Lady Gaga Infatuation

Seriously, folks...Lady Gaga has me enthralled. And I'm not just talking about her looks...in fact, although I do think she's really attractive, what's got me so into her is her incredible sense of showmanship and her undeniable talent. Sure, on the surface, her music is basically just really good Brittany Spears, but that's just where it starts. Lady Gaga is all about the presentation, perhaps even more so than Madonna (from whom she clearly took inspiration), and you'll never see her wearing a boring outfit, or even the same elaborate costume twice. Her stage shows are incredible (just YouTube her live stuff), full of great choreography, video work, and costumes, and perhaps most-importantly, she can actually sing.

Sure, Brittany Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Christina Aguilera all have varying levels of true vocal talent, but Lady Gaga is easily the only one who is an artist in the broad sense of the term, both musically and non-musically. If you're not aware, one of the big things that sets Gaga apart is her formal training in music at NYU and her years spent as a cabaret performer in New York. If you don't believe me that she's actually talented, check out the video above (more on that in a sec) and this piano-only version of her doing the same track.

Anyway, my most recent cause for obsession is the amazing performance she gave at this year's MTV VMA awards show (seen above). The song she performed is her single "Paparazzi", essentially a tongue-in-cheek social commentary on the damaging effect of the paparazzi on celebrities. If you're impatient, just skip to the three-minute mark in the video to see how committed she is to expressing her message powerfully...gave me chills the first ten times I watched it. Also, it's worth noting that she actually does sing live, and it's good too...

I really hope Lady Gaga's career isn't just a flash-in-the-pan: we really could use another female artist with this level of integrity, talent, and control over her musical path (as opposed to simply being a puppet for her record label). It's been too long, and Madonna can't hold down the fort forever...