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Lady Gaga’s Time: The Revival of Mother Monster

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northwestern chapter.

I am a huge music fan with a really eclectic taste. If you look at my Spotify, one moment I’ll be listening to BROODS and the next I’ll be jammin’ to The Pretty Reckless and then maybe I’ll put in a little Big Sean. But one of the artists I always come back to is Lady Gaga. Every time “Just Dance” or “Poker Face” comes on, I need to have a dance party. I just need to. But, until late, she hasn’t been in the spotlight like she used to, and some news outlets thought that was a bad thing.

“Bored This Way,” “9 Signs Lady Gaga lost her way” and “People are Kind of Over Lady Gaga” are just a few headlines I saw. And a lot were posted after her performance with Tony Bennett at this year’s Grammys, basically saying, “Why is Gaga performing? She’s not even relevant anymore.” Sure, she hadn’t been in the news for a little bit and the last big, talk-worthy performance was at the 2013’s VMAs, when she performed “Applause,” ending in a thong bikini with a seashell bra top. She hasn’t shown up in an egg recently or dressed like a New York butcher shop, but this is Gaga’s year.

 

The Grammys

Gaga’s first big performance of this year at the 2015 Grammys. Gaga performed a duet with Tony Bennett, singing the song “Cheek to Cheek,” originally written for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in 1935 and found on the Gaga’s and Bennett’s album of the same name. Gaga let her vibrato shine and her immense stage presence known.

The Oscars

No one was more blown away than I was at Gaga’s performance at the 2015 Oscars. I was a Broadway Baby growing up, knowing all the words to every song in West Side Story, Evita and Grease by the time I was four. So, The Sound of Music is undoubtedly a beloved classic in my mind. I knew Gaga could sing, but I was still a little worried going into this performance. In the end, she killed it! It was probably one of the best renditions of  those classic songs that I have ever heard. Gaga has such a powerful and beautiful voice which people often times forget about. Plus that hug with Julie Andrews at the end? Tear-jerking.

 

American Horror Story

After the substantially subpar season of American Horror Story that was “Freak Show,” I couldn’t fathom how Ryan Murphy was going to revive the series at all. But then on Feb 25 Gaga released a 22 second video announcing her addition to the Fox anthology show for their fifth season, entitled “Hotel.” I haven’t gotten this excited about a new season of AHS since Coven. Gaga and her persona belong in Murphy’s universe.

Gaga also recently got engaged to longtime boyfriend Taylor Kinney from the popular TV show Chicago Fire. They also participated in the Polar Plunge, a Chicago fundraiser for Special Olympics.

Whether Gaga is on the media’s radar or not, she is a bonafide star. Just three months into 2015, and the Mother Monster is back on top, squashing the haters. Lady Gaga is going to own this year, and this Little Monster is rooting for her the whole way through. 

images from giphy.com and hits96.com

Alani Vargas

Northwestern

Alani is a native to Chicago with a passion for women's rights, journalism and coffee. She is a senior at Northwestern, majoring in journalism at Medill. She's on the magazine track and studied in Florence last fall, advancing her second major in history. Alani has written for Her Campus national and her Northwestern chapter since freshman year and is now the Editor-in-Chief and CC for her chapter. She's also currently a freelancer for Elite Daily When Alani isn't working, binge watching Supergirl, Buffy or the billion other shows she keeps up with, she enjoys music and geeking out over Star Wars or anything Marvel. Follow Alani on twitter and instagram at @alanimv!