Lady Gaga delivers a stunning, accoustic version of "Edge of Glory" on Howard Stern

Lady Gaga visited American shock jock Howard Stern last week for an interview and, more importantly to me, give a live performance of new single Edge of Glory. With just her piano for company, Gaga gave a dramatic acoustic rendition of the song that left even Mr Stern enraptured with her voice.

There were some dissonant chords played- quite a few at around 3.55-and the vocals were throaty and forced at times, but it all just added to the overall sound and emotional intensity of the song.

Please Lady Gaga, release an acoustic album, it's where you really shine.

Other Lady Gaga Posts:

• Lady Gaga's Vocal Range
• Born this Way Single Review
• Born this way Video review
• Judas Single Review
• Judas Video Review
• Edge of Glory Review

Lady Gaga/ Britney Spears mashup: "Hold It Against Me" Vs "Scheiße"

The first Divadevotee produced mash-up created entirely on the free software, Audacity. There are problems with the sound quality, volume, the pitch and speed of parts, and it has an overall unpolished smear about it, but I don't think it's too shabby for a first attempt!


This mash-up contains the backing track of the Lady Gaga song Scheiße- which I love- combined with the vocals from Britney Spears' Billboard number one hit Hold it against me. The dubstep breakdown at the end is taken from the Femme Fatale Megamix- posted here.

Hope you like it!

Like Mash-ups? Click here for more!

Lady Gaga: "Hair" Live performances:

The more I listen to Lady Gaga's new album Born this way the more I like it. Sure, lyrically it's a little lacking but production wise, thematically, vocally, and melodically its solid piece of work that makes better sense, and stands stronger, as a collection of songs than as individual singles.

One of my favourite performances, so far, from this era is when Gaga took to the stage to perform Hair (review here) on the British chat show, Paul O Grady. Channelling Liza Minnelli, Gaga gave a powerful, stripped back rendition of the searching for acceptance song. The fact that she was bald didn't phase or even really register with me- I've come to expect each performance is going to have a gimmick in it designed to keep her in the headlines, and to be honest I think nothing she does phases me now- but as a whole, a stunning, captivating performance.

Other Performances of Hair:
Lady Gaga on Good Morning America:

Lady Gaga on Taratata in France:

Other Lady Gaga Posts:

• Lady Gaga's Vocal Range
• Born this Way Single Review
• Born this way Video review
• Judas Single Review
• Judas Video Review
• Edge of Glory Review

Video Review: Lady Gaga "Edge Of Glory"

Simple isn't a word usually associated with Lady Gaga but the video for new single Edge of Glory is just that, and frankly the timing for Gaga to embrace the word couldn't have been better. Nothing about the Born this way project has been simple so far and was starting to feel like it was relying too heavily on gimmicks, controversy and big money to guarantee high sales instead of trusting in the music to do so. But the  video for Edge of Glory bucks this trend.

The video contains no controversial religious imagery (gasp!), only one extra (double gasp!)- in the form of saxophonist Clarence Clemons - is all shot on one location/set (hyperventilating) and only features two outfits (FAINT!).

There are problems with the video though. The original director, Joseph Khan, left the project part way thorough, after supposedly having differences in opinion about the direction of the video, and as such the video is missing a strong, if any, narrative or structure to the video. However that's a minor quibble as the video could be seen as a performance piece. The main issue, and the one that makes me feel most uncomfortable watching the video, is Gaga's proactive postulating and scantily clad gyrations when the song is supposedly written about, or at least inspired by the passing of her Grandfather.


The bottom line is Gaga, simplicity can be good, but it needs to be supported by something; whether that be a strong narrative, brilliant choreography or star charisma- all of which are lacking in this video. However, the video for Edge of Glory does give us all a little space to breath after the juggernauts that were Born this way and Judas, and for that I'm thankful!

Patti LaBelle demonstrates why she is the Don Diva as she duets with Lady Gaga on "Over the Rainbow"

Patti LaBelle and Lady Gaga singing "Over the Rainbow" together

Below is a snippet of Ms Patti LaBelle and Lady Gaga performing the Wizard of Oz classic Somewhere over the rainbow after the CFDA Awards. It still amazes me how a diva as distinguished as Patti has managed to remain so warm, welcoming and personable at this stage in her career. There are plenty of other divas- included a few much younger than Patti- who would treat another singer on stage, especially one that is younger and currently more successful than them, as competition, singing all over the place to assert their dominance. But not Ms Patti. She always seems to embrace and respect whoever she's on stage with regardless of age, success or talent. Diva's take note; if you've got the goods, don't feel threatened when another female joins you on stage!


