Gaga gets away with it

The Lady defiantly declared: “I’m not a creature of your government, Manila.”

She then belted out her controversial song “Judas,” which her Filipino critics have labelled as blasphemous.

All the sound and fury from the guardians of morality failed to keep the tens of thousands of Lady Gaga fans from seeing her concert on Monday, with more expected to turn up last night after the Pasay City government greenlighted her second, closing show amid continuing protests from religious groups.

The controversial American pop star defied critics and state censors as fans, many of them dressed as outrageously as she was, roared their approval.

The show, which sources said cost $1.7 million to mount at the 20,000-seater Mall of Asia Arena, wowed the audience with its elaborately designed set, a Gothic castle where Lady Gaga popped in and out of the gates, windows and towers.

With a horned headpiece, she rode onto the stage on a horse for the opening number, “Highway Unicorn,” and later came out it in colorful outfits that included a yellow terno.

The audience tweeted photos of the US pop phenomenon wearing a full-length dress inspired by the Philippine national costume as she and a dance crew gyrated for the song “Born This Way”—a gay anthem.

The traditional costume was either seen as a gracious touch of Filipiniana or a put-on directed at critics who expected an all-raunchy show.

Up to 40,000 fans paid as much as P15,840 each to watch the US singer. The Pasay City government had earlier warned that her second show on Tuesday night could be banned if the censors among the audience monitored any hints of blasphemy, nudity or lewd conduct.

Religious groups, including the Catholic Church, earlier called the New York-born performer a threat to the youth’s morals and likened her concert to “devil worship” due to the dark imagery and lyrics of her music videos and songs.

Still, about 100 “little monsters”—the name given to Lady Gaga’s devoted followers— lined up hours before Monday show, sporting her signature outrageous clothing, hairstyle and makeup.

A group of about 500 Christian activists tried to march on the Arena, singing religious songs while carrying placards saying “Stop Lady Gaga, the mother monster.”   However, riot police stopped them about a kilometer away.

Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto approved the second concert, saying an “inspection team” who saw the first show did not find any violation of the conditions set in the permit issued to the organizer, Ovation Productions, and that there were no nudity or holy images used in an “improper context.”

At one point during the show, the singer-songwriter, who has yet to speak to the press since arriving in Manila on Saturday, appeared to be poking fun at herself by declaring that she was neither an alien nor a human.

“I am not a creature of your government,” she said. “This is about us all coming together.”

Despite earlier calls from protesters for her to drop “Judas” from her repertoire, Lady Gaga went on to give it a dramatic interpretation as a persona engaged in a battle against oppression.

The show went on to ooze with sex especially when she did “Heavy Metal Lover” on a motorcycle. She turned emotional with the ballad “You and I,” using it to tell both critics and fans that “it’s not about the music, but about yourself.” With a report from AFP and Nathaniel Melican