Gaga Daily meets Lady Gaga (ARTPOP and more)

[Admin 24,441]

BACKSTAGE STORIES - READ HERE

Nick's Entire Concert Summary [uncut]

Preparation for the Event

The journey began on Tuesday night with the arrival of James (you know him as Haus) who travelled to Minnesota from Wisconsin. He and his dad’s hotel room at the Holiday Inn was kitty-corner from Xcel and there was a brilliant view of the venue from his window. Gaga’s tour busses were already on the premise and the stage production was currently underway.

James decided to talk with security and other personnel from Xcel to get clarification on the camping rule. According to the official tour website, any fans that arrive to the venue for Monster Pit eligibility prior to 8:00AM will be disqualified. Although this rule exists, in all 94 shows up to this point, not a single fan has been disqualified for camping. Fans camp at every single show for the Monster Pit, however the 8:00AM rule does exist and the threat of disqualification is always there.

The security guard told James that the venue will be enforcing the rule. James proceeded to tell him that fans camp out at every single show and the rule is never enforced. Basically, the 8:00AM rule doesn’t work, because there will always be hundreds of fans trying to get in line throughout the night. A line can’t just magically form at 8:00AM. This would involve running to the premises to form a line, and Gaga’s staff (who is in charge of administering wristbands) will disqualify runners.

Three days before the event (Saturday night) fans began arriving. Two girls announced on the Facebook page that they were outside the venue on Saturday evening at 6:00PM. They brought a tent, but Xcel said that tents are prohibited on venue property. They brought the tent back to their hotel room, and camped out in the cold for 30 hours. On Sunday night, security ordered them to leave and told them to come back at 8:00AM Wednesday when wristbands are given out. These girls assumed #1 and #2 spots in line, since they technically were at the venue in line before anyone else.

One of the girls was from Minneapolis. She is a 15 year old named Jenna and she eventually ended up getting the key to the monster pit (the first person in line). The second girl’s name is Christine and she flew in from Montreal to attend the show with Jenna.

Throughout the day, hundreds of fans attending the show were making posts on the event’s Facebook page. Most of the posts involved questions regarding when to arrive, where the line will start, and the threat of disqualification. Even though it was made clear that the 8:00AM rule will be enforced (Xcel even had signs around the property with the 8:00AM rule highlighted in red) fans didn’t seem to care. Past concert attendees were very clear that enforcing the rule is impossible.

At most shows, fans use a numbering system. The keyholder writes a #1 on their hand and assigns numbers to fans who arrive after them. Jenna wrote #1 on her hand, and Christine was #2. They posted in the Facebook page that since security won’t be allowing fans to line up until 8:00AM, they would be waiting outside the venue at 6:00 for fans to arrive, get their numbers, and go home. While Gaga’s staff thinks the numbering system is a good and civil way to keep fans organized, they also cannot honor this system if something goes wrong. If fans are mature enough to keep their spot in line, the numbering system holds nothing against them and serves as an organizational aid. However, there is no guarantee that having #1 on your hand will get you the key, since anyone could write a #1 on their hand and walk up to the venue.

Even though Jenna and Christine planned on going out of their way to help fellow fans get their numbers, there were people throwing hateful comments at them out of jealousy for the key. After relentless arguing, Christine posted that they will not be helping fans anymore due to the disrespect they received from the page. “You’re on your own now,” they said.

James went back talk with security. This time, they DID say that lining up at the venue doors at 6:00AM is okay. James explained once again that the 8:00AM rule won’t work, so the guards agreed upon 6:00 as a compromise. Other fans heard this too, and eventually it was posted in the Facebook page by multiple fans so everyone knew to come at 6:00.

Even though Jenna and Christine wouldn’t be outside Xcel numbering fans, we still wanted to do a dry run to figure out parking and to hang out with other people we were going to the show with. I left to pick up Ali, Kayla, and Steph. Katie (Ali’s roommate, also GagaDaily member) picked up two of her friends and they headed for Xcel as well. Once we all arrived, James met up with us outside his hotel. We decided to grab some dinner and walk around the city.

