Lady GaGa Talks About Her Performance at the VMAs

Lady Gaga spoke to Newsweek's Ramin Setoodeh about the VMAs and her life as an artist so far. Excerpts:

Congratulations on your nine nominations. Have you always been a fan of the VMAs?
When I was younger, I used to wrap a big blanket around myself, an afghan my grandmother knitted, and I would wear it like a gown. I would run around the basement with popcorn and I would scream in excitement waiting for them to come on. I used to love the big pop acts. I remember Alicia Keys gave a beautiful performance and Michael Jackson with 'N Sync.

Have you figured out what you're going to perform?
I'm going to be performing one of the most recent singles off my album. But it's going to be a different and more dramatic interpretation. And it is most certainly rooted in New York-style performance art.

Do you think it will be one of those defining moments people will remember at the VMAs?
I know it will. I sort of have this philosophy about things: there's never a reason to do something unless it's going to be memorable, unless it's going to change things, unless it's going to inspire a movement. With the song and with the performance, I hope to say something very grave about fame and the price of it.

Do you watch yourself on YouTube?
I like to watch my performances sometimes. I'm always trying to improve on choreography and the stage shows. I like to watch the lighting. I often argue with my lighting designer on the show; as much as I like to light the show for the room, it's important to light the show and design the sound for YouTube. In truth, lots of my fans can't make it to my shows in Israel or Germany or in Paris, so they go online to watch them.

Everybody knows you now, but if somebody didn't, how would you describe your music?
It's New York pop. The music reflects the lifestyle of me and my friends living in downtown New York, with no money but a dream and fervor for fame and to be a star. And it was through a constant devotion to our work, as well as a relentless pursuit of our dream, that we are here today. For myself, the Haus of Gaga is not a marketing tool. It's a group of friends and young designers that I wish to use my fame to propel them forward. So it's music in tandem with art.

How old were you when you first wanted to be famous?
I think I was in my mother's womb. But it's not about fame, you see. It's about "The Fame." It's about a life of glamour. I believe in a glamorous life.

What's the difference?
Fame today, the stereotypical idea that we have about fame, is that cameras follow you everywhere and everybody is talking about you and you can't go anywhere. The "it" girl. [With] The Fame, I'm talking about the inner sense of confidence.

So you can be a non-famous person and still have The Fame.
I prefer non-famous people who have The Fame. I myself don't like celebrities. It's the idea that you can be whoever you want to be. You don't have to be a victim of your environment. You can become the image of yourself you project, [that] you could become in the future.

Why don't you like celebrities?
I just haven't had an excellent personal experience with celebrities. But I'm sure there are a few lovely ones. I have made a few friends, of course.

You wore a jacket made entirely of Kermit the Frogs. Were you a fan of the Muppets?
I do love the Muppets. It is a wonderful childhood memory I share. That particular jacket, we had no idea it would make such a splash. That jacket is very famous now. We're excited that it's famous. It's by a designer we wanted to support. I thought it was comical because I don't wear fur. But there was something morbid and hilarious and wearing a jacket made of lots of Kermits. Dead, dead Kermits.

Did you still have the jacket?
I sent it back to [the designer]. I imagine he would like to have it. Maybe some amazing fashion model will wear it on the cover of Italian Vogue.

I read on your Twitter they tried to arrest you in Russia.
They did. I was wearing my outfit from my performance at this nightclub in the middle of Moscow. I was in the car going back to the hotel. I asked them to pull over in Red Square so I could take a picture. I was out there for about five minutes, and I guess they thought my clothing was inappropriate.

You Tweet in German a lot. Do you speak it fluently?
I don't speak German, but my favorite writer is German, Rainer Maria Rilke. I just got a tattoo of this book he's very famous for, Letters to a Young Poet. I got the tattoo on my bicep.

How many tattoos do you have?
Six.

You recently wrote a song for Michael Bolton?
I love Michael Bolton, and I always have. The record label called me and said, "Michael is doing a new album, and who better to write an '80s love song than Lady Gaga?" I said, "You're absolutely right." I looked at it as an exciting opportunity, especially after I wrote "Just Dance" and I was writing for other artists, everybody wanted me to write them the next "Just Dance." It was always dance music. It was an exciting opportunity to work with someone as timeless as Michael and do a ballad. Do something that I'm really good at that I don't get to show very much. Or that I haven't shown on this record. But I will be showing on the rerelease, which is coming out this fall.