As for the performance the voices melded together well, with Patti taking the soprano highs and Gaga taking the alto lows, so both were audible and distinguishable when singing together. Patti nails her vocals- as usual- and Gaga's midrange belt at 34 seconds was impressive, but her taking the microphone from Patti was a no no! Arrogance or drink related shenanigans? This time, I'll say the latter and let Gaga off. She was celebrating being named Fashion Icon of the year after all!

Lady Gaga: "Hair" Review

Newly release Lady Gaga "Buzz track" Hair is a song that deals with the themes of acceptance, repression, freedom and creativity all via the metaphor of the songs namesake.
Though not exactly Shakespearean in its lyrical composition, the song still has a solid narrative to it that is both endearing and impressive- especially when compared to the poor way similar themes were handled on the terribly literal Born this way.

The RedOne production follows the style of past singles Born this way and Edge of glory in being 80's inspired in its melody and structure, whilst taking its club beats from the early 90's. The resulting sound is dated and awkward in its execution but its neither unbearable or offensive. Thankfully the saxophone that mired Edge of Glory, has been pushed far enough into the background as to not be too off putting on the track.

Gaga's voice is again on fine form on the track, with nice mixture of vocal stylings and textures to suit the backing track accordingly. The song also features, towards the latter half, some of her most coarse, raw and unpolished vocals on a record.

What's becoming clearer with every song released is that Gaga and her producers are creating a sound that is made with the stadium in mind; after all live performances are her strong point. The songs released so far have all had the expansive, euphoric feel and structure that is so reminiscent of the stadium-filling, soft-rock acts of the 80's that the initial promo shot for Born this way alluded to. With this new epiphany, I now reserve the right to amend all my previous opinions on those past releases, until said time that I am able to hear them played at ear slitting levels. ;)

Summary:Vengaboys' We like to party + Alphaville's Forever young+ Brian Adams' Summer of 69 =Hair.

Probably my favourite Gaga track released from Born this way so far.

Ratings:3.5/5

Other Lady Gaga Posts:

• Lady Gaga's Vocal Range
• Born this Way Single Review
• Born this way Video review
• Judas Single Review
• Judas Video Review
• Edge of Glory Review

Single Review: Lady Gaga "Edge Of Glory" - Gaga releases yet another poor single.

What is going on with Lady Gaga and the Born this way project? The first single, also entitled Born this Way, was terrible. Judas was a little better. But new single Edge of Glory has her depressingly sliding back towards Born this way territory.

Simply put Edge of Glory isn't single material for an artist like Gaga who likes to distance herself from her piers; it sounds too much like what every other female pop singer at the moment is doing. But its choice as a single and its speedy release, considering the video for Judas was released last week, can be understood in the context of the Judas backlash. It seems damage control is now being implemented and the least offensive, most commercial song on the album has been released in an attempt to bring Gaga back to the mainstream market.

There are good points to be had. Gaga's vocals sound strong on the track, as she switches between, an almost unrecognisable, higher, thinner tone and a heavier, rocky rasp. The melody and the production is suitably nostalgic of the 80's- the era the album is inspired by- and, bar the saxophone and the overproduced feeling that seems to be this era's calling card, is interesting and frequently changed to keep the songs energy going.

At least Edge of Glory is Gaga back to making music that will sink or swim on its own musical merit instead of relying on  gimmicks, like championing a cause or courting controversy as the last two singles did respectively. However, the Baywatch saxophone and the similarities with Kelly Clarksons' My Life would suck without you is just too much for this song to be anywhere near the level of a classic.

Please Gaga, stop saying this project is going to be the "album of the decade" because eveything you've released so far has been generic and throwaway. Your statement is starting to sound worryingly like you're overcompensating for what's looking more and more likely to be a stinker of an album.

Other Lady Gaga Posts:

• Lady Gaga's Vocal Range
• Born this Way Single Review
• Born this way Video review
• Judas Single Review
• Judas Video Review

Video review: Lady Gaga's boring video for "Judas"

Lady Gaga in Christian Lacroix

Despite the use of heavy religious iconography, a rumoured 10 million dollar budget, and copious amounts of extras, the video for Lady Gaga's video Judas manages to totally underwhelm on all fronts. The dancing is dated, the fashion is pretty terrible-Crucifix titty tassels anyone?- and Gaga's panto level acting is pretty dire, as is the stiffness and dead eyes she displays throughout. Cultural baptism" this is not. So so Pop it is.

