Why I love Lady GAGA so much

WHY I LOVE LADY GAGA SO MUCH

Part I

Many of you probably have been wondering for some time why I have such an intense interest and passion for Lady Gaga. I will say that the response I have received since I openly declared myself as her fan has been both positive and negative, of which the latter has been uninformed, to be honest. I have therefore decided to express my thoughts in words to fully convey the reasons for me being not just being a mere fan of this pop singer, but a staunch supporter of a term I created called “Gaga ideology”. It is my sincere wish that people would come to understand my position with regards to my love for Lady Gaga, and ultimately my view of life itself – a view that is reflected much in her music.

There are two aspects of this reflection that I would like to focus on: Lady Gaga herself, and a few songs from her latest album and the messages behind them.

LADY GAGA OR STEFANI GERMANOTTA?

Lady Gaga’s rise to fame has earned her much respect and clout. At the young age of 25 she has become extremely wealthy and has been named the fifth most powerful person in the world – all because of her music. Is this so? Personally, I have no clue as to the real woman behind the Gaga mask – as in the normal Stefani Germanotta who is like any other human being. I don’t think I, nor any of us will ever get to know the real Lady Gaga since it is likely that the personality and charisma she chooses to exhibit to the public may very well be different from her true character. Thus, it is the Lady Gaga that we see on stage and television that I am attracted to. Even so, people view and understand that Lady Gaga in many different ways. Some like myself admire and adore her, while others do not. Therefore to be precise, the reason why I love Lady Gaga with such enthusiasm is not because of who she really is, but because of what she represents to me in my life.

“YOU AND I”

Perhaps one reason why some people can relate better to others is because they share common interests or a similar way of thinking. As for myself and Lady Gaga, I believe that we have much in common, and to some extent I see myself in her. In this part of the reflection, I will elucidate some of our common traits; mostly involving our passion for the performing arts, our unique fashion sense, and some things about her that I can relate to. Hopefully you, as the reader, can begin to formulate an understanding of my admiration for Lady Gaga.

THE FAME MONSTER

I have watched many of Lady Gaga’s live performances and I will say that she gives her best and her all in every single one of them. Performing at her level is something that I can only dream of. Nonetheless, I enjoy giving performances of own when the opportunity comes by (singing, acting, dancing…). Whenever I do, I set high standards for myself because of my love for the performing arts. When I perform, I want to express myself and give my audience a place for an ‘emotional catharsis’. In one her interviews, Lady Gaga mentioned that the main purpose of her “Monster Ball” tours was to create a place for her fans to really be themselves and ultimately to find release. It may be that this is what I do for myself when I perform – the stage feels like my second home and nothing else matters when the music and lights are on; time seems to stand still.

On another note, perhaps this Lady Gaga represents something that I could have become if circumstances were different. I admit that I do not have professional experience and training in the music and performance industry, but the passion and desire is as intense as ever. Seeing Lady Gaga perform presents to me an alternate reality where I could have ventured into the performance industry and made a name for myself there. All the same, that is not the reality of things, and come the day that I do succeed in the performing arts, I will still and will always give my best for my performances ”..amidst all of these flashing lights…”.

A PASSION FOR FASHION

Lady Gaga’s unique fashion sense has stunned both the general public and the fashion industry, and she has created a new level of style and dressing. As for me, I too have an interest in fashion and as with my performances, I take my dressing seriously. Everyday without fail, I tap into my creative juices to come up with a new way of dressing by mixing and matching my clothes and accessories. Having a good fashion sense is essential to my lifestyle and I will never leave the house not dressed up; my clothes are after all, my second skin.

Furthermore, just like Lady Gaga’s outfits, it is evident that my style of dressing is unlike any that you would see on the streets on any day. I refuse to dress conventionally and to follow a certain trend that others have already set - I believe in setting the trend especially in fashion. I suppose the reason why Lady Gaga and I have choose to model such unique and flamboyant outfits is because we can express ourselves through our dressing.

I believe in the power and importance of self-expression and perhaps for the both of us, fashion is the best way to achieve this.

BEING DIFFERENT

Lady Gaga has a great boldness and audacity to be different - exceedingly different I might add. She has also received as much praise as she has with criticism. I don’t know all the reasons why people criticize her but I’m sure one of them is because of her being different from what society is used to.

