Why Did Lady Gaga Make Us Suffer Through Jo Calderone At The VMAs?
“Who is Jo Calderone and how long will Jo be with us?”
That’s the question that one USA Today journalist asked and everyone was thinking when Lady Gaga appeared at the 2011 Video Music Awards as her skeevy male alter-ego that had a penchant for smoking cigarettes, slicking back his greaser 50s hairdo and talking dirty to Britney Spears.
At first we were slightly amused when Gaga, known for her out-of-the-box performances, took the stage as Jo and did a (way too long) monologue followed by a killer performance of “You and I.” But after the commercial break, everyone assumed that Lady Gaga would reemerge as her old self in a meat dress, Kermit the Frog gown or other outlandish garb but she didn’t. Instead Jo was in the house the whole night, presenting tribute awards to Ms. Spears, grabbing his junk and even introducing a preggers Beyoncé to the stage.
Jo even made his way backstage after the VMAs concluded, continuing the facade. All in all, Gaga didn’t break character once throughout the night. And when Gaga joked that Jo would only be with us for five more minutes, everyone was noticeably relieved.
Gaga’s creative director Laurieann Gibson explained to MTV News why she believes Gaga’s commitment was groundbreaking. So why did Gaga insist that the show must go on when everyone was clearly ready for the final act?
“The idea of her being a performance artist—and it’s starting the performance on the red carpet and the idea that the performance never ends for her—is the first time I’ve experienced this with an artist. I love it. That’s something that is specific to her, and the whole night was the performance, and it was important that Jo was a part of the whole night. I hope that the Monsters and the music industry [connect to] the idea that as long as you execute to the highest level of your ability, that you make a statement, that you push your creative ability to the max, and it doesn’t mean one thing or another. It could mean standing under one spotlight, it could mean tons of camels and belly-dancing girls. I don’t know one is not necessarily better than the other, But it is about who’s the artist; it belongs to the artist, so in that one moment you have to take it and give all you can. And so I hope people take the fearlessness away [and] the creative notion that we constantly push boundaries, that we’re not followers.”
Watch the full interview with Laurieann below and the final minutes of Mr. Calderone backstage at the VMAs. Have we seen the last of Jo? We hope so, but something tells us he will return. He’s not your average Jo, after all.
Lady gaga is a wonderful person and if you think you suffered from Jo well you’ll suffer when your dead.
It’s not about entertainment– “ha ha, that was funny… now back to the real show”– your discomfort is intentional; if you stay with it, maybe you’ll learn something: about yourself, society, the entertainment industry, whatever. The performance was beautifully executed.
Who is this we and everyone you talk about.You better get another day job.Gaga stayed as Jo Calderon All night It’s called acting. All of us thought Jo did a fantastic job.We think your writing stinks.
We wanted it to be over because it was a baaaaad performance – that simple.
You know how sick and tired i am of the media constantly bashing Lady Gaga?. Seriously you have plenty of celebs to do that to who actually aren’t doing anything worth mentioning. Example Kardashians. I don’t see anything positive written about Lady Gaga on the internet, always constantly bashing the artist that she is. Get a grip you guys.
If you only see the ‘entertainment’ value in Gaga, you are missing out. Revisit the performance, analyze the monologue, and compare it with the message of her new album. Gaga is severely underrated when it comes to performance art; maybe it’s because people never expect to find anything profound in pop.
Told you I had a penis!
So who tied you to a chair and forced you to watch?
After she hit it big two years ago Gaga could have very easily just continued to do the same music and the same performances over and over again but instead she has chosen to take risks even knowing full well that those risks could cost her fans. That kind if daring attitude and willingness to push the boundaries of her talent should be celebrated, but no. Instead lazy, pretentious columnists who apparently want a world filled with mindless bubble-gum pop-tarts like Katy Perry continue to bash her for it. Unreal.
Isn’t performance art considered performance for the sake of performance? Seriously, that isn’t really that deep to me. Props for her dedication I guess. On a semi-related note, I still think it’s a travesty Lady Gaga beat out Rise Against for the music with a message award. Those guys have been making very outspoken music since their beginning and standing up for parties who aren’t fairly protected or aren’t protected at all. But, the VMA’s are 90% popularity contest anyway, so I can’t be too shocked.
First of all I will preface this by saying that I love Lady Gaga, I have both her albums and I have seen her in concert twice. I respect her as an innovator, a performer and the diva can sing. To ALICE KEYS: I never stated that Lady Gaga was not a wonderful person. But just because I think she is a great performer does not mean I will love every thing that she does, every performance that she executes or every song that she sings. Do I love her fashion sense? YES! Would I wear a MEAT DRESS? No! To THE TRUTH: I actually agree with you, not the part where you call me “lazy or pretentious.” I am neither but I love Gaga’s “daring attitude and willingness to push the boundaries” as you put it but do I want to hear Jo take away from Britney Spears’ moment and talk “about touching himself in bed while looking at posters of her” while presenting her with an award? No. I love Lady Gaga but Jo… not so much.
The article poses a question because many were wondering what was the point of Jo and I answer that question by placing the interview/answer that Laurieann provides to actually give her performance clarity for those that might have been confused. It was actually to enlighten people to Gaga’s thought process and show that although many might not have liked Jo the character, it does show how dedicated she is to her craft.
Joe is awesome. He might be a little too much to handle for those of you who like your entertainment in a nice, neat little package. Joe speaks for himself, and if you don’t like it – bummer. There are myriad other pop stars out there. Go drool over them instead.
[...] Featuring Nymph,” Mama Monster is angelic as mermaid incarnate “Yuyi,” and masculine as “Jo Calderone,“ but this time around Gaga is dark and menacing, ripping her wig off and twirling it around with [...]
[...] Ü: Featuring Nymph,” Mama Monster is radiant as charmer materialise “Yuyi,” and manly as “Jo Calderone,“ though this time around Gaga is dim and menacing, ripping her wig off and twirling it around [...]
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