What makes Lady Gaga go gaga?

The hottest ticket in town is, you guessed it, Lady Gaga.

“Parang ginto,” said those manning Ticketnet, Ticketworld and the box-office of the Araneta Coliseum where Lady Gaga’s concert will be staged tonight, produced by Renen De Guia’s Ovation Productions.

The black market must be doing brisk business.

Am I watching the concert? No, I’m not. I already had the rare (once-in-a-blue moon but not really once-in-a-lifetime) chance of watching her “live” in concert in Singapore last June during the promo for her debut album The Fame (released locally by MCA Music, Inc.), plus an exclusive one-on-one to boot.

No, I’ve never been a fan of Lady Gaga and, in fact, I didn’t really know her very well before I flew to Singapore. But, yes, I was blown over by her electrifying performance, especially when she started playing the piano first when she was seated on a stool and then she stood on it and bent forward, with her soul-stirring playing uninterrupted. Practice, indeed, makes perfect. I would learn that, as a kid, Lady Gaga used to do that kind of “exhibition” at home, trained by her father.

I warn those who are watching the concert tonight to be prepared for a breath-taking performance since Lady Gaga does it “breathlessly,” running here and there, blowing kisses to the audience and, aside from singing, doing a dozen other things calculated to leave the expectedly heated-up audience to pant for more, more, more!

Off-stage, Lady Gaga (full name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) is just as breath-taking. She wears huge falls eyelashes that seem to occupy her whole face, a unique hairstyle and out-of-this-world clothes that remind you of Madonna and Cyndi Lauper (one of her role models) combined, although she frowns on being compared to Madonna whose stage act must have (subconsciously?) inspired Lady Gaga. She’s the hugging type, very warm and genuinely sincere and friendly (as we would say, totoong tao siya; walang halong kaplastikan).

After watching the concert and doing the one-on-one, I felt like I’ve known Lady Gaga for a long time. Yes, gaga talaga ang lady na ‘yan!

By the way, does she know what the word gaga means in Filippino?

“Yes,” she admitted, breaking into a wide gaga smile. “It means crazy, right?” And much more!

Lady Gaga and her entourage are arriving at 11 this morning and leaving tomorrow for Singapore.

Here are juicy reprints from my memorable one-on-one with her:

Is it true that you “hit” on an unnamed member of the Pussycat Dolls?

“I’m sorry but I don’t kiss and tell.”

Is “exhibitionist” the right adjective to describe you?

“No, I would say that the best way to describe me would be a ‘hot performance artist.’ But there is an exhibitionistic quality to the work that I do. It is an art exhibition in a pop-art-fashion-music technology. For example, when I do the ‘bubble installation,’ it has a very exhibitionistic quality. I give the audience bubbles.”

You have a very “unique” fashion sense. From whom and from where did you get it?

“From my mother. She always dressed up every day. She was a very stylish woman. I would sit on the toilet seat and watch her while she fixed her hair and applied her make-up. Then, when I was 18, I moved to downtown New York and that opened up a whole new fashion world for me. You know New York, it’s very stylish. The street fashion is a way of life. My clothes become an extension of myself, a part of my work and a part of who I am.”

How has fame changed you?

“I am very, very grateful for my success and I suppose it would be very easy for me to be jaded but I’m not. I’m having a great time. It has been amazing! You know, I travel the world, I meet all my fans who are beautiful and incredible. I’m so inspired that I keep on writing new music. It’s a dream come true. It has been a marvelous journey.”

Does money make you happy?

“No, not money but my music. Also, I should say that nothing is more important to me than my fans and nothing is less important to me than money.”

The whole world seems to be going gaga over Lady Gaga. So what makes Lady Gaga go gaga?

“My fans. I love my fans. They are the light of my life!”

All together now, Gaga, Gaga, Gaga, Gaga, Gaga!!!

After Lady Gaga comes Chicago

Another great musical treat featuring a top foreign act is in store for local fans when Chicago, one of the longest-running and most successful US pop/rock ‘n roll groups, returns to Manila after nearly two decades for a live concert on Sept. 14 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The musical extravaganza from Ovation Productions will feature hit ballads like Questions 67 & 68; Beginnings; Make Me Smile; 25 or 6 to 4; Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is; Lowdown; Color My World; I’m A Man; Saturday In The Park; Dialogue; and Free.

Other hits to be sang by the band are Feeling Stronger Everyday; Just You And Me; I’ve Been Searchin’ So Long; Call On Me; Wishing You Were Here; Old Days; If You Leave Me Now; Baby, What A Big Surprise; Love Me Tomorrow; Hard Habit To Break; No Tell Lover; Look Away; and many more.

(Note: Tickets to Chicago Live In Manila! are priced at P4,700, P4,500, P3,500, P2,500, P1,000 and P500, and are available at Ticketnet outlets at all SM Department Stores. For inquiries and reservations, call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or Ovation Productions at 532-8883.)

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com) - FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

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