Judas Video stills:

Single review: Lady Gaga "Judas"

From the Earth Shattering disappointment that was Lady Gaga's last single Born this way, the singer has thankfully began her assent back up in my esteem with the release of new single Judas. But lets just be clear, my opinion of Gaga, which hit rock bottom in reaction to the manipulative Born this way, is still nowhere near the highs of The Fame Monster EP era.


Despite wanting to love it, me and Judas got off to a bad start from the get go thanks to its cheesy Euro-pop intro. To avoid tears of disappointment, I quickly lowered any expectations of greatness I had and instead readied myself for another cheesy mess of a track.

However, that all changed as the crazy, stuttering cries of "Judas" and the brilliantly dirty, electro-stomping bassline of the verse kicked in. This was the Gaga I had been waiting for; the one who brought it hard and fast. Almost immediately the sins of Born this way were forgiven and now with my expectations back sky high, I readied myself for the "cultural baptism" to begin!

Unfortunately that wasn't to be as my opinion of the song, and Gaga, once again nosedived as soon as the the mawkish, introduction-echoing, chorus kicked in. Ignoring the fact that the vocal melody sounded like a second-rate Bad romance knock-off, it was the cheesy Euro-pop sound, which was so overbearing and jarring in its contrast to the rest of the song, that was responsible for eviscerated the whole track for me.

The reinstated brilliance of the following verse, bridge and middle 8 would have me back liking the song again respectively as they appeared but ultimately every time the chorus hit I fell further and further into despair at how close to genius Judas was. How could Gaga have gotten parts so brilliantly right but others so unbelievably rotten.

Don't get me wrong Judas is definitely a hundred times better than Born this way, but its still not great. Some of the production is inspired, but the chorus and Gaga's lyrics-which are once again dire and dependant on their gravitas and punch being acquired by means other than quality writing- just let the whole thing down.  Here's hoping, as Judas was better than Born this way so may the next single be even better than Judas and so on and so forth with the album.

Does the audio from Judas copy Loli Lux's Wannabe? Listen below and judge for yourself.

Lady Gaga takes a tumble and "falls this way"

Lady Gaga takes a tumble from her chair during a performance of You and I at the Monstersball tour in Houston.

In what looks like what could be potentially regular feature of this blog Lady Gaga now joins Mariah Carey [whose fall can be seen here] on the list of stars featured that have taken  a tumble while performing.

Whereas Carey's fall looked more like a moment of sleep apnoea striking while on stage, Gaga's tumble was more full on- and seemingly more painful- and stemmed from the Born this way singers attempt to descend from her piano onto a piano stool that unfortunately gave way.  Fortunately though the singer seemed fine and carried on the performance like a trooper! These Diva's are made of strong stuff!

Watch the fall below

Does Lady Gaga's "Born this way" rip-off Snsd's "Be happy"?

Did Gaga copy SNSD?

Another  potentially uncredited, shall we say, "influence"- in addition to Madonna's Express yourself- on Lady Gaga's Born this way  has surfaced online viaYoutube. Admittedly the song Be happy, by South Korean girl-group SNSD, does bare a striking similarity  to the electronic backing track of Gaga's mega hit; but it could just as easily be argued that SNSD ripped off Madonna's Express yourself too,hence the similarities between all three tracks.

Perhaps worryingly for Gaga, having recently heard Born this way, the producer of Be happy has decided to contact the singers' management for "further information" about the track. It's not clear what "information" he's trying to gather but it may be in anticipation of future legal action against the singer.

If he was a smart man he would be downplaying the similarities between the songs, because if Madonna does decide to come-a-knocking on Gaga's door claiming she was plagiarised then she'd only have to follow the breadcrumbs from Gaga door back to his own home in South Korea to serve his arse too. 

Listen to the comparison of Born this way and Be happy below:



I really hope Gaga's next track Judas will wash the taste of Born this way outta my mouth.

Lady Gaga "Born this way" video

Lady Gaga in Born this way

I've just watched the video for Gaga's Born this way and don't want to make the same mistake I made by reviewing Britney's Hold it against me without letting the video truly sink in. Instead I'll post the video here, for you guys to check out, while I watch the video a few more times and ruminate on my thoughts.

Look out for the Madonna reference at the end!

Review: Lady Gaga "Born this way" at 2011 Grammy awards.

2011 Grammy awards: Lady Gaga and her giant Egg

Lady Gaga toned down the weirdness, at least by her standards, and gave her hotly anticipated first performance of new single Born this way at the 2011 Grammy awards. But could the live performance be strong enough to convert me to being a fan of the song?