Dry Run to Xcel, Dinner at Mickey’s

We ate at Mickey’s diner. There were eight of us. This ultimately was the group we would attend the concert with; Me, Katie, Ali, James, Zilla, Kayla, and JP + Allison (Katie’s friends). While we were eating, Katie was texting Jenna and Christine, the two girls who declared themselves the keyholders. Since Katie was sticking up for them on the facebook page, they offered Katie and the rest of our group to get in on their “plan.” Their hotel was two blocks away from Mickey’s, so they offered to meet us there after we finished eating.

We headed to the girls’ hotel at the Crowne Plaza. Taking a seat in the hotel lobby, Katie called Christine and told them we had arrived. Christine suggested that we all come up to their hotel room. We got in the elevator and rode it up to the 17th floor of the hotel. When the door opened, Christine came in the elevator with us and used her room key to get us to the floor of their room, which required a card-key.

Christine opened the door and let us all in her room. There were three other girls; Jenna, and two girls from England. The entire room and our experience encountering them was like something you’d see in the movies. Secret hotel room. Secret intelligence inside the hotel room. Secrets that were extremely crucial to getting our front row seats. They gave us exclusive details on their plan to get in line first, and kept repeating that we were forbidden to tell ANYBODY about it. These girls were Gaga concert professionals and knew exactly how to master the monster pit line.

Christine told us their two plans. The first plan was to go back to the venue around 11:00PM and talk with a guard to ask if camping is allowed. The girls knew that they couldn’t stop fans from doing this and were very certain about this plan working. Plan B- if the guard still said no to camping, form an unofficial line by walking across the street from the venue. Christine said that the only way fans cannot be disqualified from the line is to keep walking; once you stop, it’s considered a line. If you don’t stop walking all night, there’s nothing they can legally do.

She kept repeating that their two plans are to be held extremely secretive and never shared with ANYBODY. We all agreed to join their plan, so Christine proceeded to give us numbers on our hands. She also drew a secret symbol next to the number so that she could distinguish her numberings from “imposter numberings.” I was #13.

Christine agreed to text Katie with the outcome of whether or not camping is allowed from the security guard. This was supposed to be around 11:00. The time was currently 8:30, so we decided to leave the hotel room and head back to our cars parked near Xcel.

We passed by Gate 1 as we headed for our cars. Gate 1 is where the line would form tomorrow morning. We noticed a security guard stationed outside the door, looking for fans to kick out of unofficial lines forming around the venue. When we walked past Gate 1, we noticed two bodies hiding behind road dividers across the street from Xcel. We didn’t know for sure, but we realized that it HAD to be fans that had already arrived, attempting to hide from the guard across the street. Kayla looked at us and said, “Let’s try the universal sign!” Kayla did the paws up sign, and we saw the fans across the street make the sign back to us. It was indeed Gaga fans who had already arrived.

Katie texted Christine about this, telling them that the girls may not be first in line after all. They didn’t know what to do, because this ultimately ruined their chances of being first in line. We all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Since Katie was the only one in contact with Christine, she agreed to text us with whatever outcome the other group encountered. We trusted these girls completely, since most of them have been keyholders multiple times and have gotten in the front of the line every single show they’ve attended. If ANYBODY was going to get the key, it was going to be these girls.

I got home later than expected, around 9:30. I frantically realized that I had an assignment due tomorrow at 9:00AM online, so I spent about a half hour speed-reading an article and writing a summary online. I needed to get it done as soon as possible since I anticipated getting little sleep before the campout. I finally went to bed at 10:30.

Camping

At midnight, I got a call from Katie. She was told by Christine that security OK’d camping overnight and to come get everyone ASAP. I threw myself out of bed and hit the road, picking up Ali, Kayla, and Steph on the way. Everyone arrived at the venue around 12:45, where we met up with Christine and the rest of her group. We noticed that THEY were waiting on the venue’s property, but there was also an unofficial line forming across the property.

We talked with Christine, and she assured us that camping ON THE PROPERTY is okay. The security guard she talked to said they could line up right on the steps, so that’s exactly what their group had been doing. We then saw a security guard walk out of Xcel approaching us.

The guard told us that we had to get off their property immediately. Once again, it seems like there had been another miscommunication regarding the line. Christine told the guard how the other guard she was just talking with said that lining up on the property was fine, but this guard said that we had to get off their property immediately otherwise he would call the police and have us all arrested for trespassing. Christine was throwing a fit, as were most of us considering that one of their staff told us entirely wrong information.

