Grammys Blog
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Lady Gaga made jaws drop by arriving at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards encased in an egg-like womb -- a nod to her latest single and upcoming album, both titled "Born This Way." Fans had to assume she was plotting something dazzling and prop-heavy - and she didn't disappoint.
The odd, otherworldly prosthetic horns protruding from Gaga's shoulders and head (which provided a taste of the Gaga shock we're accustomed to) were the most bizarre aspect of an otherwise uncharacteristically straightforward performance.
After stepping out of her egg, Gaga put on a hat that resembled an egg yolk, tossed it aside, revealing a high ponytail that she whipped around as she and her backing dancers performed a sort of jerky, violent choreography to "Born This Way." Gaga and her dancers were all wearing sheer, loose-fitting yellow tunics with horned shoulders. But she was the only one onstage wearing shoes -- tall, spiky heels. When the song reached its bridge, she made her way up a platform to an organ that looked like a prop from "Phantom of the Opera" (it boasted a trio of wax heads and a vintage mirror), and played a few quick runs. She then stomped down the platform for a final chorus. Her dancers pulled off their clothes and twirled them as they danced wearing nothing but nearly nude undergarments. And...that was it.
The lack of literal fireworks was shocking because Gaga has turned out eye-popping performances at three prior awards shows. At 2009's MTV Video Music Awards she wrapped up "Paparazzi" hanging high above the audience, dripping in fake blood. At the same year's American Music Awards, she transitioned from "Bad Romance" to "Speechless" by smashing a glass cube that held a piano. Did we mention the piano was on fire? At the 2010 Grammys, a sparkly Gaga danced to "Poker Face," then got dropped into a fame monster machine that spat her out sooty and disheveled; she then joined Elton John for dueling piano versions of "Speechless" and his own "Your Song." Did we mention the pianos were adorned with disembodied arms?
Before tonight's Grammys, Gaga's choreographer Laurieann Gibson told Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet, "Lady Gaga is incubating," adding that the singer was in an "embryonic stage and won't be born until her performance." Gaga waved from inside her egg, but didn't speak; Seacrest said he'd learned she spent three hours in the womb with nothing but her BlackBerry "getting into character."
Gaga returned to the stage to accept her Grammy for Best Pop Album and gave a very serious speech in which she thanked her label heads and managers for continuing to believe in her. She gave an extra shout-out to Whitney Houston as the band began to play her off, saying, "I wanted to thank Whitney because when I wrote 'Born This Way' I imagined she was singing it," adding that she wasn't confident enough in her own vocal ability. The strangest thing about the acceptance speech was Gaga's Batman-like body armor that showed off the aforementioned "shoulder horns" and added some extra girth and roundness to her rear end. An odd fashion choice for sure, but one that seems practically demure coming from a woman who wore raw meat to 2010's VMAs a few months ago.