Throughout my life, I have always been told by people about my uniqueness and distinctive qualities that seem to capture the attention of others. On the other hand, I also have had people criticise me because of my ‘otherness’. Lady Gaga mentioned that before her rise to fame, she was jeered off stage for some her performances. As with me, people have ‘jeered’ me for being different and for being so ‘far away’ from them. However, both Lady Gaga and I would not have come this far on our separate journeys if we had listened to every piece of criticism and chose the easy way out by simply ‘following the crowd’. To me, being different is actually more exciting than living in mere normality.

On top of being different is also the ability to place one’s worth in himself, which is something that I have yet to fully achieve. I am a very self-conscious person and sometimes what people say about me matters a little too much. Lady Gaga has been a role model for me when it comes to not being swayed by the opinion of others, nor about caring about what other people say, especially when what they say casts a bad light on you. When someone’s value is found only in that person himself, then nothing that people say or do can bring that person down.

Being unique and different is like swimming upstream – it is hard and not many will do it. One thing is for certain - being different is not wrong, and Lady Gaga and I are undeniably different in our areas of influence. This idea of being unique in one’s own way is part of the “Gaga ideology” I mentioned. By understanding it, Lady Gaga has taught me through her actions that it is perfectly fine to be different.

WHY I LOVE LADY GAGA SO MUCH

Part II

THE ‘GAGA IDEOLOGY’

One has to admit that Lady Gaga’s songs are extremely catchy and sometimes quite addictive (at least on my part). But apart from being just mere pop songs, Lady Gaga’s songs reflect something deeper and contain a meaning and message. This message has caught my attention and it has certainly given me much encouragement and assurance in my struggles. There are three songs in particular that in my opinion seem to contain the “Gaga ideology” that I wish to focus on.

In each of these songs, whose title and some lyrics is quoted, I shall give my own interpretation of the themes behind them and what they mean to me. I shall explain how I am able to relate to them given my past experiences, and how these songs have changed my way of viewing life, and ultimately my way of viewing myself.

1. “Marry The Night”

· “I’m gonna marry the dark…”

· “I’m a soldier to my own emptiness…”

· “I’m not gonna cry anymore”

· “…gonna make love to the stars”

Many, in fact most of Lady Gaga’s songs, are not meant to be taken literally, and perhaps “Marry the Night” is the most metaphorical of the lot. The message behind this song can be summed up in the title itself. To ‘marry the night’ is to accept one’s emotional hurts, and to bear the struggles of life close to the heart. Ultimately, instead of being contrite and fleeing from all that is dark within, one embraces the tears and pains because it is part of that person.

Over the past two years, I have known such grief and sorrow. I have had my heart broken; I was crying myself to sleep almost every night; and my analytical mind gave me no rest. During this time, I discovered certain things about myself that I wished was never a part of me, and on top of all of these was my tragic history of pain and sorrow that I never imagined I would experience. For many months I was determined to suppress and dispose of that part of myself. Yet despite my best efforts that part of me never left. And why should it?

There had been several occasions when things seemed to be alright with no ‘night’ in my life – my mind wasn’t thinking and my heart wasn’t feeling. However almost immediately, I felt incomplete; almost as if I had lost a part of myself. But when my ‘night’ returned because it was triggered by some random event, it was at this moment I came to realize that resisting the darkness was of no use because I was only resisting myself. I then understood that it was easier and only right to embrace my history of heartache and to ‘make love’ to my companion of darkness. And even though sometimes I wish none of these had happened, choosing to ‘marry’ my sorrows was and is indeed the best choice I have made. Being a “soldier to my own emptiness” has made me stronger, and this darkness has become an integral and necessary part of my emotional core. I bear my hurts, my frailties, and my pain close to my heart – “I’m not gonna cry anymore”.

2. “Hair”

· “I just wanna be myself and I want you to love me for who I am.”

· “…that I’ll die living just as free as my hair.”

· “I just wanna be free, I just wanna be me…”

· “Don’t wanna change, and I don’t wanna be ashamed…”

Among all of Lady Gaga’s songs, this in my opinion is by far the most inspirational and uplifting. This by itself is one reason why I like this song – it instills in me a sense of freedom; freedom, which is the very theme and message of this song!

In one her concerts, Lady Gaga dedicated this song to a fan who took his life because of bullying. When I heard news of this, it was almost as if a part of my life went on replay. I too was once bullied and like this boy, I too had plans to end my life. During this tumultuous time I craved for freedom, and even today I am still searching for it.

Perhaps now the freedom I am searching for is from other things (and people I might add) that seem to bring me down; things that prevent me from attaining what is rightfully mine; and from people that hinder me from being who I truly am. For some time now I have been denied my rights, marginalized and looked down upon Before, I tried to make the best of this bad situation but I found that I was merely letting myself being used like a chess piece. Now however, I have decided that I would rather “..die living just as free as my hair” than to live under the rules and whims of others.

