Our Year with Lady Gaga

 When I interviewed Lady Gaga in October of last year for a feature on Out.com, I didn’t know then that the relatively unknown woman speaking to me -- her greatest claim to fame at that point was having had Christina Aguilera all but call her a tranny -- would soon be one of the most famous women in the world. Though she had already secured the adoration of the gay community with her hook-heavy songs, glittering with references to sex, love, and living the fabulous life, the mainstream had yet be conscripted into Gaga’s glam army. 

Fast forward through the next 11 months. They were filled with number one singles, bras that shoot fire, countless magazine covers, sold out tour dates, a dress made out of Kermit the Frog heads, and a performance where she "bled to death" that was broadcast into millions of living rooms. We all now realize that, whether you appreciate what Lady Gaga does or not, there’s no denying the pop behemoth she’s become.

We decided to put Lady Gaga on our September fashion issue cover sometime around the beginning of June. She’s one of the most stylish artists working in music today (her outfits at the MTV Music Awards -- from the blood red shrimp tempura-esque gown, mask, and crown to the Inuit sea anemone head piece -- alone are dissertation worthy); she’s never abandoned the gay community, regularly citing it as the reason she’s achieved the success she has; and when you peel back the layers of outrageous spectacle and attention-grabbing stunts, she is, at her core, an immensely talented, classically trained artist who writes her own songs and controls all aspects of her image both on and off stage.

But getting Lady Gaga on the cover of your magazine is easier said than done.

The woman’s schedule is a nightmare (her agent originally told me that every moment of every day was booked solid until “at least January 2010”). One day she’s in Milan and the next she’s in Borneo. Finally she found a few hours to do the shoot -- I pitched the concept of ‘50s B horror films after reading an interview in which she said she was currently obsessed with the genre -- in Belgium (in a random stroke of cosmic luck there just happens to be a club in Brussels called The Coffin filled with skeletons and graveyard backdrops) and, as you can see, the results are stunning.

Scheduling the interview was equally difficult, with the first half happening while she was on her tour bus about to go through a border crossing somewhere in Europe and the second half three days later when she was backstage in Paris. Complicating matters was the fact that I was co-writing the story with Joshua David Stein who was vacationing in Europe at the time. In order to get him the transcripts of the interviews in time to turn the story around, I was in the office until 1 A.M. on my birthday rewinding and fast-forwarding through our conversations.

But in the end, it was all worth it. Joshua and I wrote a piece we’re really happy with, the photos are some of the most exciting, and, I’d argue, intimate, she’s done, and the reaction to the issue, from the press to our readers, has been almost universally positive.

Last night marked the culmination of Out’s collaboration with Lady Gaga, at the party held in her honor at The Box on New York’s Lower East Side. Gaga arrived around 11:15 dressed in white PVC with a fishnet veil snug across her face and I got to spend a few minutes with her toasting the issue. We chatted about how much had changed since we first talked almost a year ago and I told her that, more than anything, it was her refusal to shy away from her association with the gay community, especially after achieving mainstream success, that I was most impressed with. Her level of visibility provides her with a platform that few others have, and when I heard her thank “God and the gays” for her MTV Video Music Award a few days ago I thought about all of the people across the country, especially in places that aren’t gay-friendly meccas like New York, who are struggling to deal with their sexuality -- and their community’s feelings about their sexuality -- and what that must mean to them.

Where will Gaga go from here? With a co-headlining tour with Kanye West due to kick off in a few weeks and the re-release The Fame (plus a handful of brand new tracks) in November, she won’t be disappearing anytime soon. It remains to be seen if the world will be able to -- or want to -- keep up with the constant, and for some people surely exhausting, spectacle that is Lady Gaga. If she’s smart she already has a game plan to ensure she doesn’t go stale or become overexposed. But that’s the thing about Gaga -- for her, there is no such thing as overexposure. And that’s part of the reason she’s one of the most exciting performers to emerge since the rock stars of the '70s and '80s like David Bowie, Grace Jones, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. She knows how to push buttons, she lives for her art, and above all, she’s willing to sacrifice almost anything to put on a killer show. Come what may, we’ll continue to document all things Gaga and I look forward to many more years filled with whatever craziness she cooks up.

To see our Lady Gaga '50s B horror flick–themed photo shoot, click here.

To read our Lady Gaga cover story, click here.

-- NOAH MICHELSON

Previously > A Bloodbath at the MTV VMAs

Comments

[twitter.com/JLAppelbaum]

Are we talking about the same event that only let in Fashion "VIP" lists and denied entry to actual Out readers, leaving a huge line of disappointed people who RSVPed to the event weeks ago?

Or the one where Lady Gaga showed up an hour after the party ended with Perez Hilton in tow and refused to take photos for anyone much less speak to anyone there?

Oh, right.

[Scott Anthony]

Yeah, it's really bad form to create an RSVP availability to a small venue like The Box if you're not going to let any of your readers in. I was near the front of the line, and many people waited more than 90 minutes with no warning that it was all a waste of time.

Truly bad planning. You made a lot of people upset.

[Paul]

At least Out should write an official apology statement or send emails to the rsvp guests who waited at least 90 mins to get in instead of acting like nothing horrible happened last night. Shame on you Out Magazine!

[Darren]

"Though she had already secured the adoration of the gay community"

I'm apart of the gay community.
I do not adore her.
Infact I don't even like her.
Please do not make false claims Out.com.
Cheers.

[Scott Anthony]

Also, try not to explicitly state within invites that they are for the recipient and a guest, and then laugh and call it a "typo" at the actual venue. It would be a moot point in this case, since none of us got in anyway, but that was rather unprofessional.

[Justin]

I cannot believe you silly queens! I didn't get in either, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. Parties like these always over-invite guests to ensure they pack the place and there are always people who don't get in. This one in particular seemed especially like a mess, but come on! It's just a stupid fashion week party. All that awaited us inside is some free booze (though chances are that ran out in the first 30 minutes) and a lot of pushing and shoving. After waiting 20 minutes to get in and getting nowhere, I left with my friend and went and had dinner at a great spot down on the Lower East Side. No big deal. I would have loved to have seen Lady Gaga but Out never said she was performing and that's how celebrities rock this kind of shit -- they show up, sit in VIP, and leave.

I feel like all the haters on here must never go to parties like this and need a big old reality check.

Also, Darren, saying that Out is making false claims because they said that Lady Gaga got the adoration of the gay community and you don't like her is dumb dumb dumb. Of course there will always be people in any given community who don't agree with the majority, but for the most part, us gays were the ones who championed Lady Gaga first.

Bottom line: Yeah -- it sucks we didn't get into the party, but I also didn't get into two other parties this fashion week. It's the way it goes sometimes.

[hambone]

yeah well said Justin - who ever thought parties and lists were fair? Of course the VIPs got in, of course it was horribly crammed inside, of course lovely folks who queued didn't get in. But it's NYC, it's fashion week, and you didn't pay a cent, so stop whining. And yes, I was on the list and no I didn't get in either, but it wasn't the end of the world.

[Bob]

it all sounds miserable to me