I dig me some Lady Gaga. On the one hand, she's delightfully, unapologetically unusual. On the other, underneath the bizarro costumes and head pieces and army of supernaturally dedicated fans, she seems to have her head screwed on remarkably straight, particularly given that she's - currently - one of the most famous characters in popular entertainment culture.
She's 24 years old, but manages a markedly removed, observant, even sedate brand of wisdom that's disarming when it comes out of the mouth of a pop star who soared into the public consciousness a few years ago with a club anthem that invoked the every-girl's dilemma of lost keys, lost phone, lost drink, room spinning, GREAT song playing - all problems solved by dancing. It's an interesting juxtaposition of public and private personas.
She stays pretty well out of the paparazzi and gossip-hound circuit and has a fantastic perspective on maintaining her privacy, even going so far as to suggest in this UK Times article that celebrities complaining about being unable to escape the flash bulbs are, really, actually enamored with them and, with proper effort, conscienciousness and -- yes -- cash, would be perfectly able to escape the broad reach of the public's curiousity. Spend less money on diamonds, more money on security. Do it The Gaga way.
Other favorite excerpts from the article (which, by the way, was a lot of fun to read - music journalist Caitlin Moran (whom, I've decided, is endlessly witty, well-spoken, and has a career I envy to no end) followed her around for a night on the town) touch on possible Gaga health problems, the Gaga take on feminism, why we rarely see Gaga on the red carpet (it clashes with most outfits), and how many drinks it takes for the Gaga to get "knackered." Hint: when scotch is her poison, it requires somewhere between three and five before she's lounging on tabletops in German sex clubs discussing her rare brand of sex appeal. She's cute, actually. Falls back into moments of sounding very 24, reminding us that she is -- at least mostly -- human.
Here's the bit that generated the hum about her secret battle with Lupus:
But it has to be said, for a 24-year-old, death is a recurrent theme in her performances. The thematic arc for the Fame Monster tour was “the apocalypse”. On the current Monster Ball tour, Gaga is eventually eaten by a gigantic angler fish – a creature she was terrified of as a child – only to be reborn as an angel. Her MTV Awards performance of Paparazzi, back in September, had her being crushed by a falling chandelier – amazing – before bleeding to death while singing.
“What’s the nearest you’ve ever come to death?” I ask her. “Do you have any recurring illnesses?”
She goes oddly still for a moment, and then says, “I have heart palpitations and… things.”
“Recently?”
“Yes, but it’s OK. It’s just from fatigue and other things,” she shrugs, before saying, with great care, “I’m very connected to my aunt, Joanne, who died of lupus. It’s a very personal thing. I don’t want my fans to be worried about me.”
Her eyes are very wide.
“Lupus. That’s genetic, isn’t it?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“And have you been tested?”
Again, the eyes are very wide and steady. “Yes.” Pause. “But I don’t want anyone to be worried.”
“When was the last time you called the emergency services?” I ask.
“The other day,” Gaga says, still talking very carefully. “In Tokyo. I was having trouble breathing. I had a little oxygen, then I went on stage. I was OK. But like I say, I don’t want anyone to worry.”
It’s a very odd moment. Gaga is staring at me calmly but intently.
Lupus is a connective tissue disease, where the immune system attacks the body. It can be fatal – although, as medicine advances, fatalities are becoming rarer. What it more commonly does is cause heart palpitations, shortness of breath, joint pain and anaemia, before spasmodically but recurrently driving a truck through your energy levels, so that you are often too fatigued to accomplish even the simplest of tasks.
Suddenly, all the “Gaga cracking up” stories revolve 180 degrees, and turn into something completely different. After all, the woman before me seems about as far removed from someone on the verge of a fame-induced nervous breakdown as possible to imagine. She’s being warm, candid, smart, amusing and supremely confident in her talent. She’s basically like some hot, giggly pop-nerd.
Of course, she hasn’t said, outright, “I have lupus.” But the suggestion throws the whole previous year – being delayed on stage, cancelling gigs, having to call the emergency services – into sharp relief.
Interesting.
Basically, it's the first full-length interview I've ever read, rather than just excerpts here and there that make her out to be a bit out-of-touch, aloof, chilly, unecessarily Queen Frostine-esque.
I liked her in the first place - but now she's close to edging out my beloved XTina (who, by the way, just cancelled this summer's tour, new dates to be announced later this year).
Anyway: check out the full article here.
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