In a nod to the song title the singer started her performance being born as Lady Gaga- oppose to her human self, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta- from a giant egg  that she claimed to have been in for days. She'd also arrived on the red carpet being carried in said egg, much to the bewilderment, and I guess annoyance, of the other celebrities who had never been upstaged by a giant egg before.

Conceptually the egg thing wasn't a huge leap for the singer, the words "born" and "egg" are pretty much synonymous if you're a bird, and so even though it wasn't particularly weird or outlandish on the Gaga scale of weirdness- remember the blood and the hanging from the chandelier at the VMA's- it was the "weirdest" and "Gaga-est" part of the performance. From that point the gimmicks were ditched and Gaga focused squarely on dancing, singing, and playing the piano to gain the adulation of the crowd.

The performance featured slick choreography, simple staging, a mini organ solo of Toccata and Fugue and a powerful, emotive vocal that communicated a passionate conviction, that is sorely lacking from the studio version, in the songs meaning.

Lady Gaga's performance of Born this way  may have been underwhelming for those who expected Gaga's usual antics, but to me it highlighted how the singer doesn't really need to rely on big production values to impress or amaze. Despite still not liking the song (see my review here), I can't deny Gaga her props as a world class performer.

Watch Lady Gaga perform Born this way live below

"Born this way" Vs "Express yourself"

For those who can not hear the similarities between Lady Gaga's Born this way and Madonna's Express Yourself a kind Youtuber has created a video to aid the journey towards awareness of this fact.

Let me just say I am totally aware that pop music often borrows from what came before, but Born this way is just a lazy version of  a great song. I don't think I would have minded so much if Gaga had improved somehow on the source material but as it is it's just disappointing and anaemic.

Still, seems like I may be in the minority as Born this way has been getting good reviews and is breaking sale records. Just how much of the sales is hype will be evident as the weeks go on. I just hope this derivative, manipulative trash isn't a sign of things to come from Gaga...  

*skulks off to listen to the fame Monster* :( 

Do you hear the similarities? Comment here! 

UPDATE: PRODUCER OF KOREAN GROUP SNSD IS ALSO CLAIMING SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HIS TRACK BE HAPPY AND BORN THIS WAY! LISTEN HERE

Review: Lady Gaga "Born this way" So bad it's terrible!

The hype for Lady Gaga's new single Born this way has been building steadily for months. A hype I readily admit being caught up in, and finally today, after it's release date was pushed a week forward, we got a chance to hear a song that, according to Elton John, would "obliterate 'I Will Survive'". High- having now listened to it- unworthy praise indeed!

Alarm bells should have been heeded about the potential crumminess of the impending Born this way when the childlike lyrics were released a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, being a fan and wanting the song to be as epic as promised, I swept the bad lyrics under the "commendable message" carpet and trusted in Gaga's strength of melody and music to carry the song to the promised greatness.

Depressingly, Born this way doesn't just fail to live up to the hype, which to be honest was never going to happen, but more worryingly for what's to come with the album, it fails to succeed in even being a good song. The production and melody- which was going to be its saving grace- sound mediocre at best but even worse is how it sounds like a gayer- who would have thought possible- rehash of Madonna's classic Express yourself (listen to the similarities here)

Young fans may hear Born this way as something new, fresh and exciting and good for them, it can be their generations poor version of Express yourself. But to an 80's baby- like Gaga herself- this is a weak 1990s B-side of a track that doesn't live up to the hype or the best of the decade she's trying to pay homage to.

Oh Gaga, why have you forsaken me!

Comment here and tell the world what 
you think of Born this way

Listen to Born this way below

Lady gaga: More style than Substance?

It's often said by Lady Gaga detractors that her over the top videos and dress sense is an attempt to distract the public from her lack of musical talent. To those who think this I introduce to you the acoustic version of Paparazzi. Ignore the funny ensemble and simply listen.


By the end of the song you may still dislike Gaga's voice, or her music but only a hater could deny Lady Gaga's musical ability.

Lady Gaga Mash up Mania

Lady Gaga Ke$ha and Linkin Park

Let me confess to the world my love for the music site Soundcloud. Hosted there is so much awesome music that has been created and uploaded by the general public for the world to listen to for free! On my searches there I found some brilliant Lady Gaga mash-ups (FYI a mash-up is when two or more songs are mixed together to form a new song). So sit back, listen and enjoy!

Ke$ha Vs Lady Gaga: Ever wondered what Lady Gaga's vocal track from her first hit Just Dance would sound like played over the music of Ke$ha's 2010 mega hit Tick tock? Well wonder no more!