With little options remaining, we decided to join the fans across the street in the unofficial line. We each met with the keyholder who gave us numbers on our hands. I was #19, and our group ranged from #17-#25. The camping excursion begins now, and we still had hours to go until finally receiving our wristbands.

We all sat down on the sidewalk and got situated for the night. I had on two puffy jackets, snowpants, boots, toe warmers, thick mittens, hand warmers, a gator, a hat, and a scarf completely covering my face. I also had a sleeping bag and a blanket, which I retreated into and basically hid from the entire group. I hate the cold so I wanted to make sure that every single piece of skin on my body was covered. People kept asking if I was dead when they walked by. Steph and everyone else started calling me the human burrito. The weather was consistently seven degrees all night, but we had on enough layers to tolerate the cold.

It was now 2:30. We had been outside for a couple hours. Fans were playing music and dancing on the sidewalk in all of their winter gear (or trying to dance). Everyone else in our line was really cool, and they were fine if you had to leave the line for a bit to warm up. James and I walked back to his hotel across the street from Xcel to warm up in the lobby for a bit. We sat there and charged up our phones for about 45 minutes or so. We headed back to the line around 3:15.

There were about 50 fans camping out now. At this point, fans were still talking, but you could tell that everyone was bored, anxious, and tired. What was going to happen at 6:00? Was it going to be a mad dash for the line, or would security honor our unofficial line? Would Xcel even let us inside at 6:00?

Everyone was also wondering who would get the key. The entire night, Christine and Jenna (who camped out for 30 hours on Saturday and Sunday) were arguing with the first group in line about who should get the key. Since Christine had already met Gaga, and so had another person on the opposing group, Kayla suggested that the two groups form a compromise. Let Jenna get the key (since she is from Minnesota after all and has never met Gaga) and let the kid in the other group (who hasn’t met Gaga yet) go back with her. Christine didn’t like the idea of this, and was dead set on getting that key.

None of us could get sleep. Although conversations died down as the night went on, most people were pretty anxious for the concert and didn’t even bother trying to get sleep. Kayla, James and I left the line again around 4:30 to warm up in the Rivercentre skyway lobby that was about a minute away from where we were camping. When we returned to the line around 5:00, we saw that Allison’s friends had went to a 24 hour grocery store to buy soup, potato salad, bananas, and sandwiches for the entire line. It was nice to warm up with some hot soup!

The clock was ticking closer and closer to 6:00. Around 5:15, the line devised a plan to potentially move across the street. Everyone nominated Kayla, Ali, and a boy at the front of the line to be our spokespeople to security. We wanted permission to move our line on their property at 5:55, just a few minutes before Xcel supposedly was going to open their doors for us. We sent them across the street to discuss our intentions with the guard.

Meanwhile, I took a picture of the line and tweeted it to KDWB, the Twin Cities’ pop radio station. One of the morning show hosts posted on facebook the day prior that Lady Gaga is fading and asked the question, “Does she have ANY fans left?” I sent that picture to them and said how over 100 people were waiting in line for Gaga at 5:00AM, and how most of us camped out overnight across the street. “She does indeed have fans” I said. Falen, another morning show host, retweeted me and apparently my tweet was mentioned live on the show. My friend listening to the radio that morning told me that the hosts said, “Nick just sent us a photo of Xcel Energy Center and fans who waited overnight in line!” Also, an unmarked news truck pulled up and was taking photographs and videos of the fans who waited overnight. We later found out that the image was broadcasted on television by the local CBS station.

We saw Kayla, Ali, and the other boy coming back from their conversation with security. Good news! Security told us that we could move our line across the street a little before 6:00. The guard said that at 6:00 there would be some sort of queue line inside Xcel for fans to line up in while waiting for wristbands. The news spread throughout the rest of the line and we got all of our things packed up and ready to go for our trip across the street at 5:50.

Walking across the street was a moment I will never forget. The line looked like a pack of homeless people because everyone was so bundled up in their winter gear. We moved in a mass across the street and cars gave us the strangest looks. It was nothing short of fantastic.

