The disco-stick-wielding artist formerly known as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta has technically only released one-and-half-albums and is still a very new artist, but her extremely accelerated evolution from blonde pop novelty of 2008 to queen of all media in 2009/2010 has been an amazing phenomenon to behold. It's almost impossible to fathom that just a little more than one year ago, Gaga was the opening act on the New Kids On The Block tour, since tonight she opened the entire Grammy Awards ceremony with her fellow flashy pianist, sunglasses enthusiast, and gay icon, the one and only Sir Elton John.
Yes, not long ago Gaga's many detractors were writing off her first single, "Just Dance," as a throwaway one-hit wonder. Eventually the Lady started to earn respect in the industry and among fans of all musical genres for her talents as a songwriter, performance artist, and all-around innovator, and last year at the Grammys, she was up for Best Dance Recording for "Just Dance." Gaga lost in 2009 to Daft Punk, but tonight her hit "Poker Face" took the Best Dance Recording title early in the night; she was nominated in the big three categories (Album, Record, and Song of the year); and she completely stole the show within the broadcast's first five minutes.
Dolled up like a space-age Tinkerbell toy churned out by a "Fame Factory," Gaga emerged onstage in a gilded cage to perform "Poker Face," howling, "Take my picture, Hollywood! I wanna be a star!" But it was the next part of her performance that left the audience truly speechless, when--after being tossed into a faux factory "rejected" incinerator by an evil overlord screaming, "She's a monster!"--the Lady reemerged at a Liberace-worthy shimmering piano with Elton John at her side for a "Speechless"/"Your Song" monster duet.
Wearing matching rhinestone pink-triangle sunglasses, the duo gazed admiringly at each other over their tandem piano keyboards, with Gaga cooing, "I love you, Sir Elton John," and Elton singing, "How wonderful life is with Gaga in the world." It was genuinely adorable...and "adorable" isn't usually a word employed to describe the ultra-fierce and freaky Gaga. There's little doubt Gaga charmed America tonight with Elton's help.
So regardless of who actually ends up winning in the major Grammy categories this evening, Gaga and Elton's torch-passing performance has already established one thing: Grammy Night is Lady's Night. Surely with talent like this, she won't really end up in the "rejected" bin at this year's Grammy ceremony, or at ceremonies in the coming years.