Lady Gaga slowed down the excitement at the iheartradio music festival last night to perform a touching tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer, a young fan who committed suicide last week.
“We lost a little monster this week and i wanted to dedicate this song to him tonight,” Gaga said before playing a stripped down version of her song about individuality, “Hair.”
Rodemeyer was only 14-years-old when he took his own life last Sunday, following online bullying with gay slurs for over a year. He considered Gaga his idol.
During the moving performance, Lady Gaga said “Jamey, I know you’re up there looking on us, and you’re not a victim, you’re a lesson to all of us” — and at one point shouted “”Bullying is for losers.”
Lady Gaga says she’s got something special in store for her iHeartRadio Music Festival performance in Las Vegas this weekend, and she shared some goodies with Ryan Seacrest on his KISS-FM radio station today.
“I’m really needing a fix from a performing standpoint, cause I haven’t been on stage for a few months. I miss the fans, so so much!”
The Edge Of Glory singer said she “really can’t wait to perform.”
Gaga, 25, who will wear a custom costume from Versace, described the stage she designed for her set as “very exciting.”
Gaga said she’s slated for a 45-minute set, but might go longer since she’s the last act of the night.
The concert, which is being touted by organizers as the biggest live event in music history, emanates from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Friday and Saturday from 7 pm -12 am PT. Other artists slated to perform at the super-show include Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, The Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys and Sublime With Rome.
A law was passed in 1993 stating that homosexuals were allowed to serve in the military – so long as they kept their sexual orientation private. As of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning, that law has been repealed.
Congress is still split on the decision, but top Pentagon leaders have certified that one’s sexual orientation will not undermine the military’s ability to recruit or fight wars.
The Army was distributing a business-as-usual statement Tuesday saying simply, “The law is repealed,” and reminding soldiers to treat each other fairly.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, scheduled a Pentagon news conference to field questions about the repeal. And a bipartisan group of congressional supporters of allowing openly gay service planned a news conference on Capitol Hill.
Gay advocacy groups planned a series of celebrations across the country.
With the lifting of the ban, the Defense Department will publish revised regulations to reflect the new law allowing gays to serve openly. The revisions, such as eliminating references to banned homosexual service, are in line with policy guidance that was issued by top Pentagon officials in January, after Obama signed the legislation that did away with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The lifting of the 18-year-old ban also brings a halt to all pending investigations, discharges and other administrative proceedings that were begun under the Clinton-era law.
What do you think about this news? Should the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law have remained in place – or is the repeal a good thing? Sound off below!
The video above is a “personal message” Lady Gaga sent to the Senate a year ago (almost to the day) asking for the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law to be abolished.
I think the most shocking part of this video is not the fact that she gropes herself for 2:28, but the pure fact that for once we’re getting to see her real hair! Looks like dishwater blonde, about shoulder length – with a bit of wave to it!
She just posted the video on her Facebook page, “The second installment of the HAUS of Ü. In collaboration with INEZ+VINOODH, here is “BRIDE”” she wrote.
I can’t wait to see these photos! I love pretty much every Annie Leibovitz picture – and Gaga makes an amazing subject!
Recently Lady Gaga sat down with French fashion pioneer Jean-Paul Gaultier for a special that aired Monday night on the CW. The singer opened up to the fashion designer about her beginnings and what she calls her “self-indulgent” youth.
“I just was partying and being very self-indulgent and trying to find myself. In hindsight, it’s so dangerous, and I don’t encourage anyone to follow that path,” she told the designer. “I remember my dad … I was actually doing drugs in my parents’ house one day and they didn’t know I was in the bathroom. I came out, and my father could tell, and I just remember feeling so embarrassed and I quit instantly.”
Despite her hard-partying ways, Gaga always maintained her pop star ambitions. She talked about quitting college, performing in small New York clubs and making the decision to take off her clothes during her performances to get everyone’s attention.
“I knew that there was something I loved about the shock-art potential of what I could create,” she said. “I like to liberate myself with my ability to change.”
She later likened that philosophy to her look: “I still love trash glamour; it’s so much of my favorite thing about getting dressed. I love the mixture of things that are really elegant with things that are really trashy.”
That combination has made her a superstar. She explained, “My cultural contribution and social contribution was really an honor and still so humbled by it. I hope I can continue to use my voice to make an impact on my generation.”
