The Mother Monster pays tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer, who became a bullying victim and ended his own life, by delivering a touching rendition of 'Hair'.
- Sep 26, 2011
AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa was one of the headliners at the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival over the weekend. Not only did she pump up concertgoers with her signature high-energy performances but the Mother Monster also moved the crowd with an emotional tribute to her fan, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, who committed suicide earlier in the week.
Sitting behind a motorcycle-shaped piano, a breathless GaGa said, "I just want to take a minute because I don't know if any of your know this, but we lost a little monster this week and I wanted to dedicate this song to him tonight because he was really young." Jamey's name was flashed on screen along with the date of his death and his last tweet which read, "Bye Mother Monster. Thank You For All You Have Done. Paws Up Forever."
"I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school, you know, it's called 'Hair'," GaGa added. "So tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us. And, you're not a victim, you're a lesson to all of us. So tonight, I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing's more important than the music, isn't it. Let's do this one for Jamey."
With a picture of a smiling Jamey being featured on the screen, GaGa kicked in the song. She drew the loudest cheers that night when she shouted, "Bullying is for losers". What started to be a piano ballad proceeded to end with some furious sound with high-pitch guitar and drum-smacking sound. To top it all, Little Monsters put their paws up for the teen suicide victim.
GaGa was introduced by Justin Timberlake at the gig. "I was gonna come out here dressed in a giant egg," he jokingly said. "Someone told me the next performer did that already. Then I thought something a little crazier like a meat dress but then I guess she did that too!" Beside singing "Hair", she also did "Born This Way", "Judas", "Bad Romance" and a duet with Sting in "Stand by Me".
The concert took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and was held for two consecutive nights, September 23 and 24. The other musical guests included Alicia Keys, Steven Tyler, Black Eyed Peas, Kenny Chesney, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Jane's Addiction, John Mayer, David Guetta, Rascal Flatts, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Coldplay, Kelly Clarkson, and Sublime with Rome.
"Hair":
"Judas":
"Bad Romance":
"Born This Way":
