Sometimes I wonder if there are subconscious messages that influence me to choose certain topics for this blog. Before Lady Gaga performed "Applause" in the theatrical style of The Wizard of Oz on Good Morning America, I was already considering a Storybook theme.
Most likely, I chose this topic because I was reading Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. But The Wizard of Oz was a definite contender for another Storybook to feature. Then came this performance, and a few days later an e-mail from One Kings Lane with a Wizard of Oz featured sale. Works for me!
"Applause" is the first official single from Gaga's third studio album, Artpop. It's sound is reminiscent of the original Gaga album The Fame and she paid homage to that reference in it's debut performance on MTV. The performance included numerous costume changes highlighting each era of the Gaga persona.
Some word from Gaga on "Applause":
"'Applause' is a very meaningful song to me, because it addresses what many think of 'celebrities' today, that we 'do it' for the attention. But some of us are 'artists' in this group called 'celebrity,' & what we create doesn't live on unless there's an audience to remember it. So I may need your attention at first, so I can sing you my song. But its the 'Applause' after that that lets me know if I've entertained you. Entertainment makes people happy, I live for the 'Applause,' to know I've spread that. I live to hear you cheer, to just be a part of that. I believe in show business. The 'Applause' is what breeds that thing that I love. When I know I've made you happy. When I know it was good."
The performance I'm featuring today was for Good Morning America where the video was also premiered weeks earlier. It begins with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (from Oz) showcasing that powerful Broadway-esque voice over simple piano.
But it wouldn't be a Gaga performance without some theatre. Modern day versions of the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow soon appear and choreograph their way down a yellow brick road to meet a flying monkey. Soon Gaga is the Good Witch, then the Wicked Witch (from Snow White?) and finally a signature-version of Dorothy. Check it out below.
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