Kesha feat Lady Gaga - Just Dance (Ralph Project Summer Mashup) by Dj Ralph

Madonna Vs Lady Gaga: Perhaps my favourite Lady Gaga mash-up is this one. It features the vocal from, perhaps my favourite Gaga song, Monster played over the euphoric production of Get together from Madonna's Confessions of a Dance floor album.



Lady Gaga Vs Madonna- Monster /Get Together Mashup by jesusnx

Linkin Park Vs Lady Gaga:  Alternate rockers Linkin Park and their hit Numb is paired below with Lady Gagas's 2010 duet Telephone. The resulting track is one that sounds, strangely, more mature, darker and serious than the Darkchild produced original.


Linkin Park vs Lady GaGa ft Beyonce - Telephone NumbNuts (Dj Ryson) by Mixes and Mashups #1

Lady Gaga "Born this way" Cover art 2011

"BORN THIS WAY" Review!

Lady Gaga Born this way Cover

Lady Gaga has revealed, via Twitter, the cover for her next album entitled Born this way. It features Lady Gaga, from behind, wearing nothing but a denim jacket  which bares the album title and a unicorn rampant.

Having Madonna as one of her idols, its no surprise Lady Gaga would take a leaf from her book and reinvent herself with the new album. The question is which direction is Lady Gaga going to take on Born this Way.

If we were to infer a direction just from the cover it could be that Lady Gaga is moving from the processed, electro-pop,and highly polished visuals of her last album towards a rougher 80's rock-pop sound and visual that was favoured by the likes of Gun and Roses and Bon Jovi.


Hopefully Lady Gagas' previous hints at her rock influences- albeit in an Elton John vein- with songs such as Speechless and Again and Again, may soften any impending change enough to avert a potential genocide of "Little Monsters" around the world.

Here's hoping that this new style is amalgamated with the electronic sound we've come to expect from the singer and is not a total departure into unknown territory.

However, this is all pretty poor speculation and I could be totally wrong about the whole project, asLady Gagais still working with her previous producer Redone, and as such there is still a chance she may return with another electro-pop album! Only a little longer till we all find out! Exciting!

What Lady Gaga has said previously about the new album Born this way

I promise you, I'll never let you down. And not for nothing: The album's finished and it's fucking really good. So whatever this is, whatever you just did for all of us…I promise to give you the greatest album of this decade, just for you. The funny thing is that some people have reduced freedom to a brand. They think that it's trendy now to be free. They think it's trendy to be excited about your identity. When in truth, there is nothing trendy about Born This Way. This connection that we all share is something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or an outfit, or a fucking meat dress. Born This Way is about what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid.

—Lady Gaga, MTV

"Born this way" Single cover.

You and I from Born this way

Review: Lady GaGa- Telephone/Dance in the dark Medley at the 2010 Brit Awards

The week that Lady Gaga was scheduled to perform at the 2010 Brit awards tragedy struck as her friend and fashion designer Alexandra McQueen committed suicide.

Initially there had been wild speculation in the papers that Gaga had been planning an elaborate, extravagant and costly performance.

Lady Gaga

 However as a result of the sad news, that idea was scrapped and instead, Gaga  set on choreographing, virtually at the eleventh hour, a new arrangement that would act as a tribute to her friend.

Dressed in an Alexandra Mcqueen outfit, and in the shadow of a giant modernist statue, she began her tribute with an intense version of Telephone. The performance was stopped midway for Gaga to dedicate the performance to the designer, before she went on to the climax of the song. 

Never one to play by the book, and knowing everyone would be expecting a somber performance, the genius that is Gaga flipped the tribute on its head  by following the acoustic version of Telephone with a techno/alternative version of Dance in the Dark. 

Surprisingly this song  worked better as a tribute song than the slower start because of the relevant references to tragic figures Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland.

Gaga's risky and unusual song choice was spot on and  fittingly mirrored McQueens' own unusual and unique approach to fashion.The whole performance was a brilliant tribute, and it's definitely one of my favourite performances by the singer

Lady GaGa is NOT original and copied Grace Jones and Christina Aguilera, to name but a few!

Gaga's supposed coping of Roisin Murphy

In a similar vein to an older postis some more Lady Gaga hate on Youtube. This time it's about her copying other artists' styling and concepts.

Ultimately the creators of these videos wants to show you that Gaga is not as original as they think you think she is.

My two cents: Meh. I've never heard Lady Gaga claim she was original or that her looks were not inspired by these other celebs, so she' got nothing to answer for as far I'm concerned.

Watch these examples of Lady Gaga and who she's "copied" below