How Oprah helped me "get" Lady Gaga

I can't believe how rarely I've been posting on Sugar & Gravy.  I don't have an excuse or explanation.  I try to pause at moments like this and think, "Has S & G run its course?"  The answer for now is, "Not yet".  So here is a long overdue entry.  I'll try to update more frequently moving forward.


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I have tried to write this post in particular a number of times but keep getting distracted, writer's block, or just forget.  No more.  I will write this post... today.

As I've said before, I wasn't a big fan of Lady Gaga.  I probably said on occasion, "I hate Lady Gaga".  I realize now that "hate" was too strong a word, and furthermore, I didn't hate Lady Gaga, I hated the hype.  I hated hearing about her latest dramatic, artsy, controversial, or one-of-a-kind performance.  I hated hearing people talk about how unique she is, how crazy her style is, and how great her music is.  What's so special about Lady Gaga?  I mean, I find her songs pretty catchy and her style can be pretty fierce, but... why the hype?  I guess more than hating Gaga or hating the hype or hating the fans, I just didn't get Lady Gaga.


When I saw that Oprah was doing an episode of her show "Oprah's Next Chapter" with Lady Gaga, I realized this is it.  If I'm ever going to *get*, appreciate, and/or like Lady Gaga, this is how it's going to happen.  Oprah has an uncanny ability to open my eyes and heart to someone/something, and so if she can't do it for Lady Gaga and I then no one can.


Turns out - unsurprisingly - she could.


If I remember correctly, the episode started with footage of the launch of Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, which was held at Harvard University with Oprah co-hosting.  I'm often skeptical of celebrities and their causes; I can't always tell what's genuine and what's just for publicity.  However, with Oprah on board, I knew it was legit.  Also, hearing Lady Gaga speak about her cause, her mission, and how strongly she cared about it... well let's just say my heart was opening up to her.


After that, Oprah visited Gaga and her mother at their NYC apartment, where Gaga still lives. Lady Gaga seemed herself - no crazy outfit, no crazy make-up, no crazy wig.  She looked beautiful: clean, simple, and comfortable.  As always, Oprah and her interviewee spoke candidly; you got a real sense of who Lady Gaga is.  I was reminded that she's close to my age - just a year and two months (exactly) older.  She was very smart and confident, thoughtful and well-spoken.  It was a great interview, about the fame and how her life has changed, how she grew up and who she is now.  Oprah also spoke at length with her mother, and they both just seemed so down-to-earth, and... real.  Authentic.  Genuine.


The biggest moment came when Oprah made a comment along the lines of her passing the torch to Lady Gaga.  This is extremely significant, I thought, because Oprah is saying that Lady Gaga is more than a singer/songwriter/performer.  She's a world figure, a leader, capable of real change and impact.  That's what really opened my eyes.


Finally, when Oprah asked Lady Gaga's mother what she wanted the world to take out of this interview, Mrs. Germanotta said: "I want people to get my daughter."  When I heard her say it, I knew I did in fact now get Lady Gaga.

"Uh, no, don't worry about it, no thanks."

Once again, I'm putting off my "Discovering TO" post by posting a video of Sharlene Chiu of MTV News (Canada) interviewing Die Antwoord.  I already liked Die Antwoord because of this video, but this interview sends the love to a whole new level. 


See the interview here (I tried to embed it to no avail).


Favourite moments: telling Lady Gaga "no, don't worry about it" when she asks them to open for her on tour, referring to pop music as incestuous, finding out that Die Antwoord loves Celine Dion.

L.G.R.

Ok.

So you know how I hate Lady Gaga? Well, I'm not really sure why I do. Part of it stems from me always being wary of things that are really hyped up. Lady Gaga is huge! She's a relatively new phenomenon, and yet she's #4 on the Forbes Celebrity 100?!?!? Why? What's so special about her? She's fresh and genius and creative and artistic. Is she? Is she doing stuff that nobody else is doing or nobody else has done before? I dunno... I think people are a little blinded by her outrageous outfits...

But as much as I'm wary of things that are really hyped up, I'm also wary of intense feelings that I have that I can't exactly explain. I mean, I don't really listen to Lady Gaga, so am I really qualified to hate her or have a strong opinion either way? No, I'm not.

SO... it's time to begin my L.G.R. - Lady Gaga Research. I'm gonna take notes as I work my way through as much of her music as I can. I'm gonna read up on her. I'm gonna stare at dozens of Google images. I'm gonna form a real opinion, and I'm gonna report back to you.

FEROSH.

WTF?!?!

Like... who came up with the story for this one?! I wouldn't be surprised if it was Lady Gaga herself. She is COMPLETELY outrageous and I'm going to say absolutely FIERCE. Not sure if I love her, but it's safe to say that there's nobody else like her out there! WHAMMY!!!

Did you see her at the VMAs?! What a total freak!!!

I love it!!!