{"id":527,"date":"2009-11-20T12:00:55","date_gmt":"2009-11-20T12:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/?p=527"},"modified":"2018-07-29T03:21:28","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T03:21:28","slug":"lady-gaga-talks-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/lady-gaga-talks-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady Gaga Talks Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fame is a thing well known to 22-year-old electropop princess Lady Gaga , who is anything but afraid to sing about what seems to be one of her favorite subjects on her cheekily titled new album.<\/p>\n

The Lady and her House of Gaga have been winning gay raves ever since her first single \u201cJust Dance\u201d dropped over the summer launching the career of what many are already describing as one of the next gay icons. Counting\u00a0 Andy Warhol, Queen and David Bowie among her musical heroes and citing rock star girlfriends, Peggy Bundy, and Donatella Versace as her fashion icons, GaGa\u2019s music reflects not only those who have influenced her but a natural predilection for theater, performance, artistry\u00a0 and, of course, attitude.<\/p>\n

In this exclusive interview conducted days after the release of The Fame<\/em>, Lady Gaga reveals her true feelings about Christina Aguilera,\u00a0 the story behind the House of Gaga, finding inner fame and what she thinks become a gay icon most.<\/p>\n

Duane Wells<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0 So let\u2019s be catty.\u00a0 After Christina Aguilera\u2019s performance at the 2008 MTV VMA\u2019s a lot of folks seemed to think that XTina had, shall we say, borrowed significantly from your sound and look.\u00a0 What did you think of the performance\u2026honestly?<\/p>\n

Lady Gaga<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, I think that there were a lot of similarities for sure\u2026but I think everyone made such a huge deal out of nothing. She\u2019s been around for such a long time and I have a tremendous amount of respect for her.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small industry and everyone inspires everyone, so, if anything, I was really, really flattered by the idea that Christina may have been inspired by my work.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well they do say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 It was really very flattering and I don\u2019t have any hard feelings about it.\u00a0 I think Christina is tremendous.<\/p>\n

More than anything I wanted to wrap my arms around all of my gay fans and hold them because they are all so protective of me and they were all so sweet.\u00a0 I was really humbled to see all the blogging and the emails that I got.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Speaking of that, let\u2019s talk about this House of Gaga of yours.\u00a0 They put any old street team to shame!<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What we\u2019re doing is very real.\u00a0 This is my lifestyle and my livelihood.\u00a0 I\u2019m creating all day long and the House is working and collaborating\u2026always trying to make the show better and more honest and more powerful with its imagery and its fashion.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so excited \u00a0that we\u2019re starting to see an impact with my imagery and that its starting to infiltrate culture in a very real way.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I want to do.\u00a0 That\u2019s my goal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And for all those who are unfamiliar with the House of Gaga, can you just explain what it is in your own words\u2026because the Gaga-ites\u00a0 are so much more than just your average fans, right?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The House of Gaga is not made up of fans necessarily, although there are some people that have come into the House as a result of me meeting them as fans and they are now making art.<\/p>\n

The House is my creative team separate from the record label and we\u2019re very close and we work night and day\u2026creating the fashion, the look and images for the films, we\u2019re working towards treatments for videos and incorporating technology into the fashion\u2026everything.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So it\u2019s sort of a much more far-reaching glam squad then\u2026<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well glam is definitely a part of the House but we work in a much more multimedia way.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Given the ramped up glamour and sexiness of your new video for the single \u201cPoker Face\u201d I can only imagine that the House played a big role in creating that slice of magic?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well I really wanted to start transitioning as an artist into more of a position of power from a performance standpoint.\u00a0 I wanted to take ownership of my music and of the dance and of the performance and the fashion as a strong ass sexual woman.\u00a0 So that was my goal with that video.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Fame<\/em> feels like a very personal collection.\u00a0 Is that an accurate assessment?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 It\u2019s completely autobiographical.\u00a0 Every song on this album\u2026I could run through it with you and tell you exactly who the record is about, how it happened, what I was going through at the time\u2026everything\u2019s got a story.\u00a0 The assumption with pop albums is that that\u2019s not the case.\u00a0 But I\u2019m 100% the heart and soul of this record.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have you always been such an open book?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always been an open book.\u00a0 It\u2019s probably my biggest fault.\u00a0 It\u2019s what makes me good at what I do and it\u2019s what makes me bad at what I do.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What\u2019s the most autobiographical track on The Fame<\/em>?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBrown Eyes\u201d\u2026I wrote that song a long time ago and I had never had my heart broken like I had when I wrote that record.\u00a0 That was one of those 3 AM, crying in my apartment at the piano\u2026one foot on the bed and one foot on the floor.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well that pain reads very authentic in the song.<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think so.\u00a0 I did those vocals after a lot of red wine and crying in the studio.\u00a0 The Fame<\/em> has a lot of things on it that I think people wouldn\u2019t know about me because I do electronic pop music.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrown Eyes\u201d\u2026I did that whole song in one take.\u00a0\u00a0 I did \u201cThe Fame<\/em>\u201d in one take.\u00a0 Just totally raw, bad-ass vocals in the studio.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s old school especially nowadays when most singers cut, paste and punch their hits together.<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s not really my style.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done some of that, but sometimes it\u2019s totally raw\u2026[depending] \u2026on what I want for the song.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is that desire for authenticity fueled by the fact that you\u2019re a singer\/songwriter in a genre where that is combo is rarely seen?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think that what makes me different is that I\u2019m applying the philosophies of a singer\/songwriter to pop music and I\u2019m embracing the new media.\u00a0 We\u2019re dealing with the future.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why did you title your new album The Fame<\/em>?<\/p>\n

