Billboard: Lady Gaga's '09 VMAs Performance Should Have Been the Night's

[Lilmonzter 2,864]

Don't Forget: Lady Gaga's '09 VMAs Performance Should Have Been the Night's Breakout Moment

When you think of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, what is it that you remember? We know: it’s Kanye-gate.

In one of the most infamous award show moments of all time, Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for best female video, saying that Beyoncé deserved the award Swift was holding. The world was stunned, the pair were mentioned in every headline the next morning, and the moment dominated pop culture discussions for weeks to follow. 

 

But when it comes to the 2009 VMAs, another name should come to mind: Lady Gaga. The star, a mere 23 years old at the time, had released her debut album The Fame one year prior, and become a household name in that same time. After months of climbing, her debut single "Just Dance" finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2009, followed closely by "Poker Face" in April, with singles "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi" creeping into the top 10 shortly thereafter. It was the future pop diva's first time at a major award show, having tied for the most nominations that year with Beyoncé herself. She walked away with three awards, including best new artist. 

Her crowning achievement of the evening, however, was not an award or nomination, but her performance. Gaga had already made a name for herself as an eccentric, creative performance artist through her high-concept music videos -- though the world still had yet to see soon-to-be-legendary live moments as the infamous meat dress at the following VMAs, her egg-pod entrance to the 2011 Grammys, or that time she had a performer vomit on her at SXSW in 2014. No one could've been totally prepared. 

Very true right? Kanyes antics cost gaga some rightly earned publicity! 

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/8527846/lady-gaga-paparazzi-2009-vmas-performance-highlight

[Ladey Gaygay 9,321]

Its like both of her performances got over shadowed

Paparazzi had Kanye Gate

and Applause was overshadowed by a Married man grinding on a Perdue chicken

[Ariana Grindr 3,173]

7 minutes ago, Ladey Gaygay said:

Its like both of her performances got over shadowed

Paparazzi had Kanye Gate

and Applause was overshadowed by a Married man grinding on a Perdue chicken

So true. So sad 

[NightStar 313]

I remember I was at the party with friends and we had the VMAs just broadcast as some background music, you know, while we were drinking and playing some table game, but I remember that when Gaga's performance started, everybody forgot about the game and we were all at a loss, everyone for a different reason. The reactions varied from "wtf who is this attention seeker" to "good lord above, who is she and why is it so beautiful" to "I think I'm sexually confused" and "did she really just hang herself on live TV?". Not everyone liked her, but she was impossible to ignore 

[Sherloid Bai 1,137]

1 minute ago, NightStar said:

Not everyone liked her, but she was impossible to ignore

me defending taylor's (former) use of "spelling is fun" in me!

[derpmonster 22,412]

We been knew

But Kanye Mess had to...

[KNJ 4,170]

A features Billboard article? A new HQ version on YT? Exactly 10 years since she that performance? VMAS on Monday?

Wait...is this...wait...hold up...is she...is IT  happening??? 

 

Is 10 Years of GAGA x MTV gonna be saluted on the show???

 

[Thomas P 18,479]

7 minutes ago, KNJ said:

A features Billboard article? A new HQ version on YT? Exactly 10 years since she that performance? VMAS on Monday?

Wait...is this...wait...hold up...is she...is IT  happening??? 

 

Is 10 Years of GAGA x MTV gonna be saluted on the show???

 

No. The world is a cruel place and would never work that way .

[KNJ 4,170]

39 minutes ago, Thomas P said:

No. The world is a cruel place and would never work that way .

Well the VMAs are in Newark (what a flex NWK!) this year. If Gaga is seen in NYC this weekend imma be sh*tting! Prudential is just a 20-30 min bus ride straight down my street. 

[Schwerk 7,271]

Luckily it all worked out because after that Kanye incident, the Fame Kills tour got scrapped and we got the Monster Ball instead. 

 

 

[gagzus 16,084]

They’re just using her for publicity she has one of the most stable fanbases ever and every year y’all fall for their clickbait. All this praise she’s gotten this year would’ve made sense had she been getting the vanguard award 10 years later tbh.

[James Gibson 3,529]

In all honesty Gaga wasnt really ignored. Kanye and Taylor got more attention but Gaga was the night's 2nd most talked moment from not much far behind.

It was defining for her career right before Bad Romance confirmed that.

It was more in the recent years that these two start milking this moment til the very end. In the 2010 edition both Knaye and Taylor performed as an "apologize" moment for them. Both released albuns not even mentioning this incident. Only around 1989 and TLOP releases that they went full mode on making this something to be remembered, as before it they wanted to forget. Social media rise I guess...

[27monster27 13,632]

16 minutes ago, Marjol said:

Luckily it all worked out because after that Kanye incident, the Fame Kills tour got scrapped and we got the Monster Ball instead. 

 

 

We still would have gotten the Monsterball, but only the 2.0 version and it would have started in March.

[MonsterofFame 1,786]

I will never forget how bizarre, emotional, and shocking this performance was.