We waited at the gate for several minutes and nobody came out. Finally, a woman opened the door and screamed to get us to quiet down.

“YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE MONSTER PIT LINE DOESN’T START UNTIL 8:00AM. YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON OUR PROPERTY BEFORE 8:00AM, SO YOU NEED TO GET YOUR LINE OFF OUR STEPS OTHERWISE WE WILL CALL THE POLICE AND ARREST YOU FOR TRESPASSING.”

Fans started rioting, and people were yelling at the woman how a security guard told us no longer that one hour ago that we could move our line across the street and wait inside. She said she has no indication of that, so we told her to go find the guard who told us that. She left and came back about ten minutes later.

“WE WILL LET YOU LINE UP ALONG THE SIDE OF THE VENUE, BUT YOU CANNOT LINE UP INSIDE. WE WILL HAVE OUR DOORS OPEN IF YOU NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM OR WARM UP FOR A BIT, BUT YOU HAVE TO GO RIGHT BACK OUTSIDE ONCE YOU’RE DONE.”

It sounds like they made some sort of compromise. It was nice of them to let us come inside and warm up as needed, but it was also really stupid how bad the communication was with the various security guards. It seems like they were just making up stuff that they didn’t know. Since most of them probably didn’t know any details, they should have just said, “I’m sorry, I can’t help you because I don’t know how we’re handling anything.” Even THAT would have been better than stunts they pulled with the line fiasco.

At this point, fans were flat out exhausted. Even though Xcel staff told us that we couldn’t line up inside, people were falling asleep on the floor and sitting down wherever they could. Eventually, guards started walking up to people telling them that they had to “stand” and that sitting isn’t allowed. It was kind of bull****. The entire line was handled so unprofessionally by the venue staff. They obviously weren’t prepared for or anticipating this large of a turnout in the morning.

It finally came time to receive the wristbands. Gaga’s touring staff (in charge of the wristbands) arrived to Xcel at 8:00AM sharp. They spoke with fans over the megaphone going over the requirements for the monster pit and other details related to the show. At this point, there were over 300 fans in line.

8:30 had passed and we were wondering what was taking so long with the wristbands. We realized that the two parties at the front of the line still hadn’t figured out who was going to get the key. Jenna (Christine’s friend) was crying while Gaga’s staff was talking to the two groups, because apparently the other two boys who were at the front of the line were being mean to them. At one point, one of the boys told the girls to **** off, and apparently that was it for security.

One of Gaga’s staff escorted the boys from the front of the line to the very back. Jenna was named the keyholder, but she and Christine were still crying. They were upset that they had to get the key by these means, since the wait caused fans to become hostile towards each other. Anyway, the line began to move and we all received our wristbands.

#20! That was my number. From what I heard, that SHOULD guarantee a front row spot! We were so excited, but we were all exhausted as well. We made one last trek in the cold to our car and drove back to our places. I arrived home at 9:30 and took one of the best showers of my entire life. I slept after that from about 10:00AM-1:30PM.

Before the Event

Before I knew it, it was time to leave again. I got everything packed in my string backpack and headed for the road around 3:00PM. Even though the venue staff didn’t require us to line up until 5:00, I wanted to leave plenty of time in case there were unexpected traffic inconveniences. The rest of the group wanted to arrive at the Born Brave Bus a little earlier, so they left before we did. Kayla, Steph and I wanted more sleep so we decided to leave a little bit later.

Once I picked them up, they told me more about their backstage arrangements. Steph and Kayla spent countless hours preparing and creating fanbooks for Gaga from Gaga Daily members. The final products looked like yearbooks, except everything on the inside was Gaga fans. They were truly remarkable. Even though I didn’t spent time making the books, Kayla graciously spoke with her contact to explore the possibility of me joining the two of them backstage since I’m a Moderator on the site and “took care of the forum” while the books were being made.

