Lady Gaga Transforms MSG Into a Gothic Ballroom for VMAs Performance

It’s the year of Mayhem, and it’s only fitting that Lady Gaga made an appearance at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. Performing live from her show at Madison Square Garden (though she had stopped by the VMA’s UBS Arena in Queens earlier to accept the Artist of the Year award), Gaga joined the broadcast for a performance of “Abracadabra” and “The Dead Dance.“

Her MSG stage was designed to resemble a gothic ballroom, filled floor to ceiling with dancers, with Gaga positioned near the top of what we can only describe as a human birdcage of a gown. From there, she performed “Abracadabra,” and when she descended to the bottom, she had seemingly managed a full costume and makeup change for a rendition of “Dead Dance.” The track is featured both on the soundtrack for the second season of Netflix hit Wednesday, on which she is a guest star, and the reissue of her latest album, Mayhem.

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Gaga earned the most nominations this year with a total of 12 to her name. Gaga is up for Artist of the Year, while “Die With a Smile,” her duet with Bruno Mars, is up for Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop, and Best Collaboration. Mayhem is also up for Best Album. The video for “Abracadabra” is up for all six professional categories as well.

While accepting the Artist of the Year award earlier in the night, Gaga spoke about the importance of artistry. “Being an artist is an attempt to connect the souls of people all over the world. Being an artist is a discipline, a craft meant for reaching into someone’s heart, where it grows its roots and reminding them to dream,” she says. “Being an artist is a responsibility to make the audience smile, dance, cry, release at any turn. It is a method of building understanding and celebrating community. I hope as you navigate through the mayhem of daily life, you are reminded of the importance of the art of your life that you can count on yourself and your simple skills to keep you whole, your rehearsal, your discipline, your craft, deserves to be rewarded for its passion.”

A VMAs veteran, Gaga has won 18 awards since first being nominated in 2009, when she won Best New Artist. She won the coveted Video of the Year trophy in 2010 for “Bad Romance” and received the Tricon Award and Artist of the Year award during her last appearance in 2020. Gaga’s last performance at the VMAs came in 2020 when she did a medley of Chromatica songs and was joined by Ariana Grande for “Rain on Me.”

Also performing at the awards show this year are Conan Gray, Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, Sombr, and J Balvin. Mariah Carey will perform as she earns the Video Vanguard Award, Busta Rhymes will receive the Rock the Bells Visionary trophy, and Ricky Martin will perform after taking home the Latin Icon trophy.

This year’s MTV VMAs, hosted by LL Cool J, are airing live for the first time on CBS.

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