On another note, I will say that that my personal identity is extremely important to me. I for one do not find my identity in others or even in my religious beliefs; I find it in myself. Furthermore, I honestly detest the notion of corporate identity, and basically anything that diminishes the significance of the individual. Individualism is one of the messages in this song, and this is something that has truly captivated me because I believe that identity is to be found personally, and not corporately.

Likewise, I have understood that being oneself is of vital importance when self-identity is concerned. I have learned this lesson the hard way because there were times in the past when I tried to be someone else just to please others but only to find myself “…short of my identity” after. And for that reason I have resolved to remain true to myself. Perhaps now people might understand now why I “…don’t wanna change…”.

The lyrics of this song couldn’t have conveyed my pride of my individualism, and couldn’t have voiced my cry for freedom better when it declares “I just wanna be free, I just wanna be me.”

3. “Born This Way”

· “There’s nothing wrong with loving who you are…”

· “I’m beautiful in my way, ‘cos God makes no mistakes…”

· “Don’t hide yourself in regret, just love yourself and you’re set…”

· “A different lover is not a sin…”

· “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life…”

· “Rejoice and love yourself today…”

“Born This Way” is indeed the manifesto of Mother Monster. It is the embodiment of all that I have been searching for and all that was lacking in my life. It has become an anthem for the suppressed, the individual, and the lost – it has become my anthem.

For many years I have been struggling with my identity, and being religious in that sense, I have been conditioned to believe that some things were plainly a ‘sin’ against God. I thought that I was deviating from the ‘right track’ and that my life was in a mess. Because of this conditioning I was suffering in silence and had to endure much scorn and heartache... ….until this song came along.

One of the main messages behind this song is simply about loving yourself, as with the lyrics “Don’t hide yourself in regret, just love yourself and you’re set”. This might seem simple enough to do but for many people like myself sometimes, it is not. There were many times in the past when I detested everything about myself and regretted my actions because of who I was. I had much anguish because I thought I had to change everything about myself that people and religion said were wrong, when all I had to do was to “Rejoice and love yourself today…”. Moreover, I believe that if one cannot love himself than he cannot love others. Hence, through this song, I have learned to accept myself for who I am and to be proud of all my traits and dispositions since ”There’s nothing wrong with loving who you are…”. This song tells me that once I love myself and come to terms with everything about myself, then “…I’m set”.

This song also stresses on individual beauty. It assures me that “I’m beautiful in my way…” since I cannot compare myself to others’ standards; and that I am made perfectly in the sense that I do not need correction in my identity nor in my sexual orientation. I have my own views regarding the latter, but I do not wish to deviate towards ethics, whether it be religious or otherwise. I will merely quote the lyrics of this song: “A different lover is not a sin…”, and you as the reader can figure out the rest and fill in the blanks.

In addition to what has been said, the lyrics “…’cos God makes no mistakes” makes it clear to me that who I am today is meant to be and that my being and make-up is not an abomination of nature. As I have mentioned, I come from a religious background where it is taught that we need to be ‘born again’ (whatever that is supposed to mean). It could be implied that the present state we are in is defective and is in need of some kind of spiritual transformation. Spiritualism and metaphysics aside, I only ask now: Why be born again when you are already Born This Way?

“Born This Way” is a multi-faceted song that appeals to everyone, but more so to the individual. The message behind it is simple yet powerful, and it has truly given me hope and bravery in my walk. After years of being rejected and criticized for who I was, and after being told countless times that I was not on the ‘right track’, I finally found a place that “…bears no prejudice, no judgment, but boundless freedom”. In this song I feel belonged and accepted for who I am - all because I was “Born This Way”!

PUT YOUR PAWS UP!

Lady Gaga as a person represents much to me. She personifies everything that I might have become; everything that I want to be; and everything that I could and can be. Her songs have given me hope and assurance, and they have inspired me to be proud of myself since no one is better qualified to be me than myself. Through her songs, I have found acceptance for who I am, bravery to live life to the fullest, and inspiration and strength to raise me up during my struggles.

To the general populace, Lady Gaga could be just another pop singer whose glory in the music industry may come and go. Pop singer nor not, I treat her more like a role model, and as someone whom I can relate and look up to. I am indeed grateful that I have found Lady Gaga, and of course her songs that have finally given my life meaning.

Paws up for Lady Gaga, paws up for my Mother Monster!

This little monster,

Dominic Ang