We arrived at the venue and talked with Kayla’s contact at the Born Brave Bus tailgate. We all introduced ourselves, and then Kayla reminded her that I was the person she mentioned in her email about joining the two of them backstage. The woman said, “It doesn’t look like I’ll have room for a third person backstage tonight…” We all signed in disappointment, me especially. Then the woman asked for me to hold out my hand for a backstage wristband. I asked her, “Didn’t you just say that I wasn’t able to come back.” “No.” she said. I don’t know if we all heard her incorrectly at first, or if she was just pulling our legs when she she said I couldn’t come back, but we all started freaking out afterwards because we knew that this night, all of our wildest dreams would come true. We were going backstage to meet with Gaga after the show, and it was confirmed!

Trying to contain our excitement, we poked around the tailgate for a bit until we had to leave for the monster pit line. We saw DJ White Shadow (one of Gaga’s producers) and got some food in one of the tents. We saw Emma being carried into the Born Brave Bus when we walked into the tailgate area. We had a carepackage to deliver to her from multiple Moderators, so we tried tracking her down. Kayla was able to hand it off to the woman outside the bus who was able to get it to Emma.

We then left for the monster pit line. Uniting with our entire group, everyone was unbelievably excited for show to begin. It was 5:00 and Gaga’s tour staff started to arrange us in numerical order according to wristbands. Once we were lined up two-by-two, they led us into the “holding area” for the pit. We weren’t allowed to walk to the actual pit until the sound check was over. Around 6:30, that happened.

The Event

Everyone in the line was shrieking as Gaga’s staff led us down the stairs of the arena and opened the gates to the pit. They made us walk around the perimeter of the pit before claiming our spots, and my friends and I were all lucky enough to snag front row. It was incredible- we were no farther than 5 feet away from the stage! We took some pictures, chatted with the security guards, and waited for the pre-shows to begin. I think we were all in disbelief that we had front row.

Lady Starlight took the stage around 7:15. Her act was kind of strange. She did some artistic dancing and body stances while standing on a twisting platform on the stage. She didn’t sing, but she did play the electric piano for a little bit. It seemed like almost everyone in the pit had similar feelings about the performance…

Madeon was next- the eighteen year old took the stage around 7:45. His set was an explosion of electronic and techno that could make you feel your insides pulsating. The music was extremely loud and the pit soaked up every minute of it. He DJ’d some of his own songs, but most of the set consisted of his remixes of other songs. It was a pretty amazing show and got everyone energized for Gaga. I almost didn’t want his set to end!

The time was 8:45 and it was time for Gaga. The lights quickly dimmed and fans began screaming. The curtain in front of the castle dropped and the crowd went nuts. The backdrop of Highway Unicorn began pulsating throughout the arena and Gaga came out on the horse making her way around the catwalk. The entire pit was singing along to the song and the moment was unbelievably powerful. I’ll remember it forever.

When Gaga was performing The Edge of Glory on the piano, she said that it was the anniversary of her grandfather’s passing. Considering that the song was written about his death, Gaga was naturally very emotional. She was struggling to hit the high notes, and there was a point where she started crying and knocked the hat off her head. It was one of the most emotional performances I’ve ever seen from her.

Right after she sang The Edge of Glory, Gaga called a random fan in the audience. Before the show, fans were given the chance to text their seat number and name to a phone number, which would be randomly entered into a drawing for this part of the show. Gaga then dedicated an acoustic version of Born This Way to this fan. In the middle of the performance, Gaga gave a shoutout to Emma and performed a more upbeat acoustic version of the song, which Emma told Gaga previously that day how that was her favorite version of the song. Everyone in the front row who knew Emma looked at each other in excitement for her, and we all shared that special moment with her.

Road to Backstage

“I don’t speak American, but I can if you like!” Gaga performed Scheisse, and the monster pit was going absolutely insane. This is the biggest fan favorite from the album, and Gaga saved it for the second to last song. Our backstage contact instructed us to leave the pit after Scheisse and talk to security about going backstage. Once she was done, we left the pit and found some guards to talk with. There were several of them, and every one of them checked our backstage wristbands with their flashlights. We probably got checked by six or seven people before given the “okay” to go backstage.

Once we were approved, we headed to the back of the arena and met with the other fans that were going backstage with us. In total, there were nine of us. A woman passed along an iPad and required us to enter our full names and email addresses. This would be used for sending the backstage photos since fans aren’t allowed to take the photos themselves. While we waited for each other to complete this process, we watched Gaga perform the closing number, Marry the Night. She did an acoustic version of the song and picked about 10 fans from the pit to bring on stage with her.

