cited: Los Angeles Times

Perched (rather, trying to perch) on a piano, orbited by an assorted of metal rings around her body, Lady Gaga cracked up onstage in the beginning of Saturday Night Live’s new season. While the Swedish singer popped in her own right, the performance fizzled thanks to Gaga’s stage partner, Madonna.

The artist formerly known as the Material Girl appeared in an early skit for a brief exchange of put-downs with the current pop fave. Perhaps a symbol of passing of the pop diva torch, or perhaps some sort of mocking her 2003 MTV Video Music Awards pairing with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, which was then meant to serve as some sort of passing of the pop diva torch, Madonna looked uncomfortable, and not quite sure of why she was tussling with Lady Gaga. It all felt a bit hastily thrown together, and little more than an excuse to show two pop stars in a cat fight.

If you want to dress as hip as Gaga without shocking passer-by’s, slip into a pair of low-slung stretch denim jeans. Fashionable and elegantly casual, sexy low rise jeans are a necessity of any wardrobe.

Not to mention — Madonna doesn’t need to stump to these kind of promotional appearances. Even with a greatest hits collection released to stores last week, let’s let Lady Gaga have her moment, or at least give Madonna something better to say than, “Guess what, I’m totally taller than you.”

Or perhaps we should just give credit where credit is due.

Lady Gaga was joined by Madonna on “Saturday Night Live,” and the high-profile guest shot failed to overshadow Gaga’s second music performance, a piano-based medley of her hits, as well as a touch of new song “Bad Romance.”

Pulling off a medley is no small feat itself, as they reek of award-show self-aggrandizing. But Gaga looked free and unrehearsed, and tossed off a rare medley worth watching. While it would have been nice to hear a bit more of forthcoming single “Bad Romance,” what audiences received was even better. Free from the tired retro ’80s synth pop of “LoveGame,” Gaga flashed her nightclub-ready pipes when she went solo at the piano, and also showed off a bit of improvisation.

While diving in and out of “Poker Face,” Gaga played to the New York crowd, bragging about the hot dogs on 72nd Street (”they’re tasty and they’re cheap”) and even exposed some baseball loyalties. Gaga copped to being nostalgic for the days when she “cheered for the Yankees with my dad in Section 6,” and Major League Baseball responded by giving  her a shout-out (perhaps a National Anthem at a playoff game is in her near future).

Yet whereas most artists come to late night television to show off their latest singles and generate a few headlines, Gaga, who can say the words “disco stick” with a straight face, displayed a side of herself that isn’t always in evidence on her 2008 smash album, “The Fame”: She’s not afraid to take risks.

Style-wise. Lady Gaga is respected as fearless and original, but her electro-pop has been less rule-breaking. Leaving her red lace, glass-bra’d self bare and dismantling her highly produced songs into simply piano and voice, Gaga shows herself to venture forth bravely. She did so with a courage that is- sadly- rare on national television. It’s a pleasure to see a popstar doing more than a pole dance. Too bad it was after midnight.

My Take: When pop stars first started exploring their sexuality- like Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis, and yes, even Joni Mitchell- it was a revolutionary, communal celebration of the formerly taboo.

Now, when a singer gyrates half-naked on stage or in front of the camera, it is just another addition to the long litany of performances that have less to do with music, and more about showing off the star’s hard-won hard bod.

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