her right foot. Her last message to Singapore audience was about the importance of being authentic to the extreme. While deliberately using F-word a lot of times, she encouraged teenagers who were confused with a lot of things in life, including sexual orientation – just like the statement, “I love all my gay boys”, before she started singing “Boys, Boys, Boys” earlier. The much anticipated “Poker Face” was performed first in the heavily improvised version. This was the only chance for Lady Gaga to really showcase her full talent, and she did it completely flawlessly. When she moved to the album version of the track, the audience couldn’t help but shouting in frenzy. It’s no exaggeration to say that Lady Gaga’s first album and series of concerts worldwide could make this “Money Honey” singer become the new “Material Girl”. She had showcased an exuberant energy, a rare and authentic talent, and powerful charm. The night would be flawless should it be handled by a more professional organizer who knew some Gig 101 including managing a long queue, and arranging a good build-up. This Lady deserves some true gentlemen. Source: thejakartapost.com  |
|