We were then escorted backstage with some of Gaga’s security staff. We probably passed by five guards before getting back there- the place was extremely secured. Once we got back there, we briefly chatted with the other fans who were meeting her. After finishing our water bottles provided by Gaga’s staff, we were escorted to a room. Emma and her family were already in a room back there, and since she’s also on the Gaga Daily Mod team, we asked to be in the same room as Emma.

Emma’s family and the friends who were with her are honestly some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. We spent about 30 minutes with them before Gaga walked in. There was a ton of food in our room. It had a fridge filled with sparkling water and iced tea, fresh fruit and veggies with hummus, doritos, and a big container of assorted candy. We all snacked on the food while waiting for her to walk in.

Backstage with Gaga

Then it happened. She just walked in the room and said, “Okay, where are my Gaga Daily people?” We all sort of froze there as she walked up to give us all a hug. There was our idol standing there in the flesh. I stuttered when saying hi to her. After she said hello to us, she shut the door.

The first thing she talked about was her appreciation for Gaga Daily. She said, “I think Gaga Daily is my favorite [fan] site. The main reason for this is because it’s kept so clean. You guys do a really good job to make sure the website is professional for its viewers.” It was unreal to be thanked by Gaga for moderating the site, and we were flattered that she loves visiting it so much. We spend a lot more time working behind the scenes than most think, so to be thanked for all of that hard work meant the world to us.

Gaga also talked about one of the rules on the site called flamebait. She actually referred to it as “the flamebait rule” and said she likes how fans aren’t allowed to disrespect other artists. She wants to foster a fanbase that appreciates all types of music and artists, so Gaga was very appreciative about how we have actually integrated a rule that supports mutual respect of other artists.

Gaga then wanted us to give some messages to the members on the site. She told us to tell all the fans not to be upset when someone doesn’t like her. “All legends were controversial” she said.

She also talked about how she still doesn’t own a house. She was telling us how her dad has been showing her some quotes for houses and how she could never commit money like that for a down payment. “I started freaking out when I realized how much the down payment would cost! I’ve never had to fork out a down payment, and I’m still not used to dealing with that much money!” Gaga said that she’ll only get a house if Taylor asks her to marry him, and said that she’d live in her house and just “be a badass.”

She did, however, call her dad on the day of the auction for Michael Jackson’s clothes. “Dad, I’m about to spend a lot of money…” - “On what…?” - “Clothes…” - “Oh, Gaga…” - “Michael Jackson’s clothes!” - “Oh, okay!”

She talked to us a lot about Michael Jackson. He’s definitely her biggest idol. Gaga said that, “He’s all I ever wanted to be.” She told us that’s why she spent all that money on his clothes at the auction. She said she’d much rather have Michael Jackson’s jacket hanging up in her hotel room while she dances around like a sixteen year old girl than own a house.”

Gaga also talked to us about ARTPOP. We aren’t going to give too much away, but she said that when her songs are on the radio again, people will think, “Wow, is this really Lady Gaga? She’s really matured.” From what we were told, you guys are in for quite the experience with ARTPOP.

Gaga also told us to tell GagaDaily that she’s sorry for making the fans wait for so long. However, she also told us that some fans don’t realize how much work she’s doing on this album, and she assured us that great works take time. She wasn’t necessary irritated with the fans’ impatience, but she definitely wanted to communicate how much work she’s putting into the creation of ARTPOP.

I proceeded to tell Gaga that it’s incredible how all of us know each other through her. I told her how all of us have become amazing friends, and we wouldn’t have known each other if it weren’t for her. She seemed really touched.

She was such an easy person to talk to. While we (or most of us) were sitting, Gaga was standing in the middle of the room, making eye contact whenever someone spoke to her. Whenever she thought something was funny, she would laugh and walk over and give you a hug, or sit in your lap. She kept giving Emma noogies and was playing with her hair off and on throughout the night.

I was truthfully impressed with how genuine Gaga is with her fans. While most of our encounter was upbeat and joyful, there were times when things got pretty emotional. There was a time when Gaga started crying, wiping the tears from her eyes she said, “I just love my fans so much.” It was one of the most touching moments of my entire life. I’ll remember it forever.