LG:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The title The Fame<\/em> comes mostly from New York City.\u00a0 I\u2019m such a New York baby.\u00a0 I love this city so much\u2026it\u2019s such an inspiring place.\u00a0 I\u2019m getting teary eyed driving around talking about this.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m actually going to see some of my friends tonight and we\u2019ve got a sense of inner fame that we\u2019ve had for years\u2026way before any of this happened for me.\u00a0 It\u2019s something that\u2019s inside of us\u2026that\u2019s a part of who we are.\u00a0 You can smell it because of our passion for our work and our style and the way we live and breathe our art.\u00a0 We walk down the street and people say, \u2018Who the hell are they?\u2019 and we\u2019re nobody.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I called the record The Fame<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I wanted to express to people all over the world\u2026that there is something that\u2019s beautiful and glamorous and positive about fame and it\u2019s a cult of who we are and it\u2019s something that can be used in a good way and not in a flagrant way.\u00a0 Like the way Andy Warhol used it and the way that David Bowie used it and the way that all those young artists in Paris is Burning used it.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You know when you mentioned Andy Warhol it occurred to me that the House of Gaga is very much like Warhol\u2019s famous Factory.<\/p>\n

LG:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Absolutely. That\u2019s exactly what it is.\u00a0 Well that\u2019s what I strive for anyway.\u00a0 I should be so lucky thirty years from now to have half the creative genius that he did.<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well I think you\u2019re well on your way.\u00a0 I also think that many of your fans think you\u2019re on track for gay icon status already. \u00a0What do you think about that?\u00a0 Is that something that\u2019s important to you?<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I love the gay community and I love my gay fans so much\u2026in a way that I never even knew was possible.\u00a0 When people say \u2018you\u2019re going to be a gay icon\u2019 I hear that and I think to myself\u2026what an honor.\u00a0 But, I also think to myself \u2026if I\u2019m going to be a gay icon, I don\u2019t want it to be because of the way I dressed or because I\u2019m flamboyant on stage.\u00a0 I want it to be because I love and embrace and fight endlessly and love so hard for a community that I will in turn bring other people into.<\/p>\n

I love when I play a gay club and I see straight boys. I love when I play a gay club and I see straight women and their boyfriends\u2026and guys who listen to rap music and Latinos and the Asian community.\u00a0 I love that I\u2019m bringing all different kinds of people into a culture and into a world that has so loved and embraced me.\u00a0 There\u2019s so much joy in a gay club.\u00a0 There\u2019s probably eight million times more joy in one gay club than there is all the straight clubs in New York City.\u00a0 And you know that\u2019s the fuckin\u2019 truth\u2026<\/p>\n

DW<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I wish I could disagree but I can\u2019t.\u00a0 The Lady speaks the truth.<\/p>\n

LG<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s the honest to fuckin\u2019 truth.\u00a0 If I can let people in on that joy then that would make me a deserved gay icon, but it\u2019s not going to be for my shoes.\u00a0 It\u2019s gonna\u2019 be because I really love you guys.<\/p>\n

Enough said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about Lady Gaga at www.ladygaga.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fame is a thing well known to 22-year-old electropop princess Lady Gaga , who is anything but afraid to sing about what seems to be one of her favorite subjects on her cheekily titled new album. The Lady and her House of Gaga have been winning gay raves ever since her first single \u201cJust Dance\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1590,1588],"tags":[1147,1594,1133,1143],"class_list":["post-527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-culture","tag-music","tag-lady-gaga","tag-entertainment","tag-interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2004,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions\/2004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}