her robotic, glacial voice; the blood; the gasps from the crowd; the way her mic hits the ground on beat with the song; its performance at its peak
iconic
she gave unhinged women our rights
i watch this video exactly once a month and it gives me full body asmr
This was fighting for gay rights
We will forever stan
never forget her commentary on this performance:
“The methodology behind what I’ve done is that, when they wanted me to be sexy, or they wanted me to be pop, I always fuckin’ put some absurd spin on it that made me feel like I was still in control. So you know what? If I’m gonna be sexy on the VMAs, and sing about the paparazzi, I’m going to do it while I’m bleeding to death and reminding you of what fame did to Marilyn Monroe, the original Norma Jean, and what it did to Anna Nicole Smith, and what it did to… Yeah. You know who.”
Speaking as a singer here: the “robotic” tone of her voice is (whether through intentional effect or the reality of the grueling performance schedule Gaga was maintaining at this time) exactly what a voice that’s strained and breaking from overuse sounds like. The way she’s singing in a lower register than normal, the hesitation, the cracking—it all fits precisely with the image of the broken-down celebrity literally bleeding herself to death for her fans.
What a fucking phenomenal performer.