After talking about ARTPOP, we were discussing how music is kind of boring right now. Gaga thinks the problem with modern artists is that they’re “afraid to get their hands dirty.”

We talked about a lot of stuff during our time with Gaga. None of us bothered checking the time (because obviously we were having the moment of our lives) but apparently we had taken up longer than what was scheduled. Most meet and greets last ten or twenty minutes TOPS. We had already been with Gaga for over an hour. She really is a chatterbox. If it hadn’t been for the meet and greet coordinator cutting us off, Gaga probably would have spent another hour or two with us. She said she was tired, but she was having such a good time that nothing else seemed to matter.

Since we were short on time, the meet and greet coordinator suggested that we do a single photo with Gaga as a group (as opposed to individual ones). After we took the group photo, Gaga said to us, “Wanna do individual photos too?” Gaga actually wanted to take more photos with us! I couldn’t believe it. I really wanted an individual photo too, so I’m glad Gaga offered the opportunity to us.

After pictures, everyone wanted to get autographs from her. I gave her by Born This Way digipak album from The Collection to sign. I then told her about one of my best friends (and Moderator) on the site, Kyle. Kyle saw the Monster Ball when it came near his area, but unfortunately the Born This Way Ball wasn’t able to make it near him. Kyle has been pretty bummed about this, so I told Gaga about it, and asked her to sign the album booklet for him. She smiled, and signed it for me. I couldn’t wait to show Kyle and tell him about it, because I could only imagine how happy it would make him.

Gaga still has the sharpie I brought along with me; I must have left it on the table or something. Oops- should have thought ahead of time about how valuable that Sharpie would be afterwards. Oh well!

In reflection, I think the most surprising thing about the meetup was how little starstruck I felt. I talked about the initial shock when she first walked in, but after that it faded very quickly. I genuinely felt like when she walked in the room, we already knew her, and she already knew us. It was like a reunion of friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. The fact that she was standing by me for most of the night didn’t even faze me. I’m guessing this is because she’s so natural and down to earth. She doesn’t act like most celebrities- she acts like she’s your friend. She even told us, “Whenever I get to meet fans, I almost feel like I’m meeting a celebrity!”

As we said our final goodbyes, we thanked her one last time as we watched her leave the room and go away. The entire experience was so surreal. When we were walking out of the venue, we felt like the whole thing was a dream. “Did that really happen?” I asked Kayla. (There was a moment when she lied on the ground of Xcel in disbelief.)

From what I’ve heard, fans always say to start writing things down the second you leave your backstage meetup otherwise you’ll start forgetting things FAST. I told this to Steph and Kayla, and we immediately began drafting voice notes on our cell phones. We wanted to recover every single last memory from the experience, since we realized that it was the best moment of our lives. I got to meet my idol, and I got to share the experience with some of my best friends in the world. I couldn’t stop smiling as I drove home that night.

[Chucky 39]

Reading now tbh :legend:

[VersaceHooker13 6]

OMG 3#

[Zilla 13,343]

:giveup:

Thanks to everyone who supported us, gave us input, sent us stuff for the books..... She really liked them!

[MarryTheSequins 976]

asdfghjhgfdsa :excited2:

[Stuff 5]

Will read. :excited2:

[MrFameKills 1,600]

OMG YESSS!!! :party:

[Bambino 23,630]

Reading :excited2:

[T3ARS 4,132]

So soaked to read it.

Drip, drip, drop.

[Didymus 32,742]

You all look so damn hot tbh

"For the purpose of not letting information leak, out of respect to Gaga and so no leeches can take her ideas before they’re even released, instead of giving out the details and information she gave us we’ll just agree to say “That’s something Gaga told us about!†after it’s officially released to the public, okay?"

*breaks down*

[wiltedbliss 914]

:omg:

[Ray of Light 8,134]

Thank you so much!

[Saint Laurent 4,862]

What did she say about ARTPOP? I don't have time to read it sorry.

[Killer Queen216 0]

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing the experienece so we feel like, in a way, all of us were there with her. But I'm still jealous of you biotches :cryga:

[DiegoMonster 4,680]

OMG THIS IS AMAZING.