As the biggest stars of the year gear up for tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards, we journey back to one of the show’s most iconic performances of the last decade. Lady Gaga‘s 2009 showing of ‘Paparazzi.’
Already on an unprecedented ascend at the time, the natural expectation was for the singer to have picked one of breakout hits – ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face’ – for her 5 minute set. However, Gaga opted for the very fresh ‘Paparazzi.’
Produced by Rob Fusari – one of the masterminds behind Destiny’s Child’s ‘Bootylicious,’ it was another Top 10 for the artist – in the US, UK, as well Australia, Canada and France. Its Jonas Akerlund helmed visual was the first of many mini-movies from Gaga’s videography and depicted her as a fame hungry starlet.
For her VMA performance, Mother Monster went all the way in and gave the public what can only be described as a Pop-Opera.
With slick choreography courtesy of LaurieAnn Gibson and team, Gaga made sure to leave a lasting impact on viewers and peers alike thanks to fantastic theatrics that still have people talking to this day. Clearly, we all remember a bloodied-up Gaga hanging on top of the VMA stage, right?
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MTV’s ceremony has been the vehicle for many headline-grabbing moments, for better or for worse. We sincerely hope this year brings in new iconic moments.
I remember when I saw this live and thought she was really bleeding. This performance slayed.
and that was a great performance though
One of the performances that defined her career. ‘Paparazzi’ wasn’t one of my favorite songs from that album, but I loved this performance (though the blood grossed me out a bit).